admin asked Staff ago I am a father of 2 yeshiva students (early elementary school age) who does not believe in the existence of a ‘God’. I do practice Orthodox Judaism since it is an easier way for me to live giving my personal circumstance. No; I am not a hypocrite since I don’t claim to believe in God. Instead of claiming that there is a God and then picking and choosing which of his will to follow (as many religious Jews do), I deny the existence of god and then follow ‘his’ commandments (as dictated by the popular Rabbis of the times).
My question is, I have a neighbor who decided that I have ‘religious issues’ that he will ‘fix’. He stated to me that it is written that Moshe (Rabeunu) listed all the kosher animals that exist including those that he did not have physical access to. My neighbor could not cite the source but has been promising for the last few months to get back to me with one. I do not believe his statement but was wondering if you have any knowledge on this claim.
I appreciate all the effort you guys (& gals?) do for your cause.
–H
jsadmin Staff answered 22 years ago
Dear Howard,
Your lifestyle strengthens the claim by Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz: The Revelation at Sinai is not relevant to choosing a way of life. The people of Israel who “were” and the Revelation at Sinai and “saw” the voices coming from the mouth of the Glory created the Golden Calf. Similarly, the existence of G-d has no impact on a man’s choice of the path which seems correct to him. Both, in the final analysis, follow the will of man. See what we wrote on the portion of Shoftim.
As to your question: The list of kosher animals which appears in the book of Deuteronomy (14:4-5) is “These are the animals that you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, the mountain sheep .” But the conclusion your neighbor learned, learned from Rabbi Judah, is misleading: “Rabbi said, ‘it is known before He who spoke and the world was created that there are more non-kosher animals than kosher ones; therefore the Scriptures listed the kosher'” (Chulin 63b). According to Rabbi, then, the Scriptures listed all the kosher animals and livestock, but this is not so, for this list of animals includes only animals found in the area of the Land of Israel, and kosher animals found in Africa such as the okapi, the chevrotain, and others are not listed in the Torah. See what we wrote in the essay What the Sages Knew About Animals.
Sincerely,
Daat Emet