Why Keep Kosher?
In some ways the origins of keeping kosher can be traced back to the book of Genesis when G-d told Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Life. What better example is there after all than this famous one about the need to exercise self control with regards to food?
The actual principles of Kashrut however, are set out in the Five Books of Moses. Like Adam and Eve, we are not given reasons for following the kosher laws but are instead simply commanded to do so.
Having said this, many rabbis over the years have demonstrated that keeping kosher has both health and spiritual advantages and as such is at the heart of Jewish life.
Spiritual Reasons to Keep Kosher
Bringing up children in a ‘kosher home’ teaches them the importance of discipline at an early age. Moreover, by abstaining from certain foods and combinations (such as the mixing of milk and meat) they also learn the art of self restraint.
Talmudic rabbis have come up with another spiritual reason to keep Kosher which is more mystical than the ideas of discipline and restraint. They argue that eating non-kosher food undermines a person’s spiritual capacity by ‘clogging up the pores of their soul’.
Conversely of course, keeping kosher makes a person think about his or her Jewishness and relationship with G-d at every meal thereby making the simple animal process of eating into a religious experience.
Furthermore, as Jews we are taught to be considerate of others (even animals). The Talmud instructs us for example to feed our animals before we eat. This concept of consideration is at the heart of many of the kosher laws. For instance, according to the laws of kashrut, we are forbidden to “boil a kid in its mother's milk" and must slaughter an animal in the least painful way possible.
Health Reasons for Keeping Kosher
In addition to some of the spiritual reasons for keeping kosher outlined above, there are also some compelling health reasons for doing so.
For example, according to kosher laws we are not allowed to eat animals whose blood has not been drained when they were slaughtered so as to minimize the risk of bacteria growing on the meat.
We are also forbidden to eat shellfish and mollusks. These animals can be a source of urtcara, whilst the rule about not mixing milk and meat aids digestion.
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