You are What You Eat—in More Ways than You Think!: Parshat Shemini
Daily, we learn about new hidden toxins in our food. But does our food also affect us spiritually, influencing our character and tendencies?
Chana Weisberg is host of the Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories podcast and curator of advanced learning experiences on Chabad.org. She lectures internationally on issues relating to women, relationships, meaning, self-esteem and the Jewish soul. She is the author of six books. Her latest book, Shabbat Delights, is a two-volume series on the weekly Torah portion.
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When eating animals, the fear, sadness, and pain is also consumed.
Kosher animals are killed in the most gentle, painless way possible according to G-d, or they are not kosher to eat. They may not be injured, shocked, frightened, punched or ill. A bull for example meanders down a sided alley to an open-airy pen with a window at the end. He sticks his head through the window, perhaps looking for food. His neck is cut with a knife so sharp he slumps into immediate unconsciousness and death before he feels it. (Have you ever had grass cut your leg and not feel it until later? The knife is sharper than that piece of grass. It may not have any nicks in it or the beef is not kosher.) The slaughterer must be a Torah scholar, with a very high level of training so not to damage his own soul & because he is responsible for supplying some very holy people food. The cage is raised & tilted so the animal's blood containing its respected soul drains out on the ground. Then, the carcass is opened and checked for no past illnesses or injuries. Feel at ease.