We are what we eat – and how we eat.
This week’s parsha spells out the numerous laws of kosher and un-kosher wildlife. The Torah dedicates an entire chapter – 47 verses in all – specifying the intricate details of permissible and forbidden animals, fish, birds and insects (yum!).
A kosher animal must have (1) split hooves, and (2) digest its food by chewing its cud (rumination) instead of swallowing it at once.
In case you ever wondered:
(Ruminants are mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion. The process typically requires regurgitation of fermented ingesta (known as cud), and chewing it again. The process of re-chewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called "rumination". The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin ruminare, which means "to chew over again").
There you have it.
Besides giving us these two identifying characteristics – which is all the information we really need to determine the kashrus status of any land animal, the Torah then goes on to record four species which possess only one of these traits: the camel, shafan, arnevet and pig. This roll call of “close but not kosher creatures” is seemingly superfluous because once we are armed with the information above, we could have examined these animals and figured it out on our own.
But, as we know, nothing is superfluous in the Torah. So why the list? One suggestion put forth is to illustrate the Divine authenticity of the Chumash, for if Moshe wrote the Torah by himself how could he have described these creatures in such detail – and suggest they are the only four species in existence that share one, but not both of these traits? As the Talmud states, “Was Moshe a hunter or archer? This refutes those who maintain that the Torah was not given by G-d,” (Chulin 60b).
Another question that arises is the way the list is written. The first three (camel, shafan and arnevet) are portrayed as cud chewers but lacking split hooves. The pig’s hoof is split but it doesn’t ruminate. If these verses are depicting non-kosher animals, why does it begin all of them with their “kosher” characteristic instead of starting with the kosher sign they lack – which determines their final status?
The Kli Yakar comments that the presence of a single kosher trait is actually worse. Why? Because it highlights hypocrisy – symbolizing a person who trumps their virtues in order to mask their shortcomings. “Look at me, I’m really kosher on the outside (even though treif on the inside).”
This idea is embodied most emphatically in the pig, which often lies on the ground with its feet sticking up as if to show off its cloven hooves to create the misleading impression that it’s kosher. In Yiddish, a hypocrite is called a “chazir fissel” (pig’s foot).
Another manifestation of hypocrisy when it comes to kosher food is blatant self-indulgence. HaShem gave us the gift of food for nourishment - to provide us energy and sustenance to live a healthy life. When we harm our bodies by eating to excess, we contradict the blessings we made on the food moments before.
The Ramban describes a glutton as a “despicable person within the confines of Torah,” – for even though he is eating kosher food, he is abusing it for the sake of selfish, physical gratification. Hypocrisy indeed. Don’t be chazir – or a pig’s foot! Good שבת.
Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMC is a Certified Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Management Consultant and Director of SOVEYA (Changing the Jewish World - One Pound at a Time). To contact Soveya: 443-501-3082, info@soveya.com or www.soveya.com
