Anyone who runs a kosher kitchen knows that we Jews are paranoid about blood! We check all of our eggs for spots and all of our meat is salted - after having removed the major arteries!

It's no wonder though. For a seemingly minor Kashrus detail, the Torah stresses the prohibition on eating blood over and over again. In Parshas Re'eh alone Moshe repeats the prohibition 3 times in consecutive verses;

23 Only be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life-force and you may not eat the life-force with the flesh. 24 Do not eat it, you shall pour it on the ground like water. 25 Do not eat it, in order that it be good for you and your children after you, when you do what's right in the eyes of Hashem.

One of the cornerstones in the study of Torah is that nothing is superfluous. From the repetition, our sages conclude that there are different types of blood, each subject to a different law. The most serious level of prohibition is on the Dam HaNefesh, the life-blood. This is the blood which spurts out at the time of Shechita (ritual slaughter). Consuming Dam HaNefesh is forbidden on punishment of Kareis - spiritual disconnection. This is the blood mentioned in verse 23 as being the life-force.

The second type of blood, referred to in verse 24, is Dam Tamtzis. This is the blood which slowly ebbs out from the incision after the Shechita. Dam Tamtzis is also forbidden to be eaten but less severely.

The final type of blood is referred to as Dam HaEivarim, the blood which remains absorbed within the organs and flesh of the animal after Shechita. Our sages make a further distinction within this category: Only once the blood has separated and moved from the capillaries is it forbidden. This happens when the meat is cooked. Such meat requires a process of rinsing and salting to remove its blood. In raw meat, the blood is considered as not having moved from its place. Technically speaking, raw meat can be eaten after rinsing, without requiring salting.

Why does the Torah forbid us from eating blood in such strong terms? The mystics answer this questions with the age-old saying 'you are what you eat'. The blood of an animal contains its soul. The character traits of an animal are selfish and impulsive, seeking only its personal material gratification. By consuming blood we ingest these animalistic traits. In doing so, we erode our uniquely human psyche and dull our spiritual sensitivity.

In Kabbalistic thought we learn that there is an animal within us; our animalistic soul, often referred to as the Yetzer Hora (the evil inclination). Like an animal, this soul is the source of our negative and selfish traits which conceal and obstruct our G-dly soul's ambitions of connection to G-d and acting generously to our fellow man. Blood is a euphemism for the animalistic soul which vitalises the body. The mainstay of this soul is in the heart, the source of blood and the seat of our primal emotions.

On a deeper level, in forbidding blood with such urgency, the Torah is warning us to be strong in distancing ourselves from giving in to our animalistic impulses. This understanding prompts the ancient Aramaic translation of Targum Yonasan to translate the beginning of verse 23 as Only be strong with your inclinations . The Torah expects us to utilise our G-dly qualities and spiritual strengths, to subdue these impulses, thereby living a more spiritually meaningful existence.

As with the types of blood discussed, our animalistic self manifests its presence in different ways. The most obvious and spiritually harmful situation is when we are overcome with an undesirable passion for negativity. Our animalistic side actively spurts forth with momentum and veracity. Yet precisely because of its force, the source of these impulses is easily recognisable, making them easier to control.

To a lesser degree the impulses of the Yetzer Hora may slowly ooze out into our lives. They may be disguised within the pretext of good intentions. We rationalise in our minds that certain thoughts and behaviours are really not so terrible. Unintendedly, our animalistic self is given expression and our sense of right and wrong, holy and profane is subtly obscured.

When our animalistic impulses remain hidden within, this is like the Dam HaEivarim: If the blood has moved i.e. our animalistic tendencies are agitating for expression, then, even if it does not actively come to the surface, this is Treif. We must be on our guard so that we don't give it the expression that it seeks.

Only where the blood of animalistic self-absorption has been subdued and lies completely dormant is this situation 'kosher'. Vanquishing the animalistic side of ourselves completely is not the objective. Rather, the animalistic soul should serve merely as a vehicle for attaining our loftier, spiritual pursuits.

With all of our stringencies, it would be rare for physical blood to pass the eye of a kosher-alert individual. We need the same diligence, if not more, to ensure that the passions which take us away from spiritual growth are removed from our soul-diet as well.

 

~ Rabbi Yoni Johnson

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