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Something I wrote at Parsha Shemini last year









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In order to understand why the pig has become synonymous with all that is not Kosher we must consider the history of Neolithic domestication of swine. The diseases that came from this particular animal, actually shaped the human immune system, because of all the animals humans were learning to domesticate, only the pig was able to share germs with our species, and this swapping of germs, while deadly to many of our ancestors, also helped to evolve our own immune system -as well as the pigs’.

The question must arise as to whether the pig’s ability to infect us with disease was the reason that pigs were considered unclean in the Kosher dietary laws recorded in the Tenakh or Old Testament. Because so much of the Jewish law dictating what was and was not actually Kosher, were collected in the writings of the two Talmudic books, the Mishna (written c. 200 CE) and the Gemara (written c. 500 CE), it could be suggested that so much time had passed since the pig was first domesticated that there was probably no correlation between the Kosher laws forbidding contact with swine, and the illnesses that would have ravaged ancient pastoral societies.

In Leviticus, the third book in the Old Testament which was attributed to Moses, but which was more likely written during the Babylonian exile between 538 and 332 BCE, God gives the Hebrews not only the famous Ten Commandments, but also all 613 commandments associated with Jewish life, including the commandments that dictate what is “clean” to eat and what is not.

"Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying; 'These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth”

The main factor in determining what herd animals are, and are not, Kosher has to do with whether they have a cloven hoof and chew their cud. Had Leviticus left it at that I might never have written these words. But the text goes on:


So the pig is one of the few animals that were actually ‘called out’ in the Bible as being un-Kosher. This is very significant because when the Bible specifically names a thing it implies that that thing has some power over ancient cultures. For instance, in Genesis as God is creating the world, there is a reference to the creation of “the great sea-monsters”. The actual word used for ‘sea monster’ in Hebrew is tninim, which means crocodile. Many of the religious cults of the time worshipped the symbol of the crocodile as a god, particularly in Egypt, which was a major cultural influence on the Hebrews. By actually naming this animal, the ancient writers are illustrating YAWH’s omnipotence over the whole of creation, even the gods of Egypt. Thus, because the pig is named, it is probable there was a history that needed to be specifically addressed.

Still we have around ten thousand years separating the domestication of the pig and the writing of Jewish law. Many things may have come to pass and been forgotten in ten thousand years, but the Bible was not written whimsically on a sunny day in Dolores park, it was a compilation of oral traditions passed down through the generations from father to son, from mother to daughter. The writings were the sacred laws, stories, and lineage of this Semitic tribe recited by the priests who would retain the knowledge by repeating the words over and over throughout the year, ensuring that nothing was ever forgotten. Because the Jews feared their traditions would be lost following the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem, which had been their center of learning and knowledge since the 9th century BCE, they wrote it all down and committed it to the Old Testament. Much of the Jewish texts were assembled during times of crises and exile. The Talmud was a result of the Romans destruction of the Second Temple at Jerusalem and the subsequent diaspora of the Jewish people across the world. Without a written standard, a manual, communities would have lost their traditions and assimilated into whatever culture dominated their new homes.

The written Bible was a compilation from many different writers in many different periods as they tried to save their laws and culture by documenting the elaborate oral traditions of the Hebrew people. These stories and rules, like the rejection of pork, became icons of Jewish tradition and culture, but as they emerged from the past it was probable that they would carry with them the echo Neolithic drama and wisdom, like the Garden of Eden, the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel. From the ancient clues left behind we may never actually know the whole truth, but I believe that most of the stories and commandments in the Bible probably came from an ancient, practical source, that was passed down from generation to generation.

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SD, welcome to Mi Yodeya! Please note that questions and answers here are from the point-of-view of Judaism, which holds its foundational texts and traditions to be of Divine origin. –  Isaac Moses Sep 1 '13 at 1:43
@SDKarlin, camel, hyrax, and hare are also called out in Leviticus, yet they don't seem singled out in our culture the same way as pigs. Furthermore: "it could be suggested that so much time had passed since the pig was first domesticated that there was probably no correlation between the Kosher laws forbidding contact with swine, and the illnesses that would have ravaged ancient pastoral societies." Provably false. The Talmud records (Taanit 21b) that a porcine epidemic is a major threat to humans, as our internal organs are so similar. –  Shalom Sep 1 '13 at 5:39

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