Parshas Shemini touches upon one of the most basic principles of Judaism: keeping kosher. In this parsha, the Torah lays down the core fundamental signs needed for a kosher species. For animals, they must chew their cud and have split hooves. Any animal possessing only one of these two signs – i.e. camel, rabbit, and chazir – are not kosher to the same extent as any other animal lacking both signs.
I heard said over in the name of Rav Avraham Pam, zt"l, that kashrus is not merely a dry halachah pertaining to what food we may eat. It is also a paradigm for our intrinsic being. As Rav Pam put it, Judaism not only entails eating kosher animals, but also being a kosher Jew. In order for one to be a wholesome Jew, there are “two signs” which must be adhered to: mitzvos bein adam la’Makom (commandments between man and G-d) and mitzvos bein adam la’chaveiro (commandments between man and man). Shabbos, kashrus and taharas hamishpacha must find equal balance with tzedokah, business integrity and chesed.
The Gemara (Shabbos 31a) relates the story of a gentile who approached Shammai and asked to convert on the condition that he teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hearing such an absurd request, Shammai chased the man away with a measuring rod used for construction of a building. But the man would not give up so easily. Continuing to approach Hillel with the same request, Hillel told him, “What is hateful to you do not do to your friend. That is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary. Now go and learn.”
This man’s question appears unreasonably foolish on the surface. However, upon examination we see that it had a much deeper meaning. He was seeking to pinpoint which of the two aspects of mitzvah observance is more central and fundamental to life as a Jew. “Can you tell me which leg the entire Torah stands on?” asked the man. “Which is more important – mitzvos between man and G-d or man and his fellow Jew?” When Shammai heard this, he immediately drove him away with a rod used to lay down the foundation of a building. “You cannot separate between the two,” argued Shammai, “they go hand in hand. If you only have one without the other, your foundation of Torah observance will be unsteady and the entire structure will collapse.”
But Hillel had a different answer for the man. “While it is true that both of these aspects are crucial and interdependent, there is one leg upon which the entire Torah can be said to be predicated upon – mitzvos between man and his fellow. If you treat another only as you yourself would like to be treated, you will have laid down the cornerstone upon which the rest of the Torah can be built.”
In light of this, we can understand an intriguing discrepancy which existed between the two luchos with which Moshe descended from Har Sinai. With the mitzvos bein adam la’Makom occupying one Tablet and the mitzvos bein adam la’chaveiro occupying the second Tablet, there was a sum total of six hundred and twenty letters. However, there was a significant difference between the two. While the Tablet with the mitzvos bein adam la’Makom contained hundreds of letters, the second Tablet describing mitzvos between man and his fellow contained far less. Nevertheless, despite the relatively few letters comprising the mitzvos bein adam la’chaveiro, the Tablet was not any smaller in size. It had the exact same dimensions.
But this leads to a problem. How could the luchos have been of equal size if one had hundreds of letters less? What was done with all the extra space? The Mabit (Sefer Beis Elokim, Shaar HaYesodos, Ch. 12) explains that the letters on the Tablet enumerating the mitzvos bein adam la’chaveiro were enlarged to make up for the remaining space.
Accordingly, we can derive an important lesson from this phenomenon. People commonly gauge one’s level of Judaism by one’s commitment to mitzvos bein adam la’Makom. However, it is a mistake to believe that it stops there. One would be sorely mistaken were he to only care about his relationship with Hashem and overlook how he treats his fellow Jews. To emphasize this ever-important idea, the letters of the mitzvos discussing interpersonal relationships were significantly larger. This was done to underscore their equal importance and stress that we are never to lose focus of these commandments which Hillel termed, “The foundation of the entire Torah.” They are to occupy the center of our attention and be diligently observed.
Along these line, we can also point out that Hillel answered this fellow by, “What is hateful to you do not do to your friend." Rashi comments that the word "friend" can be interpreted simply as your friend, or figuratively as referring to your Heavenly friend, Hakadosh Baruch Hu. If one develops the virtue of caring about his friend, he will naturally come to be punctilious about caring for his Heavenly friend and follow the mitzvos.
Thus mitzvos bein adam la’chaveiro are the foundation on which to build bein adam la’Makom. The life of a Jew is an equal balance between him and G-d and him and the rest of Klal Yisroel. However, the way to arrive at such an equilibrium and fulfill the Torah in its entirety is to begin using Hillel’s instructions. We are to unconditionally love our fellow Jews and care for them as our brothers and sisters. And when we do so, we can look forward to earning that pristine title of a “Kosher Jew” we all yearn for.
