By Phil Engel
This week’s parasha opens on day eight (after seven days of an “inaugural ceremony” of the Tabernacle).
The divine presence is coming to the tabernacle and some very special sacrifices and ceremonies have been prepared. The divine presence literally, visibly, comes down on to the Tabernacle, some people are burned alive for sacrificing an unauthorized incense, Moses and Aaron clear up a disagreement about how to sacrifice a specific offering to God, and finally (and most excitingly) God explains how to eat Kosher! (for a more in depth reading go HERE!)
This is huge. What do you think of when you think of Judaism? Bubby’s Matzo ball soup, gefilte fish (yuck!), and kashrut.
Keeping kosher isn't just a diet commanded to us by God, it is a way of life. Because food is one of the basic things we need to live, it directly effects the way we relate to all the other aspects of our lives. Having strict rules about what you can and can’t eat will definitely change a person’s outlook on the world.
These days, it is easy to just consume our food. If we want chicken all we need to do is go to a supermarket and BAM! Whole chickens, chicken breasts, chicken wings, legs, thighs, liver, pre packaged fried chicken, chicken in sandwiches, chicken in cans. Get as much as you want and go. This setup doesn't particularly enable us to think about our food. Where does it come from, who grew it, were the animals treated humanely? (Who has time to answer these questions anyway when there is an even bigger question at hand: what kind of chicken do I want!? (seriously, I’m overwhelmed))
If we kept kosher, however, we would have to take all these questions into consideration before purchasing and consuming meat. It is more likely that we would know where the food came from and who took care of it. It enables us to have a real relationship with our food instead of just treating food as objects and shoving it into our mouth holes.
I’m not suggesting that we have to keep kosher in order to have a healthy relationship with our food, although it’s a great way to be more food conscious. I am suggesting that consumerism has a huge effect on our relationship with food. Paying more attention to and altering our diets is the best way to make us conscious of what we are putting into our bodies. And being conscious of what we put in our bodies has never been more important. In an age of factory farming and mass slaughter houses, genetic engineering and corn being in everything (even my tortillas, what the hell!?) food additives and fake sweeteners, natural flavors and artificial flavors, there are hundreds of things in our food that are ready to give us health problems.
When thinking about this parasha, and when thinking about kashrut, don’t just think about the laws that we’re supposed to follow, don’t just think of your food as a “thing,” think about the way you select what you eat, think about your relationship with food. Think about how adopting a kosher diet would effect what you eat and your relationship with food.
I’d like to add that, despite using meat as my primary example when talking about food, I think that the sentiment of what I am saying can be applied to every kind of diet.