Is Kashrut Only About Spiritual Health, Or Physical Health Too?

Dear Jew in the City,

Is kashrut only about spiritual health, or physical health too?

Thank you,

Liat

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Dear Liat,

Thanks for your question. I think this is something we may have discussed in the past, but even if it is, it bears repeating.

One of my nine (to date) books – all of which you should buy – is called The Taryag Companion. It’s an adaptation of the Sefer HaChinuch, which in turn is largely based on the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos. Throughout The Taryag Companion, there’s a point that I am careful to reiterate: I discuss the lessons of the mitzvos, not the reasons. This is an important distinction.

Let’s take the famous example of the mitzvah of shiluach hakan (AKA shiluach haken, Deuteronomy 22:6–7). The Torah tells us that if we find a nest and we want to take the eggs or the chicks, we first have to shoo away the mother bird. The reason, ostensibly, is so that the mother doesn’t have to see you taking her young. If so, that would be a kindness to one of God’s creatures. Nevertheless, the Talmud in Brachos (33b) tells us that if someone inserts the phrase “Your mercy extends to the bird’s nest” in prayer, he is silenced. This is because he claims to know the reason for one of the mitzvos. Mercy on all of God’s creatures is a great takeaway – we can certainly infer that as a lesson that we learn from the mitzvah of shiluach hakan – but it’s presumptuous for us to claim to know God’s reasons.

The only reason we do most mitzvos is because God told us to. He’s the Boss and He knows what’s best for us. Anything else is mere speculation on our part.

Why aren’t we told the reasons for most mitzvos? Because when people know the reasons, they start to make justifications that the mitzvos don’t apply to them. There’s a famous case that illustrates this point. There are certain mitzvos that pertain only to a king, and for these we are told the reasons.
Specifically, a king may not have too many horses, as this would cause the people to return to Egypt in order to get horses, and he may not have too many wives, as this would turn his heart away from the service of God (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). However, in I Kings chapters 10-11, we see King Solomon amass huge stables of horses and marry many foreign princesses in order to cement treaties. Sure enough, people moved back to Egypt so that they could engage in the lucrative horse trade, plus Solomon’s foreign wives erected idols in his palace, for which he was held responsible. (See Sanhedrin 21b.)

King Solomon was the smartest person who ever lived. Nevertheless, when he knew the reasons for mitzvos, he fell into the trap of thinking, “I can do X, I just have to make sure Y doesn’t happen.” Sure enough, Y happened. If King Solomon could fall into that trap, don’t think that you and I are smart enough to avoid it. (Just to let you know, one would still be liable for violating mitzvah X even if Y doesn’t happen, just like you can get a ticket for speeding even if it doesn’t result in an accident.)

The same is true for keeping kosher. We’re not given the reasons for these mitzvos, but some people decided on their own that it must be for health reasons – shellfish are bottom feeders, pork causes trichinosis, etc. However, with modern advancements in refrigeration, food preparation and medicine, such food-borne illnesses became less of a concern. Now here’s the problem: if you’ve decided that the reason not to eat pork is to avoid trichinosis and science has conquered trichinosis… well, you see where that leads.

Similarly, if you’ve decided that the purpose for Shabbos is for your own physical rest, then it’s easy to justify driving to shul rather than walking, as well as utilizing any other number of labor-saving devices that involve Shabbos-prohibited activities. Things are very different if you recognize that we keep Shabbos because God said so. We can infer from the mitzvah of Shabbos that God is the Master of the world, and therefore we step back from acts of creation in recognition of that fact. That’s a lesson, not a reason.

Now, this isn’t to say that keeping kosher hasn’t had health benefits. Aside from avoidance of the aforementioned trichinosis from pork and the not-aforementioned vibriosis from shellfish, our ritual washing of the hands before eating saved many Jews from the Black Plague that killed half of Europe in the 14th century. Even today, kosher supervision ensures that there are no surprise contaminants in our food. God can certainly reward us with “fringe benefits” for keeping kosher, but don’t mistake those for the reason to keep kosher. The reason is because God told us to and He only wants what’s best for us. Presuming to know His reasons only leads to justifying our way out of doing the right thing.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
Educational Correspondent
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