As members
of a Conservative synagogue, kashruth is not an unknown subject to us. Even if some of us do not personally observe
the laws of kashruth in our own homes, we recognize our Synagogue’s connection
to kashruth. It is not a foreign subject
to us. What is that connection? Why does the Conservative movement feel it is
a necessary to maintain the laws of kashruth.
The United
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism recognizes that we keep kosher because it is
“G-d’s mandate that we do so.” But in
its next statement about kashruth it states, “our adherence to the laws of
kashruth goes beyond the blind acceptance of ancient law.” Observing the laws of kashruth brings
holiness into our lives through the simple act of eating.
All of G-d’s
creatures eat to sustain their bodies.
Maintaining kashruth allows us to eat in order to sustain our souls as
well. By having permitted and not
permitted categories of food, a spiritual order is lent to the chaos of the
world. Keeping kosher separates the
animal act of getting nourishment from the human act of using reason,
compassion, and thought in every action.
We do not
keep kosher to foster our health or promote better hygiene. Kashruth’s goal is to transform human drives
from their personal purposes to the service of G-d by the Jewish people. By keeping kosher, we take the everyday
experience of eating and sanctify it.
With every bite that we eat, we are reminded that we must have reverence
for life.
The rules of
kashruth are offered to us in today’s parasha without any rational explanations
being given alongside them. From a Torah
perspective, keeping kosher is about sanctifying oneself and being holy. As such, it is not a subject to be taken
lightly. The challenge is to be able to
accept that it is possible to sanctify oneself even if one is talking about regulations
that have no accompanying moral or social reasoning stated within their
context.
As I studied
Maimonides last summer, the Seminar in which I participated, spent some time
looking at selections from the Guide to the Perplexed. In Chapter 26, part 3, Maimonides wrote, “
Theologians are divided on the question whether the actions of G-d are the
result of His wisdom, or only of His will without being intended for any
purpose whatever….”He mentioned commandments called Chukkim (ordinances) like
the boiling of meat and milk together and wrote “Our Sages do not think such
precepts have no cause whatever, and serve no purpose; for this would lead us
to assume that G-d’s actions are purposeless.
On the contrary, they hold that even these ordinances have a cause, and
are certainly intended for some use, although it is not known to us- either
because of the deficiency of our knowledge or the weakness of our
intellect. Consequently there is a cause
for every commandment; every positive or negative precept serves a useful
purpose.”
Maimonides
for sure thought about connecting to G-d through intellect, but I think what is
instructive in his work is the acknowledgement that just because there are
commandments whose object are not clear to us, does not mean that they have no
reason. If you talk to someone who keeps
kosher, I imagine they can tell you a number of spiritual benefits for doing
so. On the other hand, although it isn’t possible
to say why G-d included such instructions for us in the Torah,(other than to be holy) that does
not mean the concept of kashruth is not to be taken seriously.
This is
something about which we can discuss later on.
You are welcome to enter your comments on my blog when you see it
posted! I always check the comments section of my blog for your thoughts and to allow an open and respectful discussion to take place.
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