{"id":14363,"date":"2019-03-30T08:52:35","date_gmt":"2019-03-30T15:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/?p=14363"},"modified":"2019-03-30T08:52:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-30T15:52:35","slug":"the-biblical-dietary-laws-the-real-reason-for-them-its-not-what-most-people-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/2019\/03\/30\/the-biblical-dietary-laws-the-real-reason-for-them-its-not-what-most-people-think\/","title":{"rendered":"The Biblical Dietary Laws\u2014The Real Reason for Them (it’s not what most people think!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/strong>he Genesis creation account records<\/b> that YHVH Elohim made man in his own image (Gen. 1:26). As such, the first humans, Adam and Eve, had spiritual communion with their Creator. Though man fell quickly to the temptation to sin, which separated him from a sinless, set-apart and righteous Creator, YHVH has desired to redeem man from the power of sin to be set-apart (kadosh<\/i>) as he is set-apart (e.g. Lev 11:44).<\/p>\n

\"kosher<\/a><\/p>\n

Israel was redeemed from YHVH\u2019s judgment against sin when they sacrificed the lamb on Passover and painted the blood on the door posts of their homes. YHVH then immersed Israel in the Red Sea (a picture of baptism for the remission of sins) and led them to the foot of Mount Sinai. YHVH revealed his Torah-truth (his instructions, teachings and precepts in righteousness) to the nation of Israel from Mount Sinai so that they could become a set-apart (kadosh<\/i>) kingdom of priests (Exod. 19:6). He was showing them the pathway of righteousness so that after having been redeemed by the blood of the lamb\u2014a direct prophetic picture pointing to Yeshua the Lamb of YHVH slain from the foundation of the world\u2014they could have fellowship with him by avoiding sinning by walking in the straight and narrow path of righteousness.<\/p>\n

Part of the walking in a loving relationship with a righteous and totally set-apart (kadosh<\/i>) YHVH involves keeping his commandments as Yeshua said in John 14:15. To know and to love YHVH is to obey his commandments (1 John 2:3-6). Those who love him and back up their belief in him with the actions of obedience (faith without works is dead, Jas. 2:14-26) are better off than the demons who believe in Elohim only<\/i>, but do not<\/i> back up their belief with obedience to YHVH\u2019s righteous commands. Those who love and<\/i> obey YHVH are called set-apart ones <\/i>or saints<\/i>. Scripture defines saints <\/i>as those who keep (i.e., observe or do) the Torah commands of YHVH and who also have the testimony of faith of Yeshua, the Messiah, Savior and Redeemer of mankind (Rev. 12:17 and 14:12). Those who obey (hear and do) YHVH\u2019s Torah commands will be called the greatest in the kingdom of Elohim while those who disregard the Torah and its commands will be called the least\u2014so says Yeshua in Matthew 5:19!<\/p>\n

Keeping YHVH\u2019s dietary laws as outlined in the Torah is a foundational aspect of living a righteous and set-apart lifestyle. If one expects to be a member of the king-priest class in YHVH-Yeshua\u2019s future kingdom, one must begin preparing for this role by keeping YHVH\u2019s Torah in spirit and in truth (as Yeshua taught us in the Sermon on the Mount). This can only be accomplished through the power of the resurrected Yeshua living in and empowering us through his Spirit. The dietary laws YHVH gave to Moses and the Children of Israel are part of living the redeemed and set-apart (kadosh) life that YHVH requires of those who are to become one with him in his kingdom.<\/p>\n

The essence of the people of Israel is its spirituality and holiness (Kashruth<\/i>, by Yacov Lipshutz, p. 15). Each human was made in the image of the Creator. The Testimony of Yeshua (the New Testament) teaches us that each born-again believer in Yeshua has become a new creation and a temple of the Spirit of Elohim in that Yeshua lives in him by the Spirit. Hope Egan develops this thought when she writes, The careful reader sees that Leviticus 11 addresses two different things. First [Elohim] shows how to avoid becoming unclean (by not touching certain carcasses). This enables a person to enter the tabernacle (later the temple) and make sacrifices. Indeed, this is not applicable today, since there is no earthly temple or tabernacle. Second, he tells his people which animals are permissible to eat. This is unrelated to one\u2019s ability to participate in the sacrificial system. Just as Elohim forbids us from offering unclean animals upon His altar, so too He forbids us from taking unclean animals into the Temple of our bodies. This is relevant for anyone looking to the Scriptures for food-choice guidance (Holy Cow! Does Elohim Care About What We Eat<\/i>, p. 96).<\/p>\n

[E]ven a commonplace function such as physical nourishment, when properly fulfilled, is sacred in nature and sanctifies the human body. Conversely the consumption of forbidden foods defiles the [temple of one\u2019s body], and its sanctity is injured. This injury reduces [one\u2019s] capacity to reap the full spiritual rewards of Torah and its fathomless depths. The result of eating forbidden foods is referred to by the Talmudic Sages as timtum halev<\/i>\u2014damaging the heart\u2019s ability to fully comprehend.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the Jew, the observance of kashruth<\/i> is not viewed as a restriction preventing him from partaking of culinary pleasure. The affirmation that kashruth<\/i> gives to his spiritual qualities is the eternal pleasure that true Torah observance brings to life. \u00a0(Kashruth<\/i>, by Yacov Lipshutz, pp. 15-16)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Word Unclean<\/i><\/b> Defined<\/b><\/p>\n

In Leviticus 11:4 and 47, Torah uses the word unclean to describe meat that YHVH forbids his people to eat. The Hebrew word for unclean <\/i>is tameh<\/i> meaning \u201cdefiled, impure, polluted ethically, ritually or religiously\u201d and the word clean<\/i> is the Hebrew word tahor<\/i> meaning \u201cpure physically, ceremonially, morally, ethically.\u201d In verse 43, YHVH says that in eating unclean meats one becomes abominable (or detestable, filthy).<\/p>\n

YHVH does not<\/i> want his people to eat unclean meats. In Ezekiel 22:26, YHVH rebukes his people because, \u201cHer priests have violated my Torah-law, and have profaned my set-apart\/kadosh<\/i> things: they have put no difference between the set-apart\/kadosh and profane\/polluted\/common, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.\u201d In Leviticus 11:45, the Torah states, \u201cFor I am YHVH that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your Elohim. You shall therefore be set apart, for I am set apart\/holy.\u201d We see from these passages that YHVH wanted his people to be different from the people of the pagan nations around them who where defiled or polluted because of what they ate, how they lived and acted. From Israel to be a holy people, they had to be set-apart or separate from the world in their lifestyle and religious practices.<\/p>\n

The apostolic writers had a clear sense of this difference that should exist between the people of YHVH and the pagans. In 2\u2009Corinthians 6:16\u201317, we read:<\/p>\n

And what agreement does the temple of Elohim have with idols? For you are the temple of the living Elohim<\/b>; as Elohim has said, \u201cI will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be you separate,\u201d says the Master, \u201cand touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.\u201d <\/b>(emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The issue of clean\/pure and unclean\/polluted\/abominable meats is not simply a dietary or health consideration, but a spiritual issue with YHVH. Both Moses (Lev 19:2) and the apostolic writers had a clear sense of the fact that without holiness no one will see YHVH (Heb 12:14), and that holiness or being kadosh<\/i> or set-apart from the ways, lifestyles, ideologies of this world (i.e., from spiritual Egypt) is an absolute requirement of YHVH for his people.<\/p>\n

The Word Kosher <\/i>(or Kashrut\/h) <\/i>Defined<\/b><\/p>\n

The word kosher<\/i> literally means \u201cstraight or right or proper.\u201d It is only used a few times in the Hebrew Scriptures, but never in describing food. Over the centuries, however, kosher<\/i> has evolved into a blanket term describing food that observant Jews eat. \u2026 [There] are three main aspects of kosher<\/i> food, as typically practiced by modern-day Orthodox Jews:\u201d \u201cAnimals labeled clean<\/i> in Leviticus 11 are kosher<\/i> for eating, but only if certain other standards are met\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cKosher <\/i>meat is killed via a special slaughtering technique, has had its blood completely drained, and has had certain fats and other body parts removed from it\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cKosher <\/i>eating mandates the separation of meat and dairy\u2026. (Holy Cow! Does Elohim Care About What We Eat<\/i>, by Hope Egan, pp. 63-63).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What Does the Word Treif<\/i> Mean?<\/b><\/p>\n

Another biblical word that describes unclean meat is treif <\/i>(or terepa<\/i>, Strong\u2019s <\/i>H2966), which is found nine times in Scripture and refers to an animal that either dies of itself, or is killed by other animals and is found in a state of being ripped or torn in pieces (see Gen 31:39; Exod 22:13,31; Lev 7:24; 17:15; 22:8). The Torah is clear that kosher animals found in this condition are not to eaten (Exod 22:31; Lev 7:24). Over time, the meaning of the word treif<\/i> evolved so that now it refers to anything that is nonkosher.<\/p>\n

The Basics of the Biblical Dietary Laws<\/b><\/p>\n

In this chapter in the Torah is found listed those animals that YHVH deems edible and those that are not. It is not the scope of this work to discuss the specific animals themselves, but rather the heart and spirit underlying the biblical dietary laws. Suffice it to say, Scripture (in Lev 11 and Deut 14) specifies that:<\/p>\n