Pigs are Very Jewish: Judaism Unbound Episode 487 - Jordan Rosenblum
Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are joined by author Jordan Rosenblum to discuss his National Jewish Book Award-winning book, Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig. Interested in learning more about why the pig has felt so terribly treyf (yid. “non-kosher”) all these years? Rosenblum peels back the thick layers of meaning to get to the gristle.
[1] Applications are open for our UnYeshiva certificate program in unbound Judaism! This certificate program is an opportunity to enter into a course of study where you can develop Jewish knowledge, skills, and holy chutzpah! It is a trans-generational community of Jewish learning and growth, predicated on the ancient Jewish tradition of changing Jewish tradition. The deadline for applications is coming up soon -- Sunday, June 15th! Click here to learn more!
[2] To find out more about Rosenblum’s book, Forbidden or purchase a copy, click here.
[3] The mandate to not eat pig appears five times in the entire Hebrew Bible, as Rosenblum says. That’s compared to ONCE in the seven rules establishing Animalist society in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Twice if you count “friends” as those you would abstain from eating. And those were written by pigs!
[4] If you are not familiar with the holiday of Hanukkah, that’s okay! Here is more information about it and how to celebrate. For Judaism Unbound’s take on Hanukkah, check out Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized.
[5] For more Judaism Unbound content on Shabbetai Zevi, check out Judaism Unbound Episode 269: Shabbetai Zevi - Permitting the Forbidden - Xava DeCordova and Michael Sokolovsky or episodes from Xava and Michael’s show, Xai How Are You?, here, here, or here.
[6] The Epistle of Barnabas can be found here.
[7] Barry, of the Youtube account “Sandwiches of History,” dates Lex’s favorite childhood snack to 1936.
[8] The majority of Jews are indeed not professional baseball players. But, some are!
[9] Rosenblum references the character of Voldemort from the popular series Harry Potter to describe how the discomfort in naming a thing contributes to its power. Here is a list of transgender rights organizations in the U.S. and other toolkits from GLAAD. Here’s a U.K.-specific resource.
[10] Rosenblum is discussing British anthropologist Mary Douglas’ argument from her 1966 book Purity and Danger that pigs were prohibited because they defied the separation of categories between domesticity and wildness—they do not chew their cud, but they do have cloven feet.
[11] Rosenblum shouts out our upcoming guest John Efron, who will join us next week (!) to discuss his book All Consuming.
[12] Rosenblum references author Jonathan Safran Foer. Check out Judaism Unbound Episode 159: Judaism Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer!
[13] Rosenblum references this autobiography by author Getty Lee, about his parents’ experience during World War II.
[14] “The secret of Jewish survival” Rosenblum mentions was an idea Mark Twain discussed in his 1899 essay Concerning the Jews, which you can find linked here.
