Kosher laws refine and sanctify this world

בפסוק וידבר כו' לאמר אליהם.

On the verse "And [Hashem] spoke… saying to them" (Vayikra 11:1-2).

The Sefas Emes opens on the introduction to the laws of kosher and non-kosher animals, focusing on the seemingly extra word "lemor" (saying).

ובמד' אמרת אלוה צרופה כו'.

And in the Midrash: "the word of God is refined/refining" (Tehillim 18:31)…

The Midrash applies to these laws the verse that Hashem's word is "tzerufah" — both purified and a means of refining. The mitzvos are a tool through which creation is purified.

כי השי"ת נתן המצות לבנ"י כדי לחבר כל המעשים אל השורש.

For Hashem gave the mitzvos to Bnei Yisrael in order to connect all deeds to the Source.

The purpose of the mitzvos is to bind every human action back to its Divine root, drawing the physical world up to Hashem.

וז"ש לצרף בהם את הבריות.

And this is the meaning of "to refine the creations through them."

Chazal teach that the mitzvos were given "to refine the creatures." Through performing them, a person and the world around him are purified and elevated.

והנה כל המאכלים הם לפי האוכל.

Now, all foods are according to the eater.

The Sefas Emes observes a principle in nature: every food is suited to the level of the one who eats it, a hierarchy built into creation.

כי הצומח מזין לבע"ח. והבע"ח להמדבר.

For the vegetation nourishes the animal, and the animal nourishes the speaking being (man).

There is an ascending chain: plant life feeds animal life, and animal life feeds the human being — the "medaber," the one endowed with speech. Each lower level is elevated by being consumed by the higher.

וזה נעשה במאמר הנה נתתי כו' ע"ש בס' קול שמחה בפ' בראשית דפח"ח.

And this was established by the utterance "Behold, I have given [you every herb…]" (Bereishis 1:29) — see there in the sefer Kol Simchah on Parshas Bereishis, where it is beautifully explained.

This natural order of nourishment was set in place at creation by Hashem's grant of food to mankind, as elaborated in the sefer Kol Simchah (the Sefas Emes's grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim's teacher), which he cites approvingly.

ועתה שנבחרו בנ"י ממילא ניתן להם מאכל מיוחד.

And now that Bnei Yisrael have been chosen, it follows that a special food was given to them.

Since Bnei Yisrael were elevated and set apart as a chosen people, it is fitting that they too be assigned their own distinct, elevated category of food.

לכן כתיב לאמר כי הי' שינוי בהטבע להיות מינים אלו מיוחדים להם למאכל.

Therefore it is written "lemor" (saying), for there was a change in nature, that these species should be designated specifically for them as food.

The extra word "lemor" hints that a shift occurred in the natural order: certain species were now singled out as the proper food for Bnei Yisrael, matching their elevated spiritual level.

דכ' עיני כל כו' ואתה נותן להם כו' אכלם בעתו.

As it is written, "the eyes of all… and You give them… their food in its time" (Tehillim 145:15).

The verse states that Hashem gives each creature its food "in its time" — meaning the food appropriate to it, as the Sefas Emes now interprets.

פי' כפי השייך לכל אחד.

That is, according to what is fitting for each one.

"In its time" means each creature receives precisely the food that corresponds to its own nature and level.

ולכן נשתנה המאכל כפי מדריגת האוכל.

And therefore the food differs according to the level of the eater.

Because food is matched to the eater, the elevated madreigah (spiritual level) of Bnei Yisrael calls for its own distinct, sanctified diet.

ובאמת זה מתקיים תמיד כפי מה שמקיים אדם הרישא להיות מצפה ומיחל לאביו שבשמים להזמין לו השייך לו.

And in truth this is fulfilled continually, according to how a person fulfills the beginning [of the verse] — to hope and wait for his Father in Heaven to provide him what is fitting for him.

This applies always: the verse's opening, "the eyes of all look to You," is fulfilled when a person turns expectantly to Hashem, trusting Him to provide exactly what suits his spiritual station.

כך אתה נותן כו' אכלם בעתו.

Then "You give them… their food in its time."

In the measure that a person looks to Hashem with hope and bitachon, Hashem provides him the sustenance fitting for him "in its time."

ומ"מ נאמרה פרשה זו אחר החטא והמשכן כנראה שקודם החטא הי' אפשר לתקן כל המינים כמו שיהיה לעתיד.

Nevertheless, this parsha was stated after the cheit and after the Mishkan, which indicates that before the sin it would have been possible to rectify all the species, as it will be in the future.

That the dietary laws were given only after the cheit ha'egel and the building of the Mishkan shows that before the sin, mankind could have elevated and rectified every species — a state that will return in the future redemption.

רק עתה יש דברים שא"י לתקנם לכן נאסרו עתה ויש להם עלי' ע"י הפרישה שאין אוכלין אותם.

Only now there are things that cannot be rectified, and therefore they were forbidden now; and they have an elevation through the abstention, in that we do not eat them.

In our diminished state certain species cannot yet be elevated through eating, so they were forbidden. Yet they are not abandoned — they rise specifically through our refraining from them, for the act of holding back is itself a form of tikkun.

לכן יתתקנו אח"כ כדכ' במד' לא תאכלו כדי שתאכלום לעתיד.

Therefore they will be rectified afterward, as the Midrash writes: "do not eat" now, in order that you may eat them in the future.

The Midrash teaches that the present prohibition is the very means of their future permission: by abstaining now, Bnei Yisrael prepare these species to be permitted and elevated in the times to come.

כמ"ש במ"א פי' החי' אשר לא תאכל כמו שמקבלין שכר על הדרישה כך על הפרישה.

As is explained elsewhere, the meaning of "the living creature that you shall not eat" — just as one receives reward for seeking [the permitted], so too for abstaining [from the forbidden].

Reward attaches not only to actively pursuing the permitted through mitzvos but equally to deliberately abstaining from the forbidden. Restraint is itself an avodah that draws down reward and effects elevation.

ולכן כ' זאת החי' אשר תאכלו מכל הבהמה כו'.

And therefore it is written, "this is the living creature that you may eat from among all the animals…" (Vayikra 11:2).

The Torah's phrasing — "this you may eat from among all the animals" — hints that the eating of the permitted species draws life into all the others, as the next sentence explains.

פי' שבאכילת אלו המינים ימשך חיות לכל המינים.

That is, through eating these species, vitality is drawn down to all the species.

When Bnei Yisrael eat the permitted, sanctified species, they channel chiyus (life-force) and elevation even to the forbidden ones — the kosher animals become a conduit of holiness for all of creation.

כדכ' במד' על פסוק ואבדיל אתכם מן העמים אלו הי' מבדיל האומות לא הי' להם תקומה רק בירר אותנו מהם.

As the Midrash writes on the verse "and I have separated you from the nations" (Vayikra 20:26): had He separated the nations [entirely], they would have no endurance; rather He selected us out from among them.

The Midrash explains that Hashem did not cut the nations off completely, for then they could not survive; instead He chose Bnei Yisrael out from among them — so that through the chosen ones, the rest are sustained.

כן הכא זאת כו' אשר תאכלו מכל הבהמה כו'.

So too here: "this… that you may eat from among all the animals…"

The same principle governs the kosher species: by selecting them out "from among all the animals," Hashem makes the permitted ones the means by which life flows to all the rest.

וכ' והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים כו' אני ה' המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלקים.

And it is written, "and you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy… I am Hashem who brings you up from the land of Mitzrayim to be your God" (Vayikra 11:44-45).

The passage concludes with the call to self-sanctification, grounded in the Exodus — Hashem brought Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzrayim precisely so that they would sanctify themselves and He would be their God.

פי' שביצ"מ נתברר זאת.

That is, at yetzias Mitzrayim this was clarified.

The truth that holiness is achieved through Bnei Yisrael in the physical world was made manifest at the Exodus.

כי ע"י התקדשות מעוה"ז ולגבור נגד הרשעים והסט"א.

For through sanctifying oneself away from this world and prevailing against the wicked and the sitra achra (the "other side"),

By sanctifying himself amid olam hazeh and overcoming the forces of evil and the sitra achra, a person accomplishes something the lofty angels cannot.

ע"י זה זוכין בעוה"ז להמשיך קדושה.

through this, one merits to draw down holiness into this world.

This struggle is exactly what enables a person to draw kedushah down into the material world — sanctifying the very realm in which evil operates.

כאשר דרשו חז"ל אדם מקדש עצמו מעט מלמטה מקדשין אותו מלמעלה הרבה.

As Chazal expounded: when a person sanctifies himself a little from below, they sanctify him much from above.

Chazal teach the principle that even a small act of self-sanctification below is answered with abundant sanctification from Above — Hashem responds to our limited efforts with overflowing kedushah.

והטעם שמעט קדושה בעוה"ז חביב לפניו מהרבה למעלה.

And the reason is that a little holiness in this world is more beloved before Him than much holiness above.

The reason for that abundant response: a small measure of holiness achieved in the lowly physical world is more precious to Hashem than vast holiness produced effortlessly in the upper worlds.

וע"ז העדות שכביכול הטריח הבורא ית' להוציאנו ממצרים לקדשנו אליו בעבור כי מציאות קדושה בעוה"ז חביב לפניו ביותר כי העליונים בעצם הם קדושים ואנחנו ע"י התרחקות מהבלי עולם זוכין לקדושה.

And the testimony to this is that, as it were, the Creator "troubled Himself" to bring us out of Mitzrayim to sanctify us to Him — because the existence of holiness in this world is most beloved before Him; for the upper beings are intrinsically holy, while we, through distancing ourselves from the vanities of the world, merit holiness.

The very fact that Hashem went to such lengths to redeem us from Mitzrayim proves how dear this-worldly holiness is to Him. The angels are holy by their very nature, requiring no struggle; but we attain kedushah by actively pulling away from the empty pursuits of the world — and that earned holiness is uniquely beloved to Hashem.

והתקדשתם הוא לשון נפעל שא"י ליקח הקדושה בידים רק לגרום המשכת הקדושה בכח פרישות מעוה"ז:

"And you shall sanctify yourselves" (v'hiskadishtem) is in the passive/reflexive form, for one cannot seize holiness with his hands; rather, one causes holiness to be drawn down through the power of separating from this world.

The grammatical form "v'hiskadishtem" is reflexive, teaching that holiness cannot be grasped directly by human effort. We can only become a vessel that draws kedushah down — and the means is perishus, separating ourselves from the vanities of olam hazeh.

Summary: The mitzvos, including the dietary laws, were given to refine creation and connect every deed to its Source. Since food is matched to the level of the eater, the chosen people of Bnei Yisrael were given their own elevated, sanctified diet. Before the cheit all species could have been elevated through eating; now, those that cannot are forbidden, yet they rise through our very abstention — for reward attaches to holding back no less than to pursuing, and the permitted species become a channel of life for all the rest. Through sanctifying ourselves amid this world and pulling away from its vanities, we draw kedushah down into the material realm — a holiness more beloved to Hashem than the effortless purity of the angels, which is why "v'hiskadishtem" is reflexive: we cannot seize holiness, only become vessels that draw it down through perishus.