7. However, the sign of a split hoof alone is insufficient for an animal to be considered kosher; it must have an additional sign: chewing its cud.
There is a metaphoric dimension to this requirement. Before engaging in any physical activity one is thinking of doing, he must thoroughly “chew it over,” clarifying once and then again whether he should do it, and how he should do it. Only then will his actions be similar to a kosher animal.
According to Chassidus, chewing the cud – further chewing partially digested food – symbolizes the general concept of birurim: The mission of refining the world’s material substance that was given to humanity. That task is twofold. The first stage involves the refinement empowered by the Divine name with the numerical equivalent of בן, ban, 52. This phase comprises elevating the coarseness of physical existence. The second stage involves the refinement empowered by the Divine name with the numerical equivalent of מה, mah, 45. This phase comprises a further degree of refinement, enabling an entity that had already been refined to undergo further refinement and be absorbed within holiness.
