The impure spirit of the External Forces rests on the forbidden foods, and anyone who eats them ingests this spirit, thereby detrimentally affecting his own soul. Consumption of pure foods, however, confers upon the person eating them some of the spirit of purity and holiness resting on those foods. This is what is meant by the verse "The righteous man eats to satisfy his soul" (Proverbs 13:25). Talmud (Chagiga 27) teaches us that as long as the Temple was standing, the sacrifices offered on the altar were the instruments of atonement for the Jewish people. Nowadays…it is our table which has to serve as the instrument for our atonement…

Nowadays, when we do not have a Temple and an altar, it is our table which has to serve as the instrument for our atonement. The author of Emek Ha-Beracha also states that a heavenly sanctity rests on foods which are pure and permitted, and this is alluded to in the verse "This is the animal which you should eat - but this you should not eat." (Lev. 11:2)

Our Sages say that Moses had difficulty understanding this paragraph and that G‑d showed him what the various categories of animals looked like (Chulin 42). In Vayikra Rabba (13:4) we are told that G‑d showed Moses a head of fire, explaining that if the protective skin around the brain was pierced, such an animal was unfit to eat regardless of the size of the hole. It is difficult to understand what Moses' problem was. We could have understood his problem if the chapter would have listed free-roaming animals which Moses had never seen - after all, Moses was not a hunter. However, the Talmud meant that Moses had difficulty understanding the reason for this legislation. He wanted to know why certain categories of animals were permitted, whereas others were prohibited.

G‑d showed Moses the positive spiritual impact which consuming certain animals would have on the people eating them - and the negative spiritual impact of certain other animals. He showed Moses the respective influence of those animals in the higher regions. Thereupon Moses understood why some categories of animals are termed "pure", whereas others are termed "impure". This is the mystical dimension of the verse "You shall eat in front of the Lord your G‑d": (Deut. 14:23) this is a reference to the "Table", i.e. a reference to the sacred element of the act of eating.

The verses "Bless the Lord, O my soul" (Psalms 1014:1) and "They ate and drank and had a vision of G‑d" (Ex. 24:11) are reminders of the impact consumption of food has on our spiritual faculties. This means that even when the Israelites consume food which has not first been specifically sanctified as a sacrifice, such meals are considered an act of spiritual significance. When gentiles eat, on the other hand, this is a totally profane activity. If you merit it, you will consume the gentile nations…

At the conclusion of this whole chapter, the Torah states, "In order to make a distinction between what is impure and what is pure", etc. When we recite the blessing of Havdala at the conclusion of Shabbat, the formula is: "Who separates between the sacred and the profane, between the People of Israel and the other nations…." This means that there is a vital difference between (even) ordinary Israelites, non-priests, and members of the gentile nations. It is this thought which Vayikra Rabba quotes in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish when the latter saw in the words (Lev. 11:9) a warning to the Jewish people that "if you merit it, you will consume the gentile nations, if not, you will be consumed by them."

In Vayikra Rabba (13:5) we are told that the reference of the Torah to the "camel which is chewing the cud" (Lev. 11:4) is an allusion to the kingdom of Babylonia which praised the Lord. As reported in Daniel, (4:31) their ruler Nebuchadnezzar praised G‑d for giving him back his sanity. The Talmud also reports that this king once made a runner run for 4 miles after a scribe to retrieve a letter to King Hezekiah in which he had greeted the king before greeting G‑d Almighty; he changed the form of address, realizing that it would be an insult if he mentioned G‑d only in second place. The pig…is an allusion to the Roman Empire…

The Torah uses extra words to explain that the daman chews its cud [a sign of being kosher], though it does not have split hooves [thus indicating that it is not kosher]. (Lev. 11:5) This is an allusion to the empire of the Medes, whose king Cyrus praised G‑d. (Ezra 1:2) The reference of the Torah to the hare, (Lev. 11:6) which similarly chews its cud, is an allusion to the Greek empire whose emperor Alexander the Great also paid homage to G‑d. The Talmud (Yoma 69) reports how this emperor deferred to the High Priest Shimon Ha-Tzadik, praising G‑d.

When referring to the pig, (Lev. 11:7) the Torah actually mentions that it does not chew the cud; it is an allusion to the Roman Empire, none of whose rulers paid homage to G‑d. Not only did the Romans not pay homage to G‑d, but they blasphemed against Him, as we know from the sarcastic remark "Who is there for me in Heaven?", (Psalms 73:25) attributed to the Romans. Sanctity still adheres to the Jewish people even in exile…

We must ask why the four empires, hosts of Israel in its various exiles, are mentioned in this Midrash at all? Our sages have described the Jewish people as serving idols in purity while in exile. Pardes Rimonim explains this by pointing out that G‑d's bounty to Israel while they are in exile is directed via the respective celestial representative of our host nation. G‑d (Lev. 16:16) is on record that: "I remain their G‑d while dwelling amongst them in their impurity". (See Rashi on this verse). This is proof that sanctity still adheres to the Jewish people even in exile. The reasons for this, partially, are that G‑d's praises emanate from the mouths of the Jewish people by way of the food they consume. The Jewish people realize that it is G‑d who orders all food to grow in order that it may become the instrument of the people's sanctification.

Edom (the Roman Empire), on the other hand, is impure, and his food habits are worse than those of other nations, as had already been demonstrated by their patriarch Esau when he wanted the lentils Jacob had cooked. He said to Jacob, "Please pour some of this red, red [food] down my throat". (Gen. 25:30) The exile the Jewish people suffer under the dominion of Edom is by far the worst. The Torah uses the pig as a symbol of the abominable manner in which this animal pretends to be pure, displaying its cleft hooves as proof, while refusing to chew the cud, a symbol of paying homage to G‑d. The mystical dimension of all this is described in Deut. 33:2. When food descends in a beneficial manner and is sacred in nature it is described as: "G‑d, You open Your hand". (Psalms 145:16)

[Translated and adapted by Eliyahu Munk.]