(also or , ) is a set of
dietary laws
Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...
dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to
Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), from the
Ashkenazic
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
pronunciation (KUHsher) of the
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
(), meaning "fit" (in this context: "fit for consumption").
Although the details of the laws of are numerous and complex, they rest on a few basic principles:
* Only certain types of mammals, birds and fish
meeting specific criteria are kosher; the consumption of the flesh of any animals that do not meet these criteria, such as
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
,
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s, and
shellfish
Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...
, is forbidden.
* Kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as ; blood may never be consumed and must be removed from meat by a process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use.
* Meat and meat derivatives
may never be mixed with milk and milk derivatives: separate equipment for the storage and preparation of meat-based and dairy-based foods must be used.
Every food that is considered kosher is also categorized as follows:
* "Meat" products (also called or ) are those that contain kosher meat, such as beef, lamb or venison, kosher poultry such as chicken, goose, duck or turkey, or derivatives of meat, such as animal gelatin; non-animal products that were processed on equipment used for meat or meat-derived products must also be considered as meat ()
* "Dairy" products (also called or ) contain milk or any derivatives such as butter or cheese; non-dairy products that were processed on equipment used for milk or milk-derived products must also be considered as milk ()
*
Pareve
In ''kashrut'', the dietary laws of Judaism, pareve (from yi, פאַרעוו for "neutral", in Hebrew , and also parve and other variant English spellings) is a classification of edible substances that contain neither dairy nor meat ingredients. ...
products contain neither meat, milk nor their respective derivatives; they include foods such as
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
, eggs from
permitted birds, grains,
produce
Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...
and other edible vegetation. They remain pareve if they are not mixed with or processed using equipment that is used for any meat or dairy products.
While any produce that grows from the earth, such as fruits, grains, vegetables and mushrooms, is always permissible, laws regarding the status of certain agricultural produce, especially that grown in the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
, such as
tithes
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...
and produce of the
Sabbatical year
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
, impact their permissibility for consumption.
Most of the basic laws of are derived from the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
's books of
Leviticus and
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
. Their details and practical application, however, are set down in the
Oral Torah
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...
(eventually codified in the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
) and elaborated on in the later rabbinical literature. Although the Torah does not state the rationale for most laws, some suggest that they are only tests of obedience, while others have suggested philosophical, practical and hygienic reasons.
Over the past century, many
certification agencies have started to certify products, manufacturers, and restaurants as kosher, usually authorizing the use of a proprietary symbol or certificate, called a , to be displayed by the food establishment or on the product, which indicates that they are in compliance with the kosher laws. This labeling is useful for many people, including those whose religions expect adherence to a similar set of dietary laws, people with allergies to dairy foods, or vegans, who use the various kosher designations to determine whether a food contains meat or dairy-derived ingredients.
The laws of Kashrut are a major area covered in traditional Rabbinic Ordination; see and . And numerous scholarly and popular works exist on these topics, covering both practice and theory.
Explanations
Philosophical
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcile ...
divides the
613 commandments (or ) into three groups—laws that have a rational explanation and would probably be enacted by most orderly societies (), laws that are understood after being explained but would not be legislated without the Torah's command (), and laws that do not have a rational explanation ().
Some Jewish scholars say that should be categorized as laws for which there is no particular explanation since the human mind is not always capable of understanding divine intentions. In this line of thinking, the dietary laws were given as a demonstration of God's authority, and man must obey without asking why.
Although
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
concurs that all the statutes of the Torah are decrees, he is of the view that whenever possible, one should seek out reasons for the Torah's commandments.
Some theologians have said that the laws of are symbolic in character: kosher animals represent
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
s, while non-kosher animals represent
vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
s. The 1st-century BCE
Letter of Aristeas argues that the laws "have been given
..to awake pious thoughts and to form the character". This view reappears in the work of the 19th-century
Rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the '' Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', hi ...
.
The Torah prohibits "cooking the kid (goat, sheep, calf) in its mother's milk". While the Torah does not provide a reason, it has been suggested that the practice was perceived as cruel and insensitive.
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...
believes that everyday life is imbued with channels connecting with
Divinity
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine ...](_blank)
, the activation of which it sees as helping the
Divine Presence
Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology that deals with the ability of God to be " present" with human beings.
According to some types of monotheism God is omnipresen ...
to be drawn into the physical world; Hasidism argues that the food laws are related to the way such channels, termed 'sparks of holiness'
', interact with various animals. These 'sparks of holiness' are released whenever a Jew manipulates any object for a 'holy reason' (which includes eating); however, not all animal products are capable of releasing their 'sparks of holiness'. The Hasidic argument is that animals are imbued with signs that reveal the release of these sparks, and the signs are expressed in the biblical categorization of ritually 'clean' and ritually 'unclean'.
Medical
Although the reason for is that it is a decree from the Torah, there have been attempts to provide scientific support for the view that Jewish food laws have an incidental health benefit. One of the earliest is that of
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
in ''
The Guide for the Perplexed
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...
''.
In 1953,
David Macht
David Israel Macht (February 14, 1882 – October 14, 1961) was a pharmacologist and Doctor of Hebrew Literature, responsible for many contributions to pharmacology during the first half of the 20th century.
Born in Moscow in 1882, Macht moved to ...
, an Orthodox Jew and proponent of the theory of biblical scientific foresight, conducted
toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
experiments on many kinds of animals and fish. His experiment involved
lupin
''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...
seedlings being supplied with extracts from the meat of various animals; Macht reported that in 100% of cases, extracts from ritually 'unclean' meat inhibited the seedling's growth more than that from ritually 'clean' meats.
At the same time, these explanations are controversial. Scholar
Lester L. Grabbe
Lester L. Grabbe is a retired American scholar and Emeritus Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, England. As an historian of ancient Judaism, he has authored several standard treatments. He founded and convenes ...
, writing in the ''Oxford Bible Commentary'' on Leviticus, says "
explanation now almost universally rejected is that the laws in this section have hygiene as their basis. Although some of the laws of ritual purity roughly correspond to modern ideas of physical cleanliness, many of them have little to do with hygiene. For example, there is no evidence that the 'unclean' animals are intrinsically bad to eat or to be avoided in a Mediterranean climate, as is sometimes asserted."
Rules
Prohibited foods
![Kosher BethDin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Kosher_BethDin.jpg)
The laws of can be classified according to the origin of the prohibition (Biblical or rabbinical) and whether the prohibition concerns the food itself or a mixture of foods.
Biblically prohibited foods include:
[
* Non-kosher animals]—any mammals without certain identifying characteristics (cloven hooves
A cloven hoof, cleft hoof, divided hoof or split hoof is a hoof split into two toes. This is found on members of the mammalian order Artiodactyla. Examples of mammals that possess this type of hoof are cattle, deer, pigs, antelopes, gazelles, ...
and rumination); any birds of prey; any fish without fins or scales (thus excluding catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
, for instance). All invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
are non-kosher apart from certain types of locust, on which most communities lack a clear tradition. No reptiles
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...
or amphibians are kosher.
* Carrion ()—meat from a kosher animal that has not been slaughtered according to the laws of . This prohibition includes animals that have been slaughtered by non-Jews.
* Injured ()—an animal with a significant defect or injury, such as a fractured bone or particular types of lung adhesions.
* Blood ()—the blood of kosher mammals and fowl is removed through salting, with special procedures for the liver
The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...
, which is very rich in blood.
* Particular fats ()—particular parts of the abdominal fat of cattle, goats and sheep must be removed by a process called .
* The twisted nerve ()—the sciatic nerve, as according to Genesis 32:32 the patriarch Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
's was damaged when he fought with an angel, so may not be eaten and is removed by .
* A limb of a living animal ()—according to Jewish law, God forbade Noah and his descendants to consume flesh torn from a live animal. Hence, Jewish law considers this prohibition applicable even to non-Jews, and therefore, a Jew may not give or sell such meat to a non-Jew.
* Untithed food ()—produce of the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
requires the removal of certain tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s, which in ancient times were given to the (priests), Levite
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...
s and the poor (, and respectively) or taken to the Old City of Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem.
The Old City is traditionally divided into ...
to be eaten there ().
* Fruit during the first three years ()—according to Leviticus 19:23, fruit from a tree in the first three years after planting may not be consumed (both in the Land of Israel and the diaspora). This applies also to the fruit of the vine—grapes, and wine produced from them.
* New grain ()—the Bible prohibits newly grown grain (planted after Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
the previous year) until the second day of Passover; there is debate as to whether this law applies to grain grown outside the Land of Israel.
* Wine of libation ()—wine that may have been dedicated to idolatrous practices.
Biblically prohibited mixtures include:[
* Mixtures of meat and milk ()—this law derives from the broad interpretation of the commandment not to "cook a kid in its mother's milk"; other non-kosher foods are permitted for non-dietary use (e.g. to be sold to non-Jews), but Jews are forbidden to benefit from mixtures of meat and milk in any way.
* Different species of plants grown together ()—in the Land of Israel different species of plants are to be grown separately and not in close proximity according to Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:9–11.
** A specific subdivision of this law is , the prohibition of planting any grain or vegetable near a ]grapevine
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...
; this law applies to Jews throughout the world, and a Jew may not derive benefit from such produce.
Rabbinically prohibited foods include:[
* Non-Jewish milk ()—milk that may have an admixture of milk from non-kosher animals (see below for current views on this prohibition).
* Non-Jewish cheese ()—cheese that may have been produced with non-kosher ]rennet
Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a ...
.
* Non-Jewish wine ()—wine that while not produced for idolatrous purposes may otherwise have been poured for such a purpose or alternatively when consumed will lead to intermarriage.
* Food cooked by a non-Jew ()—this law was enacted for concerns of intermarriage.
* Non-Jewish bread ()—this law was enacted for concerns of intermarriage.
* Health risk ()—certain foods and mixtures are considered a health risk, such as mixtures of fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
and meat.
Permitted and forbidden animals
Only meat from particular species is permissible. Mammals that both chew their cud ( ruminate) and have cloven hooves
A cloven hoof, cleft hoof, divided hoof or split hoof is a hoof split into two toes. This is found on members of the mammalian order Artiodactyla. Examples of mammals that possess this type of hoof are cattle, deer, pigs, antelopes, gazelles, ...
can be kosher. Animals with one characteristic but not the other (the camel, the hyrax
Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between long and weigh between . They are superficially simil ...
, and the hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
because they have no cloven hooves, and the pig because it does not ruminate) are specifically excluded.
In 2008, a rabbinical ruling determined that giraffes
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...
and their milk are eligible to be considered kosher. The giraffe has both split hooves and chews its cud, characteristics of animals considered kosher. Findings from 2008 show that giraffe milk curdles, meeting kosher standards. Although kosher, the giraffe is not slaughtered today because the process would be very costly. Giraffes are difficult to restrain, and their use for food could cause the species to become endangered.
Non-kosher birds are listed outright in the Torah, but the exact zoological references are disputed and some references refer to families of birds (24 are mentioned). The Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
refers to four signs provided by the sages
A sage ( grc, σοφός, ''sophos''), in classical philosophy, is someone who has attained wisdom. The term has also been used interchangeably with a 'good person' ( grc, ἀγαθός, ''agathos''), and a 'virtuous person' ( grc, σπουδα ...
. First, a (predatory bird) is not kosher. Additionally, kosher birds possess three physical characteristics: an extra toe in the back (which does not join the other toes in supporting the leg), a (crop
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...
), and a (gizzard
The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals, including archosaurs (pterosaurs, crocodiles, alligators, dinosaurs, birds), earthworms, some gastropods, so ...
) with a peelable lumen. However, individual Jews are barred from merely applying these regulations alone; an established tradition () is necessary to allow birds to be consumed, even if it can be substantiated that they meet all four criteria. The only exception to this is the turkey. There was a time when certain authorities considered the signs sufficient, so Jews started eating this bird without a because it possesses all the signs () in Hebrew.
Fish must have fins and scales to be kosher. Shellfish
Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...
and other non-fish water fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
are not kosher. (See kosher species of fish.) Insects are not kosher, except for certain species of kosher locust
Kosher locusts are varieties of locust deemed permissible for consumption under the laws of '' kashrut'' (Jewish dietary law). While the consumption of most insects is forbidden under the laws of ''kashrut'', the rabbis of the Talmud identified eig ...
. Any animal that eats other animals, whether they kill their food or eat carrion
Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh.
Overview
Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...
, is generally not kosher, as well as any animal that has been partially eaten by other animals.
Separation of meat and milk
Meat and milk (or derivatives) may not be mixed in the sense that meat and dairy product
Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in th ...
s are not served at the same meal, served or cooked in the same utensils, or stored together.
Observant Jews have separate sets of dishes, and sometimes different kitchens, for meat and milk, and wait anywhere between one and six hours after eating meat before consuming milk products. The and (literally "milky" and "meaty") utensils and dishes are the commonly referred-to Yiddish delineations between dairy and meat ones, respectively.
Shelomo Dov Goitein
Shelomo Dov Goitein (April 3, 1900 – February 6, 1985) was a German-Jewish ethnographer, historian and Arabist known for his research on Jewish life in the Islamic Middle Ages, and particularly on the Cairo Geniza.
Biography
Shelomo Dov (Fri ...
writes, "the dichotomy of the kitchen into a meat and a milk section, so basic in an observant Jewish household, is never mentioned in the Geniza." Goitein believed that in the early Middle Ages Jewish families kept only one set of cutlery and cooking ware. According to David C. Kraemer David Charles Kraemer is a professor of Talmud and Rabbinics and the Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. As director of the Library, Kraemer "oversees the most extensive collection of Judaica—rare and ...
, the practice of keeping separate sets of dishes developed only in the late 14th and 15th centuries. It is possible observant Jews before then waited overnight for the meat or dairy gravy absorbed in a pot's walls to become insignificant () before using the pot for the other foodstuff (meat or dairy).
Kosher slaughter
Mammals and fowl must be slaughtered by a trained individual (a ) using a special method of slaughter, . slaughter severs the jugular vein
The jugular veins are veins that take deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava. The internal jugular vein descends next to the internal carotid artery and continues posteriorly to the sternocleidomastoid mu ...
, carotid artery, esophagus
The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...
, and trachea
The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a Cartilage, cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air-breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends ...
in a single continuous cutting movement with an unserrated, sharp knife. Failure of any of these criteria renders the meat of the animal non-kosher.
The body of the slaughtered animal must be checked after slaughter to confirm that the animal had no medical condition or defect that would have caused it to die of its own accord within a year, which would make the meat unsuitable.
These conditions () include 70 different categories of injuries, diseases, and abnormalities whose presence renders the animal non-kosher.
It is forbidden to consume certain parts of the animal, such as certain fats () and the sciatic nerves from the legs, the process of excision being done by experts before the meat is sold.
As much blood as possible must be removed through the process; this is usually done through soaking and salting the meat, but the liver
The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...
, as it is rich in blood, is grilled over an open flame.
Fish (and kosher locusts, for those who follow the traditions permitting them) must be killed before being eaten, but no particular method has been specified in Jewish law. Legal aspects of ritual slaughter
The legal aspects of ritual slaughter include the regulation of slaughterhouses, butchers, and religious personnel involved with traditional shechita (Jewish) and dhabiha (Islamic). Regulations also may extend to butchery products sold in acc ...
are governed not only by Jewish law but civil law as well.
Some believe that this ensures the animal dies instantly without unnecessary suffering, but many animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
activists view the process as cruel, claiming that the animal may not lose consciousness immediately, and activists have called for it to be banned.
Preparation of meats
When an animal is ritually slaughtered () the raw meat is traditionally cut, rinsed and salted, prior to cooking. Salting of raw meat draws out the blood that lodges on the inner surface of the meat. The salting is done with coarse grain salt, commonly referred to as kosher salt, after which the meat is laid over a grating or colander
A colander (or cullender) is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables. The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes also called a past ...
to allow for drainage, remaining so for the duration of time that it takes to walk one biblical mile
Biblical mile () is a unit of distance on land, or linear measure, principally used by Jews during the Herodian dynasty to ascertain distances between cities and to mark the Sabbath limit, equivalent to about ⅔ of an English statute mile, or wh ...
(approximately 18–24 minutes). Afterwards, the residue of salt is rinsed away with water, and the meat cooked.
Meat that is roasted requires no prior salting, as fire causes a natural purging of blood.
("Taz"), a 17th-century commentary on the Shulchan Arukh
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...
, ruled that the pieces of meat can be "very thick" when salting. The Yemenite Jewish
Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...
practice, however, follows Saadiah Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
, who required that the meat not be larger than half a "rotal" (i.e. roughly ) when salting. This allows the effects of the salt to penetrate.
Some Orthodox Jewish communities require the additional stricture of submersing raw meat in boiling water prior to cooking it, a practice known as (), "blanching." This was believed to constrict the blood lodged within the meat, to prevent it from oozing out when the meat was eaten. The raw meat is left in the pot of boiling water for as long as it takes for the meat to whiten on its outer layer.
If someone wanted to use the water for soup after making in the same pot, they could simply scoop out the film, froth and scum that surface in the boiling water.
is not required when roasting meat over a fire, as the fire constricts the blood.
Kosher utensils
Utensils used for non-kosher foods become non-kosher, and make even otherwise kosher food prepared with them non-kosher.
Some such utensils, depending on the material they are made from, can be made suitable for preparing kosher food again by immersion in boiling water or by the application of a blowtorch.
Food prepared in a manner that violates the (Sabbath) may not be eaten; although in certain instances it is permitted after the is over.
Passover laws
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
has stricter dietary rules, the most important of which is the prohibition on eating leavened bread
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made food ...
or derivatives of this, which are known as . This prohibition is derived from Exodus 12:15.
Utensils used in preparing and serving are also forbidden on Passover unless they have been ritually cleansed ().
Observant Jews often keep separate sets of meat and dairy utensils for Passover use only. In addition, some groups follow various eating restrictions on Passover that go beyond the rules of , such as not eating , or garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
.
Produce of the Land of Israel
Biblical rules also control the use of agriculture produce, for example, with respect to their tithing, or when it is permitted to eat them or to harvest them, and what must be done to make them suitable for human consumption.
For produce grown in the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
a modified version of the biblical tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s must be applied, including , , , and (untithed produce is called ); the fruit of the first three years of a tree's growth or replanting are forbidden for eating or any other use as ; produce grown in the Land of Israel on the seventh year obtains , and unless managed carefully is forbidden as a violation of the (Sabbatical Year).
Some rules of are subject to different rabbinical opinions. For example, many hold that the rule against eating (new grain) before the 16th of the month Nisan
Nisan (or Nissan; he, נִיסָן, Standard ''Nīsan'', Tiberian ''Nīsān''; from akk, 𒊬𒊒𒄀 ''Nisanu'') in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is ...
does not apply outside the Land of Israel.
Vegetables
Although plants and minerals are nearly always kosher, vegetarian restaurants and producers of vegetarian foods are required to obtain a , certifying that a rabbinical organization has approved their products as being kosher, because the usually certifies that certain vegetables have been checked for insect infestation and steps have been taken to ensure that cooked food meets the requirements of . Vegetables such as spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
and cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus ''Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – the ...
must be checked for insect infestation. The proper procedure for inspecting and cleaning varies by species, growing conditions, and views of individual rabbis.
Pareve foods
A pareve food is one which is neither meat nor dairy. Fish fall into this category, as well as any food that is not animal-derived. Egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s are also considered pareve despite being an animal product.
Some processes convert a meat- or dairy-derived product into a pareve one. For example, rennet
Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a ...
is sometimes made from stomach linings, yet is acceptable for making kosher cheese. Gelatins derived from kosher animal sources (which were ritually slaughtered) are also pareve. Other gelatin-like products from non-animal sources such as agar agar
Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from ogonori (''Gracilaria'') and "tengusa" (''Gelidiaceae''). As found in nature, agar is ...
and carrageenan
Carrageenans or carrageenins ( ; ) are a family of natural linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. Carrageenans are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. T ...
are pareve by nature. Fish gelatin, like all kosher fish products, is pareve.
Jewish law generally requires that bread be kept parve (i.e., not kneaded with meat or dairy products nor made on meat or dairy equipment).
has procedures by which equipment can be cleaned of its previous non-kosher or meat/dairy use, but those may be inadequate for vegetarians, those with allergies, or adherents to other religious laws.
For example, dairy manufacturing equipment can be cleaned well enough that the rabbis grant pareve status to products manufactured with it but someone with a strong allergic sensitivity to dairy products might still react to the dairy residue. This is why some products that are legitimately pareve carry "milk" warnings.
Cannabis
For cannabis grown in Israel, the plants must observe , but this does not apply to cannabis from elsewhere. At least one brand of cannabis edibles is certified to follow the laws of .
Tobacco
Although it is not a food product, some tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
receives a year-long kosher for Passover certification. This year-long certification means that the tobacco is certified also for Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
where different restrictions may be in place. Tobacco may, for example, come into contact with some grains that are strictly forbidden during Passover and the certification is a guarantee that it is free from this type of contamination.
In Israel, this certification is given by a private rabbinic group Beit Yosef, but the Chief Rabbinate has objected to granting of any certification by rabbis because of health risks from tobacco.
Genetically modified foods
With the advent of genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...
, a whole new type of food has been brought into the world, and scholars in both academia and Judaic faith have differing viewpoints on whether these new strains of foods are to be considered kosher or not. The first genetically modified animal
Genetically modified animals are animals that have been genetically modified for a variety of purposes including producing drugs, enhancing yields, increasing resistance to disease, etc. The vast majority of genetically modified animals are at th ...
approved by the FDA for human consumption is the AquAdvantage salmon
AquAdvantage salmon is a genetically engineered (GE) fish, a GE Atlantic salmon developed by AquaBounty Technologies in 1989. The typical growth hormone-regulating gene in the Atlantic salmon was replaced with the growth hormone-regulating gen ...
and, while salmon is normally an acceptably kosher food, this modified organism has a gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
from a non-kosher organism.
In 2015, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, a ...
released a document regarding genetically modified organisms, stating that modification of gene sequences via the introduction of foreign DNA in order to convey a specific capability in the new organism is allowable, that entirely new species should not be intentionally created, and that the health implications of genetically modified foods must be considered on an individual basis.
Some put forth that this intermixing of species is against the teachings of the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
and thus against Jewish Law and non-kosher. Others argue that the one in sixty parts law of is of significance, and that the foreign gene accounts for less than 1/60 of the animal and thus the modified salmon is kosher.
Supervision and marketing
''Hashgacha''
Certain foods must be prepared in whole or in part by Jews. This includes grape wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
, certain cooked foods (''bishul akum
Bishul Yisrael (literally " cooking of Israel" - i.e., by a Jew) is a Hebrew term for one of the laws of kashrut in Judaism. The rule prohibits eating certain foods if they are cooked exclusively by non-Jews. The term is the opposite of ''bishul ...
''), cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
(''g'vinat akum''), and according to some also butter (''chem'at akum''),[''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 115] dairy products (Hebrew: חלב ישראל chalav Yisrael
''Chalav Yisrael'', also pronounced ''cholov Yisroel'', refers to kosher milk whose milking was observed by an observant Jew. The ''halakha'' of ''chalav Yisrael'', which originates in the Mishnah and Talmud, was instituted to ensure that no non ...
"milk of Israel"),[ and ]bread
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
(Pas Yisroel
In Jewish law, Pas Yisroel or Pat Yisrael ( he, פת ישראל ''lit:"Bread of an Israelite"'') products are grain-products that were cooked or baked with the participation of an observant Jew.
While any bread with kosher ingredients is consider ...
).
Product labeling standards
Although reading the label of food products can identify obviously non-kosher ingredients, some countries allow manufacturers to omit identification of certain ingredients. Such "hidden" ingredients may include lubricant
A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...
s and flavoring
A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gusta ...
s, among other additives
Additive may refer to:
Mathematics
* Additive function, a function in number theory
* Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation
* Additive set-functionn see Sigma additivity
* Additive category, a preadditive category with fi ...
; in some cases, for instance, the use of ''natural'' flavorings, these ingredients are more likely to be derived from non-kosher substances. Furthermore, certain products, such as fish, have a high rate of mislabeling, which may result in a non-kosher fish being sold in a package labeled as a species of kosher fish.
Producers of foods and food additives can contact Jewish religious authorities to have their products certified as ''kosher'': this involves a visit to the manufacturing facilities by an individual rabbi or a committee from a rabbinic organization, who will inspect the production methods and contents and, if everything is sufficiently ''kosher'' a certificate would be issued.
Manufacturers sometimes identify the products that have received such certification by adding particular graphical symbols to the label. These symbols are known in Judaism as ''hechsher
A hechsher (; he, הֶכְשֵׁר "prior approval"; plural: ''hechsherim'') is a rabbinical product certification, qualifying items (usually foods) that conform to the requirements of halakha.
Forms
A hechsher may be a printed and signed certi ...
im''. Due to differences in ''kashrut'' standards held by different organizations, the ''hechsheirim'' of certain Jewish authorities may at times be considered invalid by other Jewish authorities. The certification mark
A certification mark (or conformity mark) on a commercial product indicates the existence of an accepted product standard or regulation and a claim that the manufacturer has verified compliance with those standards or regulations. The specific ...
s of the various rabbis and organisations are too numerous to list, but one of the most commonly used in the United States of America is that of the Union of Orthodox Congregations
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, who use a ''U'' inside a circle ("O-U"), symbolising the initials of ''Orthodox Union''. In Britain, commonly used symbols are the "KLBD" logo of the London Beth Din
The London Beth Din (LBD) is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as ''Court of the Chief Rabbi'', it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Ashken ...
and the "MK" logo of the Manchester Beth Din. A single ''K'' is sometimes used as a symbol for ''kosher'', but since many countries do not allow letters to be trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
ed (the method by which other symbols are protected from misuse), it only indicates that the company producing the product claims that it is kosher.
Many of the certification symbols are accompanied by additional letters or words to indicate the category of the product, according to Jewish law;[ the categorization may conflict with legal classifications, especially in the case of food that Jewish law regards as ''dairy'', but legal classification does not.
* D—Dairy
* DE—Dairy equipment
* M—Meat, including ]poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...
*''Pareve''—Food that is neither meat nor dairy
* Fish
* P—Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
-related (''P'' is not used for ''Pareve'')
In many cases constant supervision is required because, for various reasons such as changes in manufacturing processes, products that once were kosher may cease to be so. For example, a kosher lubricating oil may be replaced by one containing tallow
Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...
, which many rabbinic authorities view as non-kosher. Such changes are often coordinated with the supervising rabbi or supervising organization to ensure that new packaging does not suggest any ''hechsher'' or ''kashrut''. In some cases, however, existing stocks of pre-printed labels with the ''hechsher'' may continue to be used on the now non-kosher product. An active grapevine
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...
among the Jewish community discusses which products are now questionable, as well as products which have become kosher but whose labels have yet to carry the ''hechsher''. Some newspapers and periodicals also discuss ''kashrut'' products.
Products labeled kosher-style
Kosher style refers to foods commonly associated with Jewish cuisine but which may or may not actually be kosher. It is a stylistic designation rather than one based on the Halakha, laws of kashrut. Generally, kosher-style food does not include me ...
are non-kosher products that have characteristics of kosher foods, such as all-beef hot dog
A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...
s, or are flavored or prepared in a manner consistent with Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
practices, like dill pickles
A pickled cucumber (commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or ...
. The designation usually refers to delicatessen
Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...
items.
History of kosher supervision and marketing
Food producers often look to expand their markets or marketing potential, and offering kosher food has become a way to do that. The uniqueness of kosher food was advertised as early as 1849. In 1911 Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
became the first company to advertise one of their products, Crisco, as kosher.[
] Over the next two decades, companies such as Lender's Bagels
Lender's Bagels is a brand of bagels that pioneered the pre-packaged bagel industry in the United States. Established in 1927 in New Haven, Connecticut by the Lender family, it became a North American leader in the marketing, distribution and sale ...
, Maxwell House
Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the ...
, Manischewitz, and Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
evolved and gave the kosher market more shelf-space. In the 1960s, Hebrew National
Hebrew National is a brand of kosher hot dogs and other sausages made by ConAgra Foods.
In 1982, Hebrew National opened a non-kosher division under the name National Deli; it was sold off in 2001, and is now based in Florida.
History
The ' ...
hotdogs launched a "we answer to a higher authority" campaign to appeal to Jews and non-Jews alike. From that point on, "kosher" became a symbol for both quality and value. The kosher market quickly expanded, and with it more opportunities for kosher products. Menachem Lubinsky, founder of the Kosherfest
Kosherfest is an annual, two-day trade fair for the kosher-certified food industry held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. Established in 1989, it includes an exhibition hall, lectures, cooking demonstrations, a culinar ...
trade fair, estimates as many as kosher consumers and in sales of kosher products in the U.S.A.[
]
In 2014 the Israeli Defense Forces
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
decided to allow female kosher supervisors to work in its kitchens on military bases, and the first women kosher inspectors were certified in Israel.
Legal usage
Advertising standards laws in many jurisdictions prohibit the use of the phrase ''kosher'' in a product's labeling unless the producer can show that the product conforms to Jewish dietary laws; however, different jurisdictions often define the legal qualifications for conforming to Jewish dietary laws differently. For example, in some places the law may require that a rabbi certify the ''kashrut'' nature, in others the rules of ''kosher'' are fully defined in law, and in others still it is sufficient that the manufacturer only believes that the product complies with Jewish dietary regulations. In several cases, laws restricting the use of the term ''kosher'' have later been determined to be illegal religious interference.
Costs
In the United States, the cost of certification for mass-produced items is typically minuscule and is usually more than offset by the advantages of being certified.[ In 1975 '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' estimated the cost per item for obtaining kosher certification at 6.5 millionths of a cent ($0.000000065) per item for a General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
frozen-food item.[ According to a 2005 report by ]Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell is an American architecture and engineering company based in Kansas City, Missouri, and is owned 100% by its employees. It was established in 1898 by Clinton S. Burns and Robert E. McDonnell, two engineers. In October 2021, it ...
, most U.S. national certifying agencies are non-profit, only charging for supervision and on-site work, for which the on-site supervisor "typically makes less per visit than an auto mechanic does per hour". However, re-engineering an existing manufacturing process can be costly. Certification usually leads to increased revenues by opening up additional markets to Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s who keep kosher, Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s who keep halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
, Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
who keep the main laws of Kosher Diet, vegetarians
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism ma ...
, and the lactose-intolerant who wish to avoid dairy products (products that are reliably certified as ''pareve'' meet this criterion). The Orthodox Union
The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for ...
, one of the largest ''kashrut'' organizations in the United States, claims that "when positioned next to a competing non-kosher brand, a kosher product will do better by 20%".
In some European Jewish communities, kosher supervision of meat includes a "tax" used to fund Jewish education in the community, which makes kosher meat more expensive than the cost of supervision alone would imply.
Society and culture
Adherence
Many Jews partially observe ''kashrut,'' by abstaining from pork or shellfish or by not drinking milk with meat dishes. Some keep kosher at home but eat in non-kosher restaurants. In 2012, one analysis of the specialty food market in North America estimated that only 15% of kosher consumers were Jewish. Kosher meat is regularly consumed by Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s when ''halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
'' is not available. Muslims, Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
s, and people with allergies to dairy foods often consider the ''kosher-pareve'' designation as an assurance that a food contains no animal-derived ingredients, including milk and all of its derivatives. However, since ''kosher-pareve'' foods may contain honey, eggs, or fish, vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
s cannot rely on the certification.
About a sixth of American Jews
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...
or 0.3% of the American population fully keep kosher, and many more of them do not strictly follow all of the rules but still abstain from some prohibited foods (especially pork). The Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, a Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
, preaches a health message which expects adherence to the kosher dietary laws.
Surveys conducted in 2013 and 2020 found that 22% of American Jews
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...
by religion claimed to keep kosher in their homes. Pork consumption in particular seems to be a bigger taboo than other non-Kosher eating practices among Jews; with 41% claiming to at least abstain from eating pork. American Jews are generally less strict about Kosher laws when compared to Israeli Jews
Israeli Jews or Jewish Israelis ( he, יהודים ישראלים, translit=Yehudim Yisraelim) are Israeli citizens and nationals who are Jewish through either their Jewish ethnicity and/or their adherence to Judaism. The term also includes ...
. Nearly three times as many Israeli Jews reported that they commit to keeping kosher in their homes and 84% will not eat pork.
Linguistics
Etymology
In Ancient Hebrew the word ''kosher'' ( he, כשר) means ''be advantageous'', ''proper'', ''suitable'', or ''succeed'', according to the Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. In Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...
it generally refers to ''kashrut'' but it can also sometimes mean "proper". For example, the Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
uses ''kosher'' in the sense of "virtuous" when referring to Darius I
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
as a "kosher king"; Darius, a Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n king (reigned 522–486 BCE), fostered the building of the Second Temple
The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
. In colloquial English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, ''kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
'' often means "legitimate", "acceptable", "permissible", "genuine", or "authentic". The word ''kosher'' can also form part of some common product names.
Kosher salt
Sometimes ''kosher'' is used as an abbreviation of ''koshering'', meaning the process for making something ''kosher''; for example, '' kosher salt'' is a form of salt with irregularly shaped crystals, making it particularly suitable for preparing meat according to the rules of ''kashrut'', because the increased surface area of the crystals absorbs blood more effectively. In this case the type of salt refers to kosher style salt. Salt may also be kosher certified salt, or both. Certified kosher salt follows ''kashrut'' guidelines. Sometimes the term "coarse kosher salt" is used to designate salt that is both kosher style and kosher certified. The term "fine kosher salt" is sometimes used for salt that is certified kosher but not kosher style.
Pickles
''Kosher'' can occur as a synonym for ''Jewish tradition''; for example, a ''kosher dill'' pickle is simply a pickle made in the traditional manner of Jewish New York City pickle-makers, using a generous addition of garlic to the brine, and is not necessarily compliant with the traditional Jewish food laws.[
]
Suriname
A treef (Surinamese Dutch
Surinamese Dutch (, ) is the form of Dutch spoken in Suriname and is the official language in Suriname, a former Dutch colony. Dutch is spoken as a native language by about 60% of the population, most of them being bilingual with Sranan Tongo, H ...
, derived from Sranan Tongo
Sranan Tongo (also Sranantongo "Surinamese tongue," Sranan, Surinaams, Surinamese, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a ''lingua franca'' by approximately 550,000 people in Suriname.
Developed originally amo ...
''trefu'') is a food taboo
Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...
.
In Suriname certain groups of people have long adhered to belief in treef, especially among people of African descent. The consumption of certain foods is prohibited, in the belief that it could cause major diseases, particularly leprosy. These prohibitions can vary individually, but it is inextricably related to conditions in the family. A treef is inherited from the father's side, but it can be revealed in a dream, often by a woman. In addition, a woman must take into account special food taboos during pregnancy. There is great importance attached to the treef; if a child observes the treef of his father, and yet experiences a skin condition, this is seen as a strong indication that the child was begotten by the woman with another man. Finally treef also be acquired later in life by wearing certain charms that compel you to abstain from certain foods.
The word is derived from Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, due to influence of Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
who came to Suriname in the 17th century. This is also the source of Sranan ''kaseri'' 'ritually clean, kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
'.
Other uses
Although the term ''kosher'' relates mainly to food, it sometimes occurs in other contexts. Some Orthodox retailers sell kosher cell-phones - stripped-down devices with limited features.[
]
See also
* Abomination (Judaism)
* Ahimsa
Ahimsa (, IAST: ''ahiṃsā'', ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to all living beings. It is a key virtue in most Indian religions: Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.Bajpai, Shiva (2011). The History of India ...
(non-violence to living beings)
* Buddhist cuisine
Buddhist cuisine is an Asian cuisine that is followed by monks and many believers from areas historically influenced by Mahayana Buddhism. It is vegetarian or vegan, and it is based on the Dharmic concept of ahimsa (non-violence). Vegetarianism ...
** Buddhist vegetarianism
* Christian dietary laws
Christian dietary laws vary between denominations. The general dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals". Some Christian denominat ...
* Comparison of Islamic and Jewish dietary laws
The Islamic dietary laws (''halal'') and the Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''; in English, '' kosher'') are both quite detailed, and contain both points of similarity and discord. Both are the dietary laws and described in distinct religious te ...
* Hindu dietary laws
* Islamic dietary laws
Islamic dietary laws are dietary laws that Muslims follow. Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are '' '' (, "lawful") and which are '' '' (, "unlawful"). The dietary laws are found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as well as in coll ...
** Halāl
* Jewish cuisine
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...
** Eco-Kashrut
** Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine ( he, המטבח הישראלי ) comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the Israel, State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, a ...
** Jewish vegetarianism
Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding Jewish ethics#Treatment of animals, animal welfare, Jewish ethics#Env ...
** Jewish Veg
** Kosher certification agency
A kosher certification agency is an organization or certifying authority that grants a ''hechsher'' ( he, הכשר, "seal of approval") to ingredients, packaged foods, beverages, and certain materials, as well as food-service providers and faciliti ...
** Sabbath food preparation
* Jhatka
Jhatka, or Jhataka or chatka (' ), is the meat from an animal killed instantly, such as by a single strike of a sword or axe to sever the head within the Sikh religion. This type of slaughter is preferred by most Rajput in Hinduism Sikhs as well ...
* Kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
* Kosher tax
The Kosher tax was one of several indirect taxes imposed by the Russian Imperial government—and sometimes by the Habsburg empire, Germany and Moldavia—on Jews. Rosenthal, Herman; Lipman, J.G.br>"Basket-Tax" '' Jewish Encyclopedia''.Leonid Vas ...
* Kosher tax conspiracy theory
The "Kosher tax" (or "Jewish tax") is the idea that food companies and unwitting consumers are forced to pay money to support Judaism or Zionist causes and Israel through the costs of kosher certification. The claim is generally considered a c ...
* Taoist diet
While there are many historical and modern schools of Taoism with different teachings on the subject, many Taoist priests regard their diet as extremely important to their physical, mental and spiritual health in one way or another, especially ...
* Treef
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
* Trefa banquet
References
Further reading
*
*
* Isaac Klein, ''A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice'', JTSA, 1992
* David C. Kraemer David Charles Kraemer is a professor of Talmud and Rabbinics and the Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. As director of the Library, Kraemer "oversees the most extensive collection of Judaica—rare and ...
, ''Jewish Eating and Identity Throughout the Ages'', Routledge, 2008
* James M. Lebeau, ''The Jewish Dietary Laws: Sanctify Life'', United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly ...
, New York, 1983
* Yacov Lipschutz, ''Kashruth: A Comprehensive Background and Reference Guide to the Principles of Kashruth''. New York: Mesorah Publications Ltd, 1989
* Jordan D. Rosenblum, ''The Jewish Dietary Laws in the Ancient World''. Cambridge University Press, 2016.
*
* Guy Darshan
“Pork Consumption as an Identity Marker in Ancient Israel: The Textual Evidence,”
Journal for the Study of Judaism 53,4-5 (2022)
External links
*
*
*
*
Kashrut.com
OU Kosher
{{authority control
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law
Ritual slaughter