Kashrut
Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, כַּשְׁרוּת) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher (/ˈkoʊʃər/ in English, Yiddish: כּשר), from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the term that in Sephardic or Modern Hebrew is pronounced kashér (כָּשֵׁר), meaning "fit" (in this context: "fit for consumption"). Food that may not be consumed, however, is deemed treif (/treɪf/ in English, Yiddish: טרײף), also spelled treyf (Yiddish: טריף).
"Kasher" and "Kosher" redirect here. For people with this name, see Kasher (surname). For other meanings, see Kosher (disambiguation).
Although the details of the laws of kashrut are numerous and complex, they rest on a few basic principles:
Every food that is considered kosher is also categorized as follows:
While any produce that grows from the earth, such as fruits, grains, vegetables and mushrooms, is always permissible, laws regarding the status of certain agricultural produce, especially that grown in the Land of Israel, such as tithes and produce of the Sabbatical year, impact their permissibility for consumption.
Most of the basic laws of kashrut are derived from the Torah's books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Their details and practical application, however, are set down in the Oral Torah (eventually codified in the Mishnah and Talmud) and elaborated on in the later rabbinical literature. Although the Torah does not state the rationale for most kashrut laws, some suggest that they are only tests of obedience,[2] while others have suggested philosophical, practical and hygienic reasons.[3][4][5]
Over the past century, many kashrut certification agencies have started to certify products, manufacturers, and restaurants as kosher, usually authorizing the use of a proprietary symbol or certificate, called a hechsher, to be displayed by the food establishment or on the product, which indicates that they are in compliance with the kosher laws. This labeling is useful for many people, including those whose religions expect adherence to a similar set of dietary laws, people with allergies to dairy foods, or vegans, who use the various kosher designations to determine whether a food contains meat or dairy-derived ingredients.
The laws of Kashrut are a major area covered in traditional rabbinic ordination; see Yeshiva § Jewish law and Semikhah § Varieties of ordination. And numerous scholarly and popular works exist on these topics,[6] covering both practice and theory.
Explanations[edit]
Philosophical[edit]
Jewish philosophy divides the 613 commandments (or mitzvot) into three groups—laws that have a rational explanation and would probably be enacted by most orderly societies (mishpatim), laws that are understood after being explained but would not be legislated without the Torah's command (eidot), and laws that do not have a rational explanation (chukim).
Some Jewish scholars say that kashrut should be categorized as laws for which there is no particular explanation since the human mind is not always capable of understanding divine intentions. In this line of thinking, the dietary laws were given as a demonstration of God's authority, and man must obey without asking why.[7] Although Maimonides concurs that all the statutes of the Torah are decrees, he is of the view that whenever possible, one should seek out reasons for the Torah's commandments.[8]
Some theologians have said that the laws of kashrut are symbolic in character: kosher animals represent virtues, while non-kosher animals represent vices. The 1st-century BCE Letter of Aristeas argues that the laws "have been given [...] to awake pious thoughts and to form the character".[9] This view reappears in the work of the 19th-century Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.[10]
The Torah prohibits "cooking the kid (goat, sheep, calf) in its mother's milk". While the Torah does not provide a reason, it has been suggested that the practice was perceived as cruel and insensitive.[11][12]
Hasidic Judaism believes that everyday life is imbued with channels connecting with Divinity, the activation of which it sees as helping the Divine Presence to be drawn into the physical world;[13] Hasidism argues that the food laws are related to the way such channels, termed 'sparks of holiness', interact with various animals. These 'sparks of holiness' are released whenever a Jew manipulates any object for a 'holy reason' (which includes eating);[14] however, not all animal products are capable of releasing their 'sparks of holiness'.[15] The Hasidic argument is that animals are imbued with signs that reveal the release of these sparks, and the signs are expressed in the biblical categorization of ritually 'clean' and ritually 'unclean'.[16]
Medical[edit]
Although the reason for kashrut is that it is a decree from the Torah, there have been attempts to provide scientific support for the view that Jewish food laws have an incidental health benefit. One of the earliest is that of Maimonides in The Guide for the Perplexed.
In 1953, David Macht, an Orthodox Jew and proponent of the theory of biblical scientific foresight, conducted toxicity experiments on many kinds of animals and fish.[17] His experiment involved lupin seedlings being supplied with extracts from the meat of various animals; Macht reported that in 100% of cases, extracts from ritually 'unclean' meat inhibited the seedling's growth more than that from ritually 'clean' meats.[18]
At the same time, these explanations are controversial. Scholar Lester L. Grabbe, writing in the Oxford Bible Commentary on Leviticus, says "[a]n explanation now almost universally rejected is that the laws in this section[19] have hygiene as their basis. Although some of the laws of ritual purity roughly correspond to modern ideas of physical cleanliness, many of them have little to do with hygiene. For example, there is no evidence that the 'unclean' animals are intrinsically bad to eat or to be avoided in a Mediterranean climate, as is sometimes asserted."[20]
Supervision and marketing[edit]
Hashgacha[edit]
Certain foods must be prepared in whole or in part by Jews. This includes grape wine,[87] certain cooked foods (bishul akum),[88] cheese (g'vinat akum), and according to some also butter (chem'at akum),[89] dairy products (Hebrew: חלב ישראל chalav Yisrael "milk of Israel"),[89][90] and bread (Pas Yisroel).[91]
Society and culture[edit]
Adherence[edit]
Many Jews partially observe kashrut, by abstaining from pork or shellfish or by not drinking milk with meat dishes. Some keep kosher at home but eat in non-kosher restaurants. In 2012, one analysis of the specialty food market in North America estimated that only 15% of kosher consumers were Jewish.[117] Kosher meat is regularly consumed by Muslims when halal is not available.[118] Muslims, Hindus, and people with allergies to dairy foods often consider the kosher-pareve designation as an assurance that a food contains no animal-derived ingredients, including milk and all of its derivatives.[119] However, since kosher-pareve foods may contain honey, eggs, or fish, vegans cannot rely on the certification.[120][121]
About a sixth of American Jews or 0.3% of the American population fully keep kosher, and many more of them do not strictly follow all of the rules but still abstain from some prohibited foods, especially pork. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, a Christian denomination, preaches a health message which expects adherence to the kosher dietary laws.[122][123]
Surveys conducted in 2013 and 2020 found that 22% of American Jews by religion claimed to keep kosher in their homes.[124][125] Pork consumption in particular seems to be a bigger taboo than other non-Kosher eating practices among Jews, with 41% claiming to at least abstain from eating pork.[126] American Jews are generally less strict about Kosher laws when compared to Israeli Jews. Nearly three times as many Israeli Jews reported that they commit to keeping kosher in their homes and 84% do not eat pork.[127]
Strictness degrees[edit]
Mehadrin[edit]
Mehadrin is a term most commonly used with the meaning of enhanced or stricter kashrut rules.[138] Its etymology is still debated,[139] but its initial halachic use related specifically to lighting candles on Hanukkah.[140] Later it became widely used in regard to dietary laws,[138] and ended up loosely covering almost every aspect of Jewish observance[141] (see mehadrin bus lines).
Badatz[edit]
Badatz is the Hebrew acronym of Beth Din Tsedek and is used as a name for organisations which supervise the production of kosher foods. They typically only certify mehadrin-level products, but are not the only agencies specialised in applying enhanced mehadrin rules, since there are non-badatz agencies also doing so.[138]
Suriname[edit]
A treef (Surinamese Dutch, derived from Sranan Tongo trefu) is a food taboo.
In Suriname certain groups of people have long adhered to belief in treef, especially among people of African descent. The consumption of certain foods is prohibited, in the belief that it could cause major diseases, particularly leprosy.[142] These prohibitions can vary individually, but it is inextricably related to conditions in the family. A treef is inherited from the father's side, but it can be revealed in a dream, often by a woman. In addition, a woman must take into account special food taboos during pregnancy. There is great importance attached to the treef; if a child observes the treef of his father, and yet experiences a skin condition, this is seen as a strong indication that the child was begotten by the woman with another man. Finally treef also be acquired later in life by wearing certain charms that compel you to abstain from certain foods.[143]
The word is derived from Hebrew, due to influence of Sephardi Jews who came to Suriname in the 17th century. This is also the source of Sranan kaseri 'ritually clean, kosher'.[144]
Other uses[edit]
Although the term kosher relates mainly to food, it sometimes occurs in other contexts. Some Orthodox retailers sell kosher cell phones—stripped-down devices with limited features.[145][146]