It is forbidden to be a Vampire!

Prohibition of eating blood!

            This week’s parsha also prohibits consuming blood. Even after an animal is offered on the alter, the animals blood must be removed according to the numerous laws of the Talmud. The Talmud goes into extensive detail about the prohibitions of consuming blood, but why? Blood symbolizes the essence of life. By consuming blood, a person fills his neshama-soul- with the essence of the animal blood he is ingesting. Animal blood has much impurity in it. In other words, by consuming the blood, a person instills the essence of the animal within himself, thereby, incorporating the animals lower soul into himself, which could bring the person to rein in on his animalistic tendencies.

            The essence of the Torah is to teach us to be compassionate and empathic beings. In order to minimize tapping into one’s negative attributes, one must avoid things that could harm him spiritually. One’s spirituality becomes tainted when eating or ingesting forbidden foods, such as blood. When a person does so, he damages his soul.  From this, we should recognize that the foods we eat do not only have physical ramifications, but they have spiritual ramifications, which if disregarded can have serious negative consequences on one’s neshama-soul. Before eating or ingesting something, we should have in mind how eating can be an elevating activity. We should then be asking ourselves, ‘What am I about to eat, is this elevating my spiritual sense or am I just appeasing my lower physical desires?’ Hashem wants us to ask ourselves this very question, and it is up to us to consciously make the right choice that will elevate our neshama-soul- closer to Him.