We Are What We Consume

There is simply no escaping it. We all have to eat. Which is hard as food is something we all seem to have a complicated relationship with. Some avoid it. Some are addicted to it. Some partake then feel guilty. Others engage far too often and too much. But no one, no matter how he or she may try, can avoid it.

Regardless of our neuroses or even healthy attachment to our food, there is one thing we are all capable of doing with eating. That is elevating it. Something, that can be seen as a base and even animalistic necessity, can simultaneously become something meaningful, spiritual, and holy.

It’s all about how we view it, prepare it, interact with it, consume it and live from it.

It’s all about keeping it kosher.

Yes, kosher, the seemingly endless and even archaic set of rules and regulations that determine what and how we eat. But delve a little deeper and we quickly see how this is about so much more than food.

Ultimately, we are what we eat. This idea is not new. It actually is the conclusion of the medieval scholar Nachmanides. What we put into our mouths, chew, digest and allow to become a part of ourselves physically affects the type of people we are and the type of people we are capable of becoming. In today’s day and age this is not surprising. We clearly know that certain foods lead to clogged arteries, high cholesterol, skin breakouts, etc. Other foods are associated with hyperactivity, or exasperating mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. The flip is true of course as well. Eat the right foods and we have more energy, our skin is clearer, we are satiated longer.

Both what we see and what we don’t initially see can impact us. The other year one of our daughters went in for her yearly checkup. According to the charts, her weight was not up to par with her height and this constituted a “failure to thrive” diagnosis. The doctor wanted to test her for Celiac Disease which I immediately scoffed at being that this particular child lived for and loved everything with gluten and had never once complained of a stomachache. But the doctor insisted. Sure enough, to our great surprise, she was soon thereafter diagnosed with this chronic disease in which the digestion of any gluten prevents her body from absorbing the nutrients in the food. She was essentially being starved, was completely malnourished and we had no idea. Aside from being thin, which all of our children are, there were no telltale signs. And yet, unquestionably, we now know that certain foods to her are extremely dangerous.

So if we can agree that the foods we digest physically affect our well-being, is it such a stretch to then conclude that what we eat will have a profound spiritual effect on us as well?

Off the bat, we really don’t know why we keep kosher. Not to say that there isn’t a plethora of meaning and depth to the details involved in keeping kosher, but as much as we can find understanding, we don’t actually know the reason. The Jewish laws are divided into categories. There are those that we would do even if we weren’t commanded as they related to basic morality. I don’t need to be told “do not kill” not to. Then there are the laws that are time-bound, relating to specific holidays. But keeping kosher falls into the categories of laws called ‘chukim’ which we ultimately do because we were commanded to. Plain and simple. If they make sense to us, great, if not, no difference. We do them because we believe we should. We believe this is what is wanted from us whether or not we understand.

That said, there is still so much that can be learned, gained from and applied as lessons for our lives from keeping kosher.

Perhaps most overarching is the idea that keeping kosher teaches us how to be an individual yet simultaneously be part of a collective whole. Travel the world, look back in history, check out your local bookstore, and you will find endless styles of cooking, textures, spices, tastes and approaches to cooking. You will find Indian food, Chinese, American and Persian…gluten-free, vegetarian, gourmet and fast food. But amongst all those differences, there will be something they all have in common. They will all be kosher, meaning that unifying them will be a set of laws and details that they all adhere to.

And this is not just about food. The root of the word for ‘kosher’ is the same as that in the word ‘kishronot’ meaning ‘talents’ and ‘abilities.’ We are all unique. We all are able to impact this world in our own, individual way. And we must. The Torah begins “Bereishit barah Elokim” meaning “God created the world” yet the word for “created” is also the idea of being creative and simultaneously means ‘being healthy.’ So there is an intrinsic connection between the idea that we were created to create and our creativity is linked to our mental, physical and spiritual health.

When we are using our talents and abilities we feel enlivened, energized and inspired. And so too, the outcome is that we enliven, energize and inspire others. And there are endless ways that we impart our uniqueness in this world. It might be through our writing or our art, through our passion for mathematics and science, or our communication skills. Just like the tastes and spices and cultures and types of food can vary so greatly, so do we. And yet, we are likewise all connected. We have overarching commonalties that unify us. When we recognize that we are part of this whole, that we don’t just live for ourselves but live for how we can better this world, then we actualize the concept of what keeping kosher is all about.

In Part 2 we will explore the psychological ramifications of separating milk and meat products.

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