Kosher species matched to Jewish souls

בפסוק זאת החי' אשר תאכלו.

On the verse: "This is the living creature that you may eat." (Vayikra 11:2)

The Sefas Emes takes up the pasuk introducing the kosher species and the manner in which Moshe Rabbeinu was shown them.

פרש"י שהראה להם משה כל המינים.

Rashi explains that Moshe showed them all the species.

Rather than merely describing the animals, Moshe physically displayed each kind so that Bnei Yisrael would know exactly which are permitted.

וכ"ה במד' תנחומא.

And so it is in the Midrash Tanchuma.

The same teaching — that Moshe showed each species — is found in the Midrash Tanchuma.

ומוסיף על זה ואל תתמה שהראה הקב"ה למשה כו' שהרי אדה"ר קרא שמות לכל הברואים ע"ש.

And it adds to this: do not wonder that Hashem showed Moshe… for indeed Adam HaRishon (the first man) gave names to all the creatures; see there.

The Midrash anticipates our amazement that Moshe could be shown the root of every species, and answers by pointing to Adam, who likewise grasped and named every creature.

נראה הכוונה כדאיתא במדרש עמד וימודד ארץ כו' שהקב"ה מדד לכל הבריות השייך להם כמ"ש מכין מזון לכל בריותיו.

It seems the intent is as the Midrash says on "He stood and measured the earth…" (Chavakuk 3:6) — that Hashem measured out for every creature what belongs to it, as it is written, "He prepares food for all His creatures" (cf. Tehillim 147:9).

Creation is precisely apportioned: Hashem assigns to each creature exactly what is fitting for it. Nothing is arbitrary; everything is "measured" to its proper recipient.

ומינים אלו הכשרים מוכנים הם אל בנ"י לפי ערך נפשותיהם.

And these kosher species are prepared for Bnei Yisrael in accordance with the level of their souls.

The permitted animals are not chosen by chance — they correspond to the spiritual makeup of Jewish neshamos, and so are uniquely suited to nourish them.

ולכן הראה למשה שורש כל המינים בשמים לראות כי המינים הללו שייכים לבנ"י ולא שאר המינים.

Therefore He showed Moshe the root of all the species in Heaven, to see that these species belong to Bnei Yisrael and not the other species.

Moshe was shown the spiritual source of each kind on high, so that he could perceive the inner correspondence by which the kosher species are bound to Bnei Yisrael while the others are not.

וזה עצמו ענין קריאת השמות באדה"ר.

And this itself is the matter of Adam HaRishon's naming of the creatures.

Adam's giving of names was the very same kind of act — a perception of each creature at its spiritual root, not a casual labeling.

שראה והבין כל המינים בשורשם שלמעלה ולכן קרא להם שמות כנ"ל:

For he saw and understood all the species in their root above, and therefore he gave them names, as above.

Because Adam grasped each species at its source on high, the names he gave expressed its true essence — the same penimiyus-vision that Moshe was granted regarding the kosher species.

Summary: Hashem measures out to every creature exactly what belongs to it, and the kosher species are matched to the souls of Bnei Yisrael. Moshe was shown these species at their root on high — the same essence-vision by which Adam HaRishon named all creatures — so that Bnei Yisrael would recognize which kinds truly belong to them.