LEV123 (Continued from [[LEV861]] Leviticus 20:26 apart COHON 167). These laws are classified by the rabbis as hukkim (statutes), which transcend human reason, and must be observed -- despite the derision of gentiles -- as means of consecration to God. Rab suggests a moral ground for their observance. "What difference does it make to God whether one slaughters the animal by cutting the neck in front or in the back? Or what matters it Him whether one eats pure or impure things? This shows that the commandments were given only for the purpose of testing men." Yoma 67b; Sifra to Lev. 20:26; Gen. R. 44:1 and notes by Theodor; Tanhuma, Shemini, 12; Maimonides, Guide, III:26. The ritual minutia of shehitah and of the other laws of kashrut are thus conceived as serving the purpose of trying and purifying human character. They were interpreted as safeguards against cruelty to animals, as measures to train man in self-discipline, and as means of distinguishing the Jews as a priest people and of submission to God's will. Ibid. Maimonides concludes his treatment of the dietary laws in his Code with a comment, "Whoever is careful in the observance of these matters invests himself with added holiness and purity, and cleanses his soul for God's sake, in keeping with the words [this verse]. In his Guide he writes that the object of observing them "is to restrain the growth of desire, the indulgence in seeking that which is pleasant, and the disposition to consider the appetite for food and drink as the end [of man's existence]." Guide, III, 26.