The Hebrew word t’refah, treif in Yiddish, means “torn by a beast of prey”. Rashi suggests here that the text is referring to kosher birds that become unfit for consumption. Treif food is therefore something that is considered un-kosher, unfit for consumption.

Non-kosher animals are de facto treif and kosher animals can become treif if not slaughtered in the right way. Kashrut is one of the stumbling blocks among Jews, between those who follow a strict mehadrin le-mehadrin policy as to what they are eating and those who consider it irrelevant or meaningless.

Some have explored a new understanding of kashrut: ethical kashrut. According to them, it is important to think about what we are eating with regard to animal welfare or the impact on the environment. More and more Progressive Jews are making the choice to be vegetarian or vegan. It is a religious and philosophical stand that allows them to be true to a Jewish tradition that can evolve and encompass current issues and concerns.

Coronavirus is not a new disease. It was first identified in the 1930s in North Dakota where an epidemic struck domesticated chickens. Many health experts believe today that the new strain of coronavirus likely originated in bats and pangolins. The first transmission was in Wuhan, China and then has mostly spread through person-to-person contact. This information should, however, be treated with caution, as we do not have yet a definite answer to that. It is the most likely explanation though.

Pandemics are part of human history and plague is one of the oldest threats to humankind. Somehow, we thought we were beyond that, that this was part of history. And yet here we are, with thousands of people dying all over the world, probably because of a reckless behaviour with animal consumption.

The laws of kashrut, if anything else, serve a deeper purpose; we should be aware of what we are eating, in harmony with nature — God’s gift — around us.

rabbi renÉ Pfertzel