#kosher laws

[pyrite-the-book-winion]

wait genuine question if you shecht-ed Doctor Dillamond would he be kosher because he's sentient but he's also a kosher animal?

[burninglights]

I have a weird question for the Jewish community on tumblr; if you keep kosher, can you eat food flavouring that has alcohol in it?

I’m trying to make an extract/flavouring for my mum’s birthday cakes (black tea & rose), and when I was researching if it would be possible to do it with a high-proof vodka, I found a couple of conflicting sources about whether high proof alcohols are kosher or not.

If it’s not kosher, would emulsified butter/steeping the tea in melted butter before straining be compliant with kosher law?

[jewishtwig]

I never really planned to keep kosher or have a kosher kitchen or anything like that. Didn’t think it was for me.

But I show my love by feeding people and it was killing me that many of my new friends couldn’t eat my snacks because I didn’t make them in a kosher kitchen!

So a bit ago I asked a Rabbi to teach me how to kasher my kitchen and the relevant kashrut for baking so I could make baked goods everyone could enjoy.

He was like, “wow! that’s got to be one of the most Jewish things I’ve ever heard!” and taught me all about it and I kinda fell in love with it???

So now my kitchen is mostly kept kosher and I’ve been experimenting with only eating kosher foods myself!

My desire to make treats for my pals has led me to fulfill mitzvot I never thought I would!

[femmesupportgroup]

I know that y'all cant eat certain foods due to religious beliefs, can you tell me what foods and why/the history behind it? Im curious and i dont want to try to search it and it be wrong or from insidious sources and i wouldn't know. -lefty

yah sure! the short answer to why we don't eat certain things is cause of kosher laws! but it's no fun to stop there, so I'm gonna break down the kosher laws here! feel free to skip around to the bits in blue if u want a tl;dr version of each thing!

meat: so it says in the torah that we can eat animals that "have cloven (split) hooves" and that "chew the cud". note that's an and, not an or! so for example, a pig has cloven hooves, but it doesn't chew the cud, so it's not kosher! examples of kosher meat: cow, veal, lamb, sheep, bull, goat.

poultry/poultry products: some birds (and their eggs, etc.) are explicitly forbidden from being eaten, here's the Forbidden Fowl (from leviticus):

but the good news is, we've still got some birds that are kosher! some kosher poultry: goose, duck, chicken, and turkey.

dairy products: so for a dairy product to be kosher, it has to be both from a kosher animal and have no treif (non-kosher) additives. they also can't have any meat products as additives (like animal fats in some cheeses).

how about combining milk with meat in other ways? well, not to be dramatic, but it's safe to say that any combination of meat and milk is not kosher (from exodus):

what about eggs? as long as the egg comes from a kosher bird and it doesn't contain blood, go right ahead!

fish: only fish with fins and scales are considered kosher. sorry guys, that means shrimp and crab are out of the question if ur observing!

fruits/veggies: pretty much everything that grows in the soil or on trees is kosher, so long as it's not got insects in it!

wine: like with growing fruits/veggies and preparing meat, there's a process involved. wine is kosher so long as it's made in the kosher way!

exceptions to the rules: sometimes things that are normally kosher aren't allowed, usually during certain holidays! for instance, we're not allowed to eat leavened bread products during pesach!

that's pretty much it! note that this was kind of simplified to make it easier to parse, but I can go into more detail on specific stuff if u'd like as well!

[ask-jumblr]

I am in the process of conversion and have been keeping kosher-ish for a few months now. (I stay away from all the big no-no’s but eat milk and poultry together and don’t necessarily only eat kosher processed meats). One thing I dont understand is why eating the milk of a different animal with another animal’s meat wouldn’t be ok. Like goat cheese with beef for example. Since the verse forbidding mixing milk and meat is something like “don’t boil a kid in the milk of its mother”

[femmesupportgroup]

Are you not allowed to eat insects ( your mention on fruits/veggies) or things with blood in them( your mention on eggs)? I just noticed you specfically said no to those and was confused as you can still eat meat that inherently has blood in it. My mentioning of the place you said those in wasnt like... Calling out or something, i was just wanting to show where i got confused.- lefty

pretty much, yah! there's a whole process to making meats (even from kosher animals) actually kosher, that involves a specific method of slaughter n also blood removal! we're not allowed to eat anything with blood in it!

n same for insects, those r also not kosher! pretty much anything with lots of little legs is treif!

[progressivejudaism]

I was wondering - I'm most likely converting through Reform and I've been hearing a lot about how Reform doesn't practice or that they don't keep kosher and that they don't pray and that they place no emphasis on tradition and ritual (including outside of synagogue in the home) and that's got me kind of terrified? I never had any of those things growing up and they have been a significant aspect in my desire to convert if that makes sense?

Hi there,

It seems to me like you have been learning about the Reform Movement from several biased individuals.  Unfortunately, there are many folks out there that tend to throw the Reform Movement under the bus due to their own ignorance of who we are, what we stand for, how we practice etc.

While some Reform Jews do not pray at home and struggle with various traditions and rituals, many Reform Jews do not.  Some Reform Jews keep kosher, some don’t, and many understand the laws of Kashruit through a different and arguably contemporary lens. 

One could make the exact same arguments about Conservative Jews, Reconstructionist Jews, and even some Modern Orthodox Jews. 

Here are some asks that I think you might find helpful:  x  x  x  x  x

Please feel free to send me a direct message to chat more about this and any other issues that you might come across.  I would love to meet you!

PJ

[bubblegumpopdefiance]

So, the ban on pork in kosher laws has always been a head scratcher for me. You could certainly accept the straightforward answer that it is merely a test of obedience.

This may also be part of the puzzle. From the following article:

“It is known that ancient Greeks sacrificed pigs to Demeter, greek godess of agriculture and fertility, to her daughter Persephone and the chthonic dieties. Why? Partly because of the special powers attributed to pigs on account of their association with fertility and abundance of flesh and blood. Partly because of their association with dirt; since evil spirits were often equated with dirt, pigs’ death became equated with evil spirits’ death.”

I’d love to see other articles or references to support this and the possible link. Or to refute it

CHRISTMAS #2. Pig killing & animal sacrifice

Large numbers of pig carcasses are hanging on hooks in butcher shops. Christmas day is near…. Because the pig is the traditional meat for th