Spirituality

TORAH 1-0R -HON

Find Holiness
By 'Tuning In'

Shabbat Shekalim and Mevarechim;
Parshat Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1-24:18,
30:11-16; II Kings 12:1-12:17.

p

arshat Mishpatim contains
from Mount Sinai daily proclaiming
within it many of the laws
"woe to those who forsake the study
required for an equitable sys- of the Torah." But who hears this
tem of justice.
voice? The answer is that those who
It is in this parshah that the Jewish
wish to tune in, those who are on the
people are told not to
right wavelength hear it.
oppress the stranger as
Just as we are surrounded
well as to assist an enemy
by radio waves that we can-
in time of need and lend
not hear without a receptor,
money without interest. All
so, too, we are surrounded
the laws of damages and of
by holiness even in the
property are mentioned here
mundane that can only be
and were explained in detail
appreciated by those able to
by Moshe to the people.
tune in.
The tablets of the 10
The story is told of two
Commandments — the
soldiers
who were among
Rabbi Michael
tangible expression of the
the
first
to
arrive at the
Cohen
revelation — were given
Western
Wall
at the climax
Special to the
only after the civil laws were
of
the
Six-Day
War. They
Jewish News
taught to the Jewish people.
saw their comrades cry-
The timing was planned to
ing, singing and wailing at
impress upon us that prophesy and
the same time in a profound spiritual
revelation, though holy events, are not
experience. The two soldiers were
more important than how we treat our confused; they did not understand the
neighbors.
significance of the Western Wall and
Revelation, thus, should inspire us
were not overcome with emotion.
to be a good and upright individuals
Then one of the two soldiers began
— to observe all of God's command-
to cry, and his friend asked him why
ments regarding both the holy and the — hoping that he, too, would be able
mundane.
to share the power of the moment.
Toward the end of the parshah
The soldier responded that he was
(24:17) the Torah describes the
crying for himself because he was so
appearance of God to Moshe on the
far removed from the holiness of the
mountain as a "consuming fire." On
place and the occasion that he was not
closer examination, one might ques-
moved to tears like his fellow soldiers.
tion why add the verb "consuming."
He was crying because he did not
Furthermore, it is very strange that
understand that the Western Wall was
the revelation should be portrayed in
a profoundly holy place!
any tangible terms — God transcends
The civil laws of the Torah are not
time and space and defies definition.
mundane — they are the expression
The Torah is not attempting to
of holiness in our daily lives. Giving
describe God; rather, it is describing
an interest-free loan, or helping a
the nature of the Divine revelation.
person unload their car, or being care-
Just as with fire, some things are
ful not to harm another's property or
quickly consumed while others are
feelings are all acts of holiness and
slow to burn.
will be viewed as such by those able to
Likewise, some people were pro-
tune in.
foundly inspired by the revelation at
The secret is to study the Torah
Sinai while others only minimally
with an awareness of its Divine holi-
so. The people who experienced the
ness and, by doing so, to tune in to the
greater revelation had undergone
voice that emanates from Sinai. El
preparation before the event.
In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) Michael Cohen is rabbi of Young Israel of
6:1, we are told that a voice emanates
Oak Park.

46

February 11 • 2010

ASK

-=‘,

3 0 r.

X P

Kosher Meat

What's the story behind
its higher cost?

W by is kosher meat more
expensive than non-
kosher meat? Is it all a
scam or is there actually justifica-
tion for the prices?
— James, Birmingham
I feel your pain, James. Kosher
meat is not cheap. So what accounts
for the hefty price tag on your steak?
I spoke with Alan Kaufman,
owner of the Kosher Marketplace on
Manhattan's Upper West Side. Alan
explained that there are a number of
factors that drive the price of kosher
meat higher than its non-kosher
counterparts.
The first thing Alan mentioned is
supervision. Kosher
meat is supervised
from the time the
animal is slaughtered
until it is packaged
and sold.
Kosher slaughter-
houses must employ
shochtim — those
trained in the laws
of shechita, ritual
slaughter — as well
as supervisors who
can be consulted on
unusual or conten-
tious circumstances.
Jewish law also
requires that kosher
meat be soaked in
water for half an hour, salted and
then washed thoroughly three times.
In nonkosher meat plants where
these extra steps aren't taken, much
more meat can be processed and
shipped out. The more meat a corn-
pany sells, the lower it can afford to
set its prices.
Because the nature of kosher
processing requires more inefficient
time for soaking and salting, kosher
plants produce less meat and cannot
set their prices as low as their non-
kosher competitors.
Finally, Alan reminded me that
kosher meat isn't so easy to come
by. To be kosher, an animal must be
healthy and must have no broken
bones, no diseases, and no scarred
or punctured organs. Downer cattle,
or cows that are unable to stand on
their own, are never used.
Alan estimated that only 20 per-

cent of the cows in any given slaugh-
terhouse pass the inspection that
is required for them to be kosher.
I've seen other estimates from 30
percent to 40 percent. Either way, it's
much lower than at facilities where
every cow that comes in gets slaugh-
tered and sold. Screening the kosher
from the treife also takes time and
money.
So there are some reasons why the
consumer is charged top dollar for
your kosher hamburger. Ensuring
that something is done in a kosher
way is a pricey endeavor; and this
means that the base price for kosher
meat is going to be higher than non-
kosher meat.
Does it mean that
the meat is cleaner or
better quality? It might,
but as we learned from
the Postville scandal
last year, kosher meat
can still be produced
under very problematic
circumstances.
Still, a major advan-
tage of eating kosher
meat in this day and
age is the ability to
easily trace its where-
abouts and origins. As
we learn more about
the dangers of contem-
porary meat distribu-
tion, including a real risk of E. coli
contamination, it becomes increas-
ingly important to know where our
food comes from and what's in it.
E. coli is a bacteria found in the
feces of both humans and animals.
In America, kosher slaughterhouses
do not deal with the hindquarters of
cows — they're usually sold to non-
kosher plants — which decreases,
but does not completely eliminate
the likelihood of kosher meat corn-
ing in contact with cow feces and
thus E. coli.
And if the price of kosher meat is
hitting you harder than usual, might
I suggest making a nice spinach
lasagna? Or perhaps a vegetable
tart? Li

Kosher meat
is supervised
from the time
the animal is
slaughtered
until it is
packaged and
sold.

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