I have got this nice get-well-soon card that I’d like to send to an acquantance who is laid up after a paragliding accident (no lasting damage it seems, but his broken vertebrae and wrist will still need lots of rest and rest isn’t what he is good at)
Only, the card’s motive is some cute and cuddly (well-scrubbed) piglets, and the intended recipient is Jewish (Israeli, grew up in a secular kibbutz, teaches my Friday evening and Saturday afternoon gymnastics groups among others). I doubt kashrut is a huge deal for him, but I don’t know if pig being not kosher might have influenced secular Israeli culture so that pigs might be considered nasty or repulsive (at least the possibility of such an influence of religion into people’s cultural background would not seem far-fetched to me).
So, would a secular Israeli Jew consider (non-stinky, live) pigs repulsive/nasty, more than a non-Jew would?
(and, while I am about it, as a matter of curiosity: how do observant/Orthodox Jews feel about pigs in a non-food context?)
[and yes, I am aware that Friday afternoon (my time) is perhaps not the most suitable time to ask this, given that quite a few of the people in a position to answer would be observant Jews]
I am a secular Jew and I wouldn’t mind in the least. It’s unlikely that he would either.
Not to pick on you but you did hit on a pet peeve of mine. Unless the question is about some arcane nuance in Jewish law, secular and Reform Jews are just as able and qualified to answer these sorts of questions as anyone else. We don’t have to wait for the Orthodox brethren to flip the light switches back on to get the correct answer. In fact, this question is more appropriately answered by someone who is not so observant.
I’m an American, Orthodox Jew and pigs in a non-food context don’t bother me in the least. Heck, I don’t even mind seeing them in a food context, I just don’t eat them.
The three little pigs are as well known a fairytale amongst Jews as amongst non-Jews.
Yes. However, Jewish law forbids Jews from doing business in non-kosher animals. So, unless I’m mistaken or missed a nuance, the owner would not be allowed to charge for breeding, or to sell piglets.
Come to think of it, it would have to be made clear to everybody that this pig was a pet. Jewish law places an importance on appearance. You’re not supposed to eat turkey bacon, or imitation crab in public because somebody might see you and assume that you are breaking Jewish law and generalize to other pious Jews. If everybody knows that this pig is strictly a pet, then there is no problem.
But, if you want a cloven hooved pet for a Jewish home, buy a goat. From the Exodus to the shtetls, the Jews have owned goats. Buy a nanny goat, and you can suppliment your diet with goat’s milk and goat cheese. Before anybody asks, no you cannot eat the family goat when it dies of old age. Only animals killed in accordance with Jewish law can be kosher.
Back To The OP
It’s the israeli part that concerns me here. Israeli culture may well stress the uncleanliness of the pig. Still, the reasonable interpretation would be that any offense was unintended and that you meant only to convey good wishes.
The pig’s poor reputation largely comes from appearing kosher. The rabbit chews it’s cud twice, but is never mistaken for a kosher animal. Sp the pig is lazy, gluttonous and a liar. Pigskin clothing, footballs etc are sometimes viewed almost with a phobia.
