Even tum’at hasheretz (eight creepy animals listed in the Torah) relates to the tzurah (the form) of the animal rather than to its essence.

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A Gateway to the Laws of Tum’ah and Tahara 

Tumah occurs when the purpose of a human or an object to which he has given purpose, loses its capacity for purpose. Tumah contaminates the purpose (tzurah) of an object, not its sunstance (chommer).  

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Tumah occurs when the purpose of a human or an object to which he has given purpose, loses its capacity for purpose. Tumah contaminates the purpose (tzurah) of an object, not its sunstance (chommer).  

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Removing harmful influences like Tum’ah, actually increases the influence of the positive. It is an act of being metaheir 

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Commodities derive value from equivalence and quantity; singular items derive their value from particularity. 

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Halacha provides is with various mechanisms by which to navigate the complexities of issur ve’hetter (forbidden foods). These mechanisms are not legal loopholes to be abused, but rather are to be used responsibly. 

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There is almost no limit to how far we allow our creative imagination to open avenues of thought for us even in halachik reasoning, provided where we land is stable, secure, authentic and true.

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In the area of issur ve’heter, Halacha, as in many other areas,is not concerned with the scientific data as much as it is with the human experience – actual or potential. The existence of issur (prohibited matter) mixed into permitted food is dependent on its capacity to add flavor, not on its empirical existence in the food. Our existence as human beings should also be evauated from the perspective of our capacity to “add flavor.” 

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Hashem communicates with us in a variety of ways. One is through signs; unlikely occurrences that we can notice if we are open and aware. People who are super-connected to Hashem through their absorbtion in Torah and their lives of yirat shamayim, emunah and bitachon, can set these signs up to guide their choices and decisions in moments of dilemma. But how can we know when these signs are authentic and when they are superstitious – the practice of which is a Torah prohibition of darchei ha’emmori?

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