Dietary Laws

Okay, by now you might be trying to wrap your head around the dietary laws! We'll spend a fair amount of time talking about theories regarding the dietary laws in class, but I'll go ahead and give you three to chew on (pun intended!):

1. Covenant Theory: The Israelites are told to "be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 19:2). They are to imitate God. Therefore, their diet (at least regarding meat) is connected to the Covenant they have with God. There are several places in Exodus where God gives directions to the Israelites regarding "their" animals: the animals are to receive a Sabbath (Ex. 20:10), firstborn animals are "given" to the Lord (Ex. 22:30), oxen are not to be muzzled while working (Deut. 25:4), etc. The point is, these animals really belong to God and not to the Israelites. God is the owner of the land, the people and all their resources. He is the King and the Israelites are His vassals. Therefore, God gives the Israelites "His food" (what is sacrificed to Him) for their own food. They eat what the King eats (symbolically), and they can only eat the animals which are included in the Covenant. 

2. Ethical Theory: Here's an excerpt from Jewish scholar Jacob Milgrom:
“Humans will have meat for their food and will kill to get it. The Bible has therefore worked out a system of restrictions whereby humans may satiate their lust for animal flesh and yet not be dehumanized in the process. The basic rules are these: 1. The choice of animal food is severely limited. Considering the variety of fauna that roam the earth, it is startling to realize how few, comparatively, are for the table, and that these are of the domesticated-herbivorous species only. There is no restriction whatsoever on the vegetable and fruit kingdom. 2. Even the few permitted animals may not be killed by just anyone but only by those who can qualify by their skill and piety: skill in employing a hallowed technique of slaughtering that renders death painless, and piety in being aware of the divine sanction that has permitted such slaughter. These qualifications ensure that these few slaughterers themselves do not become brutalized though incessant killing. 3. Even the few permitted animals, though ritually slaughtered, are still not fit for consumption until their blood is drained. "You shall not partake of the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Anyone who partakes of it shall be cut off" (Lev 17:14). Humans have a right to nourishment, not to the life of others. Hence the blood, which is the symbol of life, must be drained and returned to the universe, verse, to God. By now it should be apparent that the Bible's method of taming the killer instinct in humans is none other than its system of dietary laws.”
Jacob Milgrom. Leviticus (Kindle Locations 1569-1577).


3. Order and Disorder Theory: Note that any animal who has characteristics of multiple zones of creation (land, water, sky) is unclean. Land animals with scales (reptiles, etc.), aquatic animals with legs (amphibians), land animals with four legs and wings (insects). This is a significant pattern!