- What is purity / impurity? 2. Why does God require the maintenance of purity? 3. What is the logic of the laws we encounter related to purity, specifically the food laws?
The dual notions of purity versus impurity lies in the societal standard to reach unity, completeness, and order. As Mary Douglas points out, dirt sits at the core of impurity in most societal structures, so to avoid dirt is essentially a form of function to uphold the structure of one’s society. I found this concept of “dirt” to be beneficial in understanding the idea of impurity in that it offends any order that wishes to be made. If dirt is disorder, then it must be said that where there is dirt, or uncleanliness in any form, there is a systematic ordering that must take place. Purity lies in the re-ordering of what has been disordered and the attainment of completeness, namely being holy, unified, and cleansed.
We read in Genesis the importance of ordering and naming things, a notion we see paralleled in the process of purification in Leviticus. I think that God requires the maintenance of purity as a means to gain order in a world polluted by “dirt,” both physical and metaphorical. We see the chaos caused by disorder and the breaking away from God in the Fall, so to say purification, or re-ordering, as a means to show reverence to God could be a plausible reason for purity. God wishes to enter a covenant with us, to fulfill the promises given to us, but this can only be achieved through completeness and order. Holiness, as Douglas states, is defined by completeness. We cannot be complete until we are unified and cleansed, the main premise behind the purity laws in the consumption of food.
One of the most enlightening comments given by Douglas that allow us to see the logic behind these seemingly strict food laws is that, “The more personal and intimate the source of ritual symbolism, the more telling its message,” (115). Upon reading the chapters on the rules of sacrifice, one cannot interpret the logic or purpose of such laws until understanding their representation of the body as a symbol of society and order. God imposes such rules as a reminder of the boundaries of our own body and the cleansing of our bodies in preparation for the holy blessing. The food laws remind us of the chaotic disorder within the structures of society and within the structures of our own mind. Therefore, the closer the food rituals relate to our own human experience, the more willing we will be to accept them and acknowledge them as holy reverence to God: “The more the symbol is drawn from the common fund of the human experience, the more wide and certain its reception,” (115).
Foundations of Theology 
Theresa, I said something along the same lines as you when it came to dirt and what it stands for in terms of purity. The one thing I would argue is that purity isn’t necessarily a “reordering” but it is the order that is associated with creation. Creation embodies holiness and the opposite, I believe, is dirt which represents a tarnishing of God’s creation as disorder. The world starts off perfect when God creates it, but is turned into disorder when humans sin and do not make light of God’s creation.
LikeLike
Theresa, I liked how you compared dirt to disorder and uncleanliness, and you also said that there is a systematic ordering that must take place. What is the process of reordering that must take place in order to be cleansed?
LikeLike
Your suggestion that purity is the pursuit of order is something I wholeheartedly agree with. In my own response, I briefly discussed how G-d created the universe in an ordered fashion; thus, the purity laws are meant to mimic this structured fashion so as to be closer to G-d. You seem to suggest this yourself as well. However, is this the only reason for having the laws provide order? Could it be as a practical measure, as the Israelites require organization as they traverse the wilderness? Is this the beginnings of the laws of the Jewish political society to be eventually founded in the promised land?
LikeLike