Are the Kosher Laws Just a Long List of Prohibitions?

"Rabbi, why does a quarter of the Torah deal with animals?"

The question took me aback. "A quarter? Where did you get that from?"

"Isn't the Shulchan Aruch* divided into four parts? And one of them is about what's forbidden to eat, and nothing else!"

The truth is that many of us do spend a quarter of our lives interacting with food... The Torah has guidance for all aspects of life, so of course food is included. Jews are not supposed to eat like animals, grabbing anything and everything that comes to hand and gobbling it down without further thought. All aspects of physical life are designed to be used to elevate us spiritually. That doesn't happen if we don't invest thought into our actions.

In the sections dealing with forbidden food, the Torah repeatedly uses the word "distinguish." The underlying idea is that we are supposed to be constantly distinguishing between pure and impure, permitted and prohibited, right and wrong. Animals can't do that. It's irrelevant to them.

Distinguishing is embedded in creation. It started with Hashem, Who created the universe and began a process of distinguishing -- light from darkness, lower from upper waters, land from sea, and the six days of creation from the holy Shabbat day. 

Being able to distinguish, to discern differences, is one of the attributes we share with Hashem. The kosher laws aren't so much about banning a long list of foods as teaching us to be involved in a refining process. Before we integrate a creature that was once alive into our bodies, we need to know if its attributes are ones we want to absorb into ourselves. Ideally, eating the flesh of an animal should only be done with intent. Otherwise, what makes us different from those animals we consume?

The Torah's kosher laws have many levels of meaning from the esoteric to the most straightforward and cannot be adequately dealt with in a short article. Nonetheless, the basic principle is one we can all relate to, and that's the emphasis on distinctions. We're not animals and we're supposed to invest all our physical interactions with the world with forethought and intention. Distinguishing between right and wrong is something we can do at every minute of the day and that's what makes us holy.

* The Shulchan Aruch is the Code of Jewish Law and is divided into four sections, each one dealing with a different aspect of life.