The Reasons for Kosher

An organically raised pigAn organically raised pigBefore we begin our analysis of biblical kosher laws, it would be appropriate to consider what purpose these laws serve and why God commanded them.

Many people come to the conclusion that kosher laws were put in place in order to provide physical health benefits. Certain animals may be prone to disease or spoiling, they may be likely to contain toxic substances, or the human digestive system may not be capable of processing them. Although this is a thoughtful and reasonable hypothesis, the Bible does not offer this as rationale for the dietary laws. In reality, many foods that meet the Bible's kosher standards are unhealthy. For example, certain brands of snack cakes and potato chips are fully kosher. Likewise, many highly nutritious dishes do not meet biblical dietary requirements. For example, horse milk has been touted as a healthy alternative to cow milk.1 Although the science of healthy eating constantly changes, biblical kosher law stays the same. There is not a direct relationship between kosher laws and nutrition.

This is also true for foods that are organically grown and raised. A pig or a cow raised on an organic farm is not any more or less kosher than one raised in an industrial environment, because the Bible does not make a distinction between what is organic and what is not. The distinction did not exist at the time the Bible was written. In certain circumstances, organic foods may be less likely to meet biblical kosher standards. For example, if an organic pesticide was less effective than a conventional one, it could result in a higher amount of bug-infested produce.

One who views kosher as synonymous with healthful might be tempted to disregard the biblical commandments in favor of what scientific studies determine to be the best diet. But this would be a mistake. Biblical scholar Dr. Nathan MacDonald recently published a book entitled What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? Diet in Biblical Times, in which he makes the case that the diet of the ancient Israelites was not nutritious. In a BBC article, he is quoted as saying:

Though many people have thought otherwise, the evidence is that the diet in biblical times was not very healthy. Except for times of famine and food shortage—which were relatively frequent—it provided the necessary calories, but was lacking in certain key vitamins and minerals … The bible never purports to provide dietary advice. Even the biblical food laws serve very different purposes than modern nutritional advice.2

There are only a few justifications explicitly given in the Torah for the kosher laws: ritual purity, holiness, and sonship.

For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten. (Leviticus 11:44–47)

You are the sons of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any abomination. (Deuteronomy 14:1–4, emphasis added)

While it is beyond the scope of this study to draw out the implications of each of these justifications, it is clear that none of them relate to health. To the contrary, they seem to be related to our spiritual condition and our relationship with God.

When our master Yeshua met the Gadarene demoniacs (Matthew 8:28–34), why is it that the demons begged to be cast into pigs? We can only speculate, but it may very well be the case that there is something spiritually unhealthy about the animal, something that cannot possibly be known or detected by science.

  1. 1. Chapman, Clare. “Health-conscious turn to horse milk.” The Age 11/27/2004. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Science/Healthconscious-turn-to-horse-milk...
  2. 2. "Biblical Diet 'not very healthy'" BBC News 01/13/2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7826163.stm