Kashrut - Jewish Dietary Laws

Keeping kosher, or adhering to Judaism’s dietary laws, is a fundamental aspect of living a Jewish life. The word kosher means fit or proper and refers to the foods which Jews are permitted to eat. Those foods which are not permissible are called traif. The most basic laws of Kashrut are found in the Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy and were codified in the Mishnah, the corpus of rabbinic oral law which, along with the Gemara comprises the Talmud. Subsequent codes of Halakhah or Jewish law elaborate further and in our own day, when much of the food we purchase and consume is processed, modern rabbinic authorities have grappled with a variety of unique Kashrut concerns arising from this.

Foods fall into three specific categories—meat, dairy and parve. Foods which are parve contain neither meat nor dairy ingredients and may be served at either a dairy or a meat meal. Meat includes poultry. Keeping kosher is a very tangible way of expressing one’s Jewish identity and causes one to be mindful of all that one eats.

One of the fundamental principles of kashrut is that we are not permitted to mix meat and milk. This derives from the Book of Leviticus’ admonition against cooking a kid in its mother’s milk. Thus, we are not permitted to serve meat and dairy foods at the same meal. Separate sets of dishes are used for meat and dairy. Generally, a kosher kitchen will contain separate appliances for meat and dairy use, including ovens, sinks, stoves and dishwashers. After one has eaten a meat meal, one is required to wait a proscribed period of time before consuming dairy foods. This is mostly three hours duration, though may only be one or alternatively six, depending upon one’s personal, communal or family custom.

The animals which are kosher are mentioned in the Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. For an animal to be kosher, it must both chew its cud and have cloven hooves. The pig, for example, which chews its cud but lacks cloven hooves, is thus not kosher. For fish to be kosher, they must contain fins and scales, rendering all shellfish to be traif or non-kosher. In order for the meat from permitted animals to be kosher, the meat must be slaughtered in accordance with Halakhah or Jewish law. The process for kosher slaughter is called shechita and must be performed by an individual who has been thoroughly trained to do so, called a shochet. A shochet must use a sharp an unserrated knife when performing shechita. The method of slaughter severs the animal’s jugular vein, esophagus and trachea in a single motion which is intended to minimize pain. Once an animal has been slaughtered, it is imperative that the meat be soaked and salted to remove all of the blood, as Jewish law forbids the consumption of blood which is the life-force of the animal. Meat from animals which died of natural causes is not considered to be kosher.

Products which are kosher bear a hechsher or seal to indicate their kosher status. A simple K on a product does not render that product to be kosher. The Orthodox Union is the largest kosher certifying agency, and their hechsher is a U within a circle. Alongside the hechsher will be an indication of where the food in question is meat, dairy or parve. M indicates that the food is meat; D indicates that the food is dairy and P indicates that the food is parve. There are numerous hechsherim on products in the United States and some communities do not consider some hechshers to be reliable. When in doubt it is always best to ask. There are additionally resources online for individuals to ask questions pertaining to kashrut.

Many younger Jews especially are becoming increasingly interested in the environmental impact and sustainability of our food production and consumption. Eco-kashrut most often refers to not only being mindful of Kashrut from a Halakhic perspective, but also being mindful of issues of sustainability.