（申14）光明的未来 (Deuteronomy 14) A Bright Future

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）

Deuteronomy 14:6-8 “You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. … The pig is unclean for you because it has a divided hoof but does not chew the cud. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.”

Although the Bible says pigs are unclean for the Israelites, the Hebrew word for pig, חזיר (chazir), has the meaning of “return.” Jewish tradition holds that in a future new era for humanity, pigs will return to the category of clean animals. I suppose this means the structure of the pig’s stomach will change, and it will become a ruminant animal, “chewing the cud.” Therefore, one Jewish article says that pigs have a bright future[1]. When I discuss this part of the Bible, I often hear both the audience and myself laughing, asking, “What bright future? Isn’t it just that they can be eaten by people again?”

The Buddhist concept is not to eat animal meat to avoid being reincarnated as that animal in the next life. This idea is actually quite absurd. Someone jokingly said that by this logic, eating human meat would be the best choice so that one could be reincarnated as a human!

In contrast, the Jewish perspective is the opposite: when lower animals are eaten, they can be used by the person who consumes them to accomplish things the animals originally couldn’t do.[2] If a pig is eaten by a Jew who prays three times a day, the pig can be used by that Jew to praise the Creator—something it could not do when it was unclean and not eaten by Jews.[3]

Although this concept seems humorous, it actually carries a very serious teaching. Every pig has to die. Rather than being eaten by wild animals, dying of disease or old age and being consumed by worms after death, it is better to be eaten by humans who can then use the energy to accomplish meaningful tasks. Similarly, every person also has a limited lifespan. When a man spends his lifespan for the Creator’s purpose, he can be part of the Creator’s plan and do the most meaningful things. This is what Jesus did according to the New Testament, and it is the true significance of a Christian’s life. Jesus’ resurrection further proves that death is not the end. For those who live for the Creator, death is like graduation, and the resurrected life will enter a new stage in the presence of the Creator—a truly bright future.

Footnotes: [1]https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2376474/jewish/Pigs-Judaism.htm

[2]https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/77318/jewish/What-Gives-Us-the-Right-to-Kill-Animals.htm

[3] There is a similar Jewish story about someone reciting Deuteronomy 6:4 after eating lamb, but unfortunately, I can’t find the webpage now.

（申14）光明的未来

申14:6-8 凡分蹄成为两瓣又倒嚼的走兽，你们都可以吃。… 猪因为是分蹄却不倒嚼，就与你们不洁净。这些兽的肉，你们不可吃，死的也不可摸。

虽然圣经说猪对以色列人不洁净，但猪的希伯来文 חזיר有“回”的意思，犹太传统认为在人类将来的一个新时代，猪会回到洁净动物的类别，我猜就是猪的胃结构会改变，会变成反刍动物将食物“倒嚼” 。因此，有一个犹太人的文章上说猪有一个光明的未来[1]。我讨论圣经说到这个时，常常听众和自己都笑了，什么光明的未来？不就是又可以被人吃了吗？

佛教的观念是不要吃动物肉，以免来世变成这种动物，这个其实是很荒诞的，有人开玩笑说，那么按这种逻辑，吃人肉最好，来世可以变成人！

在犹太人观念是相反的，低等动物被吃，就可以被吃的人所使用，做它原来做不到的事情[2]。被每天三次祷告的犹太人吃了，猪就可以被他们使用赞美造物主，这是它原来不洁净不被犹太人吃时做不到的[3]！

这样的观念虽然好像是在开玩笑，但其实有很严肃的教导意义在背后。猪都有一死，与其被野兽吃，或者病死老死后被地里的虫子吃，不如被人类吃了增加他们的精力，做人类才能做的更有意义的事。同样，人也都有一死，人今生的寿命也都有限，为造物主的事业用完自己今生的寿命，就可以在造物主的蓝图里被使用，做最有意义的事情。这也是新约里耶稣所做的事情，这也是基督徒生命的真正意义。耶稣的复活还证明了死亡不是结束，对为造物主而活的人来说，死亡像是毕业，而复活后的生命将要进入与造物主同在的新阶段，一个真正光明的未来。

附注：
[1]https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2376474/jewish/Pigs-Judaism.htm
[2]https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/77318/jewish/What-Gives-Us-the-Right-to-Kill-Animals.htm
[3]有一个类似的犹太故事说到吃了羊肉的人诵读申命记6:4，可惜我现在找不到网页。