How to Be a Jew… Who Contemplates the Pig

·39 min·3 clips

Rabbi Diana Fersko calls the pig disgusting, sparking a deep debate on why this food is the ultimate Jewish no-no.

The episode begins with host Courtney Hazlett and co-host Rabbi Diana Fersko clashing over the pig, with Rabbi Fersko calling it disgusting and Hazlett arguing for reclaiming the conversation as a response to historical victimization. Producer Josh Cross joins, emphasizing the pig's role in binding Jewish peoplehood through food laws. The conversation shifts to an interview with Jordan Rosenblum, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of a book on Jews and the pig. Rosenblum explains that the pig started as a minor biblical prohibition but gained significance over 3,000 years through stories like the Hanukkah martyrs forced to eat pig, making it a symbol of antisemitism. He shares examples, such as a 19th-century cartoon using pigs to accuse Jews of vaccine conspiracies and Samuel L. Jackson's line in Pulp Fiction highlighting pig's association with Jewish identity. Rosenblum contrasts pig with other forbidden foods like camel, noting that pig became uniquely charged due to historical abuse, such as Germans slaughtering pigs in synagogues during WWII. The episode delves into the 1883 Trefa Banquet, where Reform Jews served non-kosher foods but avoided pig, illustrating its taboo status. Rosenblum discusses how pig serves as a shorthand for Jewish identity in media, like in Netflix shows, and how it's used both by outsiders to oppress and by Jews to resist or define themselves. He avoids stating his personal eating habits to remain neutral, focusing on the spectrum of Jewish practices. The hosts reflect on how pig remains a complicated issue in Reform Judaism, with many Jews avoiding it even if they don't keep kosher otherwise. The episode concludes with a discussion on the pig's enduring legacy and its role in modern Jewish debates.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Tablet Studios