THE
MYSTERY

THE
MYSTERY

Why does the Torah forbid insects
as food, yet permit certain types of
locusts as kosher?

Who are the
"sons of God"
who intermarried
with the
"daughters of
men,"
mentioned in
Genesis 6:4?

T

he rabbis say that any
kind of supermen are
alien to Jewish tradi-
tion, according to Rabbi Arnie
Sleutelberg of Congregation
Shir Tikvah in Troy. The
Israelite spies reported seeing
Titans, but the rabbis de-
nounced such supermen as
myths.
Thus scholars do not con-
sider the "sons of God" as
any kind of supernatural
entities, but rather righ-
teous or aristocratic men
who married daughters of
common folk, Rabbi
Sleuteberg says.
He explains: Genesis re-
fers to the beings as b'nai
Elokim. Although Elokim is
generally translated as God,
the word also means
"mighty." So b'nai Elokim
could translate to "the sons
of the great aristocracy," he
says.
Another possibility offered
by the rabbis is that b'nai
Elokim means "descendants
of Seth." Seth was a righ-
teous man who dearly loved
God. Perhaps, some scholars
suggest, his children were
the b'nai Elokim who mar-
ried daughters of a less-than-
outstanding man, Cain.

26

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 1992

Rabbi Sleutelberg says he
does not hold these views,
however. "So often, Judaism
is accused of lacking spiri-
tuality," he says. "Here we
see an opening in the text to
true spirituality."
One is obligated to ex-
amine this curiosity, he
says, though from their
analyses it would seem
rabbis prefer to "dance
around the text."
Rabbi Sleutelberg says he
believes the "sons of God"
were "celestial beings. And I
like the fact that these
celestial beings found us
(humans) beautiful."
The presence of such be-
ings, or angels, should not be
considered alien either to

Judaism or the Earthly
world, he -says. When the
Torah tells of angels climb-
ing Jacob's ladder, it
specifically states that they
went "up and down," mean-
ing they started not in the
heavens, but on this planet.
Man knows little of all of
God's world, Rabbi
Sleutelberg says. "But the
Torah gives us great hints
that there is more" than just
the world we know. In fact,
texts indicate that angels
were once part of everyday
life.
"My job is to bring the
spiritual and earthly worlds
together," he adds. "I
wouldn't want to limit God's
universe to anything."

ere insects physi-
cally harmful, one
could easily unders-
tand why eating them should
be forbidden, says Rabbi Alon
Iblwin, director of education-
al programming for the local
Aleynu-Aish Halbrah.
"But the Torah is not a
medical book," he says. "If it
tells us not to eat certain
foods, the reasons are not
physical but spiritual; these
foods are spiritually
unhealthy."
In fact, no one can ever
know exactly why certain
foods are deemed edible and
others are not, Rabbi Tolwin
says. So perhaps one is
tempted to ask, why keep
kosher at all if it offers no
obvious benefit?
The Torah enjoins the Jew-
ish people to be holy. The
question is, how to achieve
this holiness, this serenity,
he says.
"Our Torah informs us
that kashrut affects the na-
ture and quality of our lives.
The Jewish people have a
national character, and that
character is enhanced and
developed through the food
we eat." Living a life in
which the food one eats is
prescribed by God will cer-
tainly affect the Jewish
psyche, he adds.
"When one consistently
eats healthfully, it is often
difficult, although not im-
possible, to feel the differ-
ence," Rabbi Tolwin says.
"Kashrut is similar. Can a
person ever really appreci-
ate how and in which way

his sensitivities are affected
through eating animals
killed in the humane
manner which kashrut re-
quires? Who knows who or
what he would otherwise
have turned out to be?"
Believing in a God who
tells which foods are most
spiritually rewarding is like
trusting the doctor who
prescribes which medica-
tions should be taken, he
says. "Without this belief in
God, one has to look at
Judaism's credibility just as
he would look to a doctor's
reputation to determine
whether his advice should be
followed.
"The same Torah that
commanded 'Love your
neighbor,' Justice for all'
and 'All people are created
equal,' asks us to keep
kosher," he adds. Replete
with wisdom on everything
from how to help the poor to
how to aid the orphan, the
Torah "has the insight to in-
form which foods are good
for us. Why would it write of
animals that it knows
nothing about, just to forbid
them for no real meaningful
reason, when everything
else it tells us to do is shown
to have real depth and pur-
pose?"
He adds, "If a healthy soul
is at least as important to
you as a healthy body, then
the case for kashrut is at
least as valid as the case for
cutting down on salt, sugar
and saturated fats. Why one
animal or insect is kosher
and the next is not is not
even an issue.

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