YALTA: BEYOND (CHEESE-) BURGERS
Howare we to relate to the Torah's ritual prohibitions? One approach is to assumethat they exist for the purpose of pointing us in the direction of limiting worldlypleasures, to encourage us in our daily lives to "tip the scales," asit were, away from the hedonic and towards the ascetic. Sources for this approach appear in the Bible, the Talmud, and throughout subsequent Rabbinicliterature. Alternatively,we may speculate that the Torah's prohibitions are limited in scope, andtherefore, although the Torah demands that we obey these prohibitions, we arefree to seek their resultant pleasures though non-prohibited means, when possible. Our contemporary Orthodox culture certainly tends to embrace thelatter approach, especially regarding food, as we indulge in pareve substitutesfor milk and for meat, and in kosher alternatives that mimic the tastes ofshellfish and prohibited meats.
Yalta, who was the wife of Rav Nachman and also a member ofthe exilarch’s family, may serve as our precedent in this regard. In Tractate Chuulin,109b, she forcefully argues for the embrace of maximum permissible gastronomic and sexual pleasure. She provides “documentation” to support herargument by listing seven prohibitions which result in pleasurable experiences, and then demonstrating that the Torah permits those same pleasures through alternative means. Rav Nachman, and by implication the editors of theTalmud, appear to sympathize with her approach:
Chullin109b:
Yaltasaid to her husband Rav Nachman:
Any itemthat the Merciful One prohibited to us, He permitted to us a similar item:
• Heprohibited to us the consumption of blood, yet He permitted to us theconsumption of liver, which is filled with blood and retains the taste ofblood.
•Likewise, God prohibited sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman, butpermitted sexual intercourse with one’s wife while she discharges the blood ofpurity.
• TheTorah prohibits the consumption of the forbidden fat of a domesticated animal,but permitted the fat of an undomesticated animal, which has the sameflavor.
• It isprohibited to eat pork, but one may eat the brain of a shibuta fish, which hasa similar taste.
• Onemay not eat giruta, a non-kosher fish, but one may eat the tongue of a fish,which tastes similar.
•Likewise, the Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with the wife of another manbut permitted one to marry a divorced woman in her previous husband’slifetime.
• TheTorah prohibits sexual intercourse with one’s brother’s wife, and yet itpermits one to marry his yevama, i.e., his brother’s widow when the brotherdies childless.
•Finally, the Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a gentile woman butpermitted one to marry a beautiful woman who is a prisoner of war (seeDeuteronomy 21:10–14).
Yaltaconcluded: The Torah prohibits the consumption of meat cooked in milk; I wishto eat a dish that tastes like meat cooked in milk. Upon hearing this, RavNachman said to his cooks: Roast udders on a spit for her. *
I donot believe that Yalta is manifesting a hedonic ideology or gluttonoustendencies in this passage. Rather, she appears to be articulating, withreligious passion and intensity, what she believes to be a fundamental theological principle,namely, that the (legitimate) function of pleasure in this world is toinitiate and enhance relationships, be these relationships with one anotheror with God.**
Forexample, the Rabbis ordained birkos hane’he’nin -that we recite specific blessings prior to partaking of gastronomic orolfactory pleasures. These blesings should ideally transform us from takersinto recipients; thus, instead of simply taking food,we receive it from theCreator, thereby enhancing our relationship with Him. Likewise, on Shabbat, themost sacred day of the year, the halacha enables us to relate to Hashem, to Hisworld, and to the people closest to us through pleasurable experiences.
Allwholesome relationships demand mutual boundaries as well as mutual delight. Aswe have seen,Yalta refuses to view Torah prohibitions as gateways to a life ofasceticism. Instead, they serve as boundaries which reinforce the integrity ofeach individual in a relationship, and ideally lead to an attitude of reverencefor one another – whether that relationship be with Hashem or with other humanbeings.They are not intended, however, to obviate the need for individuals todelight and to pleasure one another, which is just as important as are theboundaries, if the relationship is to develop and thrive.
* אמרה ליה ילתא לרב נחמן מכדי כל דאסר לן רחמנא שרא לן כוותיהאסר לן דמא שרא לן כבדא נדה דם טוהר חלב בהמה חלב חיה חזיר מוחא דשיבוטא גירותאלישנא דכורא אשת איש גרושה בחיי בעלה אשת אח יבמה כותית יפת תאר בעינן למיכל בשראבחלבא אמר להו רב נחמן לטבחי זויקו לה כחלי
**Ibelieve that this concept holds true even according to those authorities whoare of the more ascetic bent. Pleasuring oneself and one another is often amitzvah-obligation which one may not avoid. Examples include maritalintimacy (onah), feedingthe mourner, eating meat (and according to Maimonides, drinking wine) onfestivals, eating on Erev Yom Kippur, and enhancing one's meals on Shabbos.These mitzvah-pleasures are not hedonic ends in themselves; rather, they serveto enhance our relationships with the Creator and with one another.