Parshas Shemini: Freedom Through Food

Torah Parallels

Parshas Shemini

לעוי נשמת האדא בת מרדכי

Freedom Through Food

At the end of Parshas Shemini, following the Torah going through the halachos of kashrus, the Torah writes (11:44-45), “For I am Hashem your G-d — you are to sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy… and you shall not make yourselves impure… For I am Hashem who brings you up from the land of Egypt to be your G-d; you shall be holy, for I am holy.” Rashi notes that the mention of Yetziyas Mitzrayim here is not incidental, but conditional. Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim on the condition that we accept the mitzvos. What stands out, however, is the placement. Of all the mitzvos that could represent this foundational condition of our geulah, the Torah chooses to emphasize it in the context of kashrus. Why is keeping kosher so centrally tied to Yetziyas Mitzrayim? Certainly we understand, for example, the association of Shabbos with Beryias Ha’Olam, but what is so significant about Kashrus that it should be symbolize Yetziyas Mitzrayim? 

Kashrus is unique among mitzvos in that it is constant, active, and deeply personal. It is not limited to specific times or places, but rather accompanies a person throughout their entire day. Every meal, every snack, every bite requires active awareness. In this way, kashrus transforms one of the most basic human activities into an ongoing act of kedusha.  

This idea directly reflects the transformation of Yetziyas Mitzrayim. Mitzrayim represents a society of enslavement. While we were physically enslaved to the Mitzriyim, in a deeper sense the Mitzriyim themselves were also enslaved – enslaved to their own desires, to a life with no purpose or meaning. When Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, He brought us out not just physically, but into a new reality of geulah – into the world of Torah and mitzvos. Kashrus is the center of this idea. The ability under this new construct to elevate even the most basic human needs into expressions of kedushah.  

This connection becomes even more pronounced through the experience of Pesach. On Pesach, the laws of kashrus intensify dramatically. In the Mah Nishtanah, the children all exclaim and ask how different this night is than all other nights! Even foods normally mutar become assur, and to such a degree that even the most miniscule amount is not “batel”. And we answer that we were avadim to Pharoah in Mitzrayim, and that Hashem took us out. What appears at first glance to be a set of restrictions is, in truth, the very opposite. It is the invitation into a new reality. The geulah from Mitzrayim was conditional upon mitzvos because mitzvos are what define that geulah. Without them, a person naturrally slips back into a life centered on self and instinct. What could possibly be more limiting than switching from being connected to Hashem to a focus on one’s own particular space and time.  

With this in mind we could better understand the “condition” that Hashem took us out. The geula was not merely an event, but a new life of living that requires daily conscious interacting in this new reality. And perhaps the most basic and consistent expression of this is through what we eat and how we eat, as we elevate even our most fundamental needs into acts of kedushah.  

May Hashem help us particularly in these days of elevation and growth as we prepare to receive the Torah on Shavuos, to strengthen our emunah and bitachon rooted in yetzias Mitzrayim, and to actively live as part of that transformed reality. Through our daily choices, especially in the way we engage in the most basic aspects of our lives, may we reaffirm our identity as the am ha’nivchar, and be zocheh to experience the geulah shelaimah soon. 

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