Eating/Consumption

 I once heard an analysis that was just so strikingly simple that, even if I disagreed with it, it made sense. Which is that regarding the laws of kashrut, pretend that the prohibited items were poison.  Now, as far as we know, eating these unclean animals isn't actually poisonous for the body - but it may be poison for the soul.  On this level, the prohibition doesn't become an act of blind obedience or faith anymore - it becomes an issue of eternal health.

The Torah in this fourth aliyah lays out the laws of eating we know so well: animals must have split hooves and chew the cud, fish must have fins and scales and if so are otherwise kosher, birds are essentially all kosher - but this where things get interesting.  Because, in its wisdom, the Torah says "Every bird that is clean you may eat" - and then provides a very detailed list of unclean birds, of which we have no idea what they are.  I'm sure there are man skilled translators who have made a guess, but, at best, they are still guesses, and my Torah neither makes an attempt to translate in the text itself or even in the commentary.  

So what are we left to do?  We have a long list of items we can't eat, which are essentially unknown.  And I don't think the Torah would want us to simply throw up our hands and say - well, since we don't know what these are, we shouldn't eat any birds.  After all - how do we know that one of these untranslatable items isn't chicken, a dish beloved by so many Jews?  (I'm vegetarian, mostly vegan, by the way, for eternal health reasons as well.)  This leads to an even more interesting consideration, which is that we don't have guidelines for birds, which is unlike the other categories - animals and fish - for which we do.

I haven't quite come up with the solution yet, but I fear that I potentially wading into territory many might find heretical, which is, basically, that after doing diligent research and coming to an informed conclusion, abiding by the express halacha is, essentially, a personal decision.  A decision which, once imposed - almost becomes like a vow, which has the force of a full mitzvah.  In a way, it is the deepest and most obvious personalization of Torah there is - to decide the law for oneself.  Whether this is applicable to other areas of law as well - that is perhaps a larger question.