Rosenblum, Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig (NYU)

NEW BOOK FROM NYU PRESS:

Forbidden
A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig

by Jordan D. Rosenblum

Published by: NYU Press

Imprint: NYU Press

272 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in, 15 b/w figures

HARDCOVER
9781479831494
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 2024
$30.00

EBOOK
9781479831500
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 2024
$30.00

DESCRIPTION

Winner of the 74th National Jewish Book Award: The Jane and Stu­art Weitz­man Fam­i­ly Award for Food Writ­ing and Cook­books

A surprising history of how the pig has influenced Jewish identity

Jews do not eat pig. This (not always true) observation has been made by both Jews and non-Jews for more than three thousand years and is rooted in biblical law. Though the Torah prohibits eating pig meat, it is not singled out more than other food prohibitions. Horses, rabbits, squirrels, and even vultures, while also not kosher, do not inspire the same level of revulsion for Jews as the pig. The pig has become an iconic symbol for people to signal their Jewishness, non-Jewishness, or rebellion from Judaism. There is nothing in the Bible that suggests Jews are meant to embrace this level of pig-phobia.

Starting with the Hebrew Bible, Jordan D. Rosenblum historicizes the emergence of the pig as a key symbol of Jewish identity, from the Roman persecution of ancient rabbis, to the Spanish Inquisition, when so-called Marranos (“Pigs”) converted to Catholicism, to Shakespeare’s writings, to modern memoirs of those leaving Orthodox Judaism. The pig appears in debates about Jewish emancipation in eighteenth-century England and in vaccine conspiracies; in World War II rallying cries, when many American Jewish soldiers were “eating ham for Uncle Sam;” in conversations about pig sandwiches reportedly consumed by Karl Marx; and in recent deliberations about the kosher status of Impossible Pork.

All told, there is a rich and varied story about the associations of Jews and pigs over time, both emerging from within Judaism and imposed on Jews by others. Expansive yet accessible, Forbidden offers a captivating look into Jewish history and identity through the lens of the pig.

As noted on the Agade List, the Washington Free Beacon has a review of the book:

Why Jews Don’t Eat Pork (Though Some Do). REVIEW: ‘Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig’ by Jordan D. Rosenblum (Meir Y. Soloveichik).

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