Kosher foods and the freedom of the soul

בפסוק זאת החי' אשר תאכלו כו' לפי שישראל דבקים בחיים כו' כמ"ש רש"י ז"ל ואיתא בגמ' ע"פ המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים אלמלא לא העליתי את בנ"י אלא לפי שאין מטמאין בשרצים די.

On the pasuk, "This is the living creature that you may eat," etc. (Vayikra 11:2) — because Yisrael cling to life, etc., as Rashi explains; and it is taught in the Gemara on the verse "who brings you up from the land of Mitzrayim" (Vayikra 11:45): "Had I brought up Bnei Yisrael for no other reason than that they do not defile themselves with creeping creatures, it would be enough."

The kashrus laws are introduced with Yisrael "clinging to life." Chazal say that even if the only purpose of Yetzias Mitzrayim were to keep us from being defiled by sheratzim, it would have justified the entire Exodus.

דהנה המעלה אתכם הוא בחי' גדולה מיצ"מ.

For "who brings you up" is an aspect that is greater than [the simple] Yetzias Mitzrayim.

The word "brings you up" (ha'maaleh) connotes a higher elevation than merely being taken out of Egypt.

והוא כמ"ש הוצאתנו מארץ מצרים ופדיתנו מבית עבדים.

And this is as we say, "You took us out of the land of Mitzrayim, and You redeemed us from the house of bondage."

The two phrases of the berachah reflect two distinct stages of redemption — being taken out, and being elevated beyond.

כי יש גאולה מן המיצר אבל יש בחי' יתירה שהוא למעלה מכל המקומות של צרה והוא בחי' נחלה בלי מצרים.

For there is a redemption from the narrow straits, but there is a higher aspect that is above all the places of distress — and that is the aspect of "a nachalah without boundaries" (nachalah bli metzarim).

One level is simply escaping the "narrowness" (meitzar) of galus. A loftier level rises entirely above any realm of constriction — an unbounded inheritance, free of all limits.

ולפי שהקב"ה הביא אותנו להיות בני חורין בעצם לכן לא התיר לנו לאכול דברים שמשעבדין את הנפש אל הגוף כי עיקר חירות הנפש שלא להתקשר בדברים גופניים.

And because the Holy One brought us to be intrinsically free men (bnei chorin), therefore He did not permit us to eat things that enslave the nefesh to the body — for the essence of the soul's freedom is not to be bound up in physical things.

True cheirus means the soul is not enslaved to the body. Since Hashem made us essentially free, He forbade foods that would chain the neshamah to physicality and undo that freedom.

ויש מינים שיכולין להעלות אותם כמ"ש במ"א פי' הסימנים מעלה גרה רמז על העלי'.

And there are species that can be elevated, as explained elsewhere — the meaning of the signs [of a kosher animal]: "brings up the cud" (ma'aleh gerah) hints at elevation.

The kosher sign of chewing the cud, literally "bringing up," symbolizes a creature whose physical matter can be raised and refined toward holiness.

ומפריס פרסה הוא שאין הקדושה נסתרת לגמרי.

And "has a split hoof" (mafris parsah) means that the holiness is not entirely concealed.

The split hoof — an opening, a separation — represents that the kedushah within is not wholly sealed off but has a point of revelation.

ויש מקומות פתוחים שנמצא הארת הקדושה כמו מציץ מן החרכים.

And there are open places where the illumination of holiness is found, "peering through the lattices" (Shir HaShirim 2:9).

In such species there are "openings" through which the light of kedushah shines, like the Beloved glimpsed through the windows — concealed yet accessible.

אבל במי שאינו מפריס אין שם גילוי הקדושה רק בהסתר גדול שא"י להתברר עד לעתיד.

But in that which does not have a split hoof, there is no revelation of holiness — only a great concealment that cannot be clarified until the future.

A non-kosher animal lacks that "opening": its holiness is buried in such deep hester that it cannot be extracted and refined until the time of the geulah.

והנה חז"ל דימו אדום לחזיר שהוא מפריס וגרה לא יגר שהגם שיש לו מלבוש שהי' יכול לתקן עצמו אבל לא חפץ בעלי' כמו שדרשו חז"ל עליו שמו נאה ואין מעשיו נאים.

Now Chazal compared Edom to the pig, which has a split hoof but does not bring up the cud — for although it has a "garment" by which it could rectify itself, it does not desire elevation, as Chazal expounded about it: "its name is pleasant but its deeds are not pleasant."

The pig has the external sign (split hoof) but lacks the inner one (chewing the cud). So too Edom displays a pleasant exterior but has no desire to truly rise — it possesses the outer "garment" of righteousness without the inner aliyah.

ובנ"י נתעלו מתערובות טו"ר ונדבקו בעץ החיים שהוא החירות.

And Bnei Yisrael were elevated above the mixture of good and evil and clung to the Eitz HaChaim (Tree of Life), which is freedom.

Klal Yisrael rose above the tangle of good-and-evil (the Eitz HaDaas) and attached themselves to the Tree of Life — the source of true cheirus.

ולכן כל מאכל שלהם צריך להיות בו בחי' חירות.

Therefore, all of their food must contain the aspect of freedom.

Because their very being is rooted in freedom, even the food a Jew eats must carry that quality of cheirus — hence the kosher laws.

וכתיב עיני כל אליך ישברו כו' נותן כו' בעתו פי' כפי זמנו ומקומו.

And it is written, "The eyes of all look to You… and You give [them their food] in its time" (Tehillim 145:15) — meaning according to its time and its place.

For all creatures, Hashem provides sustenance bound to the constraints of time and place — food given "in its time," within the limits of nature.

אבל אל בנ"י כתיב פותח את ידך ומשביע לכל חי שדבקים בחיים ויש להם המזון כפי רצונו ית' בלי התלבשות הזמן והטבע וזהו בחי' נחלה בלי מצרים:

But concerning Bnei Yisrael it is written, "You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing" (Tehillim 145:16) — for they cling to life, and they have their nourishment according to the ratzon Hashem, without the garb of time and nature — and this is the aspect of "a nachalah without boundaries."

Klal Yisrael, who "cling to life," draw sustenance directly from Hashem's will, unmediated by the constraints of nature and time. That direct, boundless flow is the "nachalah bli metzarim" — the unlimited inheritance free of all narrowness.

Summary: The laws of kosher animals express that Bnei Yisrael, redeemed not merely out of Mitzrayim's narrowness but into intrinsic freedom, must eat only foods that do not enslave the soul to the body. The kosher signs symbolize matter that can be elevated and whose holiness is revealed; non-kosher creatures (and Edom, the pig) keep their kedushah sealed and have no desire to rise. Clinging to the Tree of Life, Yisrael receive their sustenance directly from Hashem's will, beyond the limits of nature — the unbounded inheritance.