Everybody who isn’t Jewish but knows anything about the
Jewish religion, generally knows two facts regarding its positive requirements
for its members. One, that it requires
its members to circumcise their male children.
And two, that it forbids its members to eat certain foods. Beyond these two facts, many gentiles ‘know’
different things about Judaism and Jews, some of which are accurate and many of
which are erroneous. But regarding the ‘Top
Two,’ which are of course accurate, most folks are aware.
Regarding kashrut,
the term for the overall system of dietary laws, many Jews and gentiles are
aware that certain species are off the plate according to Jewish law. Most likely, they are aware of the Torah’s
aversion to Jews eating the meat of the swine.
(Notice I don’t say ‘pork’ like most people. I like the sinister sound of ‘swine’…it
better conveys some rationale for the ban!)
Until Clara and I first came to Australia, we never felt the equally
adamant ban on shellfish. Oh, we’ve
lived in places where shellfish are popular.
But outside of Louisiana, where I had a student pulpit one year, we have
never been in a place where the eating of
Shellfish so defines a people’s culture as it does in Australia. Don’t get me wrong; Americans generally like
their shrimp. But not until we came to
Australia, did we see the idea of eating little marine bugs elevated virtually
to the status of religion. And where
buying, cooking, and eating prawns is an important ritual in several
national holidays. I’m not complaining,
mind you…just observing!
In the second year I was in Australia, a lady
rang me and asked me to speak at the annual food festival in Maleny, in the
Sunshine Coast Hinterland. The woman, a
Jew who had been part of the organising committee for this festival for a
number of years, decided that this particular year she would include a
symposium on Food and Spirituality. Even
though the festival took place at a very busy time for me, the weekend between
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I decided to agree to speak. The topic, and its inclusion in the program,
intrigued me. Interestingly, I was
interviewed for no fewer than three radio programmes in the weeks leading up to
the festival. The curiosity concerning
this small part of the festival, was interesting to me.
I shared the panel
with a Buddhist nun and an Aboriginal ‘holy woman.’ I was the first to speak. I opened my talk – humorously, I thought at
the time – by stating up front that the Jewish dietary practices forbid the
consumption of prawns, kangaroo, imu, and crocodile…so pity the poor Australian
Jew. And then, of course, I proceeded to
tell the audience about the long list of species that Jews can eat…and
what are the criteria for inclusion or exclusion.
The Aboriginal woman
spoke next, and the first thing she said was the Jewish dietary laws, point to
its being an imported, non-native tradition in Australia since it excludes most
native species from the diet. Then she
launched into a 20-minute diatribe about how white people have ruined ‘her’
land. During the Q & A, someone
challenged her about her not addressing the connection between food and
spirituality. She thought for a moment,
then responded plaintively: My spirit
is too broken, for me to think of spirituality!
Regarding the
Buddhist nun’s talk, I couldn’t hear or understand a word of what she said in
her 20-minute mumble. And I was even
wearing my hearing aids!
Many Jews, in trying
to understand the laws of kashrut, try to assign various rationales to the
system. It’s hygienic, say some,
pointing to the exclusion of various species that are considered amongst the
filthiest animals in the realm. But a
someone I knew, who kept both chooks and pigs on his farm, once told me that
the former – allowed under kashrut – were no cleaner then the latter – not
allowed. It has to do with humane
treatment of animals, say others, pointing to the need to kill the animal
almost instantly in a manner which will avoid making it suffer overly in dying. But none of the kosher meat available here in
Australia is certified free-range or cage-free.
If kashrut were really about humane treatment, wouldn’t today’s
kosher authorities, at least talk about banning cage and stall-raised animals
and eggs? One would think, but…as far as
I know, they do not. There are other theories
I’ve heard. The consumption of meat and
dairy together, cancel out the nutritive qualities of both. Shellfish have little nutritive value at
all. It goes on and on. All of these rationales, to be sure, carry
some truth in them. But they all,
ultimately miss the point.
‘The Point’ can be
drawn from the start of the list of can-eat’s and can-not-eat’s coming
immediately after a passage concerning the sons of Aaron and how they were to
perform the sin-offering. So looking at
the ‘big picture’ here, it seems that the essence of these laws lies in
none of the above. Rather, the way that
the people as a whole choose, prepare and consume their food is affective for
them in the way that what the priests do in the Ohel Mo’ed is for them. It is a discipline that elevates the
otherwise-mundane act of killing, cooking and eating into a way that the Jew
can express his devotion fo Hashem.
Don’t get me wrong,
I’ve nothing against searching out knowledge that points to the profound wisdom
that G-d expressed through the Torah. But
at the end of the day, following or not following it – whether the laws of
kashrut or whatever – is a decision that one makes out of a spirit of wanting
to draw nearer to Hashem. At the end of
the day, that’s what it’s all about. Shabbat
shalom.
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