YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Family and Society
- The Jewish Household
- Kashrut
Non-Kosher Ingredients
Rabbi Yosef Albo (15th century) in Sefer Ha’ikarim writes that we should ideally have been vegetarians, and so to remember this and demonstrate that this is our desire in the world to come, we are permitted to eat only some of the animals in certain conditions . The Torah lists forbidden foods, such as animals and insects. In fact , most of the animals are not Kosher. Of mammals - only those that chew the cud and have split cloves (like cattle and sheep ) are kosher. A fish is kosher if it has fins and scales and a bird is kosher if it is in the "kosher list" - a list passed down by tradition but based on Torah law.
The Kosher cattle and birds can be eaten only if they were slaughtered according to Jewish law, no problem was found in the inner parts and the meat was salted.
With all of the modern industrial processes, many foods contain ingredients which aren’t from a Kosher source , so one should eat only products that display a known kosher symbol
Mixture of meat and milk
Even if the ingredients are kosher, if there is a mixture of meat and milk, the food is not kosher. The mixture is whether the meat and milk were cooked together, eaten together and in many cases, even if the meat was cooked in a dairy pot or vice versa. Many people build two sinks in their home, making it easy to separate meat and milk.
Cooked by Gentiles
For reasons of saving the Jewish people from assimilation and exclusion from idolatry, the sages considered foods cooked by a gentile as not kosher. Bread baked by a private person (not a bakery) is prohibited, unless a Jews helped in the baking, even by adding a small piece of wood to the oven . This applies to other foods to if the dish is good enough to be served for important people. The Ashkenazim consider that also with cooked food, if a Jew helped a bit it is Kosher, while the Sephardim require that the Jew should actually put the food on the fire .
The Halacha is more severe regarding wine, which becomes not Kosher even if only touched by a non Jew. The act of drinking wine together can lead to a very close relation and there is a higher danger of marrying out. Another reason is that wine was brought to idols as part of the act of worship. This rule applies only to wine that has not been cooked or pasteurized and only when the bottle is open.
Time when the food is forbidden
Usually if food is kosher, it is kosher all of the year. There is an exceptional case - chametz on Passover. Chametz is one of the five grains (Wheat, Barley, Spelt, Oats and Rye) which came in contact with water and started rising. Chametz is Kosher all year round but is forbidden during Passover.
These are only four factors from many law of kashrut. One should not rely on the ingredient list but should buy products labeled with a known Kosher symbol or from stores that have a Kashrut certificate.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
