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Prague · 28 Cheshvan 5787

Shabbat this week · 16:02–17:11

Kashrut

Kashrut

כַּשְׁרוּתkashrut
Awaiting expert review

Kashrut is the body of rules about what may be eaten and how. It is based on the Torah (permitted animals, the prohibition of blood, the prohibition of cooking a kid in its mother's milk) and was elaborated in the Talmud and the halakhic codes. Practice differs between communities and movements.

01

Permitted and forbidden animals

Bible

Among mammals, those that have split hooves and chew the cud are permitted; among aquatic creatures, those that have both fins and scales. For birds, the Torah lists the forbidden species; most insects are forbidden.1,2

Halakhah

The meat of permitted animals must come from ritual slaughter (shechitah) performed by a trained shochet; blood, certain fats and the sciatic nerve (gid ha-nasheh) are forbidden.3,4,5,6

02

Meat and milk

Halakhah

The Torah repeats three times the prohibition "you shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk". Oral tradition derives from it the prohibition of cooking, eating and deriving benefit from a mixture of meat and milk; the Mishnah extends the prohibition to poultry as well.7,8,9,10

Halakhah

Foods are therefore divided into meat (fleishig, בְּשָׂרִי), dairy (milchig, חַלָבִי) and neutral (parve), and separate utensils are used in the kitchen.11

MinhagAshkenazimSephardim⁂ To verify

The waiting time between meat and milk varies: many communities wait six hours (following the Shulchan Arukh), some German Jews three hours, and the Dutch tradition one hour.12,13

03

Practice today

Modern practice

Industrially produced foods are checked by certification organizations and marked with a symbol (hechsher). Standards differ between certifiers.

MinhagAshkenazimSephardimMizrahim

On Passover there is the additional prohibition of leavened food (chametz); Ashkenazi communities traditionally also avoid legumes and rice (kitniyot), while Sephardi and Oriental communities usually do not.

Modern practice⁂ To verify

The Orthodox and Conservative movements regard kashrut as binding (with differing standards); Reform Judaism understands it as a personal choice. Many Jews observe only part of the rules, for example not eating pork.

FAQ

Is kosher food "blessed by a rabbi"?

No. Kosher means "fit" according to the rules; supervision (mashgiach) verifies the ingredients and procedures, and there is no blessing involved.

Is fish meat?

No, fish is parve and may be eaten with dairy dishes. According to halakhah, however, it is not eaten together with meat.⁂ To verify

Why does kashrut exist?

The Torah links it with the holiness of the people. Later interpretations cite discipline, ethics toward animals and health; none of them is the official "reason".

Sources

Secondary literature

  1. 18Hayim Halevy Donin, To Be a Jew

See also