Exodus<\/em> 32:32).<\/p>\nMoses\u2019 \u201cerasure\u201d from the Haggadah is a clever commemoration of this loving sentiment\u2026 just as the \u201cabsence\u201d of God in Esther actually calls our attention to the miraculous nature of the events depicted therein.<\/p>\n
Parshat Shemini<\/em>, read this Shabbat, provides the fundamental Biblical source of the Dietary Laws. Yet, the Hebrew word \u201cKosher\u201d never appears in this Parshah, nor elsewhere in the entire Torah! Ironically, it first occurs in the \u201cgodless\u201d Book of Esther! There it refers not to matters gastronomic, but to \u201cfitting, appropriate, proper\u201d action. Parshat Shemini marks the precise mid-point of the Torah. The conspicuous absence of the term \u201cKosher,\u201d where you would most expect to find it, reminds the attentive reader that it is principled devotion to \u201cfitting, appropriate, and proper\u201d personal conduct that is the very heart of the Torah\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and is the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.)<\/em><\/p>\n
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