The Jewish Dietary laws.

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Rosie Chance                                                                                  Judaism Coursework

The Jewish Dietary laws

        

By Rosie Chance

‘These are the animals which you may eat…

Anything which has a completely split hoof

And chews cud, this you may eat…’

  1. A detailed account of the Jewish Food laws and their origins

  ‘Kashrut’ is what makes up the body of Judaism, deals with what foods Jews can and cannot eat, as well as how those foods must be prepared in order for them to be considered ‘kosher’ (fit to eat). ‘Kashrut’ is copied from the Hebrew root Kaf-Shin-Resh, which means fit, correct, good and proper. The word kosher is used to describe ritual objects that are made in agreement with the Jewish law and are healthy for ritual use. Food that is not kosher is commonly referred to as treyf, literally meaning torn from the commandment. All plants are kosher, but not all animals, birds and fish. All the animals must be killed in a special way, before they can be eaten by the Jews. Jews think that kosher food has been blessed by a rabbi, but this is not so there are foods which neither contain meat nor dairy produce for example vegetables, can be eaten with either meat or milk as long as they have been prepared with the utensils used for meat or dairy products. These foods are called parev or parve.

   There is no such word as ‘kosher style’ food. Kosher is not a style of cooking at all. Chinese food can be kosher if they make it in the right way, in accordance with the Jewish law; there are some really good kosher restaurants. Jewish foods like Knishes, bagels and matzah ball soup can be non-kosher if not prepared in the right way with the Jewish laws. If you see a restaurant that has a sign saying ‘Kosher-style’ it could either mean that the food is the traditional Jewish kosher food or it could mean that the food is not actually kosher.

   There are many widespread laws in Judaism concerning food, for me to tell you all of them in this essay would be impossible as the laws of Kosher comprise many volumes of material so here are just a few common rules. ‘The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations for the people of Israel.’ Leviticus 11 (Deut 14.3-21)

- All animals must chew the cud and have cloven hooves.  This means, for example, that cows, deer, and sheep are kosher.  Pig, camels, donkeys, and rabbits are not kosher. However, even if the animal is a “kosher” animal - the meat cannot be considered kosher unless it is slaughtered ritually.

   Ritual slaughtering is done with an extremely sharp knife with no kinks. The knife must cut the jugular completely. Therefore, an animal that is found dead is not kosher, as well as other animals that have been beaten to death or having been shot to death (which is the case in some non-kosher butchers).

- The only birds that are kosher, are birds where a bona fide tradition exists.  Hence, chicken and geese for example, are kosher.

- Seafood must have fins and scales.  Therefore cod, haddock, and perch are kosher.  Catfish, shark, shrimp, lobsters, and crab are not kosher.  Fish do not need to be ritually slaughtered. ‘You may eat any kind of fish that has fins and scales, but anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales must not be eaten’ Leviticus 11:9

- Insects are not kosher. ‘All winged insects are unclean except the ones that hop’      Leviticus 11:20

- Milk products are kosher; providing they do not have any non-kosher additives               and that the milk comes from a kosher animal.

-All utensils that come in contact with kosher food - must be kosher. Basically, that means that utensils do not come into contact with non-kosher food. It is forbidden to have milk and meat together.

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   Today, in places such as Israel, America and other countries - all kosher food has a kosher label.  A Jew must always check the kosher label before buying a product - even if the food is potentially kosher - such as a can of mixed fruit.  That is because sometimes factories add ingredients to the preservatives that render the whole product non-kosher. 

-Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy (However many strict Jews will not eat fish with meat.)

- All blood must be removed from meat, either by soaking, salting ...

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