Jewish Dietary Laws

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Judaism Research Paper: The Dietary Laws of Judaism The Jewish people are bound to the laws mentioned within the Torah, the laws in which God has provided them as a “blueprint” for living their life here on earth. These laws cover a wide variety of rules and regulations. Sometimes overlooked by twenty-first century Jews, or, more specifically, American Jews, are the laws pertaining to a kosher Jewish diet. This paper will define the meaning of “kosher food” as well as explain what foods are forbidden, which are acceptable, and the proper way to cleanse certain foods in the Jewish faith. Furthermore, the information found regarding Jewish dietary habits will be related back to how these habits affect the methodology of the Jewish people.…show more content…
In Judaism, to eat is not only to affect the physical body, but also provide a nutritional program for the soul (Witty 424). The word “kosher” is derived from the word “kashrut” and literally means “ritually fit” (Witty 424). The term “kosher” was originally supposed to be used as a word to define the process of making food clean. Kashrut is a set of laws found in Leviticus 11:1-43 where the Torah lists foods that are not acceptable to eat are listed. The Jews do not practice the laws of kashrut for health reasons but rather as a submission of themselves to the infinite wisdom of God. “Kashrut is not a measure of physical cleanliness, but of spiritual purity” (Witty 425). Kashrut, or kosher, is not limited to dietary intake. To be Kosher, or to make kosher, is literally the separation of pure and impure and learning how to distinguish between the two in all aspects of life. This separation is in no way limited to dietary intake, but rather, the Jew’s pure diet should translate as an example of a pattern of “kosher” choices (Watty…show more content…
The Torah reads, in Exodus, “You shall not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk” (Watt 427). In fact, this verse, or warning, occurs three times in the Torah. Each time the relationship between milk and meat is presented in a different way. The first time, the Torah forbids the cooking of meat and milk together at any time. The second time forbids eating of milk and meat together. Finally, the third verse forbids the “deriving any benefit of enjoyment from such a mixture- for example, savoring the aroma or feeding a pet” (Watt 427). Milk, along with any other animal produced substance, is only considered permissible if the animal that produced the substance is deemed kosher. The only exception to this rule lies with honey and the bee because the honey is derived from the “nectar of flowers” (Donin

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