Shemini - Yeshua the Kosher Pig?
In the Torah portion of Shemini, we learn about the kosher laws. The ones that most Christians believe Yeshua did away with. This is not true however, and we will go deeper into this topic and explain how Yeshua never did away with the kosher laws, and how Yeshua is the kosher pig.
In this Torah portion we learn that all mammals that chew the cud and have split hooves are kosher. It lists some animals that are kosher, then it lists some animals that have only one characteristic, like only having split hooves but not chewing the cud, and declares them unkosher.
For fish and seafood, the Torah states that they have to have fins and scales. For birds, they can’t be birds of prey. For insects, only bugs like the locust are kosher.
Traditional Christian teaching claims that the kosher laws are obsolete. Yeshua did away with them when he died on the cross. Very few Christians worry about keeping kosher. Conventional Christianity even considers eating pork as a sign of freedom and grace. The church considers eating pork as a sign that we are under grace and not under law. But what would Jesus do? What did Yeshua eat?
Yeshua and all his talmidim (apostles) ate kosher. The claims that Yeshua did away with the kosher laws are simply not true. Mark 7:19, a verse that says, "Thus he declared all foods clean," is often recited as proof of this claim, but this verse has nothing to do with the kosher laws. The original greek of Mark 7:19 refers to eating food with ritually impure hands and whether or not doing so rendered food unclean. The verse makes no reference to the kosher laws at all. Likewise, Peter’s vision of the sheets in Acts 10 indicated that the talmidim should no longer consider the gentiles unclean. The Brit Hadashah (New Testament) never tells us that the kosher laws are obsolete. Even in the Messianic Age people will continue to keep kosher. It says in Isaiah 66:17, "Those ... who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice, will come to an end altogether."
At first glance, the pig appears to be kosher. It has cloven hooves, but it does not chew the cud. The rabbis compared the pig to someone who puts on a show of piety, but does not actually do right:
"When the swine is lying down it puts out its cloven hooves, as if to say, ‘I am clean.’ Likewise, the wicked state robs and oppresses, yet pretends to be executing justice." (Genesis Rabbah 65:1)
The Jews easily equated Rome with pigs. Romans preferred the meat of pigs, and swineherds followed their legions.
Yeshua was referring to Rome when he said, in Matthew 7:6, "Do not throw your pearls before swine, and turn and tear you to pieces."
The Midrash has a clever wordplay on the hebrew word for pig that points towards the Messianic Era. It uses the word "chazir" (חזיר), which means "pig", and the word "chazar" (חזר), which means "return":
"Why is Rome called a ‘chazir’? Rabbi Meir replied, ‘because it is destined to ‘chazar’ (return) to it’s owner." (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:28)
"Why is Rome called a ‘chazir’? Because it will ‘chazar’ (return) the crown to its owner, as it is written [in Obadiah 1:21], ‘The deliverers will asced Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav, and the kingdom will be the LORD’s.’" (Leviticus Rabbah 13:5)
It was stated earlier that The Brit Hadashah does not abolish the kosher laws. The prophet Isaiah indicated that the kosher laws will continue to be relevant even in the Messianic Era. Despite all this, some rabbis teach something similar to what Christians teach: That in the Messianic Era, the Messiah will revoke the kosher laws.
This concept first appeared in a late Midrash on the Psalms:
"There are some who say that every animal is unclean in this age, the Holy One, blessed be He, will declare clean in the future, (the Messianic Age) ... as they were in the days before the sons of Noah ... and why did he prohibit them? To see who would receive his words and who would not receive his words. But in the Messianic Age, he will permit everything that he had forbidden." (Midrash Psalms on 146:7)
Needless to say, this midrash is not widely accepted. Torah scholars and rabbis have debated the meaning of this midrash extensively. Will the Jewish people be able to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast in the Messianic Era? Will the angels serve pork in the banquet of the righteous?
Messianic Rabbi Dr. Carl Kinbar lists five opinions on the matter:
FIRST OPINION. Those who believe that the mitzvot, including Leviticus 11:7, are eternal say that a Jew must keep them as long as he lives (a dead person is not required to keep mitzvot). Pork will be permitted in the Messianic Age only because the pig will begin to chew the cud and thus become a kosher animal.
SECOND OPINION. The Radbaz (Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, C. 1479-1573) solves the problem by interpreting [the midrash] as a metaphor: Jews will eat rich foods that taste like pig's flesh.
THIRD OPINION. The Radbaz also offers a mystical interpretation: there is [an angelic] prince "above" named Chazirel, an accuser of Israel, who will be returned to Israel as its defender.
FOURTH OPINION. Rabbeinu Bechaye (Rabbi Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa, 1255-1340) asks why [Rome] is interpreted as chazir (a pig). He answers his own question by saying that it is because judgment will be returned upon them. That is although they have been spared divine judgment until now they will face it once again in the Messianic Age.
FIFTH OPINION. Rabbeinu Bechaye offers a second interpretation: it is called chazir because "it will return the crown as in the days of old." This is found in Rabbeinu Bechaye's commentary on Leviticus '1:4-7, where he further explains that "in the future [Messianic Age], this nation will build the Third Temple. This is what they said: ‘ln the future [Messianic Age], it will come to return the crown as in days of old, which it had destroyed.’" So the crown is represented by the Third Temple, which will be rebuilt by the nation that destroyed the previous Temple. Thus, the pig (chazir) could only be Rome and, according to common rabbinic interpretation, its successors.
It is important to note that none of the opinions on the midrash even suggest that the kosher laws will be revoked.
In this Torah portion we learn about the kosher laws. Christians believe that the kosher laws will be revoked, but this is not true. Yeshua kept kosher, and will keep kosher when he returns. The midrash talking about unclean foods becoming clean is not meant to be interpreted literally. It is as Yeshua says in Matthew 5:18, "Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke will pass from the Torah."
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