How many kosher laws are there?

Answer 1

There are 613 mitzvot, or commandments, in the Jewish religion. But nobody is expected to keep all of them, because they don't all apply to every Jew. Some mitzvot are for men, some for women, and so on. A large number can only be met when we have the Temple and others require the person to be living in Israel. Orthodox Jews keep the most, and they follow the Torah (holy Jewish text) more closely than other groups within Judaism.

Some of the basic principles of Judaism are:

- belief in and worship of only one singular God

- that the Torah is divine

- that all humans are created in the image of God

- that the righteous, Jews and non-Jews alike, merit the World to Come

- to love others as you love yourself

Judaism forbids: worshipping anyone and anything but God.

The actual laws or 'halachot' of Judaism are recorded in the Talmud.

Jewish law is called 'halacha' and is based on the mitzvot (commands) that are found in the Torah. Halacha was recorded in the Talmud.

Answer 2

"Kosher" applies to the Jewish laws regarding what one is allowed to eat, and what not.

The specific laws are very detailed, and are unique to different kinds of foods. Jews must eat kosher foods as listed in the Torah (see Deuteronomy ch.14). These are explained in detail in the Talmud-volume of Chullin. Additionally, food must be prepared and handled following kashrut-laws and with kosher ingredients only. Processed foods should be labeled as having had kosher supervision during their processing.

Answer 3

"Kashrut" refers to the Jewish dietary laws. There are many kosher laws. Here are a few highlights:

• Meat must be from those land animals which have split hooves and chew their cud (such as beef, venison and mutton).
  
• Fish have to have scales and fins. Shellfish are not kosher.
  
• Birds cannot be among those listed as forbidden in the Torah (Deuteronomy ch.14) and cannot be hunters/scavengers. In actual practice, today we eat only those species concerning which we have a tradition that they're permitted, such as domestic chicken, geese, pigeons and turkey.
  
• Animals must be slaughtered in the manner specified by Jewish law and must be free of all disease. In actual practice, those who keep kosher purchase meat which is certified as having been prepared in the kosher manner.
  
• As much blood as possible must be removed from meat before cooking, since consumption of blood is forbidden (Leviticus ch.17). This is done at home or by the kosher butcher, through salting, soaking and rinsing.
  
• Dairy and meat cannot be combined in the same meal and there's a waiting period between eating one and the other. After dairy: 1/2 hour. After meat: 6 hours for most Jewish communities.
  
• Fruits and vegetables should be checked to be sure they're free of bugs. Some Jews avoid cauliflower, asparagus, and the like, because of the difficulty in checking them.

In addition, there are rabbinic laws governing the production and consumption of all foods such as milk, bread, wine, cheese and other cooked and raw foods that they must be prepared/cooked or have their preparation/cooking supervised by a religious Jew.
Most prepared foods must carry certification that their production is supervised, so as to ensure that they comply with these rules. Kashrut certification is generally indicated by an identifiable symbol, in addition to the word dairy or pareve, which means the food is neither dairy nor meat, but rather neutral. (If a package has just the letter 'K' on it, this is not a valid kashrut symbol as the letter K cannot be trademarked.)
Although dairy and meat cannot be served together, fish may be eaten with dairy. This gives rise to the popular and kosher bagel, lox, and cream cheese combination. All fruits and vegetables are kosher.
Meat and dairy dishes and utensils can't be washed together. Kosher kitchens must maintain two sets of utensils, pots, pans, and dishes.
Contrary to popular misconception, rabbis or other religious officials do not "bless" food to make it kosher. There are blessings that observant Jews recite over food before and after eating, but these blessings have nothing to do with making the food kosher. Food can be kosher without a rabbi ever becoming involved with it: the vegetables from your garden are undoubtedly kosher (as long as they don't have any bugs, which are not kosher.)

Answer 4

There are hundreds if not thousands of laws related to kashrut. The core rules are:

1. Land animals must have both split hooves and chew their cud.

2. Water animals must have both scales and fins.

3. Birds cannot be hunters and cannot be on the list of explicitly forbidden birds found in the Torah.

4. Meat and dairy cannot be mixed in any way.

5. Consumption of blood is forbidden.

Answer 5

The answer depends on your definition of a law. There are long lists of things that are forbidden as well as descriptions of animal groups. There are also combinations of food which are forbidden. There are also derived laws because fridges and sinks didn't exist back when the law was written. Therefore many Jews like to have a kosher kitchen to make life easier. Most of these rules, regulations and lists are in Deuteronomy and Leviticus.

Answer 6

There are hundreds of laws contained in the Torah and the Oral Torah (Talmud).

A few well-known examples are keeping kosher, Sabbath observance, and prayers.

A few others, that may well be equally important (we don't know) . . .

-- When you take eggs from a nest, shoo the mother bird away first.

-- When someone works for you, feed him and pay him.

-- Use the land for your benefit, but you don't own it. Just as you get a Sabbath,

your land does too ... you do not cultivate it in each seventh year.

-- When you've dug a hole in the ground, put a fence around it in consideration of

the safety of others.

-- When a thief is apprehended, he returns to the victim double the value that he stole.

If he doesn't have it to pay, he works it off.

-- "An eye for an eye !", but don't be so barbaric as to think that this means

that a person who caused the loss of someone's eye must lose his own eye.

"An eye for an eye" means that the agressor must pay the victim a fair amount

to compensate for the cost of his healing and his loss of earning ability. And

it also means that the agressor loses only the value of an eye and no more.

Society does not, for example, cut off his hands, or take all of his possessions.

-- Visit the sick.

-- Support widows and orphans.

-- Don't stare at your neighbor's wife and daydream.

-- When you hear gossip start, leave the room.

Answer 7

Religious Jews live by the Torah, by obeying its commands and beliefs.Link: Jewish beliefs
Some examples of the commands:

• Putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) in the morning
  

Link: The Tefillin

• Saying the Shema-prayer

Link: The Shema

• Sitting in the sukkah during Sukkot
  

Link: The Sukkah-booth

• Avoiding leavened products in Passover
  

Link: Passover

• Keeping kosher
  

Link: Kosher-laws

• Not eating on Yom Kippur
  

Link: Yom Kippur

• Not working on the Shabbat
  

Link: The Shabbat

• Paying workers on time
  
• Marital rights for one's wife
• The Ten Commandments

Link: The Ten Commandments

• Helping someone who is in danger
  
• Counting the days of the Omer
  
• Returning lost objects when feasible
  
• Wearing the tzitzith-garment
  

Link: What are Tzitzith

• Affixing a mezuzah to the door
  

Link: What is a mezuzah

• Learning Torah
  

Link: The Torah

• Keeping our rules of ethics

Link: Jewish ethics

• Marrying and having children
  
• Educating one's children in Judaism
  
• Giving tzedakah (charity)
  
• Honoring one's parents
  

And many more.

The laws have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly and just society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).

Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, it's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

See also the other Related Links.

Link: What are the teachings, practices, principles and beliefs of Judaism?

Link: What is life like for Jews?

Link: More about the Hebrew Bible

Link: More about the Talmud

Answer 8

In order to be kosher, food has to be prepared according to the kosher-laws (see Deuteronomy ch.14). These are explained in detail in the Talmud-volume of Chullin.
* Meat must be from those land animals which have split hooves and chew their cud (such as beef, venison and mutton).
* Fish have to have scales and fins. Shellfish are not kosher.
* Birds cannot be among those listed as forbidden in the Torah (Deuteronomy ch.14) and cannot be hunters/scavengers. In actual practice, today we eat only those species concerning which we have a tradition that they're permitted, such as domestic chicken, geese, pigeons and turkey.

* Animals must be slaughtered in the manner specified by Jewish law and must be free of all disease. In actual practice, those who keep kosher purchase meat which is certified as having been prepared in the kosher manner.
* As much blood as possible must be removed from meat before cooking, since consumption of blood is forbidden (Leviticus ch.17). This is done at home or by the kosher butcher, through salting, soaking and rinsing.

* Dairy and meat cannot be combined in the same meal and there's a waiting period between eating one and then the other. After dairy: 1/2 hour. After meat: 6 hours for most Jewish communities.

* Fruits and vegetables should be checked to be sure they're free of bugs. Some Jews avoid cauliflower, asparagus, and the like, because of the difficulty in checking them.

Additionally, food must be prepared and handled following kashrut-laws and with kosher ingredients only. Any food that does not meet these requirements cannot be eaten by those who are religiously observant. Foods which are purchased should be labeled as having had kosher supervision during their processing.

See also:

Could you give me a list of kosher and non-kosher types of fish?

Why do some Jews not keep kosher?

The use of rennet

Answer 9

In order to be kosher, food has to be prepared according to the kosher-laws (see Deuteronomy ch.14). These are explained in detail in the Talmud-volume of Chullin.
* Meat must be from those land animals which have split hooves and chew their cud (such as beef, venison and mutton).
* Fish have to have scales and fins. Shellfish are not kosher.
* Birds cannot be among those listed as forbidden in the Torah (Deuteronomy ch.14) and cannot be hunters/scavengers. In actual practice, today we eat only those species concerning which we have a tradition that they're permitted, such as domestic chicken, geese, pigeons and turkey.

* Animals must be slaughtered in the manner specified by Jewish law and must be free of all disease. In actual practice, those who keep kosher purchase meat which is certified as having been prepared in the kosher manner.
* As much blood as possible must be removed from meat before cooking, since consumption of blood is forbidden (Leviticus ch.17). This is done at home or by the kosher butcher, through salting, soaking and rinsing.

* Dairy and meat cannot be combined in the same meal and there's a waiting period between eating one and then the other. After dairy: 1/2 hour. After meat: 6 hours for most Jewish communities.

* Fruits and vegetables should be checked to be sure they're free of bugs. Some Jews avoid cauliflower, asparagus, and the like, because of the difficulty in checking them.

Additionally, food must be prepared and handled following kashrut-laws and with kosher ingredients only. Processed foods should be labeled as having had kosher supervision during their processing. Any food that does not meet these requirements cannot be eaten by those who are religiously observant Jews.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Could you give me a list of kosher and non-kosher types of fish?

Link: Why do some Jews not keep kosher?

Link: The use of rennet

Answer 10

It's a "clean" way of eating.