So Aaron made an offering to God to repent for his sins and everything was great, but then two of Aaron's sons (Nadab and Abihu) came along to give their offering and everything went downhill very quickly. Nadab and Abihu had been drinking before they went to give their offerings and God did not appreciate the fact that they were totally wasted. So God zapped them, in front of their father. The worst part is that Moses said that Aaron shouldn't mourn because God could zap him too if he was sad. Kinda messed up in my opinion but the lesson here is not to be a wino.
Anyways, God is finally satisfied with everyone else's behavior so the list of Kosher animals is given to the people. Here's what we can eat according to God: (Drumroll please!)
Cows and Chickens
Fish with fins and scales
Goats
... and many more. Here's a song that explains the whole list!
Ok let's talk about this Kosher thing for a second. I myself am not Kosher, but I have considered it. Here are the pros and cons of being Kosher:
Pros
- following Jewish law yay!
- The point of these laws are to keep you holy since some animals are considered 'unclean'
- A good reminder that you are different
- If you ever have to dine with hillbillies you can politely decline when they ask if you want squirrel for dinner
- If you go to a French restaurant you don't have to eat the Pâté or the escargot
- Cheeseburgers are really good
- Calamari is also really good... and so is shrimp cocktail
- ... and also lobster and crab cakes...
Yeah, you get the point, life is such a struggle. But seriously, even though being Kosher is tough in a non-Kosher world it's a choice that we all have to make. Standing out in public is hard too. Saying "oh sorry I can't eat this because God says it's unclean" can feel weird. I'm still not sure how I feel about this because I don't understand why some animals are 'better' than others in terms of cleanliness.
So this week I leave you to decide how you want to live your life. A rabbi from my camp once said "Reform Jews don't take the Torah literally, but we take it seriously" so I encourage you to follow that quote and blaze your own Jewish trail. Eat what is right for you!