Welcome to Gaia! ::

Do you keep Kosher and why?

As some of you may or may not know, Keeping Kosher is one of the most important things in my daily life. Because it is religious and involves the nourishment of the human body, it is a harmonic synchronization of the physical body and the Spirit.

Now, I was raised in a non-Kosher house-hold, we used to eat things like pork shops (EW!) and bacon, when I was too young and did not know what Kosher was (Around the ages of 3-5). One day my sister, who is two years older than me learned about keeping kosher in Hebrew School, came home and said that she was not going to eat bacon or pork anymore because it wasn't Kosher. So, me, like any other younger sibling, copied exactly what my older sister did. And I have not had any bit of pig since. Now it would be a few years time before I learned the other rules of Keeping Kosher.

After I did, I always wanted a Kosher house-hold, my sister and I asked my parents over and over again who ignored us, or maybe just did not hear us. That is, until last year. I could not stand it and I wanted it so badly to have a life more abiding by Jewish Standards, that I went up to my parents, and handed them a few brochures of Jewish boarding schools and gave my case. "I want to live in a more Jewish environment, and it is clear that I am not going to get that here." That got them thinking. So now, I am ecstatic to say that we now have a Kosher household, complete with seperate dishes, etc. The only thing not Kosher is the dishwasher because it has to wash both. And i am bcurrently working on finding out how to Kosher our new grill.

What is the idea behind keeping Kosher?

For a Jew, holiness is not about being out of the norm. Life itself, is a sacred "Endeavor" if you will. Everything we do in life should be sacred, even the simple everyday task of the consumption of foods and drink.

Why are some animals kosher and others not?

When people think of Kosher animals, many think of Split Hooves and the chewing of their own cud. Yes these are true, but they are by no means the only laws restraining animals. In fact, the Torah goes so far as to describe which insects are Kosher to Eat (The four locust). The animals which are and are not Kosher are that way because that was how G-d described theem when he gave these dietary laws to Moses, who taught them to the Hebrew CHildren in the Sinai Desert.


Why do we have to slaughter an animal if we want to eat it?

The slaughter of animals was another law given to us by G-d. Kosher mammals and Fowl (Birds) must be slaughtered instantly, and painlessly. This is done using a Chalaf to slit the throat, which kills the animal, as stated above, instantly and painlessly, however, if something goes wrong and the animal does not die and suffers even for the smallest amount of time, the animal is not Kosher.

A huge thanks to both of you for being wonderful sources of information!! ^^

Note: Please do let me know if you would prefer I take down all/part of your posts.

Thanks, I didn't understand why we really did that, but now I do!

In another thread, Dis Domnu wrote:


There are loads of 'regular' (mainstream) foods that are already kosher. Not every product made by these companies is kosher, but they do bear a hechsher (kashrut certification mark) that is reliable, on several products. Some brands that you might know are:

Kellogg's
Duncan Hines
Del Monte
Bumblebee
Starkist
Coke
Pepsi
Kikkoman's (soy sauce only)
Skippy
Jif

There are many more. Here are some hechsherim that the Chicago Rabbinical Council considers reliable for use by observant Jews. Here are a few lists of kosher-certified items that might interest you.

It's a good idea to have one recognizable 'set' of cookware and dishes -- ones that weren't used by anyone but yourself, and are easily identifiable by color or pattern -- for parve cooking. It's the best thing to start with, I think. You can always add meat or dairy dishes and cookware later, but starting with parve, you'll have something that's always good to use. Remember, anything that isn't meat or meat byproduct, or dairy or dairy byproduct, is parve. This includes eggs and kosher fish. The majority of most people's cooking is parve, in fact. If you can afford to buy yourself a new set of dishes and cookware, I highly recommend starting with these:

Cookware: They offer very inexpensive sets in various colors, including the three most common used in kosher kitchens: green (parve), red (meat), and blue (dairy).

Color-coded cooking utensils

Color-coded dish scrubbies, and also some labels that one can put on cabinets and appliances.

Color-coded kitchen knives -- Nothing hugely fancy, but they get the job done.

I also recommend color-coded oven mitts, pot holders, aprons, washcloths, sponges, and dish towels. My kitchen's got three countertop spaces, and each one has a drawer under it. With these, I can keep my meat, dairy, and parve items separate from one another. It's very handy. I've also got three sets of drinking glasses, measuring cups and spoons, and other handy-dandy little items. If any of you are coming to Chicago during the 15th through 18th of June this summer, PM me and let me know, and I'll give you a tour around my kosher kitchen and the stores that help me keep it that way, with foods and utensils.

Oh, and as for getting foods that are specifically marketed to the kosher consumer, try out http://www.kosher.com -- They've got an AMAZING variety of items there, and yes, they can deliver even fresh fish right to your door, in a way that it'll stay frozen until you get home to pick it up.