JLI Fall 2011
Fascinating Facts
Lesson #4
Taking A Bite Out of Life; Kosher Facts
Monday, November 30, 2011
Lesson Recap
Dear students
Thank you for joining us for the Lesson #4 of Fascinating Facts, titled "Taking A Bite Out Of Life; Kosher Food Facts". The audio of the class is available Here I welcome your comments and ideas.
Introduction Much of our life revolves around food. Preparation, consumption, cleanup. Working to earn money for food, Shopping and Exercising to get rid of the calories. It seems that life would be much simpler if we weren't created so dependent on food.
Eating is the most prominent manner in which we take of the world around us and bring it into our lives. Chassidic Philosophy explains that by eating, we take the mineral, vegetative and animal realms and elevate them into the human realm. When we use that energy for serving G‑d, the food that we ate and that provided that energy, has also served G‑d. So eating is our way of transforming the world. Now we can appreciate all the Kosher laws that define how we should eat.
Kosher; G‑dly or Practical We view the laws of Kosher as Chukim, Mitzvot which we cannot explain. We do appreciate the practical benefits of keeping Kosher. But ultimately, we are keeping Kosher because G‑d told us to do so, not for its health benefits.
Animals, Two Signs, the Pig, Glatt Kosher & Kosher SaltThe Torah spells out two signs that identify a kosher animal. Split hooves and chewing its cud. A pig only has one sign. What makes it the epitome of non Kosher Food? As a pig has split hooves [it doesn't chew its cud] it represents someone who are unsavory or 'non-kosher' but hides their status behind a cloak of goodness or pig's feet. This situation can be very deceptive and dangerous. When Moshiach will come, the pig will be transformed into a Kosher animal and discard its negative aspects as the world will be filled with G‑dliness.
Glatt Kosher does not mean Strictly Kosher. It refers to the status of the lungs of a large animal. An animal who has damaged organs may be Treif if the damage can be fatal. We specifically check the lungs for damage. When the lungs are not only whole, but free from any lesions, it is called Glatt i.e. smooth, as in smooth lungs.
We use heavy salt to extract the blood from the meat. We call it Koshering Salt, as it helps make the meat Kosher.
Birds, Insects & Fish. The Torah lists 24 species of non Kosher birds. Any bird not listed would be Kosher. But we have accepted that we eat birds that have a tradition of being Kosher. This caused an issue when the Turkey bird was brought from the New World to the Old World.
The Torah speaks about kosher locust. However with time the precise identity of these kosher locust has been lost and with the exception of a few small communities we are not eating any insects.
Fish are Kosher if they have fins and scales. Shell fish, shark, catfish are some examples of non Kosher Fish. Gefilte fish is a dish that was made from ground fish [pike, flounder, carp etc.] that was mixed with vegetables and other ingredients.
Eat Like a Mentsh. The Zohar states that the time of eating is a time of a battle. We are battling with ourselves if we will eat to indulge ourselves, or if we will eat for a higher purpose. Are we consuming the food, or is the food consuming us. The first commandment that G‑d gave to Adam & Eve was about food, do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge. When they violated this commandment, they began the process of eating for indulging and not for a loftier purpose.
When we recognize the G‑dly energy in the food and make a blessing acknowledging G‑d, we then show how every bite we take is part of serving G‑d.
