Parshas Shemini



This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.





Question:

What was perhaps the first dietary in the Torah?





Kashrus



This week's Torah portion contains the details of the Jewish dietary laws, Kashrus. This devar Torah will focus solely on the types of animals allowed and forbidden for consumption. What purpose do these commandments serve?



Two classic answers are given:

1. For health, we must abstain from unhealthy foods

2. To separate us from non-Jews



The first answer just does not hold up to intellectual scrutiny and even more so, we know that it cannot be true. While today Kosher food can often more healthy, this is only because for example maggots and all sorts of other critters aren't put into our Kosher tuna fish. Really, there are plenty of unhealthy Kosher foods and healthy non-Kosher foods.



And Nechama Leibowitz (Studies on Leviticus 152-153) cites Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman who demonstrates that the second reason is not supported by the verses:



"…I am God your Lord who has separated you out from among all the nations. You must therefore separate out the clean animals and birds from the unclean. Do not make yourselves disgusting through animals, birds or other creatures that I have separated out for you as being unclean. You shall be holy to Me, for I, God, am holy, and I have separated you out from among the nations to be Mine.'" (Leviticus 20:24-26)



While no doubt Kashrus does socially separate us from non-Jews, the Torah seems to be saying that because we are different in some way (for a different discussion, but certainly it has nothing to do with any elitism), we cannot eat certain foods.





So why are these restrictions on animals here?



I believe we can answer based on a comment from the Chasam Sofer quoted by Nechama (page 155).



"'These are the animals which you shall eat' (11:12). Scripture opens with the permitted foods and thus also concerning the fishes and grasshoppers, implying that in principle we ought not to eat any living being. Hence the introduction: 'Speak to the children of Israel saying, these are the living things which you may eat' which constitutes an innovation"



In other words, because of our mission as a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6), perhaps we really should not eat any creatures at all. The prohibition of paining animals in indeed Biblical (heard from Rav Avishai David shlita, perhaps this is derived from Exodus 23:5). Thus, by only eating only Kosher animals, we are displaying a level of kindness to animals.



Or alternatively, the world is G-d's and we can't eat anything. G-d has decided to give us some animals to eat and without this permission, we would be prohibited from taking from His world. Thus, by eating only Kosher animals, we are demonstrating that G-d owns everything.





The Chasam Sofer http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/sofer.htm




Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai