Parshat Shemini: You Are What Your Soul Eats | Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

It's not true that what you don't know can't hurt you. Eating tray food is the spiritual equivalent of losing your hearing. It cuts you off from life's higher frequencies, the higher things in life. The Torah in this week's portion, when talking about non-kosher food, uses the word "venitmasem", which means lest you become contaminated. The spelling of this word is unusual. It lacks an aleph and thus it can also be read as "venitamtem", which means lest you become dulled. In our search for holiness and meaning in this world, one of our greatest assets >> [music] >> and aids are the laws of kashrut. Kosher food is soul food, food for the soul, food that feeds our spirituality and gives us the ability to receive holiness. Spirituality is a delicate thing. It doesn't take much to jam the broadcast from upstairs. On the other hand, a little bit of holiness goes a long way. As the Torah teaches, "You shall sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy." When we sanctify ourselves by controlling what goes in and comes out of our mouths, God will elevate us to become His holy nation.