1.
A kosher animal must be a ruminant and have split hooves -- cows, sheep,
goats and deer are all kosher, whereas camels and pigs (having each only
one sign of kashrut) are not kosher. Most common fowl are kosher, like
chickens, ducks and geese, but the birds of prey (hawks, eagles etc.)
are not kosher. A sea creature is only kosher if it has fins and scales.
So most species of fish are kosher (tuna, salmon, flounder, etc.) but
all shellfish are not kosher; dolphins, whales and squids are also not
kosher. Any food product of a non-kosher animal is also non-kosher. The
exception to this rule is bee's honey.
2.
An animal or bird must be slaughtered according to Jewish law (shechita).
This involves cutting the animal's trachea and oesophagus (the carotid
and jugular are also severed) with a surgically sharp knife. The cut must
be swift, continuous and performed by an expert. This method of slaughter
reduces the blood pressure in the brain to zero immediately, so that the
animal loses consciousness in a few seconds and dies in minutes.
3. The animal or bird must be
free of treifot, which are 70 different categories of injuries, diseases
or abnormalities whose presence renders the animal non-kosher.
4. Certain fats, known
as chelev, may not be eaten. Blood must be removed from the meat, either
by soaking, salting and rinsing or by broiling. The sciatic nerve in each
leg and the surrounding fat must be removed.
5. It is forbidden
to cook, eat, or benefit from milk and meat mixtures. It is also forbidden
to cook or eat dairy products together with poultry.
6. In Israel, tithes
must be taken from all crops. If these tithes are not separated then the
produce may not be eaten; the wheat, barley or fruit is actually not kosher
until the commandments of tithing have been fulfilled.
7. Milk products (including
the rennet in cheese) must only come from kosher animals. The
most obvious idea behind kashrut is self-control and discipline. Let me
illustrate this with a real-life example. Most parents are familiar with
the horrors of going to the supermarket with young children. The worst
part of this ordeal is waiting in line at the checkout counter. You have
only five items, so you wait in the "Eight-items-or-less" express
line. The lady in front of you has 25 items at least, she is trying to
pay with a third-party check from Paraguay in Thai baht, and is negotiating
with the clerk over her expired coupons (and her mortgage). You are waiting
with two children under the age of six, surrounded on both sides by four
foot high walls of sugar based products. The children are becoming increasingly
impatient and begging for candies, and you are becoming more and more
angry and frustrated as time goes on. Of course, most children will scream,
beg and embarrass their parents into buying the candy. Now for the true
story. I moved with my family from Israel to Toronto for a four-year stay,
and in the first week was waiting in line at the supermarket with one
of my children. He asked me for a chocolate bar. I looked at the bar and
told him that it was not kosher and he was silent, accepting the decision
without tantrums, threats, tears or hysteria. It struck me then that my
five-year-old, who has been brought up with the laws of kashrut, had more
self-control than millions of adults in the Western world. How many people
accept "no" as an answer in denial of a pleasure that they want
now? Dangerous? I will take precautions. Unhealthy? I will stop after
a few. Addictive? Not to me. Not to indulge is simply not an option.
I once read an interview
with a famous politician whose motto was "A kinder, gentler America."
The interview was conducted while he was engaged in hunting grouse. No
one seemed to notice the contradiction between his recreational activity
and his motto. How can one derive entertainment from pursuing and killing
an animal and at the same time espouse a "kinder, gentler America?"
In the words of a great Rabbi "I am amazed by this activity [hunting];
we have not found hunters in the Torah except for Nimrod and Esau. This
is not the way of the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ... it is written
`His [G-d's] mercy is upon all His creatures' ... if so how can an Israelite
kill living beings, without any other need than in order to pass his time
by hunting! This matter contributes to cruelty, and is forbidden...."
In Jewish tradition we are allowed to use animals as food and clothing;
however, we are not supposed to rejoice in this, and we are certainly
not supposed to make a sport of it. Some of the laws of kashrut are designed
to prevent us from becoming callous and cruel and to discourage hunting
as a form of recreation or sustenance. The requirements of shechita and
treifot virtually preclude the possibility of hunting.
The prohibition against
meat and milk also serves to remind us where our food comes from. The
meat is from a dead animal, the milk from a living animal. Be aware that
obtaining meat necessitates death, obtaining milk requires life. These
are foods that have their origin in living creatures and keeping them
separate makes us aware of their source. This is similar to the law that
allows us to wear clothing of leather, but suggests that we do not wish
our friend to "Wear it out," because getting a new one involves
the death of an animal.
The Hebrew word for
"charity" -- "tzedaka" -- is correctly translated
as "justice." We do not look at giving to the poor as something
beyond the call of duty, we perceive it as simple justice. Hence we can
understand why the Torah prohibits a Jewish farmer from eating the produce
of his own field until he has given tithes to those without land of their
own. He is not being asked to be extra nice, he is being commanded to
be just.
The types of animals
we eat are chosen in part for their symbolism. The ruminants that have
split hooves tend to be tranquil, domesticated animals that have no natural
weapons. These are animals whose characteristics we may absorb through
eating. We may not eat scavengers, carnivores or birds of prey; these
are not characteristics that we want to absorb at all.
There is no question
that kashrut has contributed to our survival as a distinct nation as well.
Jews all over the world have common dietary patterns. I can be confident
that the curried hamin of the Calcutta Jews has no milk with meat in its
ingredients. When I eat kosher, French cuisine, I know that the meat is
not pork and that the animals have been slaughtered according to law.
Jews meet each other at the local kosher bakery, they shop at the same
stores and have their own butchers. These laws are a major force in maintaining
unity, act as a social barrier against assimilation, and create a feeling
of community amongst the Jewish People.
Another aspect of kashrut
is the encouragement of aesthetic sensitivity. Judaism prohibits the consumption
of animals that have died of natural causes or that are deformed and diseased;
it also prohibits the consumption of insects and loathsome foods. It is
possible that one idea behind this is to encourage us to view ourselves
with dignity and to act with dignity. One of the best defences against
immorality is a strong sense of self-esteem and dignity. Evil should be
looked at as beneath our dignity, stealing is stooping too low, gossip
is petty and small- minded. In order to help us achieve and maintain this
level of dignity the Torah prohibits foods like carcasses and diseased
animals.
Some religions seek
the path to spirituality through withdrawal from the physical world. A
monastic life is glorified, celibacy and asceticism are seen as ideals.
Some view the human as essentially an animal that is incapable of elevating
itself beyond the struggle for survival, hence they encourage a life of
hedonism and materialism. Judaism sees the human as an essentially spiritual
being, clothed in a physical body. Judaism maintains that the physical
is not evil, it is just not the complete view of reality. Judaism seeks
to elevate the physical world, not to deny it, nor to glorify it. The
laws of kashrut allow us to enjoy the pleasures of the physical world,
but in such a way that we sanctify and elevate the pleasure through consciousness
and sensitivity. Kashrut recognises that the essential human need is not
food, drink or comfort, but meaning. Judaism, through the dietary laws,
injects meaning even into something as commonplace and instinctive as
eating.
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