Illustration credit: Rebecca Kerzner
God gives Benei Yisrael detailed instructions about which animals they are allowed to eat. Here’s the end of this section.
זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַבְּהֵמָה וְהָעוֹף וְכֹל נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת בַּמָּיִם וּלְכׇל נֶפֶשׁ הַשֹּׁרֶצֶת עַל הָאָרֶץ׃
לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַטָּמֵא וּבֵין הַטָּהֹר
וּבֵין הַחַיָּה הַנֶּאֱכֶלֶת וּבֵין הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֵאָכֵל׃
This is the Torah (teaching) about animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water, and all creatures that swarm on the earth.
In order to divide between what is tamei (impure) and what is tahor (pure),
and between animals that may be eaten and animals that may not be eaten.
- What do you wonder about?
- What divisions are described here? What are the different categories? Why are these divisions important? (Look back at Devash for Terumah for more about why we so often divide between things in our religious lives!)
- What can these pesukim tell us about the reasons why it is important to keep the laws about eating kosher animals? What might be other reasons it is important to keep these laws?
- Is it easy to make divisions when you eat (like by not eating something you know you shouldn’t)? Why? How can you be mindful of what you eat, both in terms of its כַּשְׁרוּת (kashrut, kosher status) and in terms of its health or impact on the environment?
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