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Health & Fitness

A New Definition of Kosher

The Eco Kosher movement encourages us to examine food in terms of the path it takes to our table. Were the animals, workers and the planet treated fairly? If not, is it still Kosher?

WHAT IS KOSHER TODAY?

 There is a saying within modern rabbinics, that there are three topics that a rabbi should never focus on in a sermon.

They are the laws of Kashrut, Sabbath observance and politics in Israel.

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Chances are you will enrage or alienate a large portion of your congregation. And for what purpose?

We live in a modern and complex world, and there are so many ways of interpreting every Jewish law and custom.

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According to many, it's better to lay off these three subjects.

Yet one of these topics came up as I sat this week with one of our young teens in our discussion of this week's section of the Torah, titled Shemini.

A significant portion of this week's reading discusses what a Jewish person may or not eat. We know what the major prohibitions are. They include among many pig, shellfish, birds of prey and most insects.

In ancient times, these animals consumed waste or dead animals. Why would we want to ingest such physically or spiritually impure foods?

Yet, today life is different. Health authorities ensure that many forbidden Jewish foods are inspected and are free of impurities. Although the Torah does not specifically state why certain foods are not Kosher, we can assume that there is a connection to physical and spiritual health.

"So," asked the young man who will celebrate his bar mitzvah this Saturday, "why follow Kosher today?"

Moreover, we discussed the record of a certain Kosher slaughter house located in the Midwest which was recently charged with damaging the environment, using questionable labor practices and treating animals in an inhumane manner.

I recall the story told to me by my aunt, of an incident which occurred at her synagogue in Toronto. The rabbi of her congregation walked into the kitchen while the caterer was coordinating a festive meal, and observed him verbally abusing his workers.

After watching this for awhile, the rabbi pulled the caterer aside and advised him that his food would no longer be consider "Kosher" in his synagogue. He declared that any food served by a caterer who demeaned his workers would be considered non Kosher."

For in truth, the word "Kosher" means "fit."

Do we consider "fit" food which comes to us from animals who were mistreated, or from factories which pollute the environment, or who employ illegal workers?

Whatsmore, what about our running shoes, cheap clothing, computer components or dollar store items which while coming to us affordable, may have been produced on the backs of under aged labor or underpaid workers abroad?

Perhaps, Josh and I concluded, it's time to consider a new paradigm for what is "fit" or "kosher" in our lives.

I personally favor laws of Kashrut. The idea of mixing a piece of meat taken through an act of violence with milk produced by a mother to nurture a calf does not sit right with me. While I enjoy meat, I favor the concept of returning an animal's blood to the ground before it reaches my plate. And there are other laws of Kashrut which make spiritual sense to me.

But above all, I am beginning to consider more and more a wider interpretation of the word "Kosher."

I believe that Kosher not only relates to food, but all of the products we consume. What path did these items take en route to our homes? Was this a "fit" path?

A few years ago, I joined a number of other rabbis in forbidding veal, and goose and duck liver from being served at communal meals. Questions have been raised about the pre-slaughter treatment of these animals, in spite of the fact that they may be "physically" Kosher.  

And what about the amount of preservatives in so many of our cold cuts and other "traditional" foods?

More than anything, the idea of Eco Kosher is based on the belief that what we consume is linked to our godliness, our spiritual wholeness and our responsibility to the world which surrounds us. 

How can we consume anything when we knew it has taken an immoral path to our kitchen table, our clothes closet or our entertainment room?  

It behooves us to ask questions before we buy any item to ensure that "we are what we eat, watch or wear."

And it encourages us to consider a new definition of Kashrut which encourages us not to avoid the topic, but to enter into a lively and moral discussion.

We live in an age of consumerism. It's almost an obsession.

But perhaps this week, as we pass through the section of the Torah which sets limits of what we can eat, it makes sense to look around our house, or think twice before we pick up a new item of food, clothing or electronics, and ask the question "how did this item get here?"

If we are comfortable with the answer then let us enjoy the fruit of our labor. But if we suspect that the item has hurt someone or something on the way, we have every right to ask, "Is this item truly fit for us?"

As with most laws of Judaism, there are two sides to everything; physical and spiritual.

For what good does it do our souls if the tastiest chicken on our Sabbath table comes to us through unusual pain to an animal, a fellow human being or the planet?

The Shema prayer reminds that although each of us walks an individual path, we are inter-connected as "one."

As we consider this week's Torah portion perhaps its important to ask whether is it time to review our personal definition of Kosher?" While our society encourages us to pursue our individual paths, what is our responsibility to others?

Indeed, what does Kosher mean today? And how can we use it to build a better world?

 

Shabbat shalom, v'kol tuv (with all goodness)

 

Rabbi Irwin Huberman

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