A kosher animal must be a ruminant (chew its cud) and have split hooves. Cows, sheep, goats and deer are all kosher, whereas camels (ruminants without split hooves) are not kosher, and pigs (having split hooves but not chewing their cud) are not kosher. Most common fowl are kosher, like chickens, ducks and geese, but the birds of prey (hawks, eagles, owls, parrots) are not kosher. A sea creature is only kosher if it has fins and scales, so most species of fish are kosher (tuna, salmon, flounder, trout, etc.) but all shellfish are not kosher; dolphins and whales are not kosher, jellyfish, sea slugs (my sincere apologies about this one) and squids are not kosher either.
There are four species of locust that are kosher, but are not commonly consumed by the majority of Jews (Thank G-d for that). Any product of a non-kosher animal is also non-kosher (e.g. milk, gelatine, rennet). The exception to this rule is bee's honey.
The Jews have trouble finding shops to fit their needs this makes trouble because it may take them longer to travel to the shop and make them go out of their way. Kosher shops cannot always be open unlike kosher shops e.g. Tesco, they must go when there are open, which could disturb their social life.
Restaurants may not have food that is kosher which would stop them going out with friends even if they had found a restaurant which supplied kosher food it would be hard for them to have an all meat meal without any milk products (can’t have milk with meat must have 2 hours between them).
Jews can’t go to a non-Jewish home because they might not prepare food in a kosher way, or have the kitchen organisation correct e.g. meat and dairy section; separate work surface, sinks, bowl, cutlery, crockery, utensils, cupboards, drawers, shelves; sometimes two cookers; separate levels in fridges In order to eat an animal or bird it must be slaughtered according to Jewish law (Shechita). This involves cutting the animal's trachea and oesophagus (the carotid artery and jugular veins are also severed in this operation, as are most arteries and veins leading to and from the brain) with a surgically sharp knife that has been thoroughly checked for nicks beforehand. The cut must be swift, without pause, tearing or vertical pressure and must be only done by an expert. It must be performed on the neck of the animal not higher than the epiglottis and not lower than where cilia begin inside the trachea. This method of slaughter reduces the blood pressure in the brain to zero immediately so that the animal loses consciousness in a few seconds and dies in less than a minute. Fish must be killed before being eaten, but no particular method is specified in Jewish law.
Because Jews eat a differently they might be ridiculed by non-Jews which would make it hard for Jews to socialise.
Living religious life is about worshipping god. The key aspect is ‘to worship’ though worship you become close to God, not through observation of food laws, all they do is regulate your diet and observance of such is a social rather than a spiritual activity; they are a form of control rather than an aid to worship and are rather outdated in today’s society.
Paula Wilkes
10JW
R.E