Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
While time, tradition, and commentary have added many layers to the Torah's
original dietary laws, discussion here is necessarily limited to the following allowed
and prohibited foods:
•
Allowed are animals that both chew their cud and have cloven hooves (cat-
tle, sheep, goats), along with fish that have both fins and scales. Forbidden
are pork and shellfish.
Even the permitted animals are not fit to eat unless ritually slaughtered
•
according to kosher mandate: A specially trained, licensed person (
shochet
)
with a highly sharpened knife kills the animal humanely in such a way that
blood drains quickly and completely.
Meat and dairy products are not to be mixed. A kosher kitchen has two
•
sets of dishes, one for each, and even an accidental mixing renders vessels
unclean (Williams, 2002).
Among fowl, Leviticus lists a number of birds “you shall regard as detest-
•
able.” The list includes scavenger birds of prey that would eat carrion and
ingest the blood of the carcass. Traditionally, however, chickens, turkeys,
geese, and ducks are allowed.
All vegetables, grains, and almost all fruits are allowed. An exception is the
•
grape, which is tied historically to food and drink offered to idols. Wine has
come to be permitted if not physically touched by Gentiles in its making.
No insects are allowed to be consumed. This may seem silly to the casual
•
reader, but if one is to keep strict kosher, one must read the contents lists for
products such as yogurt to avoid eating color dyes made from ground insects.
These few lines only introduce the extensive Jewish dietary laws. One further
clarification is helpful, however. The terms
clean
and
unclean
have no context but
for things that are within or outside the law. Again, the primary focus is on obedi-
ence, discipline, and reverence in regard to one's relationship to God and creation.
“You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from other
peoples to be mine” (Lev. 20:26, JPS).
Any discussion of dietary law and ritual must include an overview of two ceremo-
nial meals among the feasts and table gatherings celebrated by Jews (the Passover
Seder) and Christians (Eucharist or Holy Communion). Since among the first inter-
actions of mother and infant is her feeding the infant, it is not surprising to find ritual
meals among the common forms of religious worship (Ostow, 2006). Those meals
are about being nourished in relationship to the One who gives life, at the same time
establishing a profound sense of community, even family. The Hebrew Scriptures
(the Torah, History, Prophets and Psalms) and the New Testament both contain many
references of eating at table together: pilgrim festivals, suppers, feasts, banquets, and
family meals (Juengst, 1992). One story in the topic of Genesis has Jacob making a
stew for his famished brother Esau. The price of the lentil stew was Esau's birthright.
But most of the meals of the Bible are far more positive in tone: covenants renewed,
festivals noted, weddings celebrated, homecomings hailed, and God's mighty acts
commemorated. At the center is not the food, but God, often seen symbolically as
the host. “Thou hast prepared a table before me” (Psalm 23).
