[Really . . . has a god of any religion ever prescribed the diet of his devotees? None but the One True God who is creator of every living thing, Who designed some to be fit for human consumption; yet even with such permitted animals, there is a ban on what part is not to be eaten: specifically blood.
This is one of those details that make the Torah so unique; to think that the major world religion that claims it is rooted to the God of Torah declares even these food-related commandments to be irrelevant, claiming that their Savior ‘declared all foods clean’, oy vey as the Jews would say. Did animals change their basic nature just because a man-made religion changed the nature of God?
Please reread the following previous posts on dietary laws in Torah:
Commentary comes from the best of Jewish minds, as collected by Dr. J.H. Hertz in his excellent resource Pentateuch and Haftorahs; this website uses EF/Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses.—Admin1.]
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Deuteronomy/Davarim 14
(d) LAWS OF HOLINESS
The opening words of this chapter are introductory to the regulations following. There being a close kinship between God and Israel, His people were subject to special regulations that would distinguish them from other nations and constantly remind them of the duty of holiness.
XIV,1-2. AGAINST HEATHEN RITES
1 Children are you to YHVH your God! You are not to gash yourselves, you are not to put a bald-spot between your eyes for a dead-person.
ye are the children of the LORD. Exod. IV,22.
‘Many ancient nations believed in their descent from gods and demi-gods. But the relation was conceived physically. In the Hebrew Scriptures, however, God’s fatherhood and Israel’s sonship are historical and ethical, and based on God’s love, deliverance, and providence’ (G.A. Smith). According to the interpretation of Rabbi Judah, the people of Israel were only children of the LORD so long as they conformed to the Divine will, and they forfeited the honour when they were disobedient; but Rabbi Meir maintained that, whether their conduct was filial or unfilial, they could never cease being children of the LORD.
cut yourselves. As a sign of mourning; see I Kings XVIII,28. The Israelites were not to gash themselves in their grief: firstly, because any deliberate disfigurement of the body was forbidden; and secondly, because as ‘children of God’ they were to regard a bereavement as His decree, and, therefore, something to be accepted with resignation. The Sifri gives a homilitic interpretation to the Heb.: ‘Ye shall not cut yourselves up into factions; i.e. a holy people must be a united people.
nor make any baldness. This disfigurement was likewise a heathen mourning custom, the hair being sometimes buried with the corpse as an offering to the dead. In Lev. XXI,5 a similar prohibition had been addressed to the priests; in Deut. the law is given a wider application, in order to embrace the whole of the people, who were ‘a kingdom of priests’.
between your eyes. i.e. on your forehead, as in VI,8.
2 For you are a people holy to YHVH your God, (it is) you (that) YHVH has chosen to be for him a specially-treasured people from all the peoples that are on the face of the soil.3-20. CLEAN AND UNCLEAN BEASTS, FISHES AND BIRDS
The twofold purpose of the dietary laws is clearly defined. In the first place, Israel is to be ‘holy’, i.e. distinct, marked off from the other peoples; and these laws powerfully served to maintain the separateness of Israel. In the second place, the creatures which are forbidden are described as ‘abominable things’—in themselves loathsome and undesirable as articles of diet.
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In Deut. we have something more than a mere repetition; there is just the kind of exposition which is appropriate to the circumstances of Moses’ farewell to his people.
3 You are not to eat any abominable-thing! 4 These are the animals that you may eat: ox, lamb-of-sheep and lamb-of-goats,the ox, the sheep, the goat. In Lev. XI, we merely have the general classification given in v. 6 of this chapter of forbidden animals, with mention of some. Here the animals are named that may be eaten.
5 deer, gazelle, and roebuck, wild-goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain-sheep,the hart . . . mountain-sheep. Seven varieties of game. pygarg, better, antelope; antelope, better wild-os.
6 and every (other) animal having a hoof or cleaving in a cleft two hooves, bringing-up cud, among animals, it you may eat.that parteth . . . cud. For an explanation of these distinctive features in animals; Lev. XI,3: whatsoever parteth the hoof. Instead of enumerating the animals which may be eaten, as is done in Deut., the general rule is here given by which the individual species could be tested. The animal must possess three characteristics—(a) it must divide the hoof; (b) it must be wholly cloven-footed; and (c) it must chew the cud. It is probable that the three characteristics—divided hoof, cloven-footed, and chewing the cud–are named because they broadly demarcate between beasts of prey and animals of obnoxious habits from those suitable for human consumption.
7 However, these you are not to eat among those that bring-up cud, among those that have a hoof, that is cleft: the camel, the hare, and the daman, for they bring-up cud, but a hoof they do not have- they are tamei for you!these ye shall not eat. iThis and the following v. correspond to Lev. XI, 4-8:
camel. At the bottom of the camel’s hoof there is an elastic band or cushion on which the camel gets its foothold in the sand. This pad prevents the hoof from being wholly divided.
rock-badger. Or, ‘coney.’ This animal and likewise the hare, have the habit of working the jaws as though they were masticating food.
swine. The aversion to the pig is not confined to Israel. The primary abhorrence was caused, in all probability, by its loathsome appearance and mode of living.
their carcasses. The carcass of a clean animal which had been slaughtered by the Traditional method did not communicate defilement.
8 And the pig- for it has a hoof but does not (bring-up) cud-it is tamei for you; from their flesh you are not to eat, their carcass you are not to touch!9 These you may eat from all that is in the sea: every one that has fins and scales, you may eat.
in the waters. The law with regard to fishes is slightly abridged here as compared with Lev. XI,9: i
n the waters. ‘The characteristics given in the Law of the permitted animals, viz chewing the cud and divided hoofs for cattle, and fins and scales for fish, are in themselves neither the cause of the permission when they are present, nor of the prohibition when they are absent; but merely signs by which the recommended species of animals can be discerned from those that are forbidden’ (Maimonides). In general the Torah forbids every kind of shell-fish—which is disease-breeding, especially in hot countries.
living creatures that are in the waters. This alludes to the sea animals which do not come under the category of fish, such as seals and whales.
detestable thing. the forbidden species are described as ‘unclean’; i.e. not only uneatable, but the touch of their carcass is defiling. With fish it was otherwise. They were ‘detestable’ and disallowed as food, but they were not defiling by touch.
fins nor scales in the waters. As long as they have the fins and scales when in the water, they are edible. The Rabbis were of the opinion that every fish which has scales also has fins, although these may be of a rudimentary kind and not discernible to the eye. Therefore in actual practice they permit fish with scales only, but not fish with fins only.
10 But every one that does not have fins and scales, you are not to eat, it is tamei for you.11-20. Of birds. Only the unclean are here named. In Lev. XI, these are mentioned in a slightly different order.
Lev. XI,13-19. The birds prohibited all belong to the class denoted as birds of prey, and also those that live in dark ruins or marshy land. But since the Torah adds the words ‘after its kind’, the Rabbis enumerated various criteria by which a clean bird may be distinguished.
12 But these (are they) from which you are not to eat: the eagle, the vulture, and the black-vulture,glede. This bird is not mentioned in Lev. XI,14. According to the Talmud, all the names in this v. refer to the same bird, which was known under different legislations.
great vulture. The Heb. word is often translated eagle , but it is very probable that the griffon vulture is intended. It is the most powerful of the birds of prey.
13 the kite, the falcon, and the buzzard after its kind,14 every raven after its kind,
raven. The species including the crow, jackdaw, and rook.
15 the ostrich, the nighthawk, and the hawk after its kind; ostrich.
lit. ‘daughter of wailing’. This bird is represented in the Bible as living in dreary ruins (Isa. XIII,21) and constantly wailing (Micah I,8).
sea mew. Or, ‘seagull’.
16 the little-owl, the great-owl, and the white-owl,little owl. Mentioned in Ps. CII,7, as dwelling amidst ruins.
great owl. The Heb. probably means, ‘the bird which dwells in twilight,’ an inhabiter of ruined places (Isa. XXXIV,11).
night hawk. Or, ‘owl’ the meaning of the Heb. word is uncertain.
horned owl. Or, ‘swan.’
17 the pelican, the bustard, and the cormorant,cormorant.lit. ‘the hurler’;
i.e. the bird which hurls itself from a height and snatches fish from the water.
18 the stork and the heron after its kind, the hoopoe and the bat.stork. The Heb. signifies a bird which is ‘kind and affectionate’ to its young.
heron. Or, ‘ibis.’
hoopoe. An uncertain word. The Rabbis understood it to be a species of grouse.
bat. Named together with moles as being a creature which prefers dark places (Isa. II,20).
19 Now every kind of swarming thing that flies: it is tamei for you, they are not to be eaten![These are from Lev. II notes–Admin1.]
winged swarming things. Insects that multiply rapidly and become a pest to man.
go upon all fours. The phrase used here cannot be taken to mean that the insects were possessed of only four legs. The words probably refer to their method of locomotion, and signify, ‘that move like quadrupeds.’
jointed legs. Bending hind legs, higher than their other legs.
locust. None of the four kinds of locusts mentioned is certainly known (RV Margin). For this reason also, later Jewish authorities realizing that it is impossible to avoid errors being made, declare every species of locust to be forbidden.
20 Every (kind) of pure flying-thing, you may eat.clean winged things. In Lev. XI,21 a distinction is drawn between ‘winged swarming things that go upon all fours’ and those that do not—the former class being prohibited as food. According to Sifri, the phrase ‘clean winged things’ corresponds to the permitted ‘winged swarming things’ in Leviticus; and the unclean species alluded to in the preceding v. is the same prohibited kind mentioned in Lev. XI,23. which have four feet. i.e. without the ‘bending legs’.
anything that dieth of itself. Heb. the true meaning of this Heb. term seems to be ‘the carcase of an animal which has not been killed according tot he method of Shechitah’ (Hoffmann). It would thus include not only an animal which died a natural death, but one which has been put to death by shoting.
the stranger. According to Lev. XVII,15, touching or eating the flesh of a nevelah is defiling both to the Israelite and the ‘stranger’. In Lev. the ‘stranger’ meant the non-Israelite who had become a proselyte in the full sense of the word, a ger tzedek. Here the ‘stranger that is within thy gates’ refers to the time when Israel would be settled in their Land and would have in their midst not only proselytes, but also men who, while they had abandoned idolatry, did not completely take upon themselves the life and religious practices of the Israelite. The Rabbis called this class of resident aliens ger toshav; and this v. refers to that class, who were neither Israelites by birth or conversion, nor ‘foreigners’.
Exod. XII,19. sojourner. Heb. ger. The resident alien. ‘He was not directed or compelled to assume a religious duty of Israel, but he was prevented from interfering with the religious practices of Israel’ (Sulzberger). In later Hebrew law, the resident alien is either a ger tzedek, a righteous proselyte, who has been received into the covenant of Abraham, and thereby enjoys the same privileges and obligations as the born Israelite; or ger toshab or sha’ar, ‘the stranger of the gate, the alien squatter who remains outside the religious life of Israel, but who has undertaken to adhere to the seven Noachide laws that are binding upon all men who desire to live in human society.
22 You are to tithe, yes, tithe all the produce of your seed-sowing, (of) what comes forth from the field, year (after) year.22-29. TITHES – A tenth of all the yearly produce shall be set aside, taken to the Sanctuary, and eaten there. This tenth is the so-called ‘second tithe’, as contrasted with the tithe of the produce that was to be given for the maintenance of the Levites; Num. XVIII,26.
all the increase of thy seed. This is defined in the next v. as including corn, wine, and oil.
year by year. The tithe must be computed upon the produce of each year separately.
23 You are to eat, before the presence of YHVH your God, in the place that he chooses to have his name dwell, the tithe from your grain, your new-wine and your shining-oil and from the firstlings of your flock and your herd, in order that you may learn to hold YHVH your God in awe, all the days.before the LORD. i.e. at the Central Sanctuary.
to fear the LORD thy God. The Biblical phrase for being filled with the sense of dependence upon God. And that was the purpose of bidding the Israelite eat this tithe in the Holy City. It would impress upon him the thought that the year’s produce was the bounty of God. Furthermore, ‘inasmuch as the man and his household would not be likely to consume the whole of the tithe, he would be compelled to give part away in charity’ (Maimonides).
24 And if the journey be too much for you, that you are not able to carry it, for it is too-far for you, the place that YHVH your God chooses to set his name, indeed, YHVH your God will bless you:24-27. Israelites who dwell too far from the Sanctuary may turn their tithe into money, purchase at the Temple what they desire, and feast before God with their households and Levites.
25 you may make-the-gift in silver: you may bind up the silver in your hand and go to the place that YHVH your God chooses.26 You may give the silver for all that your appetite craves, for herd and flock, for wine and intoxicant, for all that your appetite may seek, you may eat (it) there, before the presence of YHVH your God; and you are to rejoice, you and your household.
for strong drink. Heb. ‘The attempt is sometimes made to argue that the juice of the vine praised or prescribed in Scripture is never an intoxicating liquor. That is clearly contradicted here’ (G.A. Smith.)
27 Now the Levite that is within your gates, you are not to abandon him, for he does not have a portion or an inheritance beside you.28 At the end of three years you are to bring out all the tithing of your produce, in that year, and you are to deposit (it) within your gates.
28-29. THE POOR TITHE. This was due in the third and sixth years of the Sabbatical period instead of the second tithe, which, or its equivalent in money, had to be consumed in Jerusalem. In those years, what would have been the Second Tithe is to be retained at home for the poor to consume. The third year is called ‘the year of tithing’ in XXVI,12.
at the end of. This is not quite the same word as in XV,1. It rather denotes, ‘toward the end of’; i.e. after the harvest is gathered in.
all the tithe. Both the first tithe and the second tithe.
shalt lay it up. i.e. place it at the disposal of the Levite and the poor.
29 And when he comes, the Levite -for he does not have a portion or an inheritance beside you- and the sojourner, the orphan and the widow that are within your gates, they will eat and be-satisfied, in order that YHVH your God may bless you in all the doings of your hand that you do.and the Levite. He is to take the first tithe, which is due to him; Num. XVIII,21.
stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow. They are all destitute, and receive the poor tithe.
and be satisfied. On application being made by a destitute person, he must be granted sufficient for his needs.
may bless thee. The purpose of the poor tithe was to teach the salutary doctrine that man’s possessions are only truly blessed when he permits others to join with him in their enjoyment. Self-indulgence, without a thought for those in need of assistance, brings no lasting satisfaction; and such a mode of living is without blessing.