A case for Kashrut

by Rabbi MIller

A defining moment took place close to three thousand years ago. About two years after leaving Egypt, Moses' brother Aaron and Aaron's sons were initiated into the priesthood. After constructing the beautiful, portable Tabernacle, it was ready for actual use. Aaron and his four sons spent seven days preparing themselves through sacrifice and other rituals. It was on the eighth day that Aaron and the assembled Israelites would find out if their collective act of devotion was acceptable in the Eyes of God. If so, God's Presence would alight on the Tabernacle and everyone would be able to witness the event.

Picture Aaron, if you will, preparing for this moment. The incident of the golden calf must have still weighed heavily in his mind. Yet here he was taking on the mantle of High Priest; the person ultimately responsible for seeking atonement before God by bringing the offerings of Israel. Even if God had forgiven him for the deep offense he had committed against Him, could God go so far as to accept him as High Priest?

Par'shat Sh'mini informs us that, in fact, the Presence of God did alight upon the Tabernacle reassuring all, that their service had been acceptable in God's sight.

This and related events make up the first portion of Sh'mini. In what appears to be an unrelated move, the second part of the par'sha begins to list those animals which are considered clean and may be eaten and those which are not clean and may not be eaten. Which begs the question:

To understand the answer requires a little background.

We certainly "love" the word "love." The human experience of it is a source of endless inspiration and fascination. Yet in examining it, what is it exactly?

I believe in its earliest stages of development love is obsession, fascination, attraction. This would explain why at this stage it consumes us and affects us so deeply.

It is also true to say that while me have deep feelings of devotion to the one we love, the reason for those feelings lies embedded in the fact that we are gaining such pleasure from our experience. Since all these feelings are happening at the beginning of the relationship, the basis for these feelings can hardly be the knowledge we have of the person! In other words, we are loving that person on our own terms!

It's only in the course of the years, as we get to learn about that person in a thousand and one different situations that we can eventually find out how much we really do love them.

A true measurement of the depth of that love is how we demonstrate it. Saying "I love you," and so declaring your love for them is extremely important. No doubt about it! But we could say that it's even more important to back up those declarations with actions. What kind of actions? Presumably the kind that they would want us to do!

The greatest proof of our love for them would be those kind of things we would do for no other good reason than the fact that it's something they want us to do! (Any question of "why?" would mean that we needed some reason besides our love for them to do it!) At this point we could say that we love that person on their terms!

I believe that becoming a "loving human being" is the ultimate task that confronts each and every one of us. I also believe that that is an essential task of religion, certainly Judaism. Loving God involves the same kinds of issues as loving people or anything else, for that matter.

The laws of Kashrut are considered a chok or chukkim (pl) . In other words, laws which have no rational basis to their observance. Clearly, whether on not one consumes Kosher meat doesn't have the same effect on society as whether or not one commits murder, or whether or not one shows respect for ones parents. There is really only one "rationale" one could possibly have in keeping the laws of Kashrut and that is "God commanded the Jewish people to observe them!"

So what's so important about keeping them?

For the very reason that they have no other compelling rationale, they are a clear demonstration of our love of God!

So why do they follow the section in the Torah concerning the final act of dedication of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood?

We read how Aaron's act of dedication was, in fact, acceptable to the point that God demonstrated His Divine Presence on that occasion. Connecting the two disparate themes suggests that when each member of the Jewish People demonstrates his or her devotion to God through observing the laws of Kashrut, God's Presence is also drawn into their lives and into the world.

It's as if the Torah anticipated the subsequent destruction of the Temple and nevertheless provided a means for the people to show en masse a loving act that would perpetuate the Divine Presence.

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