NOTES for Lev 11:1-47
The law concerning clean and unclean food was always one of the most important barriers preventing the Israelites from mingling with the surrounding nations. This probably kept them from apostasy, since shared meals would have taken place at pagan religious festivals or simply been accompanied by prayers addressed to pagan gods. What matters more for us is that this separation from the rest of the world was not mere sectarianism or proud isolation, but an expression of complete belonging to God—of holiness—that is, the fulfillment of the commandment, “Be holy, for I am holy.” How does this concern us? We are no longer called to isolation, but rather to love for everyone, even enemies and dissenters. Clearly, for us the requirement of ritual purity becomes a calling to purity of heart, soul, and body, to awareness that we belong wholly to God, to holiness in its new and ultimate sense.