Why the Distinction Between Clean and Unclean Foods

The distinction between clean and unclean foods was based on sanitary principles. To a great degree, one can trace the marvelous vitality that has distinguished the Jewish people for thousands of years to their observance of this distinction. Food that is stimulating and hard to digest often injures the health and in many cases sows the seeds of drunkenness. True temperance teaches us to live entirely without everything hurtful and to wisely use what is healthful. Few people realize how much their eating habits have to do with their health, their character, their usefulness in this world, and their eternal destiny. The body should be servant to the mind, not the mind to the body.BOE 282.3