The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Der Herr im Jordantal
- Chapter 239 -
Criticizing the food regulations of Moses.
Why actually do the Jews not eat pork meat, which is obviously better than sheep meat? Why did Moses forbid this to them? We Romans know how to well prepare pork meat, we eat it and we grow older than the Jews.
2
I think that the good Moses joked with the people when he prohibited this to them. He was initiated in all the Egyptian mysteries and well realized that his tribesmen in Egypt became real pigs, and we Romans make jokes about that and say: Moses saw that this people fell down into the lowest depth of dirt, and to prevent them from becoming even more dirty they were forbidden to eat pork meat since they were already dirtier than the dirtiest pig. And I think that Moses was completely right, because that people only thought about continuously stuffing themselves. Finally, no animal was safe anymore from their gluttony.
3
But Moses, since he himself was a Jew, had compassion with this people and established regulations for everything in order to bring that people back to their former health and soberness, for he, who was initiated in all sciences and secrets, knew very well what he had to do to safe his people who were completely pining away, and thus he also made regulations about what they could eat and what not.
4
In Egypt, as already said, no animal was safe from their gluttony. All sorts of birds in the air, all sorts of animals on Earth and all sorts of animals of the sea were in danger while the ancient Israelites and also the ancient Egyptians ate only the meat of cows, calves, oxen en bulls, chickens, lambs and goats, a few sorts of good fish, bread and wine, and they stayed completely healthy with that. If the ancient Egyptians and also the ancient Hebrews would have known like us Romans how to prepare the meat of pork so that it would not harm physical health - as well as the meat of different other birds and also animals like deer, roes, gazelles and hares - they also would have stayed healthy like us.
5
But Moses was an Egyptian as far as his education was concerned, and so he also, after saving them from the claws of the pharaoh, established a list of food regulations that were very common at the palace of the pharaoh where he lived and where he was educated. Just said between You and me, my dear, wonderful friend: to this list of food regulations he added a divine coloring since he himself was supposed to be in close relationship with the deity, and he even said that the one who would take other food than what he prescribed, would also defile his soul. He probably did that to keep his people constantly sober. However, later in the Arabian desert, this for more than 40 years, he had it difficult to educate the people to only stay with these prescribed foods.
6
But he really did not gain much with that, as we Romans see it, for the people were too strongly and too severely used to keep the outer norms and he let them believe, that, regarding a very pure, good and almighty deity, they did more than enough when they only kept the outer laws. And I honestly must tell You, my dear, wonderful friend, that this was not completely but only halfly beneficial for his people.
7
The best laws that he gave were the ones that helped the people to know again about his God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
8
But for what concerns that so-called list of foods and also the ancient, refreshed circumcision, he did not, in my opinion, accomplish what is best. But generally he was of good will and he certainly established an eternal memorial as liberator of this people. But if he would have instructed his people more with the wisdom of the ancient Egyptians instead of what he was doing, he would have accomplished a better goal for his people than with the prohibition of eating well prepared pork meat.
9
And I have the impression that this is the reason why in this present time this people of Israel sink so deeply. What kind of advice would You, wonderful Master, give the people regarding the question what man may eat or not?"