Parshat Shemini: Holiness and the Laws of Kashrut - Rabbi David Kaplan

[Music] so the tour goes through we were started speaking lastly about the idea of Cassius and her goes to the list of the nine kosher it first it gives you a list of the kosher animals because they're more that are not kosher then it gives you a list of the non kosher birds because there are more kosher species than non kosher the Torah always gives you the always list the the lesser you know it's easier to listen to list the the the fewer than the many so it goes through the list of the birds and it's just interesting because I don't know what kind of fowl people eat other than chicken I don't know anybody who's ever if you ever had a duck I think there's about it it's an extent of the fowl that I've had a chicken I've had duck turkey there's some turkey and even they're not everybody eats turkey by the way there are some people who will not eat turkey because Turkey we don't have a tradition dating back I know there are those are claiming if they have a tradition all the animals that anatomically turkey is exactly the same as a chicken but there are people who are much more won't eat turkey I do but there are those who don't so I don't even know what I don't know the other thing that are kosher to Thursdays are certain types of locusts that are kosher which Yemenites the Yemenites eat them they have a tradition of that most of us know says not only we don't eat them we wouldn't want to eat that right but but about the you know apparently apparently if they eat them they're good they're you know otherwise they would be eating them that's the rule in life if people eat it it's good if it's that good they won't eat it this country a crunchy yeah yeah yeah so they're her you know you know so again it you know anything you're not used to so so all these foods you know these are all kosher grasshoppers or oxtail yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah the Taylor they thought you have to order its special appearance apparently it's very least kosher I don't know any reason why it's jumpy culture I just never seen it apparently scout it was like it's like it's like uh you know it got you got its supposedly very very delicious the safari cab driver once obviously very delicious they had you know I've never I've never had it they have lamb people eat lamb you know they've said i'm rosh hashanah put Lampton on the table for what's up with Ruby I think but I'm the Lambs of you know saying you know so we eat these things a lot of it has to do with conditioning a lot of it has to do with the with our your conditioned people you see to give fill to fish there is this glitch and then you fill the fish you know they're in the jar there's a jelly filling you fill the fish which in which again any any but then again you guys eat sushi so I have no respect for you you know there's a lot of it as a lot of it is culture a lot of it here so you see the way we eat now rabbi moshe feinstein has a very interesting shiva the guru che writes like this you know there's a you know that in the laws of making Broca's so one of the things where people stumble is that there's a law that if you eat a lot of different foods and you have cake there's a limit on how much ms onus you could eat without having to wash and bench so if you sit down with just cake right if you eat a certain amount and it's very difficult to know and how lot exactly how much cuts not really a weight measure as much as a volume measure generally estimated to be about 220 or 230 grams you're already into an area where you may have to wash okay now the where if you eat the cake with other food then there's less cake that you could eat and the halacha says if you eat cake in the amount that you would normally beating bread with that food then you already have to wash so for examine a sometimes if my wife makes me lunch so if i'll have meat and there's potato potato knishes so I'll just wash on the potato knishes it's Amazonas what I'm making a meal out of it I'm gonna eat at least as much as I would eat bread with a meat meal and I've know probably a washout washing bench and the potato dish because it's or you know with with with whatever it is because your because of the amount now the that's what the Holika says then when does this become a problem for Jews when does this become a problem it comes an issue at kid issues when you go to a kid ish you know to a kid after a night especially an American kid ish you know after show so they have cake and they have child and they have you filled the fish they guy you don't take no prisoners problem is that you're eating the cake and you can very well easily run into a problem having to washing bench so that that's why by the way do you know where you were shall me Google comes from your Xiaomi kogo come to have your Xiaomi Google that they have in Israel do Xiaomi kögel was a response to this problem after surely go to kiddush people are hungry yeah buddy yeah and you're hungry but your Xiaomi kögel is Amazonas but it's Amazonas that's cooked in a pot Missoula is cooked in a pot you could eat without washing and Benxi as much as you want there for a new year Xiaomi tradition became server Tommy Go Go the worst thing will happen if you have two pieces three pieces you never get into washing and benching problems because that's what the whole Locker says so that's why they have the year Xiaomi kögel that's where dishes like you filter fish where you get all the fish come from I grew up thinking you built a video filter what's the name of a type of fish right now yeah you filled the fish right so you filter fish is because in order to avoid the problem with taking bones out of fish where you could run into boner problems so the tradition is that if you eat fish on Chaves what you're supposed to make the Finnish words ground up and there's no picking up bones that's where that's where it comes from in order to get around the logic process again I imagine there were also financial considerations there good lot of you fill the vision you put in filler in the go fill the fish and that sort of thing so so rabbi moshe finds he was asked how much cake are you allowed to eat with what is the amount of cake that you're allowed to eat with meat or with a meal that you would have to get into this washing and benching question sir what defines hands are very interesting the way he words it he says well in you know he talks about that the standard is how much variety we'd eat with the meal he says in this land that has been blessed with abundance referring to the United States it's less you could get away with eating less cake not more cake because many people eat one slice of bread or two slices of bread with a meal maximum and in and your grandparents or great-grandparents never ate a meal without bread and they never ate a meal without soup now when I was in high school I never touch red during the week why should I why should I eat bread I could be filling up on unmeet and potatoes what I want to what I want to mess around with some rye bread for what do i what who needs the bread so it's true that's exhausting about because we ate meat and beaten but that we grew up on meat and potatoes my grandfather never ate a meal without without soup and and and without borscht you know and all your filler stuff all right I don't need soup to this dad it's soup on Friday nights and I'm Jewish but I don't need soup on Friday nights yeah what's all the Bulls loose obviously afternoon Java but I'm not gonna waste good stomach space Friday night and soup when there's all sorts of good things on the table you know they're all sorts of creatures who've made the supreme sacrifice to be the Shabbos table why would I want to what I want to fill up on soup many families do serve sue because soup is a soup is a budget say Buddha's or else your budget because it fills you up and you don't need as much I think these are all that's our Jews ate so here the Torah talks about the various animals we couldn't can't eat now what's interesting is Rabbi Laufer pointed out to me years ago if you take a look at tarik you Dolloff post-tests so it says it's it's right in the middle of the page when it talks about the fish how about what Fisher law T so it says that totally kosher by mind this is what you could eat from the water kolja share lo snappier Vikas SS BAM I'm by yummy wanna call him awesome tequila anything has fins and scales you're allowed to eat now there are certain types of fish that actually have fins and scales in the water and then when they go up on dry land now they leave their fins and scales in the water they shed them they shed the scales down the fins but they shed the scales that's okay that's still a kosher fish that's considered kosher fish I don't know when they I don't know which fish that happens to but they they they shed you go up I just read an article yesterday they have a report these whales are committing suicide their whales washing up on the shore of I think it was where was it Australia or somewhere where where Cape Town I'm not sure where it was where it is where it's afraid they don't understand why these huge whales are there defi you know huge whales that just swim up on shore and they die on the shore they don't understand why they yeah the way the whales are depressed apparently they don't know why why there why their candidate they're trying to figure out what it is some of them were sick and that's why they go they don't they don't they don't know they just think interesting what'd he call it so the here the tourists of the fish half they have fins and scales now what's interesting about fish is that first of all what are the reasons we'd fish on Shabbos is what the it says you should eat fish at three meals on Shabbos if you don't like fish you do not have to chávez's for delight and therefore you don't have to punish yourself if you don't like fish but there is an idea of eating fish is highly recommended and one of the ideas is because fish is daga daga the numerical value of dog is seven Doug is seven so symbolic we eat fish on Java it's number one number two there's an idea fish don't hear eyelids there's nothing I ever know today I never see a fish wink never week don't have eyelids eyes are always open so one of the idea of the commentators points out the idea is to show that we are under God's direct supervision always a God's eye is on us all the time symbolically that's a be a bus service dug in the EF fish on fish on Chavez now what room I'll for pointed out is room area is a very fascinating where do you find fish are in the water fish are in the water water is always symbolic of what Torah ain't my millet are there was basic need for a human being to survive is water was the basic need for a Jew to survive is Torah without Torah a person a Jew who lives without learning we're not talking about Torah observance that word of a learning Torah studying Torre actually having stunning talk take a person living without oxygen way we're living without water you're living without water tower is a basic the idea of Torah study and not even studying Torah for this for the purpose of knowing the hot water sign even question of knowing what to do is the question of studying Torah the same way when you put up a mezuzah why did you put up with you but look it's a mitzvah you didn't put up the Moses so there every time you're walking around and people have differences you know if it turns into a hole a hole what do you go there you put up you put on tefillin why did you put on so why do you study Turkish God sets aside we're learning the tourism it's now part of the idea of water is that water symbolizes humility the water always goes to the lowest level and therefore a person in order there stand Torah has to be humble you have to be willing to acknowledge and somebody may know more than you and that the Torah certainly knows more than we do now we have to willing to accept or you know we're so willing to learn that's what those are the basic ideas so a person sometimes could be immersed in the waters of Torah and you think you're okay but look at this the fish who symbolizes fish is swimming through the waters of Torah and look at the fish has two symbols what are they fins and scales what is the fin du fin is he's steering manoeuvres that means you could be in the waters of Torah but you still have to receive direction and the scales means you still have to receive protection I mean the person who's learning Torah still needs outside instruction usually from a Rebbe or a mentor you have to have somebody gives you direction and learning Torah is the greatest protection but we always have to be on our guard and the symbolism of fish having these having the fins and scales is it a person even learning Torah he has to realize that he always needs direction any always has to have protection because the evil inclination lurks in every turn that's the that's the idea okay the fish are strange creatures visitors a frisky a fish are completely different environment than human beings you know even animals birds fish animals and birds live and they breathe they breathed the way we breathe you have people suddenly imagine what it's like to be a bird you've probably had a daydream what do we like to be aberdeen everybody when you have a daydream I was like you know yeah I have wings and I can fly around in traffic instead of getting caught in traffic you can imagine I could imagine coming back as an eagle you know they'll be pretty neat you know come back as a bird is a fish right you try to think I wonder what it's like being a fish you try to you know you know you gotta start gagging because it's trying to figure out what it's like to breathe water and you know it's completely different lately different environment though there's something very symbolic about the fish okay now the third other thing goes on and getting describes all the other all the other animals and is you see how much how much time the toward the votes - how would you eats you see how much time - towards us how would you eats because eating is something that we have to do and it's a very difficult it's a very difficult form of a photo session [Music]