Friday, 12 September 2014

Kosher Diet Laws

Keeping kosher requires separate sets of dishes for milk and meat.


The Jewish Bible, the Torah, lays out several rules about what people can and cannot eat. To follow these rules means that someone "keeps kosher." Kashrut is known as the body of dietary laws. The root of the word means "proper." While the Torah does not say why these laws exist, many believe health and environmental circumstances helped to shape them. Many Jews follow the laws of kashrut simply because the Torah says to do so.


Proper Killing Techniques


People keeping kosher are not allowed to eat animals that have died by natural causes or those that were killed by another non-human animal, according to Jewish law. The slaughter ritual is called "shechitah." The animal must be killed in a certain way by a "shochet" -- a person who slaughters. The shochet uses a perfectly sharp knife to slice the throat of the animal in what is said to be the most painless way for the animal to die. This method also ensures the blood is drained from the animal quickly. All blood must be drained because, as the Torah says in Leviticus, "blood represents the life of an animal."


Types of Meat


Only certain types of animals are allowed to be eaten under the laws of kashrut. In Leviticus 11:3, the Torah states that any land animal with cloven hooves and that chews its cud is acceptable to be eaten. Sea life available to eat is restricted to those animals that have scales and fins, so shellfish are off limits. Birds of prey and other birds that are scavengers are not allowed, but the Torah does not specify why this rule exists.


Mixing


Dairy products and meat cannot be mixed. Twice in Exodus and once in Deuteronomy, the Torah mentions that we must not "boil a kid in its mother's milk." This extends to not eating poultry and dairy together, as well. Kosher laws also require that dishes, pots and pans, cooking surfaces and food storage be separate for dairy and meat. Some of the most observant Jews have two refrigerators, two sets of dishes and two stoves. In Yiddish, the word "fleishik" means meat, "milchik" is dairy and "pareve" is neutral, like a fish. Many also wait a certain period of time, though it varies, between when a milchik meal is eaten and a fleishik meal is eaten.

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