Studies Page

  Shalom
  to you,

Wellsprings of Torah,  www.TorahWellsprings.org
Rick Wills - Messianic Elder,  Mishareth@TorahWellsprings.org

Kosher
by Rick Wills

Exodus 24,  1  Then he (Adonoi) said to Moshe, "Come up to Adonoi, you and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance,  2  but Moshe (Moses) alone is to approach Adonoi; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."  3  When Moshe went and told the people all Adonoi's words and laws, they responded with a unified voice, "Everything Adonoi has said we will do."  7  Then he took the Scroll of the Covenant and read it to the people. Then they responded...

"We will do everything Adonoi has said, and we will listen."

    “We will do, and we will listen” ... The last word word Shma means to listen with complete attention. You listen for the purpose of performing, therefore it is often translated as “obey.” To say “obey” is correct, but you always have to understand that obedience in reference to the intent act of listening.

    When it comes to the secrets of God, you can only learn them by doing the words that conceal them. No one does a mitzvah (commandment) because they understand it. They initiate “good works” because they have an impulse to do so. They act, or continue to labor, in “good works” because they remember what God has said. They understand what is good, because the “good works” themselves are also a voice that teaches them.

    That is what they meant when they said, “We will do, and we will hear" ... what Adonoi has commanded to Moshe.

    I began the practice of Koshruth (being Kosher) because I was enticed by Adonoi. He invited me to his Table. He did this with the Torah. As I learned to eat his foods I began to understand what his assessment of goodness is, and I began to hear his commands to Moshe.

    The personality of Moshe has become inseparably linked to Koshruth in people's minds, but being Kosher had not begun with him. After forming Adom (Adam), Adonoi instructed him in what he should eat and not eat. The cattle would eat the grasses and herbs. Adom would eat the grains and fruits. And we are not told that Adom ate meats, but he knows the difference between clean and unclean, and Hevel (Abel) brings cattle (clean animals) as a burnt offering to Adonoi ... this suggests that Adom ate meats.

    At a later time, after delivering Noakh (Noah) from the destruction by a great flood, Adonoi told him he may eat the animals and their herbs along with the grains and fruits. But he also told Noakh that he may not eat their blood, nor any members torn from living animals. Again, we are not told that he had been eating meats, but again, he knows the difference between clean and unclean, and he also offers clean animals for burnt offerings to Adonoi.

    When Adonoi delivered Israel from Egypt, he told them they can only eat cattle with split hooves, fish with scales, and specified birds. Likewise he repeated the injunctions that had been put upon Adom and Noakh -- Even with the clean animals, you cannot eat everything ... no blood or separated limbs ... and no animal that has died in a fight, and no animal that is found dead or has died from disease or age. You are not a scavenger scouring your yards, nor should you exhaust the value and resource of your farms.

    These injunctions remained in place, and when Adonoi delivered man from sin through Yeshua the Messiah, Adonoi commanded us all to be filled with the Ruakh Ha-qodesh (Holy Spirit) and the joy of Adonoi. But when he said those words, did he also say, “Forget my commandments to Adom, Noakh and Moshe?”

    Haven’t food commandments been the voice of the Ruakh Ha-qodesh throughout the ages? And, if you subject yourself to the discipline of Koshruth, won’t you hear the Spirit’s voice? Moreover, when you hear that voice coupled with practice because of listening, won’t that obedience modify your life? Won’t it produce the works of God within your life?

    It had certainly been the changing force in the lives of Adom, Noakh and Moshe.

    My testimony is that I have changed spiritually because I have conformed to Kashruth (being Kosher). I can explain that change best by explaining some of the spiritual mechanics that are the backbone of Koshruth. This "backbone" was built joint to joint by the Lord, with a slow process that unfolded across ages of relative silence on the issue. Yet the issue was always the focus of the program.

    In Genesis 7:2, Noakh was told to gather "seven pairs of all the clean animals, and one pair of every animal that is not clean." Saving herds (seven pairs) of the clean and only pairs of the unclean, implies that Adonoi was expecting Noakh to eat the clean creatures. There were seven pairs so he would not destroy the species by eating them. Additionally, these instructions are our first introduction to the word Tahor, meaning "clean or clearness." It means “clearness” in the sense of “not hiding or distorting anything.” From the time of Noakh until the time of Yacov, the phrase "not Tahor (clear)" will always be used to say something is “unclean” -- meaning, “it is not clear.”

    With Yacov, the term "unclean" will be denoted by a new word, Tomei ... meaning "separated or dedicated for undefined purposes." The sense that is conveyed by this word is a feeling of uncanniness, and of being troubled or unnerved by unexpected behavior.

    When you consider the creatures the Torah has listed as "tomei" (or unclean), there is an outstanding feature that is common to most of them. That feature is your own reaction when you first encounter them in real life. Staring at them, you want to stay at a distance from them. You want to withdraw, and not touch them at all. Whether it is a snake or spider, a worm or vulture, there is an eeriness that makes you uncomfortable. And with exposure, you may overcome this uncanniness with some of the creatures, but you will never lose that feeling with all of them. You will feel it with every fresh encounter, and you will have to teach yourself to not react that way. This is because they are "tomei," and deep within you ... you sense a creepiness about their crawling.

    Yet everything that is "tomei" is not so offensive ... such as rabbits, squirrels, dogs and cats. We like them, and we often make pets out of them. Others, we might admire or think they are beautiful ... such as horses, elephants and dolphins. Yet, within their wild habitats, they have jobs to do that we cannot do.

    With all these creatures, their purpose in life is decidedly different from our own. That difference points to a mysterious relationship with the earth that is uncomfortable for any of us to imagine as our own purpose in life. We don’t want to eat rotting things, but many of them will usually prefer something that is decaying. Those that prefer dead things are that way because their service is to hasten the natural decay process, and to clean up and recycle a wild environment. Therefore the Torah tells us not to eat them, but to allow them to finish their function and purpose within the world. As for us, we have our own task and purpose. That purpose is to elevate common things to a higher and Holy status, and thereby ascribe increasing honor to the Name of our Elohim (God).

    The word "tomei" was first introduced to us in Genesis 34:5. Surprisingly, it is not presented in an obvious food relationship. Yet it does appear in the context of an unusual hunger ... a sexual hunger. In this account, we are told that Dinah (Yacov's only daughter) was raped by Shechem (the son of a neighboring family and tribe). There, it says that a "tomei" was perpetrated against her.

    The shame that Dinah and her family would feel was an uncanny feeling that would unnerve them from their sensibilities. Her father felt confusion, and a sense of public disgrace. Her brothers felt rage and hatred for their neighbors. The "tomei" had changed all of them from an openness toward their neighborhood, to a hidden behavior that was driven by this uncanny fear. Ultimately, the sons of Yacov schemed and murdered all the sons of the family that had afflicted them with that "tomei."

    Their actions and reactions display the effects of "tomei." It was like a seed that rapidly took hold and sprouted within everyone. Sprouting, it quickly grew and dominated everyone's life ... each victim searched out for their own victim. And this event, with the first use of “tomei,” offers us our most substantial definition for "uncleanness." Its associations also reflect the severity implied when saying that a creature is unclean, and not intended for human consumption.

    This story relates to the Noakh story because he is told to save the animals (which are both clean and unclean) from the rampages of mankind. This mankind had offended Adonoi, because a "tomei" had been perpetrated against the Creation. They were eating the animals without respect, and murdering one another without justice. If this had continued, their "tomei" may have unraveled all the earth. That is why the varied species of animals are being rescued along with Noakh’s personal family. If Adonoi had not intervened, the uncleanness and “tomei” of that world might have eaten away at even the heavens.

    The definition of their rebellion was in their hunger for all flesh. Their violence and disrespect was comparable to rape and abuse. Yet more than that, the rape of Dinah had demonstrated the far reaching impact of such brutish behavior. Therefore, we might imagine Adonoi experiencing a similar hurt as that of Yacov, his sons and Dinah’s feelings. Adonoi might have felt the same sense of shock and shame, seeing the earth abused and defiled, and having the same impact as when Dinah was defiled. Having seen mankind driven by a constant hunger for evil, at the time of Noakh, may have given him the same anger and rage, as had the brothers of Dinah ... seeing Shechem still wanting her for his private pleasures. Like Yacov's sons had schemed, Adonoi prepared his own actions, and he destroyed that world of violators.

    These parallels are disturbing, but they are not by themselves. Another is where Yacov was offended by his sons killing Dinah’s violators. In the same manner, Adonoi does not take pleasure in destroying all men. Also, where Yacov scolded his sons to avert their punishment, Adonoi promises to not hurt the earth this way again.

    With Noakh it was the second time that the earth was hurt because of man's behavior. The first time was with Adom in the garden. Both events had revolved around uncontrolled hunger and eating. Adom wanted the fruits from the center trees. Noakh’s generation wanted everything. Therefore, Adonoi tells Noakh to discern between what is clean and unclean. And Noakh must guard and respect both groups of animals. He tells Noakh to bring all of them into his boat, and to care for them ... as an agent of the Creator who had formed them, and had determined their ultimate purposes. I believe that Noakh may not have eaten meats during the time he lived on the Ark (boat), and that could be why Adonoi instructed him in eating meats when he left the Ark, saying "You may eat meats" -- but to eat with care, observing Koshruth.

    Koshruth (being Kosher) is about discovering and respecting the ordained purposes of life, and it is about the joy of living with varied creatures. It is about realizing that everything isn’t created for your direct advantage, and you do not have the right to violate things for your pleasure. It is about controlling your emotions and impulses, and it is about managing your life within Adonoi’s favor and design. Koshruth teaches you something -- something about God.

    Exodus 24:7, “Then he (Moshe) took the Scroll of the Covenant and read it to the people. Then they responded ...”

"We will do everything Adonoi has said, and we will listen."

    Baruch Hashem.