Kashrut
Encyclopedia
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws
Taboo food and drink
Taboo food and drink are food and beverages which people abstain from consuming for religious, cultural or hygienic reasons. Many food taboos forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, bony fish, and crustaceans...

. Food in accord with halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

(Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Hebrew
Ashkenazi Hebrew , is the pronunciation system for Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew favored for liturgical use by Ashkenazi Jewish practice. Its phonology was influenced by languages with which it came into contact, such as Yiddish, German, and various Slavic languages...

 pronunciation of the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 term kashér , meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption by Jews according to traditional Jewish law
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

 with the idea of "clean", "intact" and "spotless". Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is called treif ( or treyf, derived from Hebrew trēfáh). Kosher can also refer to anything that is fit for use, or that is correct according to Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

, such as a Hanukiyah (candelabra for Hannukah),or a Sukkah
Sukkah
A sukkah is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic themes...

 (a Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...

 booth).

Many of the basic laws of kashrut are derived from the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

's Books of Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....

 and Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...

, with their details set down in the oral law
Oral law
An oral law is a code of conduct in use in a given culture, religion or community application, by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted by oral tradition and effectively respected, or the single rule that is orally transmitted....

 that according to Jewish tradition was handed down by word of mouth down the generations from Moses and it was finally codified in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...

, which is the earliest portion of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

. Later summaries of Halakhah such as the Shulhan Arukh, and elaborations by rabbinical authorities
Rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...

 exist.

The Torah does not state reasons for most kashrut laws. Many varied reasons have been suggested, including philosophical, practical and hygienic. The Guide for the Perplexed, by Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

, addresses this topic. The word kosher has become English vernacular, a colloquialism
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...

 meaning proper, legitimate, genuine, fair, or acceptable.

Principles

There are three categories of Kosher food – meat, dairy and parve (or pareve). The laws of kashrut pertaining to these derive from various passages in the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

, and are numerous and complex, but the key principles can be summarized as follows.

Permitted and forbidden animals

Only meat from particular species is permissible. Mammals that both chew their cud (ruminate
Ruminant
A ruminant is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first compartment of the stomach, principally through bacterial actions, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again...

) and have cloven hooves
Cloven hoof
A cloven 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 deer and sheep. In folklore and popular culture, a cloven hoof has long been associated with the Devil.The two digits of cloven hoofed...

 can be kosher. Animals with one characteristic but not the other (the camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...

, the hyrax
Hyrax
A hyrax is any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. The rock hyrax Procavia capensis, the yellow-spotted rock hyrax Heterohyrax brucei, the western tree hyrax Dendrohyrax dorsalis, and the southern tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus live in Africa...

 and the hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...

 because they have no cloven hooves, and the pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

 because it does not ruminate) are specifically excluded .
In 2008, a rabbinical ruling determined that giraffes and their milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

 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 but the exact zoological references are disputed and some references refer to families of birds (24 are mentioned). The Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...

 refers to four signs provided by the sages
Chazal
Chazal or Ḥazal is an acronym for the Hebrew "Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha",...

. First, a dores (predatory bird) is not kosher. Additionally, kosher birds possess three physical characteristics: an extra toe, a zefek (crop
Crop (anatomy)
A crop is a thin-walled expanded portion of the alimentary tract used for the storage of food prior to digestion that is found in many animals, including gastropods, earthworms, leeches, insects, birds, and even some dinosaurs.- Bees :Cropping is used by bees to temporarily store nectar of flowers...

,) and a korkoban (gizzard) with a peelable lumen
Lumen (anatomy)
A lumen in biology is the inside space of a tubular structure, such as an artery or intestine...

. However, individual Jews are barred from merely applying these regulations alone; an established tradition (masorah) 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 turkey. There was a time when certain authorities considered the signs enough, so Jews started eating this bird without a masorah because it possesses all the signs (simanim in Hebrew) and there is a place for this in Jewish law.

Fish must have fins and scales to be kosher . Shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary 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 environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...

 and other non-fish water fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

 are not kosher. Here is a list of kosher species of fish
Kosher fish list
Here is a list of fishes considered kosher according to the Jewish Halakhic framework and Kashrut. There is no named fishes list in the Bible, but the following species have the appropriate characteristics .*Albacore*Alewife*Amberjack*Anchovy...

. Insects are not kosher except for certain species of kosher locust
Kosher locust
While most insects are considered to be forbidden by Kosher dietary laws, four varieties of locust are listed in the Torah as permissible. However, the identities of the four varieties are not completely clear.- Source in the Torah :...

. Generally any animal that eats other animals, whether they kill their food or eat carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...

 , is not kosher, as well as any animal that was partially eaten by other animals (Exodus 22:30/).

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|-style="background-color: #99FF99"
|Classes
|Unclean
|-style="background-color: #EDEDED"
|Mammals
|Carnivores; Animals that either do not chew the cud or do not have cloven hooves (i.e., the camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...

, the hyrax
Hyrax
A hyrax is any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. The rock hyrax Procavia capensis, the yellow-spotted rock hyrax Heterohyrax brucei, the western tree hyrax Dendrohyrax dorsalis, and the southern tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus live in Africa...

, the hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...

 and the pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

)
|-
|Birds
|Birds of prey; Scavengers
|-
|-style="background-color: #EDEDED"
|Reptiles
|All reptiles are unclean (includes amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s)
|-
|-style="background-color: #EDEDED"
|Water Animals
|Those that do not have both fins and scales
|-
|Insects
|All, except the locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...


|}

Separation of meat and milk

Meat and milk (or derivatives) cannot be mixed in the sense that meat and dairy product
Dairy product
Dairy products are generally defined as foods produced from cow's or domestic buffalo's milk. They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy or a dairy factory. Raw milk for processing comes mainly from cows, and, to a lesser extent,...

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 milchig and fleishig utensils and dishes are the commonly referred to Yiddish delineations between dairy and meat utensils and dishes respectively.

Kosher slaughter

Mammals and fowl must be slaughtered by a trained individual (a shochet) using a special method of slaughter, shechita
Shechita
Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws...

. Among other features, shechita slaughter severs the jugular vein
Jugular vein
The jugular veins are veins that bring deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava.-Internal and external:There are two sets of jugular veins: external and internal....

, carotid artery
Carotid artery
Carotid artery can refer to:* Common carotid artery* External carotid artery* Internal carotid artery...

, esophagus
Esophagus
The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...

 and trachea
Vertebrate trachea
In tetrapod anatomy the trachea, or windpipe, is a tube that connects the pharynx or larynx to the lungs, allowing the passage of air. It is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium cells with goblet cells that produce mucus...

 in a single continuous cutting movement with an unserrated, sharp knife, which is intended to avoid unnecessary pain to the animal as consciousness is lost quickly due to loss of cerebral blood pressure. Failure of any of these criteria renders the meat of the animal unsuitable. The body 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 (treifot) 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 (chelev
Chelev
The Hebrew noun chelev is the term given to some kinds of animal fats in Judaism.The fat of animal sacrifices is subject to specific regulations in the Hebrew Bible....

) and the sciatic nerve
Sciatic nerve
The sciatic nerve is a large nerve fiber in humans and other animals. It begins in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the lower limb...

s from the legs. As much blood as possible must be removed through the kashering process; this is usually done through soaking and salting the meat, but organs rich in blood (the liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

) are grilled over an open flame. Fish (and locusts, for those Sephardi Jews who agree that they are both kosher and edible) must be killed before being eaten, but no particular method has been specified in Jewish law.

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 by Jews in a manner that violates the Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

(Sabbath) may not be eaten until the Shabbat is over.

Passover laws

Pesach
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...

(Passover) has special dietary rules, the most important of which is the prohibition on eating leavened bread or derivatives of this (chametz
Chametz
Chametz, also Chometz, and other spellings transliterated from , are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover...

). Utensils used in preparing and serving chametz are also forbidden on Passover unless they have been cleansed (kashering). Observant Jews keep separate sets of meat and dairy utensils for Passover use only.

Special supervision

According to some, certain foods must be prepared in whole or in part by Jews. This includes grape wine
Kosher wine
Kosher wine is grape wine produced according to Judaism's religious law, specifically, Jewish dietary laws .To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must be involved in the entire winemaking process and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher...

, certain cooked foods (bishul akum
Bishul Yisrael
Bishul Yisrael is a Hebrew term for one of the laws of kashrut in Judaism. The rule prohibits eating certain foods if they are cooked entirely by non-Jews. The term bishul Yisrael is the opposite of bishul akum, , which the rule forbids...

), cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

 (gvinat akum), and according to some also butter (chem'at akum); dairy products (Hebrew: חלב ישראל chalav Yisrael "milk of Israel"); and bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...

  (Pat Yisrael).

Produce of the Land of Israel

Biblical rules control the use of agriculture produce. For produce grown in the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...

 a modified version of the biblical tithe
Tithe
A tithe 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, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

s must be applied, including Terumat HaMaaser
Terumat hamaaser
The tithe offering is a rabbinical Hebrew term based on the commandment in the Hebrew Bible to give a tithe maaser of 10% to the Levites. The first term, terumah, means offering...

, Maaser Rishon
Maaser Rishon
The first tithe is a positive commandment in the Torah requiring the giving of one tenth of agricultural produce, after the giving of the standard terumah, to the Kohen...

, Maaser Sheni
Maaser Sheni
The second tithe is a tithe mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and continued in Orthodox Judaism. It is distinguished from the first tithe , the poor tithe, and the terumat ma'aser...

, and Maaser Ani
Maaser Ani
The poor tithe reflects an obligation to set aside one tenth of produce grown in the third and sixth years of the seven-year sabbatical year agricultural cycle for the poor, in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem....

 (untithed produce is called tevel
Tevel
- External links :*...

); the fruit of the first three years of a tree's growth or replanting are forbidden for eating or any other use as orlah
Orlah
Orlah is the tenth tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It discusses the laws pertaining to any fruit bearing tree, whose fruits cannot be eaten during the first three years the tree produces fruit...

; produce grown in the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...

 on the seventh year is Shviit, and unless managed carefully is forbidden as a violation of the Shmita (Sabbatical Year). Some rules of kashrut are not universally observed: the rule against eating chadash
Yoshon
In Judaism, Chodosh is a concept within Kashrut , based on the Biblical requirement not to eat any grain of the new year prior to the annual Omer offering on the 16th day of Nisan.Grain products which are no longer affected by this law are referred to as Yoshon .-The five types of...

(new grain) before the 16th of the month Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...

; many hold that this rule does not apply outside the Land of Israel. In addition, some groups follow various eating restrictions on Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...

 that go beyond the rules of kashrut, such as not eating gebrochts or garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

.

Possible reasons for kashrut laws

Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...

 divides the 613 mitzvot
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...

 into three groups—laws that have a rational explanation and would probably be enacted by most orderly societies (mishpatim), laws that are understood after being explained, but would not be legislated without the Torah's command, (edot), and laws that do not have a rational explanation (chukim). Some Jewish scholars say that kashrut 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. However, Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

 believed that Jews were permitted to seek out reasons for the laws of the Torah.

Some theologians have said that the laws of kashrut are symbolic in character: Kosher animals represent virtue
Virtue
Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....

s, while non-kosher animals represent vice
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...

s. The 1st century BCE Letter of Aristeas
Letter of Aristeas
The so-called Letter of Aristeas or Letter to Philocrates is a Hellenistic work of the 2nd century BCE, one of the Pseudepigrapha. Josephus who paraphrases about two-fifths of the letter, ascribes it to Aristeas and written to Philocrates, describing the Greek translation of the Hebrew Law by...

 argues that the laws "have been given ... to awake pious thoughts and to form the character". This view reappears in the prolix allegories of Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....

 of Alexandria and in the writings of early Christian Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...

. This symbolism hypothesis features in the work of the 19th century Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...

.

The Torah prohibits 'seething the kid (goat, sheep, calf) in its mother's milk', a practice perceived as cruel and insensitive.

While Kashrut predates the germ theory of disease
Germ theory of disease
The germ theory of disease, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a theory that proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases...

 certain rules appear to protect human health. Prohibitions on consuming carrion eaters (Leviticus 11:31) or the use of bowls and vessels in which animals have died (Leviticus 11:31–32) can be seen as preventing disease. Likewise, rules for processing meat, such as glatt, the requirement that lungs be checked to be free of adhesions, would help prevent consumption of animals that had been infected with tuberculosis. Similarly, the ban on slaughtering unconscious animals would prevent certain sick and possibly infectious animals from being consumed. The prohibition against eating pigs (Leviticus 11:3–8) is the preponderance of parasites (e.g., worms
Cysticercosis
Cysticercosis refers to tissue infection after exposure to eggs of Taenia solium, the pork tapeworm. The disease is spread via the fecal-oral route through contaminated food and water, and is primarily a food borne disease. After ingestion the eggs pass through the lumen of the intestine into the...

) in pigs. The prohibition against eating the harvests of the first three years and the seventh year (Leviticus 19:23-25; 25:3-5) may be seen as letting the soil replenish so that the harvest is not depleted of nutrients.

There have been attempts to provide empirical support for the view that Jewish food laws have an over-arching health benefit or purpose, one of the earliest being from Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

 in his Guide for the Perplexed
Guide for the Perplexed
The Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...

. In 1953, David Macht
David Macht
David Israel Macht was a Pharmacologist and Doctor of Hebrew Literature, responsible for many contributions to pharmacology during the first half of the 20th century....

, an Orthodox Jew and proponent of the theory of biblical scientific foresight, conducted toxicity
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...

 experiments on many kinds of animals and fish. His experiment involved lupin
Lupin
Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins or lupines , is a genus in the legume family . The genus comprises about 280 species , with major centers of diversity in South and western North America , and the Andes and secondary centers in the Mediterranean region and Africa Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins...

 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.

Jewish mysticism

Hasidism believes that everyday life is imbued with channels connecting with Divinity
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, the activation of which it sees as helping the Divine Presence 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.

According to the teachings of Hasidism, sparks of Holiness are released whenever a Jew manipulates any object for a holy reason (which includes eating, if it is done with the intention to provide strength to follow the laws of the Torah); however, in the view of Hasidism, not all animal products are capable of releasing their sparks of holiness. The Hasidic argument is that God designed the animals in a way that gives clear signs about whether sparks can be released from them or not, the signs being expressed in the biblical categorization into ritually clean and ritually unclean; the signs themselves are not believed to be the cause of the animal being kosher, and hence if a cow happens to be born with a fully fused hoof, it does not become non-kosher on this basis alone.

According to Christian theologian Gordon J. Wenham
Gordon Wenham
Gordon Wenham is an Old Testament scholar and author of several books about the Bible. Tremper Longman has called him "one of the finest evangelical commentators today."...

, the purpose of kashrut was to help Jews maintain a distinct and separate existence from other peoples; he says that the effect of the laws was to prevent socialization and intermarriage with non-Jews, preventing Jewish identity from being diluted. Wenham argued that since the impact of the food laws was a public affair, this would have enhanced Jewish attachment to them as a reminder of the distinct status of Jews.

Non-Orthodox practice

While Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 and Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...

 authorities hold that Jews should follow the laws of kashrut as a matter of religious obligation, the Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...

 and Reconstructionist
Reconstructionist Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...

 movements hold that these laws are no longer binding. Historically, Reform Judaism actively opposed kashrut as an archaism inhibiting the integration of Jews in the general society. More recently, some parts of the Reform community have begun to explore the option of a more traditional approach. This tradition-leaning faction agrees with mainstream Reform that the rules concerning kashrut are not obligatory, but believe that Jews should consider keeping kosher because it is a valuable way for people to bring holiness into their lives. Thus Jews are encouraged to consider adopting some or all of the rules of kashrut on a voluntary basis. The Reconstructionist movement advocates that its members accept some of the rules of kashrut.

Linguistic borrowing

By extension, kosher has come to mean legitimate, acceptable, permissible, genuine, and authentic. For example, the Babylonian Talmud uses kosher in the sense of virtuous, when referring to the Dãrayavahush I (known in English, via Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, as Darius) as a "kosher king"; Darius, a Persian King, assisted in building the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...

.

The word kosher is also part of some common product names. Sometimes it is used as an abbreviation of koshering, meaning the process for making something kosher; for example, kosher salt
Kosher salt
Koshering salt, usually referred to as kosher salt in the US, is a variety of edible salt with a much larger grain size than some common table 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. At other times it is used as a synonym for Jewish tradition; for example, a kosher dill pickle
Pickled cucumber
A pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...

 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.

Kashrut in the United States

About one-sixth of American Jews
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...

 maintain the kosher diet. Many Jews observe kashrut partially, by abstaining from pork or shellfish, or not drinking milk with a meat dish. Some keep kosher at home but will eat in a non-kosher restaurant. Jews comprise only about 20% of the market for kosher food in the United States. A sizable non-Jewish segment of the population views kosher certification as an indication of wholesomeness. Strict vegetarians, Muslims, Hindus, and people with allergies to dairy foods, often consider the kosher-parve designation as an assurance that a food contains no animal-derived ingredients, including milk and all of its derivatives, although the products still might contain fish or eggs.

Vegetables

Many vegetarian restaurants and producers of vegetarian foods acquire a hechsher
Hechsher
A hechsher is the special certification marking found on the packages of products that have been certified as kosher . In Halakha , the dietary laws of kashrut specify food items that may be eaten and others that are prohibited as set out in the commandments of the Torah...

, certifying that a Rabbinical organization has approved their products as being kosher. The hechsher 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 bishul Yisrael
Bishul Yisrael
Bishul Yisrael is a Hebrew term for one of the laws of kashrut in Judaism. The rule prohibits eating certain foods if they are cooked entirely by non-Jews. The term bishul Yisrael is the opposite of bishul akum, , which the rule forbids...

. Vegetables such as lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...

, cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

, broccoli
Broccoli
Broccoli is a plant in the cabbage family, whose large flower head is used as a vegetable.-General:The word broccoli, from the Italian plural of , refers to "the flowering top of a cabbage"....

 and cauliflower
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed...

 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

On the other hand, some processes convert a meat or dairy product into a pareve (neither meat nor dairy) one. For example, rennet
Rennet
Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...

 is sometimes made from stomach linings, yet is acceptable for making kosher cheese, but such cheeses might not be acceptable to some vegetarians, who would eat only cheese made from a vegetarian rennet. The same applies to kosher gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...

, which is derived from fish and therefore (like all kosher fish products) pareve. Egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

s are also considered pareve despite being an animal product; Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...

, for instance, is usually marked "pareve" despite by definition containing egg.

Kashrut has procedures by which equipment can be cleaned of its previous non-kosher use, but that might be inadequate for those with allergies, vegetarians, or adherents to other religious statutes. For example, dairy manufacturing equipment can be cleaned well enough that the rabbis grant pareve status to products manufactured with it. Nevertheless, someone with a strong allergic sensitivity to dairy products might still react to the dairy residue, and that is why some products that are legitimately pareve carry "milk" warnings.

History of kosher marketing

In 1911, Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

 was the first company to advertise that their product, Crisco, was kosher. Over the next two decades, companies such as Lender's Bagels
Lender's Bagels
Lender's Bagels is a brand and producer of bagels that pioneered the bagel industry in the United States. Established in 1927 in New Haven, Connecticut, it became a North American leader in the marketing, distribution and sales of bagels. Lender's introduced frozen bagels and sold the first...

, Maxwell House
Maxwell House
Maxwell House is a brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Foods. Introduced in 1892, it is named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. For many years until the late 1980s it was the largest-selling coffee in the U.S. and is currently second behind...

, Manischewitz
Manischewitz
Manischewitz is a leading brand of kosher products based in the United States, best known for their matzo and wine. Founded in 1888 and under family control until 1990, it is the world's largest matzo manufacturer and one of America's largest kosher brands....

, and Empire
Empire Kosher
Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc. is the largest producer of kosher poultry in the United States. The company's headquarters, hatchery and processing facility are located in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.-Early years:...

 evolved and gave the kosher market more shelf space. In the 1960s, Hebrew National
Hebrew National
Hebrew National is a brand of kosher hot dogs and sausages made by ConAgra Foods, Inc.-History:The Hebrew National Kosher Sausage Factory, Inc. was founded on East Broadway, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1905...

 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, CEO of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting, created Kosherfest in the 1980s to provide a forum for those involved in the kosher industry to meet and exchange ideas. Lubinsky projects that in the next few years there may be as many as kosher consumers and in sales of kosher products.

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
Lubricant
A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign particles and of distributing heat...

s and flavorings, among other additives
Food additive
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines...

; 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 substitute a non-kosher fish into 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 would most likely involve a visit to the manufacturing facilities by a committee from a rabbinic organization, rather than by an individual rabbi, in order to 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
Hechsher
A hechsher is the special certification marking found on the packages of products that have been certified as kosher . In Halakha , the dietary laws of kashrut specify food items that may be eaten and others that are prohibited as set out in the commandments of the Torah...

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
Certification mark
A certification mark on a commercial product indicates five things:* The existence of a legal follow-up or product certification agreement between the manufacturer of a product and an organization with national accreditation for both testing and certification,* Legal evidence that the product was...

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, who use a U inside a circle, symbolising the initials of Orthodox Union. A single K is sometimes used as a symbol for kosher, but since many countries do not allow letters to be trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

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 religious law; the categorisation may conflict with legal classifications, especially in the case of food that Jewish religious law regards as dairy, but legal classification does not.
  • D—Dairy
  • M—Meat, including poultry
    Poultry
    Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

  • Pareve—Food that is neither meat nor dairy
  • Fish
  • P—Passover
    Passover
    Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...

    -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
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...

, which many rabbinic authorities view as non-kosher. Such changes are often co-ordinated with the supervising rabbi, or supervising organisation, 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
Grapevine (gossip)
To hear something through the grapevine is to learn of something informally and unofficially by means of gossip and rumor.The usual implication is that the information was passed person to person by word of mouth, perhaps in a confidential manner among friends or colleagues. It can also imply an...

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.

Many coffee creamers currently sold in the United States are labeled as "non-dairy", yet also have a "D" alongside their hechsher, which indicates a dairy status. This is because of an ingredient (usually sodium caseinate
Casein
Casein is the name for a family of related phosphoprotein proteins . These proteins are commonly found in mammalian milk, making up 80% of the proteins in cow milk and between 60% and 65% of the proteins in human milk....

), which is derived from milk. The rabbis categorize it as dairy that cannot be mixed with meat, but the US government considers it to lack the nutritional value of milk.

Products labeled kosher-style are nonkosher products that have characteristics of kosher foods, such as all-beef hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...

s, or are flavored or prepared in a manner consistent with Ashkenazi practices, like dill pickles. The designation usually refers to delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....

 items.

Legal usage

Advertising standards laws in many jurisdictions prohibit the use of the phrase kosher in a product's labelling, unless it can be shown that the product conforms to Jewish dietary laws; however, the legal qualifications for conforming to Jewish dietary laws are often defined differently in different jurisdictions. 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.

Maintaining a kosher certification usually involves a cost for periodic inspections by a mashgiach
Mashgiach
In Judaism, a Mashgiach is a person who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment.A mashgiah may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, food manufacturers, hotels, caterers, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives...

.

See also

  • Islamic and Jewish dietary laws compared
  • Islamic dietary laws
    Islamic dietary laws
    Islamic dietary laws provide direction on what is to be considered clean and unclean regarding diet and related issues.-Overview:Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are ' and which are '...

  • Jewish cuisine
    Jewish cuisine
    Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...

  • Kosher foods
    Kosher foods
    Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of the Jewish Halakhic law framework, kosher meaning fit or allowed to be eaten. A list of some kosher foods are found in the book of Leviticus 11:1-47. There are also certain kosher rules found there...

  • Kosher tax
    Kosher tax
    The "Kosher tax" is a canard or urban legend spread by antisemitic, white supremacist and other extremist organizations...


Further reading

  • Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger: An analysis of the concepts of pollution and taboo, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1966
  • Samuel Dresner, Seymour Siegel and David Pollock The Jewish Dietary Laws, United Synagogue, New York, 1982
  • Binyomen Forst, The Laws of Kashrus, Moznaim, 1999
  • Isidore Grunfeld, The Jewish Dietary Laws, London: Soncino, 1972
  • Isaac Klein
    Isaac Klein
    Isaac Klein was a prominent rabbi and halakhic authority within Conservative Judaism.- Personal life, education, and career:...

    , A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, JTSA, 1992
  • David C. Kraemer
    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...

    , Jewish Eating and Identity Throughout the Ages, Routledge, 2008
  • James M. Lebeau, The Jewish Dietary Laws: Sanctify Life, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
    United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
    The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is the primary organization of synagogues practicing Conservative Judaism in North America...

    , New York, 1983
  • Yacov Lipschutz, Kashruth: A Comprehensive Background and Reference Guide to the Principles of Kahruth. New York: Mesorah Publications Ltd, 1989
  • Munk, Shechita: Religious, Historical and Scientific Perspectives, Feldheim Publishers, New York, 1976
  • Aharon Pfeuffer
    Aharon Pfeuffer
    Aharon Pfeuffer was a Rabbi and Posek and a recognised authority on Kashrut. He was active in Johannesburg and Bnei Brak. He founded the Yeshiva Maharsha Beis Aharon in 1982 and headed the Yeshiva College of South Africa in the early 1980s...

    Kitzur Halachot Basar B'Chalav
  • Jordan D. Rosenblum, Food and Identity in Early Rabbinic Judaism, Cambridge University Press, 2010


External links

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