The Purpose of Kashrut
From today’s visit at the Zomick’s Kosher Bakery, we find out some interesting interpretations about the kashrut purposes.
Since 1966, Zomick’s Kosher Bakery is well-known for its kosher baked goods.
The Zomick’s rabbi has shared with us his point of view about the kosher laws and it purposes.
According to the Deuteronomy 14, we know which animals, fish, and birds we can and cannot eat. Also it mandates us not to boil a kit, young goat in its mother’s milk. This injunction became the basis for the rabbinic separation between milk and meat.
Although, many Jews today believe that these biblical prohibitions are for health reasons, Parshat Re’eh makes no such claim. If this was the case, would be extremely immoral to give the strangers and the foreigners the foods that are forbidden to eat.
Zomick’s kosher bakery rabbi points out in his videos, that Parshat Re’eh identifies the eating prohibitions strictly as part of the Israelites’ particular path to holiness.
The prohibited foods are identified astamei … lachem, which translates as ritually impure “for you” (Deuteronomy 14:7, 8, 10). According to this belief, it is perfectly acceptable for other people to eat them, just not for the Jewish people.
A Spiritual Discipline
Various explanations about why particular fish poultry and animals are considered tahor (“ritually pure”) have been offered by traditional and modern commentators.
The simple fact that we are given a list of do’s and don’ts that govern what we are to consume daily perhaps is more important than the meaning of each of the details of the prohibitions. According to the Torah, God asks that we abstain from eating certain foods. This is not because they are unhealthy or intrinsically problematic, but simply as an expression of our devotion. We must follow them as an expression of our love, although we don’t understand them.
Daily, the observance of kashrut calls us back to a personal relationship with God.
A Jewish spiritual discipline is rooted in the concrete choices and details of daily life are offered by the kashrut laws. The part of the beauty of kashrut is that we all eat, regardless of our age, personal interests, or geographic location. The clear message that spirituality is about far more than what we do in a synagogue and on holidays and is extended to every area of our lives is carried by a spiritual discipline of eating.
According to the rabbi from Zomick’s Kosher Bakery, located in Inwood, kashrut reminds us that Jewish spirituality is inseparable from the “physical.” It teaches us that Jewish spiritual practice is all about transforming the most ordinary experiences of our lives into significant moments of connection.
Instead of simply digging in when we are hungry, Jewish tradition offers us the practice of pausing for a blessing and a moment of gratitude.