Rules for Living a Kosher Lifestyle
By Amber Jonas

There is a certain simplicity to keeping kosher if you are a person of the Jewish faith. The rules are stated in the Torah, and there not difficult to understand. Its not necessary to be Jewish to read and understand the laws as they are stated.

Here are the basic rules:

1. Certain creatures are not to be eaten, not even the smallest parts of them, and this includes their eggs if they are a fowl.

2. The creatures that are okay to eat must be killed according to the "law" as it is stated in the Torah.

3. No blood from any creature may be drunk; it must be drained completely from the body or broiled away.

4. Certain parts of creatures that we are allowed to eat; may not be eaten.

5. Meat can not be consumed with dairy, and they are not premised to come into contact with one another, and the utensils that are used to prepare and eat them shall not come into contact with one another.

6. No non-Jewish produce may be eaten.

If you are a vegetarian, you are accustom to living a kosher lifestyle. The most difficult part of living a kosher life style comes to dealing with meat products. There is a ritual that must be followed when killing a living animal for food. There are several step that must be followed other wise the animal may not be eaten. In Leviticus and Deuteronomy it is stated that any animal that has cloven hooves or chews its cud shall not be eaten, and it is the same for anything with fins and scales. The same goes for fowl and the Torah give us a list of which one we are permitted to eat and which ones we can and can not eat. This leaving everything else open for us to consume as food.

Keeping kosher and eating meat products is difficult unless there is a kosher butcher shop in your neighborhood, or the meat is wrapped and stamped that it is kosher. Kosher meat must be slaughtered by a Shochet. A Shochet is not your run of the mill butcher, he is a butcher who is devout, and obedient when it comes to observing the Jewish law. The shochet is well trained in practice of slaughtering, it is said that the animal being slaughtered feels very little if any pain at all when it is put to sleep. This is because it has been stated that there is to be no unnecessary pain or stress is to be put on the animal that is being butchered. If the knife used is found to contain the slightest nick, or the animal was not properly dispatched, the meat will not be labeled as being kosher and there for may not be eaten by single Jewish person, but the meat is permitted to be sold to those of the non-Jewish faith.

Maintaining a kosher life style takes time, thought, and preparation. When the food is placed on the table, it smells, looks and tastes the same, looks as a non-kosher meal. Keeping kosher is not so much about the food, as it is the ritual behind it's preparation.

Thanks for reading. If you found this article helpful be sure to check out more kosher information, tips, and more articles about Jewish cooking on my website: http://www.jewishhomecooking.com

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