Jews are famous throughout history for not eating pork, as well as other foods and this
has made them stand out from many of the civilisations around them.
Even under persecutions, for instance under the Seleucid empire (Antiochus IV) Jews accepted
martyrdom rather than eating pork in public, since they understood this action as a public
renunciation of their faith.
So why do the Jews not eat pork and what are the other laws, well stick around to find
out!
Jews follow a series of laws known as "Kashrut" a word which comes from the Hebrew root –(Kaf-Shin-Reish),
meaning fit, proper or correct.
It is the same root as the more commonly known word "kosher," which describes food that meets
these standards.
Contrary to popular belief, rabbis or other religious leaders do not "bless" food to make
it kosher.
There are indeed some blessings and prayers that some Jews recite over food before eating
it, but these have nothing to do with making the food kosher.
Food can be kosher without a rabbi being involved with it: for instance, the fruit and vegetables
from your garden are undoubtedly kosher – unless covered in bugs!
So what foods are not kosher?
Well we will take a closer look in another video, but essentially it is scavenging animals,
carnivores, fish which do not have both fins and scales, meat with blood or meat and milk.
The list of forbidden foods is found in the Torah (or law, it is the first five books
of the old testament) and begins with more obscure delicacies like camel and rock badger
before getting to the pig, which is the last of the mammals to be mentioned.
The verse which says pork should not be eaten is found in Leviticus 11:7 and states “and
the swine–although it has true hoofs, with the hoofs cleft through, it does not chew
the cud: it is unclean for you.”
Of all the rules of kashrut, the prohibition against eating pork has perhaps the deepest
resonance for Jews.
Historically, the refusal to eat pork has been understood as a symbol of Jewish identity.
Even today, many nominal Jews who do not observe other dietary laws refrain from eating pork.
but surprisingly, the pig is one of the lesser offenders of the standards of kashrut compared
to other animals.
The Torah teaches that in order to be kosher, animals must chew their cud and have cleft
hoofs.
The pig does not chew its cud, but it does have cleft hoofs — so we might expect that
it would be less offensive than animals that meet neither standard.
So why are Jews so against eating pork?
Well there are a number of theories: Richard W. Redding, a professor of anthropology
(at the University of Michigan) recently published a study attempting to decipher the historical
origins of this middle eastern trend.
He points out that between 5,000 and 2,000BC domestic animals were common in the fertile
crescent and were likely kept on hand for food.
But then, around 1,000 B.C. keeping and eating of pigs sharply declined.
He believes that because Pigs need a lot of water, making moving hard.
Because of this his research shows that people began to keep chickens instead of pigs.
There are a lot of reasons for keeping chickens instead: for the amount of food eaten and
water drunk, chickens produce more food: chickens require 3,500 litres of water to
produce one kilo of meat, pigs require 6,000.
secondly, chickens produce eggs, an important secondary product which pigs do not offer.
Third, chickens are much smaller and can thus be eaten quickly, meaning you don’t have
to preserve meat: which was hard in the heat of the middle east and without fridges!
Finally, chickens could be used by nomads as chickens are small enough to be transported.
Redding states this explains why Pigs were banned in middle eastern religions as: “If
the pig had been integral to the subsistence system in the Middle East, it would not have
been prohibited” by religious edicts.
A more traditional view is that there were health benefits to the kosher laws – especially
back in ancient times.
For example, the laws about butchering animals are so sanitary that kosher butchers are exempt
from a number of regulations.
Because of this many modern Jews think that the laws of kashrut are simply primitive health
regulations that have become obsolete with modern methods of food preparation.
But the simple answer to the question of why the Jews do not eat pork and follow kosher
is that the Torah says so.
The Torah does not specify any reason for these laws, and for a Torah-observant, traditional
Jew, there is no need for any other reason.
It is possible that following the laws was simply to show obedience to God even though
the reason is unclear.
Maybe the laws were meant to teach self-control or maybe they were for the purpose of identity
or a lesson in holiness.
Whatever the reason for the law, Jews do not eat pork because the Torah says so.