By Racheli Reckles
I admit, I love food. I don’t just love it, I love it! I love to cook new dishes, and I especially love to eat them! Since I became kosher, however, my choice of gastronomic fare has become severely limited in many respects. Most of you might look at this as a bad thing and say to yourselves, “This is one of my problems with keeping kosher. I can’t go to my favorite restaurants and eat my favorite foods!”
However, I am about to present some information that hopefully will have you thinking a bit differently about eating kosher.
First, let’s begin by discussing the concept of kosher and why it is a mitzvah for Jews to eat this way. Kosher means “fit” in English. According to Divine Intent, some foods are fit for Jews to eat, and some foods are not. Why is this so? I know, you’re wondering the same thing I used to: “Why can’t I just eat what I want to eat? It just sounds so unfair!”
Well, then I found the answer I was looking for. Back in the days when I used to enjoy a juicy hamburger or shrimp, I was living in what I thought was blissful ignorance. However, little did I know that I was doing damage to my soul.
According to the Torah, a kosher animal is one who chews its cud, or has fins and scales, and so on. But, looking at these two major requirements, I realized something amazing that is implied from these two guidelines - a kosher animal is not a predator! This is a very big deal! Why? Judaism is a very spiritual religion - every commandment is rooted in great spiritual secrets, and we can only begin to scratch the surface of those secrets.
What we do know, however, is that by eating an animal, a person actually acquires that animal’s traits. If a person eats pork, for example, he will develop piggish behavior. Eating a predatory animal such as alligator or barracuda will cause a person to develop predatory, “step on others” tendencies. How do we know this is true? Well, are you familiar with the saying, “You are what you eat”? That just about sums it up!
So the next time you are tempted to eat a predator, just ask yourself if it is really worth turning into one yourself. Look at a cow- it is hard to name a sweeter, more docile, gentle animal. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a cow? I have, and they were so innocent and big and brown, I had to hold myself back from wanting to hug it!
“Yes, but not all cows are kosher,” you say. You’re right- which leads me to my next point. The way an animal is killed is a very big deal in Jewish law. According to the laws of ritual slaughter, an animal is not allowed to feel any pain when it is killed. Aside from the fact that we are not allowed to cause pain to any other living creature, there is a deeper reason for these complex laws.
In his book,
The Coming Revolution, Rabbi Zamir Cohen reveals that the actual blood vessels are arranged in a certain way in kosher animals, as to allow for the instant and painless slaughtering. Not only that, but it has been scientifically proven that an animal who is killed in a non-kosher way feels pain.
When the animal’s brain registers pain, it releases pain chemicals into the bloodstream, which then enter the animal’s muscles. So, what are you eating if you eat a non-kosher piece of steak? You’re getting an extra helping of pain, which is then absorbed into your body. This process is even more amplified in the spiritual realm.
The pain felt by the animal is not only internalized in our bodies, but it also becomes a part of our souls. Now, let me ask you - do we really need to add more pain and suffering to our lives? Aren’t our lives filled with enough challenges? Conversely, by eating an animal that has not suffered at the time of its death, we are actually doing a great service to that animal. We are helping that animal achieve its spiritual correction.
By eating the kosher cow, we are elevating the sparks that were trapped in that cow’s body, allowing them to reach their proper place in the spiritual realm.
What about the prohibition of eating milk and meat together? Again, this is one that contains very deep wisdom and meaning. I can tell you, however, that milk has a life-giving energy, while meat has the energy of judgement. Kabbalah explains that we can see this by the colors and consistencies of the food. Milk is white and liquid, and it comes from a living animal.
Meat is red, which symbolizes judgement in Kabbalah, and it also contains blood, which is the most severe symbol of death and judgement. Mixing these two elements together create a spiritual short circuit. It’s similar to blowing a fuse, except that fuse is your soul!
Our souls can be compared to a princess, according to Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. A princess has a delicate digestive system, and can only eat the most pure and refined foods. One would never attempt to feed her a piece of Grade B meat. This is how we must look at ourselves. Eating non-kosher essentially cuts off our delicate souls from our Creator. We can never expect to have a connection with God if we have put a wall up.
By eating kosher foods, we are actually strengthening our connection with God. We are giving energy to our souls, not only to our bodies. This leads me to the last major point of eating kosher. Not only is it important to eat kosher foods, but it is extremely important to eat in a kosher way.
What does this mean? Rebbe Nachman says, “We should not eat out of a lust for food. We must only eat out of necessity.” This, for me at least, is very challenging! Like I said, I love food! He goes on to say that gluttony is not only the act of eating too much; it is the act of eating when it is unnecessary. If I feel like having a piece of cake for no reason, this is non-kosher eating. Why? Judaism explains that eating has a dual purpose - to strengthen the body and the soul. It is a very delicate balance that we must be constantly aware of. When a person eats beyond his satiation level, he is actually taking energy away from his body!
Rebbe Nachman, in his work, Sichot HaRaN, explains that when we eat and draw nourishment from our food, we are giving nourishment to the food itself. Once it gains vitality from our appetites, it is able to nourish us.
When we eat more than we need to, the food has no appetite left to draw its energy from. So what does it do? It draws it from our bodies, from our physical vitality and strength. This is actually the spiritual reason we feel sluggish after eating too much! We have given all of our strength to the food!
As we can see, kosher eating is above and beyond our westernized perception of food. If we can learn and internalize the benefits of keeping kosher, we are guaranteed to see improvements in every level of our lives, from our health to our relationships with others, and especially our relationship with The Creator.