Nonkosher Foods Block the Way Home
When I was in Argentina, a woman approached me and related her family issues. She complained that her children did not respect her fittingly. They never asked after her welfare and did not keep up a connection. This caused her untold anguish. She wanted me to bless her that her children should return to her as before. She brought along a photo of her family.
My eyes darkened as I saw a picture of people, which was taken outside a non-kosher eatery in Chile. I told the woman that her difficulties with her children were not their fault. It fed off the fact clearly depicted in the picture. She took a look at it, but could find nothing wrong.
“A person perceives himself and his family subjectively,” I told her. “Therefore, you cannot judge yourself and your children properly and see what the problem is. This picture testifies to the fact that your family ate a non-kosher meal.”
“But what does that have to do with my children severing ties with me?” she wondered.
“Regarding forbidden foods, our holy Torah states (Vayikra 11:43), ‘Do not make yourselves abominable by means of any swarming thing; do not defile yourselves through them.’ Impure foods stuff up one’s heart and soul. His head becomes blocked, to the extent that he cannot see beyond his own ego. This is why your children ignore you. The remedy for this situation is to be strict regarding the matter of kashrut.
“Only kosher food can unclog their hearts. B’ezrat Hashem, they will yet return.”
