- Does non-kosher food "contaminate" us?
-
- Written by student of Rabbi Reuben Mann - Dean, Masoret Institute
- There are many different explanations of kashrus. One of the popular
- views out there is the theory that certain animals such as pig or
other non
- kosher animals are inherently bad and disgusting and therefore G-d
prohibited
- us from eating them. This view contends that if one eats the
prohibited
- foods, something intrinsic in the food would cause "spiritual
blockades" to
- be set up in a person, and will impair his abilities to get closer
to G-d.
- This they say is one of the many reasons for kashrus.
-
- Before we get to a proper understanding of kashrus it is imperative
- for us to see why this idea does not hold true in Judaism. The
source often
- quoted by this school of thought is in Tractate Yoma 39a which
states, "The
- house of Rabbi Yishmael taught, sin dulls the heart of man" and
he adduces it
- from the portion in the Torah dealing with kashrus. Many people
mistakenly
- interpret that as meaning that non kosher food dulls the heart and
even go a
- step further and say it actually "contaminates" the soul.
But upon a careful
- reading we see it only refers to sin.
-
- Besides this egregious interpretation, the sources in Judaism go
- against such a notion. In Deuteronomy 6:11 we read that when the
Jewish
- people enter the land of Israel they will find homes filled with all
kinds of
- good things which they will be able to partake of. The oral law
identifies
- these good things as inclusive of foodstuffs, even pig. The people
were
- permitted upon entering the land to consume all prohibited foods
they find at
- the time. The Bible, interestingly enough, refers to these very
prohibited
- foods as "good." Thus even though the Torah prohibited
certain foods they are
- not considered "bad." The prohibition is merely to teach
man to exercise
- control over his appetitive desires not that there is anything
"unclean"
- about a pig or camel or horse. G-d does not, so to speak, like the
cow more
- than the donkey. They are all equal His creation. In a similar vein
the
- Rabbis of the Talmud have stated (check Rashi in Leviticus 20:26),
"Do not
- say, I dislike the flesh of the pig, but rather, I like it but God
has
- decreed that I abstain from it." If one abstains from pig
because he thinks
- it is "bad" in some sense, he is functioning on a
primitive taboo level not
- on the level which G-d has prescribed for him so that he gain
perfection as a
- human being.
-
- In fact there is a halacha, that under certain circumstances, if non
- kosher food was mixed with kosher food, one is allowed to eat from
the
- mixture. Now if there was something inherently wrong with the food,
and if
- it really did contaminate the soul, how would the Rabbis of the
Talmud allow
- one to eat from the mixture? Another halachic proof against the
spiritual
- contamination theory is the prohibition of eating a meat and milk
mixture.
- This is the most stringent of the prohibited foods. Yet is made up
of 2
- permitted objects. When they are cooked together they become assur.
Do we
- maintain that the cooking process creates a new chemical which
contaminates
- the heart? Another interesting proof can be found in Rashi on
Vayikra18:4 And
- my Chukos you shall keep.... Rashi explains, "Things which are
a decree of
- the king and the yetzer hara rejects saying why should we keep them
like
- eating pig and wearing shaatnes, etc." Hence Rashi puts pig in
the same
- category as shaatnes in the sense that no reason can be found for
prohibiting
- the particular object. If however negative consequences come from
eating pig
- whether spiritual or physical then the yetzer hara should not
object. It is
- thus clear that Rashi did not believe that pig contains any harmful
quality.
-
- Besides all this one really cannot understand the idea. Why would
- G-d create such animals if they were inherently bad to begin with?
If these
- foods do indeed contaminate ones soul and bar one from perceiving
holiness,
- then how is it that Judaism has converts? One could say that since
these
- converts ate these foods their soul is contaminated. Yet, converts
have been
- among the top scholars in Jewish history who reached high levels of
- perfection (Onkleus, Shemaya, Avtalyon, etc.). What about our
forefather
- Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? They weren't bound by kashrus laws, but
were their
- souls contaminated? Did the Jews in Egypt all possess contaminated
souls
- because they ate non kosher food? Maybe this idea is what really
- contaminates the heart not non kosher food.
-
- Judaism fosters a system where one control his instinctual desires
- such as appetite. The appetitive part of man is a strong force and
must be
- controlled. Part of Judaism is that man should live in a system
where his
- soul and rational component are in control. Based on this, G-d
created a
- system of kashrus. In other words, kashrus wasn't designed to
prevent people
- from contaminating their hearts from foods which are supposedly
inherently
- bad. Rather, it was a system designed to control man's appetitive
component.
- Based on this, the Torah went ahead and prohibited certain foods.
The
- Rambam states that one of the reasons most domesticated animals are
kosher,
- while undomesticated others aren't, is because of practical
purposes. If G-d
- prohibited cattle and permitted only lions and tigers it would be
much harder
- to eat meat. G-d gave a system in which man can live by. Therefore,
from
- the Rambam one can infer that really there is really nothing
inherently bad
- about the food. Kashrus is there to teach us about control. In fact
Rashi,
- in his commentary to Leviticus 11;44 states that when the Torah says
one
- should not make his soul impure by eating creatures that creep on
the earth,
- the impurity referred to is obtained by transgressing G-d's
commandment.
- Thus we see that the contamination of the soul does not come about
through
- any specific food, rather it's based on the fact that man
transgresses one of
- G-d's commandments. One who lives a lifestyle whereby he doesn't
listen to
- G-d and does not control his instinctual desires is the one who is
truly
- contaminated.
|