Shemini

How Can I Sanctify Myself in My Daily Living?

You want to be like God. How do you do this?
 
“This is the Torah of the beast and the bird and all animals…to distinguish between the impure and the pure, and between the edible animal and the animal which is not edible.” In the future, The Holy One blessed is He will make His righteous ones His servants, and anyone who ate no unslaughtered meat in this world will merit seeing Him in the next world (Midrash Rabbah).
 
You finish your meal, wipe your lips, make a blessing and continue on with your day. Meanwhile, the food that passed your lips goes into the intestines, where it is ground, undergoes a process that turns it into food carried by the blood – and here it becomes part of you. Your blood and your flesh are real. Your insistence that the foods you put into your body be kosher causes your arteries, your veins and your limbs to be pure. Your mind, which is immediately affected by the body cells in which it is located, also affects your behavior and mood. Day after day, in which you and your family merit to eat kosher food, your souls recover and prepare themselves for the great future in which you will all witness the light of the Shechinah (the Divine Presence), and see the splendor of G-d together with all the righteous.
 
1. Eating atones. “Why haven't you eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, for it is holy of holies.” We learn from this That the Kohanim eat and their husbands are atoned (Rashi).
 
When a person brings a sacrifice, and the priest eats portions of it, and then the priest with his eating brings atonement for the sin of the man who brought the sacrifice. As long as the Temple existed, the altar atoned for Israel. Now a man's table brings him atonement. Eating in holiness and purity while observing the laws of kashrut can atone for your deeds.
 
2. Sacred eating. “Speak to the sons of Israel say to them: this is the animal which you shall eat from all the animals on the land.” With this He saw fit to correct their temperament that they should be prepared to receive the light of eternal life.This is done with the repair of foods and birth. And (He) forbade the foods that defile the soul in character and thought. You will sanctify youselves and be holy, mean eternally holy, similar to the Creator, as it says: ” For I am holy” (Sforno).
 
Moses prepares the people of Israel to be holy as G-d. He therefore teaches them all the laws of kashrut, to purify their souls so that they can enjoy the eternal light that awaits them. Keeping the kashrut of your foods raises your soul to high levels so that you can successfully rise and receive spiritual lights.
 
3. Kosher eating. “But you shall not eat of the animals that chew their cud and have split hooves, the camel, for he chews his cud but does not have split hooves, it shall be impure unto you.” It is said of Esau that he is likened to a pig who spreads his hooves to show that he is kosher but he is full of cheating and deceit. this is a sign of all those who do not have the same qualities inside as out similar to the hypocrites. Though these traits aren't relevant to animals still they can introduce these traits to man when he eats them. for anyone who eats them will join the group of the hypocrites who show themselves as kosher as Esav and his friends. (Klei Yakar)
 
The pig shows the world that he is kosher, since he has cleft hooves, but he does not chew his cud. So he is actually hypocritical. A person eating unkosher animals absorbs their bad and despicable qualities in his blood. When you the purity of your food, your acquire better and more pleasant qualities.
 
4. Healthy eating. “And these you shall abominate from the birds, so that they are not eaten; the eagle, the kite, and the osprey.” To obligate those who feed the children (to not feed them these species). The reason for the ban on birds of prey is because of their cruelty. And I saw in some of the books of experiments that the milk of the pig, if a baby drinks it he can become a Metzora (leper) and this signal that they all have very bad qualities (Rashi and Ramban).
 
Care must be taken regarding the kashrut for the little ones too, so that their pure soul will not be affected by the cruelty of non-kosher animals. Kosher foods are also healthy for the body itself. It is important for you to maintain the mental and physical health of your children, so therefore you bring only kosher foods into your home for your health.
 
May it be G-d's will that your pure table be sanctified as holy as an altar, and the foods and delicacies of a king will be served upon it with abundance from the blessed hand of He who said: “And you shall sanctify yourselves, for I am holy”.
 

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