AVROHOM YAAKOV
A number of years ago, a non-Jewish acquaintance was struggling to understand what Kosher food was all about.
“I try to eat ‘organic’ foods but if I can’t find the organic version, I will buy the ‘non organic’ product if I need it.”
“Kosher is not like that,” I explained. “Non kosher is an allergen to Kosher consumers. If someone is allergic to nuts or lactose or gluten then they won’t buy the product that contains even traces of these substances. A kosher consumer will only buy that which is Kosher. If it is not kosher, then we just do without.”
At the end of this week’s parsha, Rashi (20:25) quotes Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah who said, “Where do we know that one should not say, ‘My soul loathes swine’s flesh’, or, ‘I have no desire to wear clothes which are a mixture of wool and linen (shatnez)’, but one should say, ‘I would, indeed, like them, but what can I do since my Father in heaven has imposed these decrees upon me’?”
We don’t fulfill commands because it fits with our ethos or lifestyle. We do mitzvos because despite the inconvenience, this is what we are commanded to do.
Our society is governed by what is convenient, what fits current trends, what maximises the ability of people and politicians to virtue signal. It is not based on following G-d’s laws and G-d’s rules.
