The Challenge of Keeping Kosher

Let’s play word association. When you hear the word “kosher,” what comes to mind? Maybe you think of Hebrew letters and a symbol on a package, or you wince inwardly at the price of kosher meat. You might be thinking of a kosher kitchen, with two of everything. But you probably DON’T associate the word “kosher” with anything related to spirituality, morality, or self-improvement. But that’s so ironic! After all, the whole reason we keep kosher is because it’s God’s command…so shouldn’t keeping kosher make us feel closer to God? Perhaps by taking a closer look at how the Torah frames the various laws of kashrut we can find a deeper connection between the seemingly random laws and a higher ethical and Godly purpose. 

What Does the Torah Have to Say About Kosher Food? 

The Torah takes dietary restrictions VERY seriously. In fact, the Torah actually BEGINS with dietary restrictions! Right after creating humans,  God commands Adam and Chava  to eat “every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food”  (Genesis 1:29). This seems to suggest that our original diet was vegetarian! Later on, when addressing Noach after the flood, God seems to expand humanity’s diet, when God tells Noach “Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these” (Genesis 9:3).  So right from the start, in Genesis, we see how seriously God expects humans to treat their consumption of food. 

Then, in the book of Leviticus the Torah then clarifies what categories of animals may be eaten, and provides the guidelines for kosher slaughter. The terms used to refer to permissible and forbidden foods  are tameh and tahor - ritually impure, and ritually pure.  

Animals that do not chew their cud or have split hooves are tameh, and forbidden to be eaten. We are also provided with a list of birds that are forbidden, and we’re taught that kosher fish must have fins and scales. 

Mixing Meat and Dairy

As if all of the above weren’t enough to make your head spin, the Torah in Parshat Mishpatim, Parshat Ki Tisa, and later in Parshat Re’eh repeats the law three times: “Don’t cook a kid in its mother’s milk.”  The rabbis understand this to mean that in addition to the literal command, we are also forbidden from preparing, eating, or deriving benefits from any mixture of meat/poultry and dairy. 

Debunking The Top Three Reasons Commonly Given for the Meaning of Kashrut  

When you zoom out at all of the laws of kashrut, it just seems so random! Why would God provide these restrictions? Keeping kosher creates lots of challenges - is that really all  God wants us to feel? Shouldn’t the laws themselves be meaningful and help us feel more connected to God? This question only deepens when you review the explanations commonly given for the kashrut guidelines, as they don’t really address this key problem: the laws themselves seem random and arbitrary. Let’s review some approaches:

1. Kosher Food is Healthier.  If only! Sure, bacon is unhealthy, but so is all red meat. And just because you’re not putting cheese on that burger doesn’t mean that red meat - even kosher red meat - is any healthier. Lots of kosher food can be pretty unhealthy!  
2. It’s How We Show Our Love for God. Well, sure. All commandments from God are opportunities to strengthen our bond with God and show our love for Him. But here’s the problem with this approach. Couldn’t we show our love for God by eating foods that are a certain color, or making blessings? How does not eating shellfish or lobster show our love for God? The specific laws seem like a random collection.
3. It’s a Way to Keep Jews Separate and Strengthen Jewish Community. Keeping kosher can certainly have that impact. The specific dietary restrictions that we have can definitely make socializing at work and school challenging. After all, joining together to eat is at the heart of most social events. But once again, this explanation doesn’t explain WHY the Torah specifies THESE specific laws. The specific laws still feel somewhat arbitrary. 

Getting to a Deeper Understanding of the Meaning of Kashrut

If we want to feel closer to God when we observe the laws of kashrut, we need to look more closely at God’s word - at how the laws appear in the Torah. In our research at Aleph Beta, we’ve developed some theories showing that the laws of Kashrut CAN provide spiritual and ethical meaning. 

The rules that kosher animals must have split hooves or chew their cud might seem random, but these restrictions actually point to a certain category of animal, and ensure that even when we consume meat we are aware of the ultimate source of our sustenance - God.

Eating meat is sometimes decried by vegetarians as inhumane and cruel. A closer look at the rules of kosher slaughter and the shocking intertextual parallels to murder reveal deep meaning in these laws.

The prohibition against mixing meat and milk ensures that we don’t forget a precious bond between mother and child. Listen to this podcast to learn more and watch these videos to explore this topic further.