Understanding the Fins and Scales in Our Lives

It’s all about balance. One without the other and we have a problem. We need ambition, but it must be coupled with morality. We need to be motivated in life and move forward while simultaneously ensuring that our motives be proper and grounded. Kosher fish help teach us how to do both.

When it comes to the land animals, there are two necessary characteristics to ensure they are proper to eat. The animal must have split hooves and chew its cud (see Part 4). So too the sea animals have two required characteristics as well. The Torah explains that fish must have both fins and scales.

But here is the thing…all fish have fins. It is part of the definition of a fish. So being that is the case, why the need to consider it a requirement? It would seem to make more sense to simply state that a kosher fish must have scales, not fins and scales. Clearly there must be a reason for the repetition and a lesson we can learn from both fins and scales and why they need to coexist.

Fins make the fish move. Plain and simple. That’s how it swims. And yet, its fins are most necessary when it wants to go against the current. Even a dead fish will move with the current. But to go in the opposite direction the fish must really utilize those fins and push. Clearly “current” refers to more than just the water. Think current trend. Current ideology.

The fins represent ambition. Ambition is vitally necessary in life. It motivates us to push ourselves, accomplish and succeed. And yet, unharnessed ambition can be a very dangerous thing. It can quickly turn into greed, dishonesty and using any means necessary to reach one’s goal. We have all seen those who had incredible potential, intelligence and opportunity, and yet without any boundaries or borders to their ambition achieved tremendous success but at the cost of hurting many along the way. Ambition can lead to greatness but can easily be one’s downfall as well if it is not balanced with morality. That morality is represented by the scales.

Not every fish has scales, and yet this is one of the requirements for any kosher fish. The scales are the protective armor of the fish, what covers its body and consists of small, overlapping shells. They are iridescent and therefore reflect and are sensitive to the light which surrounds it. These scales must accompany the fins. The scales ensure that as one moves ahead with drive and ambition that there is a constant sense of right and wrong that accompanies every decision on the road to one’s goals.

While it is not physically possible, there is a psychological reason it is not sufficient to have only scales in life. Morality is clearly of utmost importance, but without the drive and ambition to accomplish, one could feel so caught up in debating what is right and wrong that one would never move forward. Unbalanced morality to lead to a misunderstood sense of humility.  There are those who under the guise of being humble or wanting to suppress their ego spend so much time and effort focusing on themselves and what they shouldn’t do wrong that they never move forward. In truth, humility is not thinking less of oneself but thinking of oneself less.

The fish that have both fins and scales are also those that mainly swim towards the surface of the water. These are not the sea animals that are found on the ocean floor but those that are closest to the air allowing them to experience the water and the sky simultaneously. This is the idea of being able to connect or relate to two oppositional realities simultaneously.

Fish are considered an essential food in every celebratory Jewish meal such as on Shabbat or a holiday. It is eaten prior to the eating of the main course or meat and has a special status as a holy food. Part of the reason for this is that the fish represents the righteous people in this world and it says that the sparks of the souls of those righteous individuals are found in the fish more than any other food we eat. Therefore when we consume and digest the fish we are enabling and helping to reveal the righteous within ourselves.

The fish are connected to the righteous as the eyes of the fish are always open and they cannot live outside of the water. While they swim near the surface and can understand the air, they do not live in it. They are always immersed in the water which is the source of all life and represents the Torah.

Because the fish lives under the water and is not as clearly revealed, it represents the hidden and esoteric dimensions of the Torah. The land animals and the consuming of meat is likened to studying the revealed aspects of Judaism, whereas when one delves into the mystical understanding and the symbolism embedded and more concealed, that is the process of digesting the fish.

This is why the Sages teach that when we eat fish, we not only connect to and bring out the righteous that is hidden within ourselves, but it also helps to reveal the ideas and innovation that we have in Torah learning. Each and every one of us has insights that are both unique and necessary in connecting to the meaning of Jewish understanding. So when one is able to tap into and express his or her perspective, that is called “swimming in the sea of the Torah.”

Each and everyone of us has potential that is just waiting to be revealed. We just need to ensure that as we move forward in our quest for deeper understanding and expression in this world, that our ambition always go hand-in-hand with the a Jewish sense of morality so that while attaining our goals we only elevate and enhance everything and everyone along the way.

http://www.interinclusion.org/inspirations/food-for-thought-and-thought-for-food-part-6/

http://www.interinclusion.org/inspirations/food-for-thought-and-thought-for-food-part-4/

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