Say, were we talking about Dunkin Donuts at one point?

Say, were talking about Dunkin Donuts at one point?

Hmm…. i know i’ve heard of that religion somewhere…

And again, G-d’s voice booms:
“You shall not boil a calf in its mothers milk”

And again, Moses replies, “Got it. Separate dishes and utensils for the meat and the dairy, just in case.”

A third time, G-d’s voice intones:
“You shall not boil a calf in its mothers milk”

This time Moses is sure he has it: “Right. Poutlry is meat, even though birds don’t make milk.”

And again, G-D speaks: “Forget it Moses. Do whatever you want.”

Any replies should be made knowing that I work at a hospital with a kosher cafeteria that won’t serve meat and fish on the same plate – despite being a teritary care hospital with great dermatologists, surgeons, etc in the building. If I can’t mix meat and fish in this environment, clearly, we’re just keeping minhag, not halacha…

Best,
matt

If he refuses to do community work voluntarily, and wants and accepts payment for everything he does, such a man should not be heading a community. He should get a job and earn a living. He can collect milk bottles or clean the windows. That is what is called ‘earning a living’.

Torah is learned, studied and taught: out of Love. Voluntarily. But the ‘rabbis’ have turned the Torah into their ‘Profession’, from which they earn money.

We are commanded in the Shema to:

‘LOVE Hashem, your G-d, WITH ALL YOUR HEART, and with all your soul and with all your might.’

‘VE’AHAVTA et Hashem Elokecha BECHOL LEVAVECHA uvechol nafshecha uvechol meodecha.’ (Devarim, Vaethanan, 6:4-5)

Is the ordinary man or woman PAID to pray to Hashem, or to say some words of Torah? No. Has veshalom! But the rabbis are. These men can give ‘lovely’ shiurim that they have rehearsed. But they would not give a shiur without being paid for it.

The true hachamim and rabbis of old, all actually worked at proper jobs and professions.

Wake up! Even a little child could have worked this out. These salaried men can never truly stand for the Torah, because in a case of conflict between a correct course of action according to the Torah, and the rabbi or rav’s pocket – his pocket and position will always prevail.

Pirkei Avot: (2:2)
“Raban Gamliel beno shel Rabi Yehuda HaNassi omer: yafeh talmud Torah im derech eretz, sheyegiat shenaihem mashkachat avon. Vechol Torah she’ein imah melacha sofa betailah ve’goreret avon. Vechol haoskim im hatzibbur yiheyu imahem leShem Shamayim……”

“Rabban Gamliel, the son of Rabi Yehuda HaNassi, said: It is good to combine Torah study with a worldly occupation, for working at them both drives sin from the mind. All Torah without an occupation will in the end fail and lead to sin. And let all who work for the community do so for the sake of Heaven………”

No other ‘rabbi’ will ever act against another ‘rabbi’ – even when he knows his colleague is clearly desecrating the Torah. Each rabbi is only worried about losing his own position.

Therefore, the ‘rabbi’, ‘dayyan’ or false ‘mekubal’ (‘kabbalist’) will never effect justice. And he will never truly stand for the Torah or the Honour of Hashem. His pocket will always prevail.

The Torah must never be used for commercial gain and profit. Amm israel can only be lead by those who have the necessary love and respect of Hashem and the Torah.

God wants us to use our intellect to understand the mitzvot to the best of our ability. The two reasons why Jews for thousands of years have kept kosher is because Jews believe: 1) There is a God who created the world, sustains and supervises it. 2) God entered into a covenant with the Jewish people, and gave the Torah, obligating Jews to uphold and fulfill its commandments. The kosher laws are a part of that covenant.

Sure, there are many benefits of keeping kosher (even some health ones!). However, these are “benefits” and not “reasons.” God wants us to use our intellect to understand the mitzvot to the best of our ability.

Perhaps the following understandings of keeping kosher will be food for thought:

1) Hygienic: There are many laws that promote health. Judaism forbids eating animals that died without proper slaughter and the draining of the blood (which is a medium for the growth of bacteria). Judaism also forbids eating animals that have abscesses in their lungs or other health problems.

Shellfish, mollusks, lobsters (and yes, stone crabs) which have spread typhoid and are a source for urticara (a neurotic skin affliction) are not on the diet. Milk and meat digest at an unequal rate and are difficult for the body; they are forbidden to be eaten together.

Birds of prey are not kosher — tension and hormones produced might make the meat unhealthy.

2) Moral Lessons: We are taught to be sensitive to others’ feelings — even to the feelings of animals. A mother and her young are forbidden to be slaughtered on the same day, and of course “don’t boil a kid (goat) in its mother’s milk.”

The Torah prohibits cruelty to animals. We must not remove the limb of an animal while it is still alive (a common practice, prior to refrigeration). When we slaughter an animal, it must be done with the least possible pain; there is a special knife that is so sharp that even the slightest nick in the blade renders it impermissible. This prevents pain to the animal.

And we are reminded not to be vicious, by the prohibition to eat vicious birds of prey.

3) National Reasons — The Jewish people have a mission of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. A special diet reminds us of our mission and keeps us together as a people to fulfill it. (Intermarriage is kind of hard when you have to take your non-Jewish date to a kosher restaurant, or if you go to a prospective mother-in-law’s home and you won’t eat her food…)
Keeping kosher is also a reminder of gratitude to the Almighty for taking the Jewish people out of Egypt, and a symbol of the holy covenant. (see Leviticus 11:45-47)
4)Mystical — The Torah calls the Jews a “holy people” and prescribes a holy diet (see Deut. 14:2-4). You are what you eat. Kosher is God’s diet for spirituality. Jewish mysticism teaches that non-kosher food blocks the spiritual potential of the soul.

Kosher animals properly slaughtered and prepared have more “sparks of holiness” (according to the Kabbalah) which are incorporated in our being.

5)Discipline — If a person can be disciplined in what and when he eats, it follows that he can be disciplined in other areas of life as well. Kashrut requires that one must wait after eating meat before eating milk products and we may not eat certain animals or combinations of foods. (Even when you’re hungry!) All of this instills self-discipline.
If you disagree with these understandings and benefits, that’s okay, too. Because the real reason we eat kosher is that God commanded us to do so in the Torah, and the Jewish people are bound to God in a covenant to keep the commandments of that Torah.

Which begs another question: How do we know there is a God, and how do we know that God gave us the Torah? For some answers, read “Permission to Believe” and “Permission to Receive,” two books by Lawrence Keleman
Of course, the Almighty does not want us to become neurotic. If one wants to upgrade his observance of Torah, it should be done in intelligent, calculated steps. Just as a parent loves the first steps of a toddler, the Almighty treasures our steps toward fulfilling His Torah. Do what you can, with thoughts of doing even more.

This is the sane approach to coming closer to the Almighty, fulfilling His mitzvot, and gaining benefits, too.

from chabad.org
“Although a pig is no more unkosher than a cheeseburger or a lobster, the pig has something to it that is anathema to what Judaism stands for: it is a fraud.

There are two signs that identify a kosher species of animal. 1) It has split hooves, and 2) it chews its cud (i.e. it regurgitates its food and chews it over a second time.) The first sign is easy to spot – just look at the hooves. But the second is not so apparent. You have to study the animal’s digestive system to know if it chews its cud. A cow is an example of an animal that fulfils both requirements, and is thus kosher. A horse is not kosher because it fulfils neither. There is only one animal in existence that seems kosher because it has split hooves, but is really not kosher because it doesn’t chew its cud — the pig.

And that’s why we denigrate the pig. Every other non-kosher animal is up front about it. The horse says “I don’t have split hooves, so I’m just not kosher.” But the pig presents a kosher facade. “Look, I have split hooves, just like a kosher animal should!” But what lies hidden behind that kosher veneer is a non-kosher inside: it doesn’t chew its cud. For Judaism, nothing could be worse than making a holy facade when your inside is rotten.”

as for kosher laws not being part of the 10 commandments

from belief.net
The Bible as a whole makes no claim for divine authorship. Although many passages are quoted in God’s name, the five books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) never assert that their entire content is divine. Nonetheless, due to various interpretations and doctrines, the belief has grown up in Judaism that the whole Torah (and to a certain extent, the subsequent biblical books and even the rabbinic tradition) is divine.