veryone loves to conjecture why or how these laws came about. Some say they're for health reasons — because under-cooked pork can carry disease, for example — but this explanation is unlikely. Here are a few possibilities to chew on. First, maintaining specific dietary regulations strengthens and defines the integrity of a group. A community that shares requirements for eating tends to stay together. Similarly, eating practices can help identify the line between one tribe and another. For example, some scholars believe the prohibition against eating pork resulted from the desire to be different from the neighboring tribes.
Kashrut also forces Jews to be forever thoughtful of what they put into their bodies. Many meditative traditions encourage mindful eating, but Judaism turns it into a law. In this way, Jews show that humans can make choices from free will rather than catering to every desire. Kashrut is a discipline, a practice, that many Jews believe elevates eating to a religious ritual.
Jewish tradition recognizes that all life is holy, and no animal should be killed carelessly or painfully.
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