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.
References:
