Biblically Kosher: A Messianic Jewish Perspective on Kashrut

by Aaron Eby

A Messianic Jewish Perspective on Kashrut. Revealing the Biblical Sources of Dietary Laws in Judaism. There is much more to the Bibles food laws than saying, ""Hold the bacon."" Learn what the Bible, ancient Rabbis, and the Apostles teach about eating. Did Jesus put ham, shrimp, and snails back on the table? See how a Messianic Jewish perspective provides important cultural context and uncovers the true meaning of New Testament passages about eating. Find out what it really means to eat biblically. This book will change the way you think about the Bible and food. It will bring you closer to the ancient Jewish way of life that Jesus and his disciples practiced. Discover how the simple act of eating can become an expression of worship!

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Zomick's Bakery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just to say, I am baker working at Zomick's Kosher Bakery. Not much about reading books, unless they are cookbooks with some new interesting bread or challah recipes. However this book just stick to my hands. After I read it I discovered many new interesting things about the kosher foods and other things related to Jewish tradition and cuisine. It is an interesting read. - Zomick's Kosher Bakery

[Tre Brickley · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This book will change the way you think about the Bible and food. It will bring you closer to the ancient Jewish way of life that Jesus and his disciples practiced."

This book is organized in three parts:

1. reasons to keep kosher; benefits of doing so; responses to biblical objections to keeping kosher, offering exegesis of relevant passages

2. what the Torah says about keeping kosher

3. practical advice for keeping kosher, especially within a Messianic Jewish community composed of both Jews and Gentiles, with various members at different levels of observance

The general "mission" (as defined by the quote at the opening of this review) was accomplished: this book helps people think better about food and the Bible, getting them closer to the practice of Jesus and his disciples. However, the book doesn't get all the way there, camping as it does at the tradition of the sages and rabbis.

It is beyond the scope of a basic review such as this to attempt to highlight or adjudicate all relevant issues, but a word about the title is sufficient to illustrate the point.

The word "kosher" is based on the Ashkenazi (Eastern European) pronunciation of the Hebrew kasher. Note: First, the Hebrew <כשׁר: kasher> only appears in three places in the Hebrew Bible (Eccl 10:10; 11:6; Esther 8:5). Second, in none of these cases does the word have to do with food. Third, the word is not used in the Torah with regard to food permissions and prohibitions (Lev 11; Deut 14). Finally, the language that is used for the food permissions and prohibitions is <טהור: tahor>, often translated pure, for permitted food and <טמא: tamei>, often translated impure, for prohibited food. Thus, the very category of "biblically kosher" is a technical misnomer, dependent on layers of tradition that departs from the actual biblical categories. This is evident in that the traditional "kosher" has become the all-important category while the biblical "tahor/tamei" categories are reduced in importance, leading to such statements as: "there is no prohibition against eating food that is *tamei*" (p.28), "...there is no prohibition against...eating food that is *tamei*, as long as it is *kosher*" (p.43), "...food does not have to be *tahor* to be *kosher*" (p.70).

The problem here is that, while Eby intends to provide us with "what the Torah says" about food (p.9) and "what is directly revealed in the Bible" (p.10), he is conflating *that* with "dietary law in Judaism...the system of laws and customs that exists today" (p.7), "dietary practices observed in Judaism today" (p.9), saying, "it would be a mistake to divorce the Torah of God from the people to whom he entrusted it - the Jewish people" (p.10). The section about the traditional prohibition of combining meat and dairy is a perfect example of the point (p.88ff), as is the section about defining *chametz* (p.128ff). The most troubling aspect of this issue is that Eby knows full well that the sages and rabbis of the tradition literally added to the Torah ("derabbanan": of our rabbis), and *he defends it* as if this is legitimate "protecting" the Torah (pp.88-89, 99).

With that criticism clearly stated, I will say that I think Eby truly did help me learn some things about what the Torah *does* say in Part 2, and I think he did a mostly good job rebutting objections to Torah observance regarding food based on various biblical texts in Part 1.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really learned a on reading this book. As I get deeper into Hebraic roots I've come across more and more on the area of kashrut. This book helps explain where the current practices come from. It also covers scriptures that many try to use to claim kashrut is done away with. And then finally it covers a section on how kashrut relates to gentile believers in Messiah. There's much to learn and this book only covers the tip of the iceberg. But it gives much "food for thought." I would strongly recommend this book for those reading on Hebraic roots of the church and/or Messianic Judaism.