What Kashrut Is and What Kashrut is Not

What Kashrut Is Not This week’s parsha, Shemini, contains most of the laws of Kashrut, the dietary code of Judaism. Anthropologists have viewed the laws of kashrut as superstitious taboos, or a reflection of the eating habits and norms of the ancient Near East.  One author explained the prohibitions of kashrut as purely a matter of economic necessity.   A number of scholars explain the laws as being an ancient attempt at ...

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Rosh Hashana Resolutions

Question: Does Rosh Hashana share any similarities with the Jan. 1st New Year’s Day holiday? Is it a time for making “New Year’s Resolutions”? AskTheRabbi.org answered: While the form of the celebrations may be very different, I can think of two ways in which these days are similar. One similarity is that it is the time when we start the count of a New Year in the Jewish calendar. Time to get a new ...

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Milk and Meat — and Chicken and Fish

Question: My question concerns food, since I am a chef. And so far, no rabbi was able to explain this to me to my satisfaction. My question is: Why do we consider chicken "meat"? When it comes to the verse "Do not cook a calf in its mother's milk”, well, chickens don’t produce milk! Even some fish are more "meaty" than chicken — tuna for example — yet we can eat ...

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Why Do Non-Kosher Animals Exist?

Question: I’ve heard reasons why we keep kosher, and therefore understand why kosher animals were created. But I have no idea how to explain to a 10 year old public school student, whom I tutor, why God created non-kosher animals as well. Please help! Thank you!! AskTheRabbi.org answered: I think that you should your student a prize! The Sages of the Talmud ask the same question! They answer that every animal has a ...

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Kashrut – Not!!

Parshat Shemini contains within it many of the basic dietary laws of the Torah, known as kashrut.  Anthropologists have viewed the laws of Kashrut as superstitious taboos, or as a reflection of the eating habits and norms of the ancient Near East.  One author explained the prohibitions of Kashrut as purely a matter of economic necessity. A number of scholars explain the laws as being an ancient attempt at a ...

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