Singled out among the animals that we are prohibited to eat is the חזיר , the swine, ואת החזיר כי מפריס פרסה הוא , and the pig, for its hoof is split.
Why would the pig, which is the paragon of impurity & disgust, be one of the few non-kosher animals that have one kosher sign. Wouldn't it make more sense for it to have none?
This, says the ארון עדות , teaches us a very important lesson about serving Hashem. There are times when a person feels great difficulty in serving Hashem, when one feels like heaven itself is pushing him away, as if it doesn't want him or his good deeds. He feels despondent, giving up & ceasing any attempt to reach Hashem. However, a person has to know that even in that situation one has to redouble his efforts & strengthen himself with all the power he has, not to allow himself to be weakened. These situations are merely a test from Hashem to see how one serves Him even in difficult situations, so one has to continue to push himself into the sanctity of Hashem.
There's a story told of an apostate who would slander & inform on his people whenever he could, one who committed every conceivable sin and then came to Reb Yehuda Hachasid saying he wanted to do teshuva.
The rabbi had a smooth wooden rod on his desk which he lifted & said to the apostate, “you see this rod? Just as it will never blossom, so, too, you can never do teshuva; the gates of repentance are closed to people like you". With a heavy heart the apostate shuffled out.
After some time, Reb Yehuda was grappling with a very difficult passage & absentmindedly reached for his piece of wood. He was shocked that it was no longer smooth; it had leaves and buds forming on it! Suddenly, he remembered the apostate, sent for him & told him, “you caused a miracle to happen. The stick budded. Obviously your teshuva was accepted. What had you done?
The apostate then recited his story. “One day, as I left my house, I heard a mob of Christians screaming, ‘death to the Jews.’ A Christian child had been found dead & they were blaming the Jews, saying they needed the blood for Matzos. As the crowd became larger & louder, ready to kill, a messenger from the governor came riding through & said that no Jew can be touched until they prove the story. They then saw me, the notorious informer; they dragged me to the governor to tell him that the Jews used blood in their Matzos. I was in a quandary. If I confirmed the libel, I would reinforce my position of honor. However, I would be sentencing the community to death.
Still unsure what to do, I was thrust in front of the governor who asked me, “is it the practice of the Jews to use blood in the Matza baking?” This was the moment; it was all or nothing for me. Finally, I said that not only do the Jews not need blood for their matzos, they abhor blood. They are not allowed to eat any blood: meat has to be salted to get rid of blood; eggs have to be checked to ensure that there is no blood; no way they use blood in Matzos!
The crowd was speechless. I, the Jew hater, was defending the Jews. The town was spared which inspired me to return to Judaism. Even when you rejected me, I didn't give up but worked on myself to return to my people.
This is the lesson of the חזיר, for the nature of a pig is that even when you push him away, he always comes back to the place he started. No amount of pushing would help; he just keeps coming back. It’s called a חזיר like the word חזרה , for it’s always coming back.
This is why it has the symbol of purity on its feet, to teach us that even though its whole body is impure; from the feet we could learn a good thing - to keep coming back. Just like the apostate didn't give up & was accepted by Hashem, we, too, should never give up. No matter what situation we’re in, we can always come back!
Why would the pig, which is the paragon of impurity & disgust, be one of the few non-kosher animals that have one kosher sign. Wouldn't it make more sense for it to have none?
This, says the ארון עדות , teaches us a very important lesson about serving Hashem. There are times when a person feels great difficulty in serving Hashem, when one feels like heaven itself is pushing him away, as if it doesn't want him or his good deeds. He feels despondent, giving up & ceasing any attempt to reach Hashem. However, a person has to know that even in that situation one has to redouble his efforts & strengthen himself with all the power he has, not to allow himself to be weakened. These situations are merely a test from Hashem to see how one serves Him even in difficult situations, so one has to continue to push himself into the sanctity of Hashem.
There's a story told of an apostate who would slander & inform on his people whenever he could, one who committed every conceivable sin and then came to Reb Yehuda Hachasid saying he wanted to do teshuva.
The rabbi had a smooth wooden rod on his desk which he lifted & said to the apostate, “you see this rod? Just as it will never blossom, so, too, you can never do teshuva; the gates of repentance are closed to people like you". With a heavy heart the apostate shuffled out.
After some time, Reb Yehuda was grappling with a very difficult passage & absentmindedly reached for his piece of wood. He was shocked that it was no longer smooth; it had leaves and buds forming on it! Suddenly, he remembered the apostate, sent for him & told him, “you caused a miracle to happen. The stick budded. Obviously your teshuva was accepted. What had you done?
The apostate then recited his story. “One day, as I left my house, I heard a mob of Christians screaming, ‘death to the Jews.’ A Christian child had been found dead & they were blaming the Jews, saying they needed the blood for Matzos. As the crowd became larger & louder, ready to kill, a messenger from the governor came riding through & said that no Jew can be touched until they prove the story. They then saw me, the notorious informer; they dragged me to the governor to tell him that the Jews used blood in their Matzos. I was in a quandary. If I confirmed the libel, I would reinforce my position of honor. However, I would be sentencing the community to death.
Still unsure what to do, I was thrust in front of the governor who asked me, “is it the practice of the Jews to use blood in the Matza baking?” This was the moment; it was all or nothing for me. Finally, I said that not only do the Jews not need blood for their matzos, they abhor blood. They are not allowed to eat any blood: meat has to be salted to get rid of blood; eggs have to be checked to ensure that there is no blood; no way they use blood in Matzos!
The crowd was speechless. I, the Jew hater, was defending the Jews. The town was spared which inspired me to return to Judaism. Even when you rejected me, I didn't give up but worked on myself to return to my people.
This is the lesson of the חזיר, for the nature of a pig is that even when you push him away, he always comes back to the place he started. No amount of pushing would help; he just keeps coming back. It’s called a חזיר like the word חזרה , for it’s always coming back.
This is why it has the symbol of purity on its feet, to teach us that even though its whole body is impure; from the feet we could learn a good thing - to keep coming back. Just like the apostate didn't give up & was accepted by Hashem, we, too, should never give up. No matter what situation we’re in, we can always come back!
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