Unclean to You

Nevertheless, these shall you not eat, of those that chew their cud, or of those that divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews its cud, but does not divide its hoof; it is unclean (tamei) to you.                                    Leviticus 11:4

It is significant that the Torah refers to that which is not fit to eat as “unclean to you” and not as “forbidden to you.” To partake of non-kosher food damages the sanctity of Israel. If this not inherently true, it is so at least because Israel’s sanctity derives from Torah.