“Kosher Kindness,” Rabbi Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings

March 25, 2022 |  22 Adar II 5782

Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings as we make our way toward Shabbat.  You can listen to it as a podcast here.

A word about the nature of kindness through the laws of Kashrut: According to Maimonides, every non-kosher bird is cruel in nature, like the vulture. It would lead one to believe that the nasty nature of every non-kosher bird qualifies it for the non-kosher status. That is, it is not fit for consumption because of its lack of compassion. Itturei Torah, a collection of Hasidic writings lifted up one particular bird in this category: the stork. What do we know about the stork besides the legendary myths to explain where babies come from?

In Hebrew, it is called hasidah, the loving or righteous one, because of its behavior to help its fellow storks. On first glance, we might deem this behavior noble for this kind assistance. Yet, it also raises a challenge: is helping one’s own and no one else enough? Clearly not. We learn that “one needs to help all others, and a stork, and more importantly a person, who only helps one’s own cannot be considered truly righteous.” If that makes a stork not kosher, then it seems to reason it applies even more to human beings.

What we are permitted to eat and prevented from eating provides us a delicious model of behavior. We need to value the loving way we treat others beyond our immediate circle. It is a different yet crucial way to “be” kosher.

Shabbat Shalom!

• We join together for Qabbalat Shabbat, onsite and online at 6:00 p.m. Join on Zoom, on Facebook Live, or stream on our website.
• Tot Rock Shabbat gathers online at 5:00 p.m.
• Torah Study begins at 9:00 a.m. To join the conversation interactively, access Zoom. You can also watch on Temple Israel’s website or Facebook page.
• 10:00 a.m. Thank Goodness It’s Shabbat at home. Register to join us on Zoom.
• 1:45 p.m. Outdoors with TI — Hike in the Blue Hills. Register here. We begin with some words of Torah, then hike a 3-mile loop along the Skyline Trail.
• We say goodbye to Shabbat and welcome a new week at 8:00 p.m. with Havdalah. Join on Zoom, or Facebook Live, or stream on our website.
• If you’d like to provide financial assistance to Ukaine, please consider visiting the WUPJ / EUPJ Ukraine Emergency Support page to donate.

Connect with me here. I look forward to corresponding with you and to hearing your thoughts.

Shabbat Shalom!