JUDAISM-----i can be nice without kashrus

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smile2meornot Posted - 01 February 2002 15:18

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I was recently in a cab with my family when the cab driver started talking about religion.

He was saying how "why should Gd restrict you from eating certain kinds of meat? It doesn't help you grow in life, there are many things like that.

You can be a great person and eat not kosher and still be better then a person who keeps kosher but isn't the nicest person.

Religion has lost its meaning. "

I know this guy has totally got his facts messed up but I was totally stunned, I had not clue what to say to the guy!

I can't stop thinking about what I should have said- do you know of anything I could have told him? Like for if this kind of thing comes up again? thanks!

MODERATOR Posted - 01 February 2002 15:39

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Ask him how his doctor can "restrict" him form eating certain foods - like cyanide, arsenic, and mercury, for instance (all deadly), - will not drinking gasoline make you a better person?

Your soul has a "biology" to it just like your body does. And G-d, in His benevolence, has revealed to us what it takes to keep that soul alive and healthy. It's that simple.

G-d does not "restrict" us any more or less than science "restricts" us by telling us what will kill and harm us. Does he have a problem with that?

Why would G-d create a body with such "restrictions"? But He did, didn’t He? Your soul, too, has such requirements, and the scientists of the soul are the Chachamim, the science of which was given to us by G-d on Mt. Sinai.

Just like by following your doctor's directions you will merit a healthy life in this world, so too by following G-d directions you will merit eternal happiness in Gan Eden. And vice versa.

smile2meornot Posted - 03 February 2002 3:23

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thank you so much. I'll IYH print it out and put your reply in my wallet just in case s/t like that happens again- they always do. thanks.

Dee16 Posted - 18 August 2004 9:40

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SO WHAT WAS HIS POINT IN MAKING IT?

MODERATOR Posted - 18 August 2004 12:11

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Because, just like gasoline, forbidden items serve purposes on this world other than being food for Jews.