Shabbat Shalom and welcome to Judeo Talk. The Torah portion for this week is parsha Shemini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47.
For many non-Jews one of the most difficult things to understand about Judaism are its dietary restrictions. Known as kashrut or "Kosher Laws" these limitations almost all come out of Leviticus, many of them from this parsha. Without prompting or framing of any sort, God dictates a list to Moses of the animals people are allowed to eat and the things they are not, all based a series of seemingly arbitrary standards like the number of legs, the shape of a hoof and the eating habits of the creature in question. Because there is no explanation other than that "they are unclean" it is difficult for many to understand why these creatures were off-limits.
Unlike the dietary laws of some other faiths which prohibit people from eating animals considered sacred, Judaism does not recognize any sacred animals. Rather, the restrictions have to do with health concerns. We can extrapolate this from the short list of animals used as examples in the parsha. Creatures such as pigs, rabbits, vultures and raptors are called unclean, as are all sea creatures that have no scales. When the Torah calls these animals "unclean" it may be in a very literal sense.
Let's consider for a moment the methods of animal care and food storage in any age prior to the modern day. There was no such thing as refrigeration and certainly no such thing as pasteurization. Taking an animal like a pig that lives in filth and making it safe to consume is a tremendous task for any pre-industrial society. There were no sterile tools or machine-quality processing systems. Everything was done by hand.
As for creatures like carrion-eating birds and various kinds of rodent, these animals are quite prone to picking up diseases and parasites. While rabbits are occasionally consumed in the modern day, mostly farm-raised varieties, most cultures still don't eat buzzards and crows.
There are even restrictions in this parsha against eating most kinds of insect. Aside from locusts and grasshoppers, God forbids the people to eat anything else that we today would consider a bug. If one considers the kinds of bugs that can be found in the desert it only makes sense. Many of them bear powerful toxins for biting and stinging. While there are a few animals on Earth that have a tolerance for these poisons, humans most certainly aren't one of them.
In the end, the dietary restrictions of kosher law have everything to do with control. Cattle, sheep and goats are easy to control and, at least when compared to pigs, they are relatively easy to slaughter and clean. The same goes for a fish with scales. Part of the preparation process for a food fish is a thorough removal of all scales, a process that necessitates cleaning regardless. If the people control what they eat and how clean their food is, they are more likely to be healthy and strong. This interest in dietary control pops up in other places in the Torah. There are instances where Jews are instructed to eat no meat when visiting a strange place, as they have no idea what animal they may be eating or how it was procured and prepared.
As it stands today, many Jews do not follow the laws of kashrut. In many ways, a lot of them just aren't necessary anymore. Given post-industrial standards for cleanliness and quality control, most of us don't have to worry about the same issues as ancient people. It should be noted, however, that the Talmudic sages agreed that kosher laws only apply in normal circumstances. If it's a choice between starving and breaking the rules, then by all means break the rules. The spirit of the law is health and safety. Were new kosher laws to be created today, they would likely leave lobsters and pigs alone, aiming for trans fat and bad cholesterol instead.
