Kashrut: The Creator’s diet

Introduction

Kashrut is the ‘ritual suitability of food’ (from the root kashar: to be right, fitting or appropriate). It covers what foods can be eaten by someone who follows YHVH, how it is to be harvested or slaughtered, and how it is to be tithed and prepared. Meat that is kosher is only from acceptable animals, and has been drained of all blood. 

Plants that are kosher only applies to plants grown in Eretz Yisrael, that have been tithed properly, and harvested according to Torah e.g. that the corners of the field from which the food was harvested were left for the poor. Plants grown outside of the Land of Israel are not subject to these laws.

In parts of the world where absolutely strict kosher foods are not available, most Talmidis simply eat meat that is from kosher animals; and since the kosher laws for plants really only apply to fruit and vegetables grown in Eretz Israel, generally all fruit and vegetable produce grown outside Israel is kosher.

The correct term for the opposite of kosher is tamei (pronounced taa-MAY), which means ‘ceremonially or ritually unfit’, and not treyf, which only refers to the meat of animals that have died of natural causes, or been torn and eaten by other animals.

The likely reasons for kashrut

There is not likely to be one, single reason for Kashrut. The reasons probably differ according to the individual food in question.

Health and sanitation: For a long time it was thought that kashrut was purely for sanitary reasons. Since we in the West live in a society which, on the whole, adheres to reasonable standards of health and cleanliness, it has been argued that we no longer need the kosher laws. However, upon further debate and study, it seems that this might not have been the only reason for kashrut.

Suitability of certain diets for certain gene pools: Recent research by Dr Peter J D’Adamo, published under the title, ‘The Blood Type Diet’, suggests that certain blood groups actually benefit in their general health by cutting out certain foods, and concentrating on others. The Israelite priests, for example, were mostly blood group O. This blood group benefits from a diet which is high in meat content, and from a lifestyle which regularly engages in strenuous work or exercise. Out of all the Israelite population, priests ate the most meat, and the very act of constant animal slaughtering meant that most priests were lean and very fit

The rest of the Israelite population were mostly blood group B. Amazingly, all the meats which are not kosher happen to be foods which present serious health problems for this group. All foods contain proteins called lectins; eating food inappropriate for one’s blood-type, according to Dr Adamo’s theory, causes joint deterioration and blood problems for people. Even though there didn’t seem to be any logical reason behind what was deemed kosher and non-kosher, God knew what God was doing; we now know that a long, healthy and vigorous life can be achieved by following the diet that YHVH recommended.

Look at it this way. YHVH ‘manufactured’ humans. In the human world, the manufacturer often knows the best way to treat his/her inventions. God gave us a set of instructions on the best way to look after the human body. Here’s another way to understand what God is doing: take tropical plants – looking after plants in a certain way, giving them the right heat, light and feed will ensure their optimal growth and long-term health. Kashrut is designed with the same basis and purpose in mind.

Environmental considerations: There were probably also environmental considerations. For example, the non-kosher camel is more useful as a beast of burden than as a source of food. And in the water-starved Middle Eastern climate, the pig consumes an enormous quantity of food and water – pigs consume 10 times more water than a human does. It is therefore not an intelligent idea to keep pigs in hot, dry climates, or when a country is going through drought (see also section on disease below). We do not eat dogs, perhaps, because of their loyalty and companionship – their kind have been a part of human society the longest in history, out of all the animals in God’s creation.

Wildlife protection: Another aspect of restricting the animals one can eat – a reason that few people even consider – is conservation. By restricting the species one can eat to the most numerous, God ensured that vulnerable species would not be harmed or harassed by those who followed God’s ways.

Disease in wild and farm animals: It has been found that one reason why the Indigenous people of the Americas had no immunity to many European diseases, is because they did not have the diversity of farm animals that exist in Europe and Asia. Eurasia has had a certain range of farm animal species for many thousands of years; there has a been a crossover of certain bacteria and viruses, and this has conferred a certain immunity on Eurasian populations. Restricting that pool of livestock-species that are farmed, also protects against the crossover – it has now been found that AIDS came from eating the flesh of chimpanzees, Ebola and SARS from bats, MERS from camels, H5N1 from wild birds, Monkeypox from rodents and monkeys, and recently, Coronavirus might have come from eating pangolins who themselves were infected by bats. Many new strains of influenza regularly evolve in East Asia, because of the close proximity of farm birds and domestic pigs; also, because of the close proximity there of wild animals that normally do not come into contact with one another, or with human beings. Viruses have no genetic material of their own, so they have to borrow genetic material from their hosts. This means that when they crossover to a new species, they carry over some genes from their previous hosts. It seems that having pigs as one of the previous hosts in the genetic mix, creates the conditions for dangerous and contagious viruses to evolve.

The list of animals in Leviticus and Deuteronomy ends with the hoopoe and the bat. Did you know that the flesh of hoopoes ( a type of bird) is poisonous to humans? Apparently, what the hoopoes eat makes their meat poisonous for us to eat. As for bats, they carry an incredibly large number of viruses which are extremely dangerous to humans. Anyone who regularly handles bats (such as wildlife rescuers and zookeepers) have to have various inoculations before they can handle bats.

Holiness and separateness: There is also the matter of holiness – keeping the ways of Israel separate and distinct from those of other nations. Keeping a separate diet (as vegetarians, vegans and other people on allergy-restricted diets have found) ends up being a real barrier to eating and mixing socially with other people. This would have been very important in ancient times, when it was highly desirable not to mix with pagan nations, in order not to be influenced by their ways or values. This may have been another of the purposes behind kashrut.

An awareness of God’s Presence in the world: One spiritual view is that, by following the laws that YHVH has given us, we allow the living power of God’s holiness to enter the world. It fortifies the wholeness of our being, and brings the day of the fulfilment of God’s kingdom ever closer.

The logic and reason behind kashrut is probably to be found in all these things. However, the last – yet perhaps the most important – aspect of eating kosher, is that it brings the Presence of God into the very actions of harvesting, slaughtering, preparing and eating food. We have a God who has no physical form, so kashrut helps Yahwists realise God’s Presence even in these important human actions.

General observance by Talmidis

Kosher observance varies greatly within the Talmidi community. Amongst the more conservative sects it is fairly strict, amongst the more liberal communities it is much less so. The minimum that most people observe is avoiding the meat of non-kosher animals.

General Outlook of Talmidaism to Kashrut

The ethos of Talmidaism is such that nothing should be taken to the extreme of absurd ridiculousness. God is concerned with the intent of the heart, not external shows of false piety; when the observance of kashrut becomes an end in itself, we have forgotten why we are doing this. We observe kashrut to remind ourselves of God’s presence in our lives, even in the preparation and consumption of our food, not for kashrut’s own sake.

Kashrut and the Christian practice of blessing food

In the Israelite religion, food itself is not blessed; nor is kosher food made kosher by blessing it. We bless God for the food we eat, not the food itself.

Kosher Meat

There are certain animals that may not be eaten, nor may anything of what they produce (e.g. milk or eggs of certain species) be eaten either. Rennet, an enzyme used to make cheese, is often obtained from non-kosher animals, so those keeping strict kosher should avoid cheese unless it is specifically stated as being kosher.

When slaughtered, the deaths of animals have to be quick and painless, causing as little distress to the animals as possible. Typically, the Jewish method of slaughter renders an animal unconscious within less than 2 seconds. All blood has to be completely drained from the body. The sciatic nerve and its adjoining blood vessels also may not be eaten. A certain type of fat which surrounds the vital organs and the liver, may not be eaten. And lastly, one cannot eat animals that died of natural causes (Deut. 14:21) or that were killed by other animals; such meat is called treyf.

It is also important that animals waiting to be slaughtered should not have to witness their fellow animals being slaughtered – this is out of concern for the psychological wellbeing of the animal – that it’s final moments should be as stress-free as possible.

Food animals

Mammals: Only mammals that both chew the cud and have a split (‘cloven’) hoof can be eaten (Lev 11:3, Deut 14:6). Taxonomically, these are the herbivorous even-toed ungulates within the laurasiathere group . This would include cattle and related species (bison, buffalo, wildebeest, wild oxen), sheep / goats and related species (ibex, chamois, mountain goats, wild sheep), deer and related species (muntjacs, chevrotains), antelope and related species (Saiga), giraffe and related species (okapi). In practice, the fact that animals consumed for their meat tended to be those restricted for sacrifices (cattle, sheep and goats), further restricted the species of animal eaten.

Of the herbivorous animals, those that are not included are the camels and related species (llamas, alpacas), and pigs and related species (warthogs, peccaries). All other mammals are forbidden – carnivores most notably (the livers of carnivores are toxic to humans, and they carry diseases that humans have no immunity to). Torah itself specifically lists forbidden mammals as bats, hyraxes, rabbits, pigs and camels. Herbivorous mammals such as hippos and horses are forbidden too.

While some mammals are forbidden to eat, it is not forbidden to have contact with them while they are alive. So, while donkeys, horses, dogs, cats, camels etc are all non-kosher, it is not forbidden to keep them as pets or as work animals. We simply wash our hands before consuming any food.

Birds: Only plant-eating birds are acceptable. What is forbidden are the birds of prey (e.g. owls, eagles), fish-eating (e.g. storks, herons, pelicans) and carrion-eating birds (e.g. vultures, ravens, crows).

Fish: only sea-going creatures that have both fins and scales are acceptable. What are not acceptable are sharks, rays, sea-going mammals, molluscs, crabs and lobsters etc.

Insects: Only grasshoppers, crickets and locusts are acceptable, (Lev 11:20-23). All other insects are forbidden. The bible lists insects under ‘swarming’ and ‘crawling things’; therefore every other type of insects, and every other type of crawling things, such as spiders, scorpions, millipedes, centipedes etc are forbidden.

Reptiles, Amphibians, Arachnids, Molluscs: All these are forbidden.

Mixing meat and dairy

The forbidding of mixing meat and dairy products is a rabbinical injunction, based on a misinterpretation of the commandment not to boil a kid in its mother’s milk (Ex 23:19, 34:26). In Torah it appears right after the commandments about the Festival of First Fruits. What it actually refers to is telling Israelites not to celebrate the festival in same objectionable way as Canaanites do – by boiling a kid-goat in its mother’s milk. Talmidis and Karaites therefore have no such injunction about eating milk and meat together.

Kosher fruit and vegetables

Eating kosher fruit and vegetables is really difficult; as a result, few Jews bother with this side of keeping kosher. Strictly speaking, produce that is kosher is harvested from fields where the corners have been left for the poor, which has been tithed correctly, which has not been grown and sold in a Sabbatical year, and so on. Most authorities say that these laws only apply to the Land of Israel, and so logically, this would lead to an unreasonable boycott of produce grown in Israel, because you could not be sure what has been correctly harvested and tithed and what hasn’t. Furthermore, tithing only really applies when there is a Temple (because tithes are presented in the Temple). This is why most Jews are not strict on eating kosher fruit and vegetable produce.

We have to maintain some degree of common sense here. It is an important principle of the Way, that God is concerned with the intent of the heart, not with the perfection or exactitude with which something is done. Therefore, if someone is concerned about the righteousness of keeping kosher with fruit and vegetables, then one can give 10% or the money equivalent of one’s produce-purchases to the poor.

Grapejuice Products

The restrictions on grape-juice products (juice, wine and vinegar) derive from the laws against using wine used in the libations offered to the idols of pagan religions. In ancient times, wine was routinely sanctified for pagan purposes while it was being processed. Because of this, wine and grape-juice processed by non-Jews was prohibited. Since wine-producing countries no longer sanctify their wine to pagan gods, most grape-products are kosher outside of Passover.

The Question of Mushrooms

The bible says that God gave all kinds of seed-bearing plants (Gen 1:29), and all green plants for humans to eat (Gen 1:30, 9:3). Since Mushrooms do not bear seeds (they produce spores), and are neither green nor plants (they are fungi), the question therefore arises, should they be considered tamei (ritually unsuitable)? Eating fungi can be fatal if you don’t know what you are picking, and we are not aware of the ancient Israelites picking or eating them as part of their diet. However, we are not aware of them being expressly forbidden either.

The point can be made that we go by the Torah revealed at Sinai – since that is where our religion comes from – and in the Sinai Torah, mushrooms were not explicitly forbidden or even mentioned. The counter point can then be made, that covenants do not override what was previously given. However, then one can say that mushrooms were not expressly forbidden in the Adamic Covenant either. Perhaps the ancients were unaware of mushrooms not being plants, and the giving of all plants as food was meant to include all non-animal life (i.e. both plants and fungi). After all, yeast is a fungus, and is essential to make bread – and we know the Israelites ate bread!

This perhaps needs some scholarly debate.

Kosher for Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

From the end of the 14th of Nisan until the 21st of Nisan, yeast and any food that contains yeast is considered not kosher. Anything that has been brewed using yeast, or which comes from such (such as wine brewed with yeast and wine vinegar), is forbidden during this period. Also, food made from grain that can ferment on its own is forbidden. Where rice, lentils and beans are concerned, because we follow the custom of the Land, we consider rice and beans permissible.

Kashering of utensils

It is rare to find Talmidis who kasher utensils (make kitchen utensils and implements ritually suitable for use, eg by heating metal objects until they glow red-hot, then immersing them in a mikveh). Since most of the laws on this subject come from the Oral Law, most Talmidis ignore such customs. The only standards that come from Torah concern contamination by tamei (non-kosher) meat, or rotting / treyf meat (i.e. from animals that have died or have been killed by other animals). In such instances, general common sense standards of hygiene apply. The utensil is washed and sanitised thoroughly, and is considered unclean until evening (Lev 11:28, 32). Anything made of clay, if contaminated, has to be destroyed (Lev 11:33).

Summary

Keeping kosher is not difficult in and of itself, if you keep the right intent in your heart. It is an exercise in holiness, and a constant reminder of God’s presence in a very important part of our lives. I would encourage Followers of the Way to keep kosher as much as is practically possible; and remember that God seeks a genuine and righteous heart, not one that is necessarily perfect.