Why have religious or very observant Jews not come to realize that food laws were only for disobedience?

They made sacrifices on the altars, for example, and had specific food laws that God commanded the Israelites because they turned to other God's and broke many of God's commandments out of Egypt. God needed to establish divine recognition of commandments for future generations.

God said to Noah that EVERYTHING on Earth he could eat and not be held accountable. How do very observant Jews explain this?

Thank you.

2013-08-15T13:31:22Z

@Fascinating- You clearly do not comprehend the ways of God, for he is all knowing, and there is no "opposite" to His words and His glory. What is said is meant to be divinely said, and how we choose to follow His commandments is up to us.

I am referring to the Torah, and God said the opposite at the divine time to certain people. Does it mean he MEANT the opposite things for us? No. God knows everything and what is best for society.

2013-08-15T14:11:51Z

@Aravah- You clearly do not understand the ways of Adonai, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Here oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Sacrifices WERE to draw people closer to God. This was because of our iniquities. The way AFTER God showed his presence to some of the disobedient Israelites THAT DEPARTED FROM THE 12 TRIBES of JUDAH to draw nigher unto the Lord is to seek his righteous emotions and repent for your own sins, as done on Yom Kippor.

You ARE CLEARLY not a true Jew THAT understands the Torah if you think that food laws are required to draw nigher unto the Lord. They helped AT THOSE divine times of err. Shama, Yisroael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai, Echad. So don't eat some pork- and I'll atone for my sins by eating it at a restaurant and repenting for my sins at the same time, WHILE imagining the Lord of God of Hosts.

You ARE ignorant of the Torah, for you would have known that God's grace of the Lord of Hosts is God. God is, I AM. He always has been h

2013-08-15T14:12:42Z

has been how he is, and connecting to him is the same for the days before the Mosaic covenant.

2013-08-15T14:22:46Z

@Kaganite- If one is with a friend at a restaurant (A KOSHER one...), if they eat something abominable it will not harm their souls, bodies, mind, or spirits. It COULD back then for specific ignorances at certain times of the Israelites.

In the same way, no matter where you go, who you meet, or who you talk to, the Zeal of the Lord of Hosts surrounds us all, and you can connect to him by atoning for you sins and connecting to his righteous emotions and feelings. You determine how you follow God's commandments wherever you go in general, no matter how you're feeling.

The altars WERE to sacrifice flesh too, AND blood, AND fire, and anything the Lord could consume to atone for specific sins. Then God has said to destroy all altars NOT meant for the divine purpose of Him. The attonement we have not unto Adonai our God should come from our own hearts.

kaganate2013-08-15T14:04:21Z

Favorite Answer

Observant Jews understand the Jewish sources -- the materials passed down from the time of Moses through today regarding the Jewish national revelation at Sinai.

The interpretation you have seems to be based on the Helenistic theology of Christianity -- which in many ways is quite opposite to the revelation of God to the Jewish nation.

> So - what is the Jewish understanding of it? -

They entered into a lasting (eternal) covenant (agreement) with God whereby they became "a priestly state, a nation set apart"

The distinctive Jewish laws are intended as fundamentaly different from those of others because they are part of that distinctive job that God gave the Jews.

==
It may be worth noting that, while the normal Christian understanding is that sacrifice is needed as the atonement for sin,
the Jews were told otherwise by God --

FIrstly, the vast majority of Jewish sacrifices have nothing to do with sin
They are offerings of celebration - the sharing of joy.

Secondly - with respect to the sin sacrifice --
"the sacrifice of the sinner is an abomination"
"sin" is a violation of morality / a crime / a deed that damages the world
the slaughter of an animal can not be used as a bribe to God to hide moral culpability
Instead -- the person must repair his morality, make up for crime, repair damage to the world..
Only once he has done such real repentance, after he is no longer "a sinner"
then he comes with the sacrifice --
again - as an offering of fellowship with God

When the Jew brings a sacrifice to the Temple, it is like when a person takes his friend to dinner -- a way to come closer to his friend -- in this case - a way to come closer to God.

?2013-08-15T20:43:28Z

Noah wasn't a Jew. The laws G-d gave to the Jewish people, including the ones regarding Kashrut, only apply to the Jewish people. As for why we follow them, it's to remain aware of G-d's presence in everything, including what and how we eat. It's a practice of mindfulness. Not to mention that in many of our opinions the ways of eating via Kashrut just make sense, since following the laws make it easier to avoid parasites, bloodborn pathogens, poisoning (such as the Red Tide poisoning that occurs when eating certain shellfish harvested in less than ideal areas in less than idea times), and other little undesired problems that are inherent in the modern diet.

Aravah2013-08-15T20:39:01Z

Jewish answer: You clearly do not comprehend the ways of the Gd of Abraham

It is about being aware of G-d on a daily basis and being different than those around us. By not being able to eat with non-Jews and (for men) looking different than the surrounding pagans of ancient times because of being circumcised, it made it much more difficult to assimilate into pagan cultures.

In addition, a pig cannot be slaughtered in a kosher manner, it has no neck.

added: <yawn> a Christian lecturing Jews on what we should believe. The arrogance is sometimes astounding.

Solly Llama NOR★CAL R&S2013-08-15T20:30:33Z

Noah wasn't Jewish. There were no Jews at the time of Noah.

Observant Jews understand that non-Jews who follow the Law of Noah receive God's grace.

The dietary laws were given to Jews. Non-Jews aren't expected to follow them.

For more information, google Noahide.

?2013-08-15T20:28:16Z

And yet, in the OT god said the exact opposite of what you're ranting about, so isn't picking the one excerpt that supports your case cherry picking a bit?

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