This week, we read a lot of the basic laws for Kosher and non-Kosher animals, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to delve into this topic for a bit. Let’s start off with a basic, yet complicated question: What does it mean to keep Kosher? You may respond by noting the rule against mixing meat (-based products) and dairy (-based products)... which could lead to talking about separate dishes in our homes or synagogues. Or perhaps you'd refer to the prohibition against pork or shellfish, or ANY meat that hasn’t been certified Kosher by a rabbinic certifying organization. Notice how we've already started to veer into the minutia - right off the bat - and how we quickly become bogged down with questions of what's ok, who decides, and what method(s) do they use? We may further lose ourselves in questions of separate cutlery, Kosher restaurants, ethical practices in meat plants, Passover rules, Shabbat concerns, Kashering utensils, and on, and on, and on. But let’s try and bring it back to that original question: What does it mean to keep Kosher?
It is worth noting that the first humans created in the Torah were vegetarians, and that the overarching message of the Torah *seems to be* that we should all be herbivores too. Meat-eating is essentially an acquiescence to the more savage, carnal cravings in us as humans. Furthermore, the laws of Kashrut feel kind of arbitrary, with no explanations of "why": Mammals have to have split hooves and chew their cud. Ok... but why?? Anything in the seas needs fins and scales. Ok again... but still, why??? The fact that they’re seemingly random distinctions tells me something about Kashrut: The value is in HAVING laws governing food; not necessarily the specifics of WHAT those laws are.
This is perhaps a bit controversial to say, but I think it’s primarily about having a “food ethic.” The rules of Kashrut are the guidelines for us as Jews, but they’re not objectively “the best laws imaginable.” Whoever we are, we DO need rules. If we don’t demand of ourselves that our eating should follow ethical parameters, we wind up with systems where the animals suffer, the people working in the food industry may be mistreated, and ultimately we all put ourselves at risk when our foods are poisoned with salmonella and e-coli. So maybe you don’t keep Kosher, or maybe *your* version of Kosher doesn’t match someone else’s standards, or you’ve got that one friend who loves to point out the hypocrisy in your self-imposed rules. (And don’t we all just LOVE that person’s attitude...) I think all of that is missing the point.
Develop a food ethic. Or if you have one already, write it down. Be deliberate and intentional about it, and hold yourself accountable. If you simply like a certain product, but you know it is sourced through immoral means, or the company spews hateful rhetoric, I encourage you to examine your choices. "It tastes good" shouldn't be enough of an excuse to eat... well... anything. Perhaps even the word “Kosher” shouldn’t mean certified/Shabbat-observant/separated-meat-n-milk/no-pork... but rather, Kosher should mean ethical. The laws in the Torah - expanded upon by millennia of rabbis - are one version, and some aspects are there to challenge us to be kinder, more compassionate eaters. But it isn’t a perfect system, nor does it need to be. It just needs to be evolving, conscientious, vigilant, and above all else, moral. Kosher should mean “food ethic.” So... do YOU keep Kosher? You don’t have to answer *me*, but you probably SHOULD answer this for yourself.
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