Kosher Food

On Passover, leavened foods made from or containing any of the 5 grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt) may be eaten, because of the prohibition against leavened foods in Passover (Exodus ch.12). This includes bread, pasta, cakes, pastries, crackers, pancakes, pizza, cereal, etc.
Instead, unleavened bread, which is called matzah is eaten. Matzah may also be ground into different consistencies to cook with. Other foods such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat and fish, are permitted, following the year-round rules of keeping kosher.
Ashkenazi Jews have a custom which also prohibits grains such as rice and corn and legumes such as beans, lentils, and peanuts during Passover. The restriction applies to their use in all forms, so it prohibits the ingestion of products that use corn syrup such as candy or soda and many others. See:

More about Passover

Yes, salmon is a kosher fish.

Religiously observant Jews will not eat any food that is not kosher (fit). The core rules of kashrut (dietary laws) are:

* Land animals must have split hooves and chew their cud.

* Fish have to have scales and fins.

* Birds cannot be amongst those listed as forbidden in the Torah and cannot be hunters/scavengers

* Animals must be killed in a specific manner and must be free of all disease

* As much blood as possible must be removed from meat as consumption of blood is forbidden

* Dairy and meat cannot be combined in the same meal and there's a waiting period between eating one then the other.

* Orthodox Jews and some Conservative Jews will not eat certain fruits and vegetables because it's too difficult to guarantee that all bugs have been washed away (cauliflower, asparagus, and the like).

Additionally, food must be prepared and handled following kashrut. Any food that does not meet these requirements cannot be eaten by those who are religiously observant.

Cows are by nature kosher because they chew their cud and have cloven hooves. Front or back is no issue, but how the cow is killed does affect whether its meat is considered kosher - the idea is to drain the life blood out of the meat in the killing process (in ancient times thought to be both relatively more "humane" than clubbing an animal to death and the proscription was against eating blood although people didn't realize it was infused into the flesh...). If on the other hand you're referring to the idea that the proscription is not to "seethe" (boil, simmer, cook...) a calf in its mother's milk and the milk comes from the udders in the posterior of the cow, that's a different issue. There it is a question of respect for the animal since mother's milk is life-giving and it seemed to be just a violation of the value of life and motherhood (among other things). That's why dishes like Beef Stroganoff are not kosher, because the sauce over the beef contains milk products.

No, a rabbi doesn't have to be involved in the preparation of kosher food whatsoever. What makes food kosher is that the ingredients are kosher and the preparation follows the rules of kashrut.

Fish and chips can be kosher if it`s made with kosher fish in a kosher kitchen. In fact, it was Portuguese Jews who introduced fried fish to England.

There are hundreds if not thousands of laws surrounding kashrut. The key rules are:

1. Animals must have both split hooves and chew their cud.

2. Fish must have scales and fins.

3. Birds must not be hunters/scavengers and must not be one of the forbidden species specified in the Torah.

4. Meat and dairy must be kept completely separate.

5. Animals cannot display any sign of injury and disease.

6. Animals and birds must be slaughtered in a specific manner and drained of all blood.

7. Consumption of blood is forbidden.

Yes.

bagels and lox, and cholent - though not together!

Correction:

Although bagels and lox and cholent are specific items that Orthodox Jews might eat (assuming they're kosher), that would make for a rather boring and not too nutritious diet.

Orthodox Jews can eat anything that is kosher.

In the Torah, the holy Jewish text, which G-d gave to us at Mt Sinai, there is a list of foods that are unkosher and that we are meant to avoid (Deuteronomy ch.14). These include shellfish and pork. Only fish with both fins and scales are to be eaten by Jews. Also, any meat we eat must be killed and prepared according to the Kashrut (kosher) rules.

On a practical note; back then and indeed now, many of these foods are the ones that do carry disease. In particular, pork and shellfish are known to cause food poisoning relatively easily, especially back then, when there was no refrigeration. But we keep these laws because of God's command, not for side-reasons.

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Yes, because tunas have scales and fins which are required in order for a fish to be considered kosher.

According to most Sephardic traditions they are. However, Ashkenazi traditions forbid it.

Any food can be eaten at a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, including traditional and non traditional foods. The Bar/Bat Mitzvah child can pick the food.

There are three categories of Kosher food - Meat, Dairy and Parve (or Pareve). The laws of kashrut pertaining to these derive from various passages in the Torah, and are numerous and complex, but the key principles can be summarized.

Only meat from particular species is permissible. Mammals that both chew their cud (ruminate) and have cloven hooves can be kosher. Animals with one characteristic but not the other (the camel, the hyrax and the hare because they have no cloven hooves, and the pig because it does not ruminate) are specifically excluded (Leviticus 11:3-8).89 In 2008, a rabbinical ruling determined that giraffes and their milk are eligible to be considered kosher. The giraffe both has split hooves and chews its cud, characteristics of animals considered kosher. Findings from 2008 show that giraffe milk curdles, meeting kosher standards. Although kosher, the giraffe is not slaughtered today because the process would be very costly. Giraffes are difficult to restrain, and their use for food could cause the species to become endangered.

Non-kosher birds are listed outright (Deuteronomy 14:12-18) but the exact zoological references are disputed and some references refer to families of birds (24 are mentioned). The Mishnah13 refers to four signs provided by the sages.14 First, a dores (predatory bird) is not kosher. Additionally, kosher birds possess three physical characteristics: an extra toeclarification needed, a zefek (crop,) and a korkoban (gizzard) with a peelable lumen. However, individual Jews are barred from merely applying these regulations alone; an established tradition (masorah) is necessary to allow birds to be consumed, even if it can be substantiated that they meet all four criteria.15 The only exception to this is turkey. There was a time when certain authorities considered the signs enough, so Jews started eating this bird without a masorah because it possesses all the signs (simanim in Hebrew) and there is a place for thisclarification needed in Jewish law.citation needed

Fish must have fins and scales to be kosher (Leviticus 11:9-12). Shellfish and other non-fish water fauna are not kosher.

Insects are not kosher, except for certain species of kosher locust (unrecognized in almost all communities).

That an animal is untamed does not preclude it from being kosher, but a wild animal must be trapped and ritually slaughtered (shechted) rather than killed some other way to be kosher. Generally any animal that eats other animals, whether they kill their food or eat carrion (Leviticus 11:13-31), is not kosher, as well as any animal that was partially eaten by other animals (Exodus 22:30/Exodus 22:31).

Meat and milk (or derivatives) cannot be mixed (Deuteronomy 14:21) in the sense that meat and dairy products are not served at the same meal, served or cooked in the same utensils, or stored together. Observant Jews have separate sets of dishes, and sometimes different kitchens, for meat and milk, and wait anywhere between one and six hours after eating meat before consuming milk products.

Examples of cloven hooves in goats (upper left), pigs (lower left) and cattle (lower right). But horses lack cloven hooves (upper right).Mammals and fowl must be slaughtered in a specific fashion: slaughter is done by a trained individual (a shochet) using a special method of slaughter, shechita (Deuteronomy 12:21). Among other features, shechita slaughter severs the jugular vein, carotid artery, esophagus and trachea in a single continuous cutting movement with an unserrated, sharp knife, avoiding unnecessary pain to the animal. Failure of any of these criteria renders the meat of the animal unsuitable. The body must be checked after slaughter to confirm that the animal had no medical condition or defect that would have caused it to die of its own accord within a year, which would make the meat unsuitable.19 As much blood as possible must be removed (Leviticus 17:10) through the kashering process; this is usually done through soaking and salting the meat, but organs rich in blood (the liver) are grilled over an open flame.

Utensils used for non-kosher foods become non-kosher, and make even otherwise kosher food prepared with them non-kosher. Some such utensils, depending on the material they are made from, can be made suitable for preparing kosher food again by immersion in boiling water or by the application of a blowtorch. Food prepared by Jews in a manner that violates the Shabbat (Sabbath) may not be eaten until the Shabbat is over.

The slaves in Egypt did not have enough time to make leavened bread. As a result, Jews eat unleavened bread (called Matzah or מצה) during Passover.

The rest of the year, Jews eat leavened bread like everyone else.

If it is prepared following the rules of kashrut. See Deuteronomy ch.14.

* Meat must be from those land animals which have split hooves and chew their cud

* Fish have to have scales and fins.

* Birds cannot be amongst those listed as forbidden in the Torah (Deuteronomy ch.14).

* Animals must be slaughtered in the manner specified by Jewish law.

Yes, they must be certified kosher for Passover though.

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.

I'm not sure if you are asking about it or looking for it. I am looking for it. But if you are asking about it, I grew up with this in my house. The star of David was not imprinted but went all the way through so as you used the soap it never disappeared. Hi. I've been looking for it too. Its Rokeach Kosher soap made with coconut oil. Its transparent white with a red or blue symbol running through it. I found it at Avi Glatt Kosher store. See this: http://www.aviglatt.com/Product_4030_Company.html

Completely - no.

In part - yes; and for various reasons. Some Christians try to observe the literal laws of the Torah. Some Muslims buy kosher meat when they have no source of Halal meat (meat prepared in Islamic tradition). And some Westerners, particularly in America but kosher meat (or other products) because of the generally high standards of cleanliness and/or healthiness in kosher food.

Yes.

Yes

Have you tried refrigerating them (for about an hour) before you cook them?