Kashrut is the body of Jewish law that regulates permissible and forbiden foods. Before we can grasp the significance of Kosher, we need to understand the Jewish approach to eating as well as life. Put simply, we are here to transform the physical realm into a place that G-d can call home. Of course, our home must be consistent with our will and our concept of design. So, in making the world into G-d’s home we are, so to speak, His interior designers. Every aspect of our life is an element in the Divine abode.
Now don’t get discouraged. This is possible and you do it much more often than you may be aware. (You may be doing it this very moment.) The idea is that our general theme in life is to serve G-d. Our being healthy, supporting our family and relaxing are all important components to this service. They can all be seen within the context of transforming the world. Let’s take eating for example... First, an aspect of serving G-d is being healthy and strong, and eating is part of this service. As Maimonides puts it “...since the body is healthy, this is part of serving G-d.”
Second, we are endowed with the ability to actually elevate the food by eating it with the proper intention.Let’s take a look at an apple. A G-dly spark was invested in the apple. That spark was its 'soul' or vitality. However, it was entrapped in the physical form of the apple. When one eats the apple within the life context of serving G-d, the 'spark' is released from its physical trappings. It joins with the person’s intention, which is the service of G-d, and now becomes a revealed part of G-dliness. When this spiritual energy in the food is realized it also adds to the eater’s spiritual awareness.
So, eating is not just a matter of pleasing our palate. It is not even a matter of keeping ourselves alive. It is an actual service that requires focus and direction.
A story is related about a half cup of water, the other half of which had been consumed by a human being. One half of the cup was jealous of the other, but which half of which? It depends on whether the person had the proper intentions when drinking it.
Every aspect of creation becomes incorporated into the higher level above it. The minerals in the earth and water give sustenance to plants. Plants give sustenance to animals. All three levels give sustenance to man. Although man’s soul ascends to heaven, his body turns back into dust. If man merely exists, he brings all of creation back to dust, one of the lowest levels. Or man can elevate all his food to a level of Divinity.
Now that we understand what eating is about, we can understand why certain foods are forbidden.
Jewish mystical thought explains a reality called 'Klipah' or 'husk'. This husk covers over the G-dly spark that gives life to every creature. The husk makes the spark inaccessible. This is what we call evil. The inherent G-dliness is trapped or in captivity in the vestments of the Klipah and is not able to express itself and become elevated to a higher level.
The Hebrew word for forbidden is Asur which literally means bound up. The energy or soul of food that is not Kosher is bound to the evil husks and cannot be elevated. Since the entire point of eating is to elevate the food and this food can have no elevation, it is forbidden to eat it.
Certainly non-kosher foods have a G-dly spark in them as well. Physcically, their enery is metabolized. However, since the G-dly spark is bound up with the husk, it cannot be elevated through ingestion. This spark remains trapped in the physical without the possibility of ascent. (This will be discussed in the next section in greater detail.) There are other ways to elevate it, such as riding on it. In the latter case, the undesirable energy does not enter the body. Mutar, the Hebrew word for permissible, literally means unbound. The energy is not bound to the 'klipah' and thus can be elevated through having the proper intentions and utilizing the energy for a G-dly purpose.
Eating non-kosher food results in another problem. The unprocessed spark in the non kosher food acts like any foreign element in our body. Energy was meant to be metabolized, and this applies to spiritual energy as well. Since the spark cannot be processed by elevating it, it causes a spiritual blockage that retards our ability to relate to spirituality.
Certainly one can become accustomed to a low level of sensitivity. But, for example, if we eat only healthy food, we will feel the effect of a small measure of unhealthy food. This reaction does not mean that we are unhealthy, but on the contrary, we have a heightened sensitivity. So, too, with kosher, we build a level of tolerance to non-kosher food. But if we alter our diet to kosher, the sensitivity slowly returns.
How does one clear the already existing blockage? This is through Teshuvah: if we have remorse over our past consumption and resolve to eat kosher in the future, the process of teshuvah could either a) clear the blockage or b) even elevate the food. Depending on the level of one’s teshuvah. The concept of teshuvah is beyond the scope of this work, and deserves a full seperate treatment.
The Torah says, at the end of the laws of kashrut, 'And you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy.' Through keeping kosher we attain a level of sanctity. What is this sanctity about?
In Hebrew the word for holy is Kadosh. This word has a connotation of being removed or separated. Being holy means being a little separated from the mundane world. One is no longer caught in the cycle of eating, sleeping, working etc. . Rather, one has a higher aspiration: the pursuit of G-dliness. We remember this every time we eat. We cannot eat whatever our heart desires, becuase we are separated from this aspect of existence. Our eating is for a specific purpose and we ingest a specific diet.
Often times we may look at eating as an end in itself. One may be thinking about a particular meal or dish the entire day, so that it really has becomes the impetus for your whole day. This is not holy; it is a shallow level of mundane. The concept of holiness through kashrut is that eating becomes a means to an end. We are not connected to the mundane, we are only utilizing it. Then, things of the world are not mundane at all, but rather a part of spiritual growth. One of the beauties of kashrut is that it is constant.
Unlike Shabbos or holidays or family purity, its disciplines are relevant every day, and we are able to infuse our day and atmosphere with holiness every time we shop, every time we eat.
Although you may have a feeling as to what keeping kosher is about, ultimately its reason is still beyond us. It belongs to a category of Mitzvot called 'Chukim'. The first category is Mishpatim. They would be understood even if Hashem did not command them.
The second is Eidut. We would not think of these had they not been commanded, but now that they are commandments we understand why - for instance, Shabbat. We would not have kept Shabbat on our own, but now that Hashem has commanded it, we understand that it was given as a remembrance of creation, for Hashem rested on the Seventh day.
The third category is Chukim. Even after they were commanded, we really cannot understand them. Kashrut is such a set of laws. What does it represent? We do not know.
Keeping the Chukim is a special part of our relationship with Hashem. If we know the reason for something, then we are doing the act because of our understanding, not because of G-d’s will. Ultimately, we cannot connect with Him in this situation because we are moved not by Him, but rather by our understanding. This is no true relationship.
B y way of example, if one’s wife makes a request and the husband responds that he will do it only if she explains it to him, this is a deficient relationship. There is something special and intimate about doing something just because your spouse requested it. This request and the subsequent fulfilling of the request, without reason, reflects a deep harmony between the husband and wife.
When we do an act, or refrain from doing an act, because this is G-d’s will, we are able to connect with Him in a special and intimate way. His will becomes the drive behind our action, not our own will and understanding. When we connect with G-d only because we understand, then we are connecting with our understanding. This is a shallow, if not strained, relationship. So, kashrut gives us an opportunity to connect with G-d in our every day life. Every time we eat we can be cognizant of fulfilling G-d’s will with our eating.
Kosher animals have two criteria, 1) Cloven hooves, and 2) they must chew their cud. This precludes animals of prey.
When we ingest food, it becomes part of our own blood and flesh. Spiritually, we take on traits of the animals we are ingesting. So animals that eat other animals are forbidden. We do not want the characteristic of the animal that tears and rips apart its food, viz. the other animal. This would influence us with a spirit of cruelty and ferociousness.
The signs of a kosher animal are also a lesson for life. Ruminating represents that we do not just react to situations. We are in control of our emotions. When something disturbing happens, we 'ruminate.' We judge what would be appropriate for the situation.
A person can be very attached to his own wishes desires and plans. If something inconsistent with his ideas appears, either in speech, (e.g. someone says something not to his liking), or action (e.g. someone does an act, or something merely happens not to their desire), he will react. The kosher animal teaches us to ruminate, to think 'What would be appropriate here? Are my feelings and plans the only significant ones?'
The hoof represents that the animal is not in direct contact to the ground. Symbolically, this tells us not to become attached to earthly, mundane matters. There was once a Chassid of R. Dov Ber of Lubavitch. He had a galoshes factory in which he was becoming extremely involved. The Lubavitcher Rebbe remarked, 'I’ve seen people put their feet into galoshes, but their head...?'
The concept of the cloven or split hoof is that we strive to serve G-d with a balance. We do not go too far to the right nor to the left. Often we may serve G-d only in the way that it fits into our personality. One may be a kind person and therefore does kindness for other people. The test of this person’s commitment is, if the moment calls for a stricter approach, is he still willing to serve G-d? This is the cloven hoof; it has two parts that create a balance and appropriateness in our lives.