Jordan Rosenblum's Talk

Jordan Rosenblum made a really good relation in regards to food and identity, and he was pretty funny in the process. So often when people crack a joke about a Jew or reference the Jewish religion, food is one of the first things that comes to their minds. From bagels to matzah to a strict "no bacon" policy, we certainly do have some interesting eating habits. And so often it is with a negative connotation that we are told we are different. I do admit that even I sometimes wonder how it is that many of my friends have never given in to the temptation of a juicy bacon cheeseburger, but again, that's just the American in me :) I was not brought up in a Kosher household, but I did know a couple of people who were, and I never fully understood it. I knew that it was part of the mitzvot and that there were many different rules depending on the day, but the part that always bothered me was that no one could ever give me a good reason why. "Pigs are dirty" or "GOD says so" just really weren't explanation enough for me.
I think Rosenblum made a valiant effort to try and explain why it is that pork is so forbidden, but I still feel a bit unsatisfied. I guess just because the point about the hoofs and the chewing of the cud are so random that I have trouble understanding how those could really be qualifications. Not to say that maybe at some point in history they didn't have a more prominent meaning--just now they seem like very obscure qualities. I guess there just really are no clear cut answers to this and many other issues, and so it just gets frustrating in the search for answers. I did enjoy the packet of quotes that accompanied the talk, however, sometimes I felt like they carried the presentation too much, and there wasn't enough of his own explanation inbetween. But overall Rosenblum had a good point. Everyone has to eat; it's what they choose to eat that can tell you something about them.