My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) - Ahahrei Mot/Kedoshim
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on May 1, 2009 | Tags: Achrei Mot
The prohibition against the consumption of blood is clear and unambiguous, as we see in this week's double portion Aharei Mot/Kedoshim. "Therefore I say to the Israelite people: No person among you shall partake of blood, nor shall the stranger who resides among you partake of blood." (Lev. 17:12). That explains why kosher meat is broiled or salted to remove the blood, but it also explains why, in a literature that includes golems and dybbuks, there is no Jewish equivalent to the vampire. This is one of the reasons why the blood libel - the accusation that Jews used the blood of Christian children - was especially offensive: not only was it a lie, but it was an outrageous lie at that, since Jews would never consume blood, much less use it in religious rituals. Sometimes such accusations are more projections of the actions of the accuser than the accused. Food for thought, albeit consider it food without blood.
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
