Voices of WRJ: Parashat Sh'mini
by Annice Benamy
Parashat Sh'mini describes the laws of Kashrut (set of Jewish dietary laws) and ritual purity. This parashah specifically examines the role of women as it is the responsibility of the people, which is largely carried out by women, to observe these laws.
In Leviticus 11:1-23, we are presented with a list of foods that we are and are not allowed to eat. The Torah permits the eating of animals with cloven hoofs that chew the cud, fish with fins and scales, and 24 types of fowl, but forbids the eating of creepy things, foods contaminated by contact with prohibited animals, carcasses, or decomposed foods. Ultimately, the key word in the parashah is k’dosh (holiness) as we are to eat animals that are pure and this is a diet for purity and holiness for our body and soul.