Basic Laws of Kosher and its Sources

Introduction

Kashrut is the body of Jewish law dealing with what foods can and cannot be eaten and how those foods must be prepared. The word "Kashrut" comes from the Hebrew meaning fit, proper or correct.

The word "kosher," which describes food that meets the standards of kashrut, is also often used to describe ritual objects that are made in accordance with Jewish law and are fit for ritual use. Food that is not kosher is referred to as treif.

Kosher is not a style of cooking and therefore there is no such thing as "kosher-style" food. Any kind of food - Chinese, Mexican, Indian, etc. - can be kosher if it is prepared in accordance with Jewish law. At the same time, traditional Jewish foods like knishes, bagels, blintzes and matzah ball soup can all be treif if not prepared in accordance with Jewish law.

Reason for laws of Kosher

Many modern Jews think that the laws of kashrut are simply primitive health regulations that have become obsolete with modern methods of food preparation. There is no question that some of the dietary laws have beneficial health effects. For example, the laws regarding kosher slaughter are so sanitary that kosher butchers and slaughterhouses are often exempted from USDA regulations.

However, health is not the main reason for Jewish dietary laws and in fact many of the laws of kashrut have no known connection with health. To the best of our modern scientific knowledge, there is no reason why camel or rabbit meat (both treif) is any less healthy than cow or goat meat.

Our sages also point out the various advantages of the kosher laws: the health benefits, the humane treatment of animals, their unifying effect on a dispersed people, and their role as shield against assimilation. Additionally, Nachmanides, the great 12th century sage and kabbalist, points out that “the birds and many of the mammals forbidden by the Torah are predators, while the permitted animals are not; we are instructed not to eat those animals, so that we should not absorb these qualities into ourselves.” Kashrut (kosher laws) can thus be seen as “spiritual nutrition.” Just as there are foods that are good for the body and foods that are harmful, there are foods that nourish the Jewish soul and foods that affect it adversely.

None of the above, however, is the reason we keep kosher. Rather, the short answer to why we keep kosher is because it is the will of the Creator.

RABBI RUTH H SOHN

...Traditional and modern commentators have offered various explanations as to why particular fish, poultry, and animals are considered tahor (“ritually pure”) and therefore acceptable to eat. But perhaps more important than the meaning of each of the details of the prohibitions is the simple fact that we are given a list of dos and don’ts that govern what we are to consume daily. According to the Torah, God asks that we abstain from eating certain foods, not because they are unhealthy or intrinsically problematic, but simply as an expression of our devotion. As with other chukim (laws that the sages define as being without rational explanation), these prohibitions are like the requests of a beloved: we may not understand them, but we are, in essence, asked to follow them purely as an expression of our love. Daily, the observance of kashrut calls us back to a personal relationship with God.

Origin and History of Kosher

The kosher laws were commanded by G‑d to the children of Israel in the Sinai Desert. Moses taught them to the people and wrote the basics of these laws in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. The details were handed down through the generations and eventually written down in the Mishnah and Talmud. Various ordinances were enacted through the generations by the rabbinical authorities as safeguards for these biblical laws.

Throughout our 4,000-year history, the observance of kosher has been a hallmark of Jewish identity. Perhaps more than any other mitzvah, the kosher laws emphasize that Judaism is much more than a religion in the conventional sense of the word. To the Jew, holiness is not confined to holy places and times outside the everyday; rather, life in its totality is a sacred endeavor. Even the seemingly mundane activity of eating is a G‑dly act and a uniquely Jewish experience.

The Fundamental Rules of Kashrut

Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple, straightforward rules:

1. Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.

2. Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.

3. Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy.

1. Animals That Cannot be Eaten

Of the "beasts of the earth", you may eat any animal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud. Lev. 11:3; Deut. 14:6. Any land mammal that does not have both of these qualities is forbidden. The Torah specifies that the camel, the rock badger, the hare and the pig are not kosher because each lacks one of these two qualifications. Sheep, cattle, goats and deer are kosher.

Of the things that are in the waters, you may eat anything that has fins and scales. Lev. 11:9; Deut. 14:9. Thus, shellfish such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs are all forbidden. Fish like tuna, carp, salmon and herring are all permitted.

For birds, the criteria is less clear. The Torah lists forbidden birds Lev. 11:13-19; Deut. 14:11-18, but does not specify why these particular birds are forbidden. All of the birds on the list are birds of prey or scavengers, thus the rabbis inferred that this was the basis for the distinction. Other birds are permitted, such as chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys.

2. Kosher Slaughter (Shechitah)

The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law. Deut. 12:21. We may not eat animals that died of natural causes Deut. 14:21 or that were killed by other animals. In addition, the animal must have no disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish; only to the flocks and herds Num. 11:22.

After the slaughtering, the internal organs of cattle are examined for potentially fatal diseases or injuries, such as adhesions (sirchot) in the lungs or holes in the stomach. The occurrence of any one of dozens of specified tereifot, as these defects are called, renders the entire animal not kosher.

[Glatt Kosher:
Though not all adhesions render an animal non-kosher, some Jewish communities or individuals only eat meat of an animal that has been found to be free of all adhesions on its lungs. “Glatt” literally means “smooth”, indicating that the meat comes from an animal whose lungs have been found to be free of all adhesions. Recently, the term “glatt kosher” is increasingly used more broadly as a generic phrase, implying that the product is kosher without question.]

3. Separation of Meat & Dairy

On three separate occasions, the Torah tells us not to "boil a kid in its mother's milk." Ex. 23:19; Ex. 34:26; Deut. 14:21. The Oral Torah Tradtion explains that this passage prohibits eating meat and dairy together. The rabbis extended this prohibition to include not eating milk and poultry together.