Kashrut

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Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, כַּשְׁרוּת) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér (כָּשֵׁר), meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption by Jews according to traditional Jewish law). Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is called treif (Yiddish: טרײף or treyf, derived from Hebrew: טְרֵפָה‎ trēfáh).

Many of the basic laws of kashrut are derived from the Torah's Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, with their details set down in the oral law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) and codified by the Shulchan Aruch and later rabbinical authorities. The Torah does not explicitly state the reason for most kashrut laws, and many varied reasons have been offered for these laws, ranging from philosophical and ritualistic, to practical and hygienic.

About one-sixth of American Jews maintain the kosher diet.[1]

The word “kosher” has become a part of English slang, a colloquialism, meaning proper, legitimate, genuine, fair, or acceptable.[2][3][4]

Principles of kashrut

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The laws of kashrut derive from various passages in the Torah, and are numerous and complex, but the key principles are as follows:

• Only meat from particular species is permissible:
  • Mammals that both chew their cud (ruminate) and have cloven hooves can be kosher. Animals with one characteristic but not the other (the camel, the hyrax and the hare because they have no cloven hooves, and the pig because it does not ruminate) are specifically excluded (Leviticus 11:3-8).[5][6]
  • In 2008, a rabbinical ruling determined that giraffes and their milk are eligible to be considered kosher.The giraffe has both split hooves and chews its cud, characteristics of animals considered kosher. Findings from 2008 show that giraffe milk curdles, meeting kosher standards. Although kosher, the giraffe is not slaughtered today because the process would be very costly, they are hard animals to restrain, and to prevent the species from becoming endangered.[7][8][9]
  • Non-kosher birds are listed outright (Deuteronomy 14:12-18) but the exact references are disputed and some references refer to families of birds (24 are mentioned). The Mishnah[10] refers to four signs provided by the sages:[11]

1. A dores (predatory bird) is not kosher Additionally, kosher birds possess the following three physical characteristics: 2. An extra toe 3. A zefek (crop) 4. A korkoban (gizzard) with a peelable lumen However, individuals are barred from merely applying these regulations alone; an established tradition (masorah) is necessary to allow birds to be consumed, even if it can be substantiated that they meet all four criteria.[12] The only exception to this is turkey. There was a time when certain authorities considered the signs enough, so Jews started eating this bird without a masorah because it possesses all the signs (simanim in Hebrew) and there is a place for this in Jewish law.^{[citation needed]}

• Fish must have fins and scales to be kosher (Leviticus 11:9-12). Shellfish and other non-fish water fauna are not kosher.[13]
• Insects are not kosher, except for certain species of kosher locust (unrecognized in almost all communities).[14]
• That an animal is untamed does not preclude it from being kashrut, but a wild animal must be trapped and ritually slaughtered (shechted) rather than killed some other way to be kosher.
• Generally any animal that eats other animals, whether they kill their food or eat carrion (Leviticus 11:13-19), is not kosher, as well as any animal that was partially eaten by other animals (Leviticus 22:8).
• Meat and milk (or derivatives) cannot be mixed (Deuteronomy 14:21) in the sense that meat and dairy products are not served at the same meal, served or cooked in the same utensils, or stored together. Observant Jews have separate sets of dishes, and sometimes different kitchens, for meat and milk, and wait anywhere between one and six hours after eating meat before consuming milk products.[15]

• Mammals and fowl must be slaughtered in a specific fashion: slaughter is done by a trained individual (a shochet) using a special method of slaughter, shechita (Deuteronomy 12:21). Among other features, shechita slaughter severs the jugular vein, carotid artery, esophagus and trachea in a single continuous cutting movement with an unserrated, sharp knife, avoiding unnecessary pain to the animal. Failure of any of these criteria renders the meat of the animal unsuitable. The body must be checked after slaughter to confirm that the animal had no medical condition or defect that would have caused it to die of its own accord within a year, which would make the meat unsuitable.[16]
• As much blood as possible must be removed (Leviticus 17:10) through the kashering process; this is usually done through soaking and salting the meat, but organs rich in blood (the liver) are grilled over an open flame.[17]
• Utensils used for non-kosher foods become non-kosher, and make even otherwise kosher food prepared with them non-kosher. Some such utensils, depending on the material they are made from, can be made suitable for preparing kosher food again by immersion in boiling water or by the application of a blowtorch.
• Food prepared by Jews in a manner that violates the Shabbat (Sabbath) may not be eaten until the Shabbat is over.[18]
• Passover has special dietary rules, the most important of which is the prohibition on eating leavened bread or derivatives of this (chametz, Exodus 12:15). Utensils used in preparing and serving chametz are also forbidden on Passover unless they have been cleansed (kashering).[19] Observant Jews often have separate sets of meat and dairy utensils for Passover use only.
• Certain foods must have been prepared in whole or in part by Jews, including:
  • Wine[20]
  • Certain cooked foods (bishul akum)[21]
  • Cheese (gvinat akum) and according to some also butter (chem'at akum)[22]
  • According to many: certain dairy products (Hebrew: חלב ישראל chalav Yisrael "milk of Israel")[22][23]
  • According to some: bread (under certain circumstances) (Pat Yisrael)[24]