A Thought On Parshas Shmini
A Thought On Parshas Shmini
"...zos ha'chaya asher tochelu..."
"...this is the beast that you shall eat..." (11:2)
The Torah introduces some of the rules of kashrus this week, and guides us as to the animals which are, and which are not, to be eaten. The puzzle in our verse is the term chaya - usually translated as beast. The Torah differentiates animals from beasts - beheimos from chayos. While it is true that many beasts are kosher, such as deer, our verse is really speaking about animals - such as cows and sheep. The distinction between the two forms is not as simple as "domesticated versus wild" but there are certain rules which distinguish one from the other. Moreover, the more general term is beheima - animal, which includes all of the land creatures which we are likely to eat. Chaya is usually viewed as a subset of beheima. It's mention here warrants clarification. Surely the Torah might have written "this is the animal (beheima) that you can eat..."
The Bechor Shor offers us some food for thought. We can resolve our question by changing our understanding of the word chaya. In the Torah, this word can mean many things ranging from woman in labor, midwife, beast, or liveliness. It can also mean "healthy." He observes that in Biblical and in Talmudic sources, we sometimes speak about someone recovering or healing from an affliction by saying that the injury became "chay" or healthy (see for example Melachim ll 20:7; Yeshayahu 38:21).
Therefore, he suggests, the subject of the verse is decidedly beheima - animal - even though there is no actual mention of beheima.The word chaya means "healthy thing" and the verse actually means "this is (the animal) which is healthy to eat." The Torah intends for us to learn here that those things which are forbidden by the Torah are to be regarded as unclean and unhealthy - whether at the physical level or at the spiritual level. It is not for us to decide what makes something unhealthy for us by Torah standard. We can discover disease in swine or we can identify healthy chemicals in rhinoceros but that does not determine their halachic status, just as eradicating the bacteria from them doesn't render them kosher, and kosher meat still raises your cholesterol. It is the halachic permissibility of eating kosher meat, then, which is the "healthy" quality mentioned in our verse.
The Bechor Shor contends that an animal or beast which is kosher is automatically deemed "healthy" by the Torah, whether at a physical or a metaphysical level. The Torah would not permit us to consume something which is not good for us. In that sense, then, our verse heralds this message. It is correct, and healthy, to follow HaShem's rules.
Wishing you a good and healthy Shabbos. D Fox
"...zos ha'chaya asher tochelu..."
"...this is the beast that you shall eat..." (11:2)
The Torah introduces some of the rules of kashrus this week, and guides us as to the animals which are, and which are not, to be eaten. The puzzle in our verse is the term chaya - usually translated as beast. The Torah differentiates animals from beasts - beheimos from chayos. While it is true that many beasts are kosher, such as deer, our verse is really speaking about animals - such as cows and sheep. The distinction between the two forms is not as simple as "domesticated versus wild" but there are certain rules which distinguish one from the other. Moreover, the more general term is beheima - animal, which includes all of the land creatures which we are likely to eat. Chaya is usually viewed as a subset of beheima. It's mention here warrants clarification. Surely the Torah might have written "this is the animal (beheima) that you can eat..."
The Bechor Shor offers us some food for thought. We can resolve our question by changing our understanding of the word chaya. In the Torah, this word can mean many things ranging from woman in labor, midwife, beast, or liveliness. It can also mean "healthy." He observes that in Biblical and in Talmudic sources, we sometimes speak about someone recovering or healing from an affliction by saying that the injury became "chay" or healthy (see for example Melachim ll 20:7; Yeshayahu 38:21).
Therefore, he suggests, the subject of the verse is decidedly beheima - animal - even though there is no actual mention of beheima.The word chaya means "healthy thing" and the verse actually means "this is (the animal) which is healthy to eat." The Torah intends for us to learn here that those things which are forbidden by the Torah are to be regarded as unclean and unhealthy - whether at the physical level or at the spiritual level. It is not for us to decide what makes something unhealthy for us by Torah standard. We can discover disease in swine or we can identify healthy chemicals in rhinoceros but that does not determine their halachic status, just as eradicating the bacteria from them doesn't render them kosher, and kosher meat still raises your cholesterol. It is the halachic permissibility of eating kosher meat, then, which is the "healthy" quality mentioned in our verse.
The Bechor Shor contends that an animal or beast which is kosher is automatically deemed "healthy" by the Torah, whether at a physical or a metaphysical level. The Torah would not permit us to consume something which is not good for us. In that sense, then, our verse heralds this message. It is correct, and healthy, to follow HaShem's rules.
Wishing you a good and healthy Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 5:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home