(ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
אל כל עדת בני ישראל כבר אמרו רבותינו (תו"כ ריש הפרשה) שהפרשה הזו נאמרה בהקהל מפני שרוב גופי תורה תלויין בה וזה טעם "אל כל עדת בני ישראל" אבל הוזכרה כאן בתורת הכהנים מפני שידבר בה על קרבן השלמים ומפני שיזכיר בה המשפט שיצוה לעשות בעושי התועבות הנזכרות והעריות והתועבות הוזכרו בספר הזה מפני הטעם שכתבנו בתחלת הספר "קדושים תהיו" - הוו פרושים מן העריות ומן העבירה שכל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה אתה מוצא קדושה לשון רש"י אבל בתורת כהנים (פרשה א ב) ראיתי סתם פרושים תהיו וכן שנו שם (שמיני פרק יב ג) והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני כשם שאני קדוש כך אתם תהיו קדושים כשם שאני פרוש כך אתם תהיו פרושים ולפי דעתי אין הפרישות הזו לפרוש מן העריות כדברי הרב אבל הפרישות היא המוזכרת בכל מקום בתלמוד שבעליה נקראים פרושים והענין כי התורה הזהירה בעריות ובמאכלים האסורים
What are the two pre-requisites for eating that makes Jews different than goyim?
1.
2.
ברכות
כל הנהנה מן העוה"ז בלא ברכה כאילו גוזל להקב"ה וכנסת ישראל שנא'
Whoever enjoys anything of this world without a benediction is as though he robbed the Holy One.
(א) לְדָוִ֗ד מִ֫זְמ֥וֹר לַֽ֭יהוָה הָאָ֣רֶץ וּמְלוֹאָ֑הּ תֵּ֝בֵ֗ל וְיֹ֣שְׁבֵי בָֽהּ׃
(א) לא יטעום אדם כלום עד שיברך שנאמר (תהילים כד) לה' הארץ ומלואה הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה מעל עד שיתירו לו כל המצות...
(1) A person should not taste anything until he makes a Bracha (blessing) on it, as it is said, “To Hashem is the Earth and its fullness…” (Psalms 24:1). One who receives pleasure from this world without a Bracha makes inappropriate use of sacred property...
(טז) הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם שָׁ֭מַיִם לַיהוָ֑ה וְ֝הָאָ֗רֶץ נָתַ֥ן לִבְנֵי־אָדָֽם׃
Insert Pninei Halacha Pages
- One must say a Bracha on ANY amount of food.
- You should see the food before reciting the Bracha, e.g. if one wants to eat a cashew, you first open up the shell and see if its fit for a Bracha (no worms etc.).
- You should hold the food/drink in your right hand, or left hand if you are a lefty.
- One must be very careful not to mention G-D's name in vain. Before you start saying the Bracha, you should know which Bracha is the appropriate one.
- No food or drink should be in your mouth while reciting a Bracha.
- Between the Bracha and eating you must not talk or even wait any amount of time, but eat or drink the food right away.
- If you forgot to say a Bracha before eating, as long as you still have some food left you still have to say the Bracha.
- Shekhakol covers food if you don't know its proper bracha
-Halachos of the Brachos by Rabbi Bodner(Its called the grapefruit book :)
-פניני הלכה ברכות: רב מלמד
–The Laws of Brachos by Rabbi Forst
1.What times in Judaism do have mitzvoth to eat?
Shabbos,purim,pesach, get more examples
(ב) דַּבְּר֛וּ אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר זֹ֤את הַֽחַיָּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֹּאכְל֔וּ מִכָּל־הַבְּהֵמָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
(2) Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: These are the living things which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth......
(מד) כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי וְלֹא תְטַמְּאוּ אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בְּכָל הַשֶּׁרֶץ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ. (מה) כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי.
(44) For I am the LORD your God; so sanctify yourselves, and be holy, for I am holy; and you will not make yourselves impure with any manner of swarming thing that crawls on the earth. (45) For I am the LORD who is bringing you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; and you will be holy, for I am holy.
Just as the external temple, which represents your holy mission and to which you should sanctify yourself, becomes desecrated by impurity...so are these foods impure and unfit for your spirit, as far as they are all of them the living place of activity for your own being which is summoned unto holiness. If you have eaten them. not only touched but absorbed them into your system- you may be more nourished and better fed: but the animal instinct will be aroused more strongly within you, and your body becomes more blunted as an instrument of the spirit. Your heart, instead of being holy, instead of only striving for holiness- namely, your sublimity over everything animal-like, is drawn down to the animal- or become the more apathetic and dulled. Your spirit is now faced with a fiercer battle. and is less equipped for the fight".
(ט) ויש שם דברים אחרים אסרו אותן חכמים ואף על פי שאין לאיסורן עיקר מן התורה גזרו עליהן כדי להתרחק מן העכו"ם עד שלא יתערבו בהן ישראל ויבאו לידי חתנות ואלו הן:אסרו לשתות עמהן ואפילו במקום שאין לחוש ליין נסך ואסרו לאכול פיתן או בישוליהן ואפילו במקום שאין לחוש לגיעוליהן.
(9) And there are other things that the Sages prohibited, even though they are not Biblically prohibited, the Sages decreed upon these in order to distance from the Gentiles such that Israel would not assimilate in them, and intermarry. And the prohibitions are: The prohibited to drink with them, even when we are not worried about libations; and they prohibited eating their bread or dishes that they cooked, even when we are not worried about their "revulsions" [i.e. the absorbed taste of non-kosher food in the dishes].
(יד) וְאֹתִי צִוָּה יְהוָה בָּעֵת הַהִוא לְלַמֵּד אֶתְכֶם חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים לַעֲשֹׂתְכֶם אֹתָם בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ.
1.Why is there only ONE pasuk in the entire Torah about davening/tefillah
but tons of pesukim about kashrut?
Because human nature is that it easy to pray and tell someone to go meditate on a mountain to connect with G-d spiritually, but it is much harder to demand something of us physically,namely that we abstain from certain food. Yet somehow,the harder something is,the more it has kept us in check. We have survived as a Jewish nation for thousands of years without the Beis Hamikdash but we would not survive as a nation if we stopped keeping kashrut.
(Ironically,the two most kept days of the Jewish Calendar,even by those who are not observant are Yom Kippur and Pesach,the hardest days of the year because they are most demanding and restricted and both are very concerned with food)
2.A חוק is something we do not understand. Chukim teach us the most fundamental aspect of Judaism- we do we things we don't understand to display that even the things we do understand we only do because Hashem commanded them.(sayyyyy what?)
Example:If my friend asks me to do something for her that I don't understand and I do it for her,it shows that when I do things for her that I do understand, I don't do them because I understand them but simply because I love her.
3.The Chok of Kashrus is placed right after the story of Nadav and Avihu being killed. There are many reasons given for their terribly tragic death yet at the end of the day,their death is something we do not understand. Imagine Aharon's pain,not understanding his sons sudden death,yet Aharon accepts it. וידם אהרוּן,instead of questioning, Aharon accepts the circumstances. The Chok of Kashrus is specifically placed after the "Chok"of Nadav and Avihus death because just as there are Chok Mitzvoth that we don't understand,yet we accept and trust Hashem,there are Chok life circumstances in which we must also accept and trust Hashem