Ask The Rabbi 
6 February 1999
Issue #225
Parshat Yisro
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This publication is available in HTML format at 
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Researched at Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem 
This Issue Contains: 
1. Soul Food The Jewish Dietary Laws 
2. Yiddle Riddle
3. Public Domain
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Dear Readers:  Among the many questions that "Ask the Rabbi" receives 
daily, a number of them inevitabily concern the laws and philosophy of 
keeping kosher.  We therefore dedicate this week's "Ask the Rabbi" to the 
topic of kashrut.

Soul Food - The Jewish Dietary Laws

Few activities are as instinctive as eating, and few activities have such a 
profound impact on us physiologically, psychologically and spiritually. 
Many people do not give much thought to when, what and how they eat until 
their cardiologist tells them to lower their cholesterol or their friends 
begin to ask if they are pregnant (for men this question is especially 
disturbing). Jews who observe the dietary laws (kashrut) however, must make 
regular decisions about what they eat, when they eat it and how they 
prepare their food; so that for the observant Jew eating ceases to be a 
totally instinctive activity. The dietary laws force us to stop and think 
about daily activities and deter us from going through life in autopilot. 
In order to understand what the Torah wants us focus on, and to understand 
the philosophy of kashrut, it is necessary to be superficially familiar 
with the kashrut laws themselves. Following is a brief overview:

1. A kosher animal must be a ruminant and have split hooves -- cows, sheep, 
goats and deer are all kosher, whereas camels and pigs (having each only 
one sign of kashrut) are not kosher. Most common fowl are kosher, like 
chickens, ducks and geese, but the birds of prey (hawks, eagles etc.) 
are not kosher. A sea creature is only kosher if it has fins and scales. 
So most species of fish are kosher (tuna, salmon, flounder, etc.) but 
all shellfish are not kosher; dolphins, whales and squids are also not 
kosher. Any food product of a non-kosher animal is also non-kosher. The 
exception to this rule is bee's honey.

2. An animal or bird must be slaughtered according to Jewish law 
(shechita). This involves cutting the animal's trachea and oesophagus 
(the carotid and jugular are also severed) with a surgically sharp 
knife. The cut must be swift, continuous and performed by an expert. 
This method of slaughter reduces the blood pressure in the brain to zero 
immediately, so that the animal loses consciousness in a few seconds and 
dies in minutes.

3. The animal or bird must be free of treifot, which are 70 different 
categories of injuries, diseases or abnormalities whose presence renders 
the animal non-kosher.

4. Certain fats, known as chelev, may not be eaten. Blood must be removed 
from the meat, either by soaking, salting and rinsing or by broiling. 
The sciatic nerve in each leg and the surrounding fat must be removed.

5. It is forbidden to cook, eat, or benefit from milk and meat mixtures. It 
is also forbidden to cook or eat dairy products together with poultry.

6. In Israel, tithes must be taken from all crops. If these tithes are not 
separated then the produce may not be eaten; the wheat, barley or fruit 
is actually not kosher until the commandments of tithing have been 
fulfilled.

7. Milk products (including the rennet in cheese) must only come from 
kosher animals.

* The most obvious idea behind kashrut is self-control and discipline. Let 
me illustrate this with a real-life example.  Most parents are familiar 
with the horrors of going to the supermarket with young children. The 
worst part of this ordeal is waiting in line at the checkout counter.  
You have only five items, so you wait in the "Eight-items-or-less" 
express line. The lady in front of you has 25 items at least, she is 
trying to pay with a third-party check from Paraguay in Thai baht, and 
is negotiating with the clerk over her expired coupons (and her 
mortgage). You are waiting with two children under the age of six, 
surrounded on both sides by four foot high walls of sugar based 
products. The children are becoming increasingly impatient and begging 
for candies, and you are becoming more and more angry and frustrated as 
time goes on. Of course, most children will scream, beg and embarrass 
their parents into buying the candy. Now for the true story. I moved 
with my family from Israel to Toronto for a four-year stay, and in the 
first week was waiting in line at the supermarket with one of my 
children. He asked me for a chocolate bar. I looked at the bar and told 
him that it was not kosher and he was silent, accepting the decision 
without tantrums, threats, tears or hysteria. It struck me then that my 
five-year-old, who has been brought up with the laws of kashrut, had 
more self-control than millions of adults in the Western world. How many 
people accept "no" as an answer in denial of a pleasure that they want 
now? Dangerous? I will take precautions. Unhealthy? I will stop after a 
few. Addictive? Not to me. Not to indulge is simply not an option.
 
* I once read an interview with a famous politician whose motto was "A 
kinder, gentler America." The interview was conducted while he was 
engaged in hunting grouse. No one seemed to notice the contradiction 
between his recreational activity and his motto. How can one derive 
entertainment from pursuing and killing an animal and at the same time 
espouse a "kinder, gentler America?" In the words of a great Rabbi "I am 
amazed by this activity [hunting]; we have not found hunters in the 
Torah except for Nimrod and Esau. This is not the way of the sons of 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ... it is written `His [G-d's] mercy is upon 
all His creatures' ... if so how can an Israelite kill living beings, 
without any other need than in order to pass his time by hunting! This 
matter contributes to cruelty, and is forbidden...." In Jewish tradition 
we are allowed to use animals as food and clothing; however, we are not 
supposed to rejoice in this, and we are certainly not supposed to make a 
sport of it. Some of the laws of kashrut are designed to prevent us from 
becoming callous and cruel and to discourage hunting as a form of 
recreation or sustenance. The requirements of shechita and treifot 
virtually preclude the possibility of hunting.
 
* The prohibition against meat and milk also serves to remind us where our 
food comes from. The meat is from a dead animal, the milk from a living 
animal. Be aware that obtaining meat necessitates death, obtaining milk 
requires life. These are foods that have their origin in living 
creatures and keeping them separate makes us aware of their source. This 
is similar to the law that allows us to wear clothing of leather, but 
suggests that we do not wish our friend to "Wear it out," because 
getting a new one involves the death of an animal.
 
* The Hebrew word for "charity" -- "tzedaka" -- is correctly translated as 
"justice." We do not look at giving to the poor as something beyond the 
call of duty, we perceive it as simple justice. Hence we can understand 
why the Torah prohibits a Jewish farmer from eating the produce of his 
own field until he has given tithes to those without land of their own.  
He is not being asked to be extra nice, he is being commanded to be 
just.
 
* The types of animals we eat are chosen in part for their symbolism. The 
ruminants that have split hooves tend to be tranquil, domesticated 
animals that have no natural weapons. These are animals whose 
characteristics we may absorb through eating. We may not eat scavengers, 
carnivores or birds of prey; these are not characteristics that we want 
to absorb at all.
 
* There is no question that kashrut has contributed to our survival as a 
distinct nation as well. Jews all over the world have common dietary 
patterns. I can be confident that the curried hamin of the Calcutta Jews 
has no milk with meat in its ingredients. When I eat kosher, French 
cuisine, I know that the meat is not pork and that the animals have been 
slaughtered according to law. Jews meet each other at the local kosher 
bakery, they shop at the same stores and have their own butchers. These 
laws are a major force in maintaining unity, act as a social barrier 
against assimilation, and create a feeling of community amongst the 
Jewish People.
 
* Another aspect of kashrut is the encouragement of aesthetic sensitivity. 
Judaism prohibits the consumption of animals that have died of natural 
causes or that are deformed and diseased; it also prohibits the 
consumption of insects and loathsome foods. It is possible that one idea 
behind this is to encourage us to view ourselves with dignity and to act 
with dignity. One of the best defences against immorality is a strong 
sense of self-esteem and dignity. Evil should be looked at as beneath 
our dignity, stealing is stooping too low, gossip is petty and small-
minded. In order to help us achieve and maintain this level of dignity 
the Torah prohibits foods like carcasses and diseased animals.
 
* Some religions seek the path to spirituality through withdrawal from the 
physical world. A monastic life is glorified, celibacy and asceticism 
are seen as ideals. Some view the human as essentially an animal that is 
incapable of elevating itself beyond the struggle for survival, hence 
they encourage a life of hedonism and materialism. Judaism sees the 
human as an essentially spiritual being, clothed in a physical body. 
Judaism maintains that the physical is not evil, it is just not the 
complete view of reality. Judaism seeks to elevate the physical world, 
not to deny it, nor to glorify it. The laws of kashrut allow us to enjoy 
the pleasures of the physical world, but in such a way that we sanctify 
and elevate the pleasure through consciousness and sensitivity. Kashrut 
recognises that the essential human need is not food, drink or comfort, 
but meaning. Judaism, through the dietary laws, injects meaning even 
into something as commonplace and instinctive as eating.

References:

* The Jewish Dietary Laws, Isidore Grunfeld, Soncino Press, London.
* Shechita: Religious, Historical and Scientific Perspectives, Munk, 
Feldheim      Publishers, New York, 1976
* Responsa Nodah Biyehudah, Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, Yoreh Deah 10
* Code of Jewish Law, Orach Chaim 223:6 Rema ad loc.
* The Royal Table, Jacob Cohn

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Yiddle Riddle

	I have a new Yiddle Riddle for you, which I heard from my friend 
Avrohom Moshe Rosenwasser.  When would I have to make at least 20 berachot 
because I drank one cup of orange juice?

* Yochi Schnall <yochii@juno.com>

Answer next week...

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The Public Domain
Comments, quibbles, and reactions 
concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features

Re:  Yarmulke (Ask #221):

	When we covered this topic in Yeshiva, my Rosh Kollel, Rav N. Sauer, 
shlita, concluded, based on Rav Moshe Feinstein, zatzal, Rav Ovadiah Yosef, 
shlita; and Rav Shlomo Kluger zatzal that the position of the kippa should 
be in a place that it could be seen on all sides.

* Rabbi Aryeh Blaut <rebbeb@juno.com>

	We cover our heads to show respect and awe for G-d, the King of 
kings.  Interestingly, a popular name for the kippa, is yarmulke a word 
which is made up of the two words "yere malka," Aramaic for "fear of the 
King [Hashem]."

* Ravi Shahar <ravis@writemail.com>

	From your sources, I see where you quoted the statements from Talmud 
about wearing yarmulkas.  I am left with but one question:  Where do you 
get your jokes?

* Yaakov Dovid Hakohen, Brooklyn <ytld@juno.com>


Re:  Simple as Aleph-Beis (Yiddle Riddle, Ask #222):

	Regarding which verse has all the letters of the aleph-beis:  I found 
two such pesukim, but I found it by writing a program to search for me.  
Was I supposed to do it by hand?  I will certainly tip my hat to anyone who 
found it by hand!  I also found one that you didn't mention, Devarim 4:34.

* Eli Reidler <eli@pds.1hca.com>

Ohrnet replies:  Your punishment is to write 100 times "I will not cheat on 
the Yiddle Riddle" (you may write a computer program to do this).

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