#kashrut
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Look. Chickens do not lactate. Therefore, they should be considered pareve like fish. I know there was once a school of thought that agreed and I know a lot of Jews agree. This is entirely unserious. But Im a bit tipsy, debating my husband and now I need jumblrs opinion on this.
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are dinosaurs kosher?
There are many living dinosaurs that are kosher. Like chickens.
As for the dead, check out the paper “Jurassic Pork: What Could a Jewish Time Traveller Eat?”
It’s my favorite scientific paper in the whole world
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Booty shorts that say "does not have split hooves or chew cud."
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Why aren't ostriches kosher? A case-study for Kashrut laws
Unlike mammals and fish, the Torah does not provide a list of signs that identify a bird as kosher or non-kosher. Instead, it provides a list of non-kosher birds in Leviticus 11:13-19, and they are:
נֶּ֙שֶׁר֙- Eagle
פֶּ֔רֶס- Vulture (or Kite)
עׇזְנִיָּֽה- Black vulture (or Osprey)
דָּאָ֔ה- Kite (or Kestrel)
אַיָּ֖ה לְמִינָֽהּ- Falcon (or Vulture) of every variety
כׇּל־עֹרֵ֖ב לְמִינֽוֹ- All varieties of Raven
בַּ֣ת הַֽיַּעֲנָ֔ה- Ostrich
תַּחְמָ֖ס- Nighthawk (or Jay, or Goatsucker, or some species of Owl)
שָּׁ֑חַף- Gull (or Sparrow hawk)
נֵּ֖ץ לְמִינֵֽהוּ- Hawks of every variety
כּ֥וֹס- Little owl (or just Owl)
שָּׁלָ֖ךְ- Cormorant (or Gull)
יַּנְשֽׁוּף- Great owl
תִּנְשֶׁ֥מֶת- White owl
קָּאָ֖ת- Pelican (or Starling)
רָחָֽם- Bustard (or Magpie)
חֲסִידָ֔ה- Stork
אֲנָפָ֖ה לְמִינָ֑הּ- Herons of every variety
דּוּכִיפַ֖ת- Hoopoe
עֲטַלֵּֽף- Bat
The Torah repeats this list in Deuteronomy 14:11-18. As you can see, most of the species on this list are uncertain in translation (which is why I offered alternate translations), although you can see the general idea. But, we know 100% that ostrich is explicitly forbidden in the Torah, we don't even need to derive anything. The birds that are kosher are generally regarded as kosher based on unbroken tradition that they are (they are cases of birds no longer being considered kosher by most Jews despite them once being considered kosher, because the tradition was broken, but we'll get to that later).
Of course, there are many more birds species besides those listed, and very early on the Sages figured signs of kosher and non-kosher birds based on the list. First, as you can see, many of the birds on the list are birds of prey, so any birds of prey are automatically non-kosher. That was easy for them to figure out.
But what about anatomical signs?
Well, they figured that out, too. (Chullin 59a)
A bird that claws its prey and eats is non-kosher (such as birds of prey).
A kosher bird has a digit seperated slightler higher behind the other three toes, a crop, and/or a gizzard that has a membrane on the inside that can be peeled. Below is a comparison of raven feet and a parrot's foot, versus duck feet and chicken feet. On the left, the raven and parrot's feet have all their toes branching out of the same level. On the right, the duck and chicken feet's back toe is slightly elevated and seperate from the other toes.
A bird that perches on a wire with two toes in the front and two in the back is non-kosher, as demonstrated below by a close-up of a parrot's feet while perching. You can see that there are only two toes in the front, while the other two are in the back.
So, in order for a bird to be considered kosher, it must not be on the list of non-kosher birds provided in the Torah, must fulfil the anatomical descriptions outlined later by the Sages, and must have a tradition of being kosher.
Israel is the largest consumer of turkey meat per capita. This is because Jews eat a lot of turkey, including kosher-keeping Jews. But.....turkey is a New World bird! How can there be a tradition of turkeys being kosher if the ancient Israelites would have never encountered turkeys???
So this is where it gets even more interesting. When turkey was first introduced to Jews, it became widely popular. It's thought that Jews first started eating it because of its similarity to chicken, and assumed it must be kosher. Eventually, the Rabbis realized they had to make a decision about the status of turkeys. If they ruled turkeys as non-kosher, then all the Jews who had already been eating turkeys would be ruled as eating non-kosher, which y'know as a Rabbi you really don't want to declare a whole bunch of Jews as doing the wrong thing. So, most Rabbis relied on a passage in the Talmud stating that a non-kosher animal cannot become pregnant by kosher animals (Bekhorot 7a). Since turkeys and chickens can hybridize, Rabbis relied on this passage to declare turkeys as kosher. There are still some Jews today that don't regard turkey as kosher, but it is accepted as kosher by the majority of world Jewry and is a very popular meat.
What about peacocks? Well, peafowl are mentioned numerous times in the Tanakh and in Jewish history as being eaten, but today, the Orthodox Union does not certify them as kosher. Peafowl are genetically related to other kosher birds and have all the necessary signs.....but they are no longer considered kosher by major Orthodox opinions. This is because the last record of peafowl being considered kosher and eaten by a Jewish community was in the mid 19th century. The tradition was broken, and therefore peafowl aren't eaten or certified, despite the fact that they technically are kosher.
Now here's where is gets fun- somehow, the distinctions between kosher and non-kosher birds fit really neatly within our modern understanding of bird phylogeny. Most kosher birds fall under the Galliformes (chickens and friends) and Anseriformes (ducks and friends) Orders, which are more closely related to eachother than they are to any other Orders, and make up the Superoder Galloanserae. The only kosher birds that don't fall into that Superorder are pigeons and doves, but pigeons and doves are already considered a little different by the Sages- they're the only birds that can be used as offerings in the Temple. This is yet another example of how well the ancient Jewish animal classifications fit with out modern phylogenetic understanding, it's super cool. Because grebes and gallinules look a lot more similar to ducks than chickens do, but nope, they are not kosher while ducks and chickens are, and indeed, ducks and chickens are more closely related to each other than ducks are related to grebes and gallinules.
So, in conclusion- ostriches aren't kosher because
1) They are listed among the non-kosher birds in the Torah
2) They are missing toes- their toes are not in the configuration outlined in the Talmud, and in fact they only have two very large toes, as you can see below:
3) They do not have a crop (all ratites do not have crops)
Hope you enjoyed this long-winded way of answering why ostriches aren't kosher :)
Further Reading:
A Peafowl by any other Name
What Are the Signs of a Kosher Bird?
The Liberated Bird: Let’s Talk Turkey
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An Introduction to Kashrut & Kosher Eating
i. "Kashrut" and "Kosher"?
ii. Kashrut Specifics
iii. Modified Ways to Keep Kosher
iv. Resources
border inspo & header art
You may already be confused about what these words even mean, and that's totally okay, we're all here to learn. The following are some important terms to keep in mind:
Halakha : Jewish Law as outlined within the Talmud. It governs everything from punishment for crimes to sex to defining "what" Judaism is. It is more of a way of life than a set of laws.
Kashrut : A subsection of Halakha, specifically referring to regulations surrounding food and everything to do with it.
Kosher : An adjective used to refer to food or food-related products (like forks and spoons) that are deemed okay for Jews to eat/use by Kashrut. "Keeping Kosher" refers to eating according to Kashrut.
Kashering : To cause something to become kosher.
Treif : Everything that is non-Kosher.
Pareve : Food that is "neutral", neither meat nor dairy. This includes fruits, vegetables, grains, eggs, and sometimes fish.
Kashrut tells us what animals are safe to eat, how these animals should be slaughtered, what food can and can't be mixed, alongside instructions on how to use the tools made for preparing/eating food. There's a lot more to Kashrut (which I'll go into soon), but those are the basic ideas. Kashrut includes many guidelines that we see as common sense (such as not eating diseased meat) to everyday cleanliness (checking that fruits and veggies are free of bugs) to things that some people would think are "weird" (like not eating shrimp).
Of course, much of Kashrut is highly cultural in nature, and was largely shaped by Jewish cultural ideas of cleanliness and commonly eaten foods. Some animals may be a normal part of the cultural in many countries/cultures, but they are not Kosher, as Israelites never included such things in its food. This is why many Jews who are also parts of cultures to whom treif foods are significant experience a lot of inner conflictions about keeping Kosher. Instances like the one mentioned before, alongside a countless amount of others, are why there are different levels of keeping Kosher, which I will expand on soon.
Many people ask me why I eat Kosher in the first place. Reactions range anywhere from "Oh wow, I could never give up bacon!" to "Ugh, why follow such archaic laws?" when people find out.
But really, why do we? Is it because it would cause severe health issues if we ate shellfish or a ham and cheese sandwich? No, obviously not. While some of the prohibitions in Kashrut may have health benefits, such as avoiding certain diseases or infections, the primary reason for observing these laws is not based on health concerns. In fact, Halakha dictates that we should not eat Kosher if it would threaten our health or lives in any way. We live by the laws, we don't die by them.
Interestingly enough (right back at ya, "archaic laws" person), it's because they are archaic. It is not because anyone who eats pork is disgusting or wrong or bad in any way. It's our culture, our tradition, it's been passed down for absolutely forever. It's a marker and a reminder of who and what we are, a way to celebrate Jewishness. It's also a ritual, a daily form of active mediation and prayer to bring us closer to (and remind us of) HaShem.
Eating Kosher is not just about what we eat, but also about how we eat. It's a daily ritual that involves mindfulness, intentionality, and gratitude. It's a way to incorporate our culture and religion into our every day, never forgetting who we are. By following these ancient guidelines, we affirm our connection to a long and rich history, to a community that has survived and thrived through centuries of persecution and adversity.
We embrace a way of life that is not driven by the latest trends or fads, but rather by timeless values and principles that have stood the test of time. When we follow the laws of Kashrut, we are reminded of our connection to HaShem, the sanctity of our traditions, and the importance of our community.
Alright, now it's time to get into the exact specifics of what Kashrut outlines for us. It is usually Orthodox Jews who follow every single one of the rules, Conservative Jews follow most(ish) of these rules, and Reform Jews tend to not keep kosher. Of course, this doesn't speak for all denominations or even every Jew in each of the denominations I mentioned, but those are the most common "levels" of keeping kosher among Jews. Keeping kosher is hard, and not everyone has the time, resources, etc. to follow Kashrut as closely as they'd like, which is why different people choose what's right for them.
In this section, I'll cover the exact guidelines in Kashrut, exceptions to keeping kosher, and some modern interpretations of kosher expectations.
Anything produced by forbidden animals- like their eggs and milk- is prohibited.
Land mammals should have cloven hooves and chew their cud.
— In Leviticus 11:3 and Deuteronomy 14:6
— Cloven hooves: Hooves split into two "toes".
— Chewing cud: The process of chewing, partially digesting, regurgitating, and re-chewing food.
— Permitted land mammals include oxen, goats, sheep, and deer.
— Forbidden land mammals include pigs, horses, rabbits, and camels.
Marine life must have fins and scales.
— In Leviticus 11:9 and Deuteronomy 14:9
— Permitted marine life includes salmon, tuna, and carp.
— Forbidden marine life includes shrimp, lobster, and scallops.
Birds must not be scavengers or birds of prey
— In Leviticus 11:13-19 and Deuteronomy 14:11-18
— Only specific birds are prohibited, not types of birds. Rabbis have decided to forbid the categories the listed birds fall into (scavengers and birds of prey).
— Permitted birds include chicken, geese, ducks, and turkeys.
— Forbidden birds include eagles, vultures, ravens, and owls.
Winged insects are… complicated.
— In Leviticus 11:22
— Some winged insects used to be permitted, but we no longer know which ones those are, so all winged insects are decidedly forbidden.
— Interestingly enough, Yemini Jews have very very old traditions of identifying and eating certain locusts as kosher animals. This could be an echo of our now lost outlines on what insects are, in fact, kosher. How cool is that?
Other miscellaneous animals are forbidden.
— In Leviticus 11:29-30, 42-43
— Rodents (mice, squirrels, rats)
— Wingless insects (centipedes, silverfish, lice)
— Amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders)
— Reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles)
Certain parts of kosher animals are forbidden to eat.
— All blood from the meat of land mammals and birds must be drained out during slaughter and then salted/broiled out because blood is their life force and should be respected (Leviticus 7:26-27; 17:10-14).
— Fat found on on the internal organs and below the eleventh rib (Leviticus 3:9; 7:23).
— The sciatic nerve (of the lower leg) to commemorate Jacob’s victory over an angel after they wrestled all night, during which the angel dislodged Jacob’s sciatic nerve (Genesis 32:22).
Animals must be slaughtered in a particular way.
— In Deuteronomy 12:21; 14:21 and Numbers 11:22.
— These rules pertain to land mammals and birds, but not fish.
• Animals cannot have died due to natural causes or another animal killing them.
— Meat should not be diseased or flawed in any way.
— Animals must be slaughtered by having their throat slit quickly and in one strong slash. This way, the most blood drains out and the animal is slaughtered in the most humane way.
Meat and dairy cannot mix (Exodus 23:19; 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21).
Foods which are neither meat nor dairy are pareve, and can be used freely with both meat and dairy.
— Commonly, fish is counted as pareve, but some traditions (usually Sephardic) prohibit the mixing of fish with meat.
A certain amount of time should pass between the consumption of meat and dairy.
— Traditionally, one waits 3-6 hours after eating meat to consume dairy, but only 1-3 hours after eating dairy to eat meat.
— Some traditions include that one must wait only an hour after dairy, except for hard cheeses, after which they must wait 3 hours.
Different utensils and equipment must be used for meat and dairy. This includes everything from the tools used for slaughter to the plates in your home.
— Utensils have a label just like food (meat, dairy, pareve, or treif) which affects the status of the food which comes in contact with it, but only in the presence of heat.
— For example, a fork will become treif if it touched shrimp, and if it touches any hot kosher food (or if the fork or shrimp is hot), the food also becomes treif. This affects things like dishwashers (in which both meat and dairy utensils come in contact with heat in the same space), sinks (which can be hot), and towels (when used to transport hot pots).
— It is totally fine to do something like use a knife with both meat and dairy, as long as both the knife and food is cold, and as long as the knife is cleaned between foods.
All fruits and vegetables are kosher.
— In Genesis 1:29
— Fruits and vegetables must be thoroughly washed and checked for bugs.
— Fruits and vegetables cannot come in contact with any products which include insects, like some dyes and additives.
Grape products cannot be made by idolators.
— This began because of wine's ritual importance, and Jews did not want to consume wine that was made to use in the worship of idols.
— This usually only refers to wine or grape juice.
— More recently, because the creation of wine is now automated, it is technically not made by idolators and has been seen as kosher to some denominations (usually Conservative Jews).
We've gone through the different rules and regulations of Kashrut, which include that utensils/towels can become treif. But what happens if you accidentally eat treif? If utensils become treif, do they need to be thrown out?
Accidentally (or knowingly) eating treif.
— The remedy for this is simply to feel bad and do better in the future.
— But, if you feel particularly bad, you can do a good thing so that the bad thing (eating treif) leads to a good thing, and therefore the entire mistake becomes positive. Good things can include tzedakah, charitable giving (like donating money/old clothes, volunteering, etc.).
Kashering utensils, equipment, etc.
— Kashering is done both when something is first bought and if it ever becomes trief. Usually, only new cooking equipment is kashered (like by being dipped into a mikveh, a pool of holy water), and not everything you buy.
— To "reset" utensils/equipment after it has become treif, it can be dipped in a mikveh, or things like towels can be kashered simply but putting them in the laundry.
— Everyone will have different ways to kasher and different intensities of kashering.
Treif food being the only option.
— During medical emergencies (like a blood sugar crash) or similar situations, it is not a sin to eat treif. Human life is put above all else within Judaism, meaning that everything will be rendered not a sin if breaking it is necessary to save a life (which is also why abortion is required even in the most Orthodox communities).
Keeping kosher is hard. There's a ton of rules and things which build upon each other. It's a lot to remember. Considering that many households separate meat and dairy to the point of having separate sinks and refrigerators, most people just don't have the resources to keep kosher in that way.
If you're low on spoons, disabled, or neurodivergent, those factors can make keeping kosher even more difficult. I'm a spoonie with ADHD and Autism, so I'm chronically fatigued, and have ARFID that contributes to multiple food-related issues.
You should always remember that you are not required to keep kosher if it interferes with medical needs (like I listed), and so you should never feel bad about how "well" you keep kosher. That being said, let's move onto some tips for modified kosher eating.
Try only keeping kosher on shabbat and/or important holidays.
Sometimes, our safe foods or the only food we have access to are treif. However, you're usually already listening to 99% of Kashrut prohibitions on which animals you can eat (like avoiding bugs, reptilians, rodents, scavengers, etc.). So that's already a big step!
Instead of having completely separate equipment for meat/dairy, simply wash your utensils between using them for meat/dairy.
Instead of waiting up to 6 hours between eating meat and dairy, wait 1 hour, drink water between the two foods, and/or create a distinct separation in time between consuming the foods (like getting up to go do something, stopping to talk, etc.).
When it comes to washing utensils, try and separate them by putting them on different washing machine racks, run the washing machine between using it for meat/dairy utensils, or rinse off the inside of the sink between hand-washing meat/dairy utensils.
Use disposable plates/cups/utensils to separate meat and dairy.
Buy only kosher meat, or only kosher foods (most foods in everyday grocery stores will be kosher).
If you're vegan, and depending on the type of vegetarian, you're already eating kosher!
You've finally reached the end of this post, and I hope it was helpful to you. Below, I will list multiple sources for further reading, help in keeping kosher, and just some cool questions about being kosher ("is meat from a cloned animal kosher?").
An extensive course on the laws of Kashrut taught by Rabbis
"Bagels: A Surprising Jewish History" by Dr. Yvette Alt Miller
"Does G-d Really Care?" from Kosher Certification
"I Keep Kosher. My Parents Did, Now Don't. It's Complicated." by Talia Kaplan
"Is Lab-Grown Meat Kosher?" by Yehuda Shurpin
"Issues in Jewish Ethics: The Ethics of [Kosher] Cloning" by Dr. Daniel Eisenberg, M.D.
"Jews in America: The Kosher Meat Boycott of 1902" by Dr. Michael Feldberg
"Kashrut Laws as Written in Torah" from the Jewish Museum in London
"Kashrut: the Jewish Dietary Laws [from Biblical, Rabbinic, and Modern Perspectives]" by Jonathan Magonet
"Marijuana Is Always Kosher, as Long as You Smoke It" by Ruth Schuster
"OU Kosher Grocery Store Symbols Explained" by Rabbi Chaim Goldberg
"People Eat Treyf for Their Own Reasons. They All Think About Their Judaism." by Jonathan Katz
"Saying Goodbye to Bacon" by Liel Leibovtiz
"Ten Reasons to Keep Kosher (And They’re Not What You Think)" by Rabbi Alec Goldstein
"The Jewish Dietary Laws: Their Meaning for our Time and a Guide to Observance" by Samuel H. Dresner and Seymour Siegel
"The Rules for Kosher Creepy-Crawlies" from Sefaria
"What Archaeology Tells Us About the Ancient History of Eating Kosher" by Lina Zeldovich
"What Is Kosher for Passover?" from Chabad.org
"Why I Don’t Keep Kosher" by Rabbi Jillian Cameron
"Why I Stopped Freaking Out About Other People’s Kosher Habits" by Erris Langer Klapper
"Why Keep Kosher?: Jewish dietary practices allow us to welcome the sacred into our daily lives and into mundane acts." by Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson
"5 Misconceptions About Keeping Kosher" by Mandy Hakimi
#judaism#jewish#jumblr#jewblr#jewish culture#pesach#passover#kosher#kashrut#torah#talmud#shabbat#jewish life#kosher food#halakha#yeshivawithcarver#references
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wanna see some fucking bullshit????
non-jews need to stop looking at jewish food and thinking "how can i make this as unkosher as possible?"
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Something I learned this week: so apparently halibut is a kosher fish and the cheeks are a delicacy. Well, I had the opportunity to try them, and just whoa. It's at least as good if not better than crab meat and is very similar in both taste and texture as claw meat.
So! As someone who has had (and loved) a *lot* of the treyf seafood prior to giyur, here is what I can tell folks who have never eaten crab or lobster but are curious for close kosher substitutes: halibut cheek for crab, lionfish for lobster. If prepared similarly and correctly, they can be extremely similar in taste and texture, and (imo) superior because they don't involve boiling an animal alive and then spending 20 minutes unshelling it. :-/
#for those wondering#I keep strict kosher in my own kitchen#but outside of the house I eat either vegetarian#or pescaterian (only kosher fish species)#and aim for ingredient kosher + check my fresh veggies carefully#it's not perfect#but it's a shalom bayit compromise with my family#especially when we travel#kashrut#jumblr
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I messed up budgeting this month, while I'm not completely broke there wasn't anything left for fresh fruit or veggies. I live in a community with Jewish food pantry that serves neighbors from all walks of life (Jewish or not) including kosher clients. I'm blown away by how much good fresh food they gave me and how friendly everyone was. They didn't bat an eye at knowing what I could actually cook since I have only a Dairy kitchen. They even had special Rosh Hashanah bags with apples, honey, frozen challah, and candles! If you're genuinely struggling to afford the holidays check with your local Jewish Federation/JCC/Shul/JCFS and see if they can point you to a food pantry that can help.
#jumblr#jewish#kosher#kashrut#seriously just go if you think you need the help you probably do#food pantry#kosher food#food bank#kosher food pantry
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My university officially has a kosher section in the dining hall!!!!!! We’ve been fighting them for this for YEARS!!!
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A Christian friend once asked me what my temple had to say about Jesus.
“Nothing?” I was confused. “Why would we talk about Jesus?”
“Because he’s Jesus.” Her confusion was as apparent as mine. “Shouldn’t you talk about the son of God?”
“We … don’t believe that.” I didn’t want to offend her, but I wanted to be clear. “We talk about our own religion in our own religious spaces.”
Recent news about how antisemitism can be baked into aspects of Christianity and the Muslim religions has me thinking about that conversation. It makes sense, of course, that these religions that came after Judaism would reference their religious forebear, though I remain frustrated that people believe the context of another religion would give them understanding of a religion that is rejected by the religion proving the “context.”
And, as it turns out, years later, during the height of the seeming ubiquity of WWJD bracelets (for those outside the US or too young to remember, “WWJD” stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” and people wore WWJD bracelets to remind them to keep Jesus’ values in their minds and hearts, and this spawned increasingly specific questions as to how Jesus would approach various aspects of modern-day life), my rabbi did mention Jesus at temple.
“People ask ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ ‘What Would Jesus Drive?’ ‘What Would Jesus Eat?’ Well, we know the answer to that last one.” The rabbi smiled. “Kosher food!”
He then led us in the HaMotzi.
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I love your blog so much, I'm so glad I found it!! I've loved dinosaurs ever since I was like,, 3.
What's your favourite scientific paper and why? (Also please leave the link if you can, I'd love to read it.)
hahaha so I have a weird answer to that question:
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hey, someone i follow here on tumblr recommended me this blog for questions about abrahamic religions, so one thing i always wondered is why is pork a big no for jews and muslims, but seems to be totally ok for christians, afaik they worship the same God and follow a lot of the same teachings, and i know theyre different in a lot of stuff but this one just stands out to me
(also sorry for getting in your askbox with this demonic themed looking blog i swear i just like creepypasta)
Hey! No worries about the blog theme, I'm always happy to interact with anyone interested in genuine dialogue. :)
So, I'm going to put Islam off to the side for now, because with few exceptions (Ibn Barrajan comes to mind), Muslims did not use the shared Judeo-Christian texts to explain their prohibition against pork. Most Islamic authorities would cite verses like Surah al-An'am, verse 145, which calls "the flesh of swine" either "loathsome" or "unclean," depending on your translation. When the issue is discussed among Jews and Christians, on the other hand, they would both cite Leviticus 11:7-8, which specifies that pigs cannot be eaten because any animal that does not both (a) have cloven-hooves, and (b) chew the cud, is ritually unclean. (Pigs have cloven hooves, but they don't chew their partially digested food a second time like cows do)
There are modern Orthodox Jewish perspectives (and very early Christian perspectives, such as that of the author of The Epistle of Barnabas) that explain this prohibition in allegorical terms. The consumption of animals that have both of the traits above are symbolic of traits that the Jewish community is supposed to emulate. But that doesn't explain why Jews who follow kosher laws follow the literal interpretation of the Leviticus verses while most mainstream Christians do not. So let's talk a little about the context in which early Christianity developed.
Christianity started as a movement that developed in a Jewish cultural context, but it did not remain a primarily Jewish movement for very long. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles depicts both Peter and Philip as integrating non-Jews into the nascent Christian community, but the mission of Paul of Tarsus seems to have been a turning point in Christian history. And as more and more non-Jews became involved in the Jesus movement, there was a question of to what extent they were expected to become Jewish in order to be Christian. Paul's answer was: not at all. But this would be an issue for the Christian community for a while, even with councils like the one held in Jerusalem around the year 50.
That council declared that non-Jewish Christians did not have to follow most of the laws listed in the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, but it didn't really give a systematic explanation as to why that was. So from very early on it was understood that large sections of the Old Testament were not applicable to non-Jewish Christians, but it took a few centuries for Christian thinkers to articulate why that was not the case.
In its most mature form, we see the argument as follows: the laws of the Old Covenant (as Christians referred to the Covenant at Sinai) could be broken up into three broad categories.
(1) The Moral Law, which was binding for all people everywhere and for all time, laws that are pretty self-evident like "thou shalt not murder" or "thou shalt not steal." These are laws that are "written on their hearts," in the words of Saint Paul.
(2) The Ceremonial Law, laws God commanded Israel to follow because they had a symbolic meaning that in some way foreshadowed Christ in an allegorical way. These laws are "fulfilled" rather than "abolished" by Christ, but in common parlance that distinction doesn't seem to matter much, because either way Christ's life is believed to have ended their necessity.
(3) The Judicial Law, which were civil laws to be maintained by the Kingdom of Israel. Since the Kingdom of Israel has been non-existent since either 587 BC or 63 BC (depending on whether you count the Hasmonean dynasty as a legitimate successor state to the Davidic kingdom), these laws are essentially defunct.
Among Christians who believe the Law can be divided into these categories, they believe that the prohibition of pork is part of the Ceremonial Law, which has been fulfilled with the coming of Christ and is thus no longer binding on Christians. As such, Christians can eat pork. That's also why they can eat shellfish, wear clothing made from mixed fabrics, and cook meat and dairy together.
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Some things about Kashrut gentiles should know:
-Kashrut isn't like an airborne allergy. There's no prohibition on being around non-Kosher food, we walk past non-Kosher food all the time in the grocery store and in daily life. We may ask that you not bring non-kosher food into our houses or kitchens, but that's because our homes and kitchens are "kashered", which means they are specially cleaned and have no non-kosher contamination.
-Even if you think food is kosher, it might not be, at least to our standards. Different Jews follow Kashrut differently, too, so what one Jew might accept as Kosher will not be the same for another. Do not be offended if we decline your offering of food.
-You can talk about non-Kosher food in front of us. The existence of non-Kosher food doesn't offend us. Don't feel like you can't talk about that great meal you had with us.
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To this day, I cannot forgive Denny's for making a Thing Burger as a promotion for the 2015 Fantastic Four film, not because the movie is bad, but because the burger itself is non-kosher. That's right, Ben Grimm can't eat his own burger!!
What kind of sick twisted diner makes a burger based on a famously Jewish comic book character that violates not one, but two dietary restrictions in the Jewish faith. Not even Yancy Street would pull a stunt this dirty!
Firstly, the burger includes bacon. Kashrut only permits the consumption of animals with divided hooves that chew their chud. As pigs do not chew their chud, they cannot be eaten.
Secondly, eating meat alongside dairy is not kosher. This is because of a Torah passage that states "Do not cook a kid in its mother's milk."
So how do we fix this revoltin' development? Removing the bacon is easy. You could even substitute it with turkey bacon if you so wish, but choosing between meat and cheese is tricky. Removing the meat takes away the... well... meat of the meal, but taking away the cheese removes the bun's Thing-like appearance, removing its identity as a Thing Burger and making it just another hearty meal.
There are two ways to go about this, which I shall dub the pro-meat method and the pro-cheese method. The ingredients in the official Denny's Thing Burger include burger buns, a beef patty, pork bacon, hash browns, cheese (inside and on the bun itself), egg, and Thing Sauce (spicy mayo). By sampling from this list, we can make a kosher thing burger.
My recipe for the Pro-Cheese burger is to cook your dough in the oven with shredded cheese on the top to create that rocky look. For the interior, I thought perhaps I could lean into the Thing's aesthetics by emphasizing the hash browns. In fact, if the potato slices are mixed with egg and flour and cooked on a pan, you just created a Hanukkah staple: Latkes! The fact Denny's thought to include hash browns but somehow didn't make it intentionally Jewish is an astounding missed opportunity. Slide some Latkes in-between the cheese bun, maybe drizzle some dill sauce, grind some pepper for extra kick, and you got yourself a weird variant of a Hanukkah dish. I wonder if Aunt Petunia would approve.
For the Pro-Meat burger, I thought maybe the Latkes themselves might be stable enough to use as a substitute for the buns, but in case you feel different, you can always have them inside the buns. If you choose to have standard buns, I recommend scoring the top before baking so that it looks all rocky. You could also do this for the pro cheese method if you so wish. As for the inside, go ham... literally! Get a nice beef patty, throw on some (turkey) bacon, a nice sunny side up egg, that spicy mayo, some ground up pepper, and you got yourself a hearty burger that Benjy is sure to enjoy. You could even substitute the patty for breaded chicken if you think it looks more Thing-like.
No matter what option you prefer, I hope that this reconciles the mistake Denny's made in constructing a burger Ben Grimm, let alone the jewish people wouldn't be able to eat. Maybe someday the Kosher Thing Burgers will outlive the half-assed film tie-in that inspired it.
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Vegan Passover Pecan-Banoffee Pie: my magnum opus
I set out with a dream. An impossible dream. To create a vegan dessert for my synagogue seder that was also kitniyot-free. Did I have to do this? Not really, my shul allows anything vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian that doesn’t have chametz, and we have a section for kitniyot. Am I vegan? No. Do I even keep kosher for Passover myself? Also no. But, you see, I have an almost pathological need to feed as many people as possible, and I am intractably stubborn, so once I realised how difficult this was going to be it only made me dig my heels in further.
It turns out to be borderline impossible to find vegan substitutes for pretty much anything that don’t contain soy, oats, cornflour, chickpeas, or some sort of forbidden legume. Subsequently this recipe is heavily reliant on coconut milk; luckily for me I live in an area with a large Muslim population and it’s currently Ramadan, so tins of coconut are front and centre of every supermarket display.
It’s taken almost a full month of trial, error and meltdowns in the butter aisle of Sainsbury’s, but I finally did it. I had to cobble bits of the recipe together from half a dozen different sources, so I feel relatively justified in calling this my own invention. The pecan crust is borrowed from a Tori Avey cheesecake recipe, I just swapped pistachios for pecans. I really think the crust is what makes it, to be honest. You could probably skip the ganache layer if you can’t be bothered, I just feel like it helps cut through the sweetness.
Recipe under the cut. Please please tag me if anyone decides to make this! I would be so delighted to see it out there in the world.
Crust
84g (⅔ cup) pecans
84g (⅔ cup) pecans
84g (⅔ cup) pecans
60g (½ cup) matzo meal
66g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
71g (5 tbsp) Kosher for Passover vegan margarine (Rakusen’s Tomor*), melted, + extra for greasing
Pinch of salt (optional)
Ganache
113g KFP vegan dark chocolate (Lindt Excellence 70%, Green & Black’s 70%, Green & Black’s cooking chocolate are all KFP)
113g coconut cream/full-fat coconut milk
A few drops of vanilla extract (optional)
Caramel
200g caster sugar
100g KFP vegan margarine (Tomor)
200g coconut cream/full-fat coconut milk
Whipped cream
200g coconut cream/full fat coconut milk, kept in the fridge overnight
15-45g KFP icing sugar (check it doesn’t contain maize starch. You could probably omit the sugar and leave the cream unsweetened if you can’t find it, or grind your own- there are recipes for Passover powdered sugar online.)
¼ tsp vanilla extract
3-4 bananas
cocoa powder or grated chocolate to serve (optional)
chopped pecans to serve (optional)
Method
Make the caramel. Place the sugar into a medium / large saucepan. Place the pan on the hob over a low heat. Allow the sugar to melt, this will take around 5-8 minutes. Don’t burn the sugar! Make sure to stir constantly to prevent burning. You can use a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula.
When all of the sugar has melted and is a golden / amber colour, add in the margarine. Be careful, as the sugar is very hot. Remove the pan from the heat and stir to combine. Allow the margarine to melt into the sugar. It might bubble but that's fine. Once it’s combined, it might have a thick consistency. It might look like the margarine isn’t mixing with the sugar, but it should combine once you add the cream. Now add in 200g coconut cream. It will steam and bubble again so be careful.
Add the pan on the heat and allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes to help thicken it up.
Remove the pan from the heat. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes, then transfer / pour the caramel into a heat proof jar. Place the jar into the fridge. Allow to chill overnight. The coconut cream for the whipped cream should also be kept in the fridge overnight, to encourage it to separate and firm up.
If the caramel separates overnight, use an electric whisk to combine into a smooth consistency until there are no remaining lumps. It’ll be a more custard-like texture but still delicious. Keep caramel in the fridge until needed.
Make the crust. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease a loose-bottomed tin with margarine and line with greaseproof paper.
Blitz the pecans in the food processor until finely processed. Add matzo meal, salt and sugar and pulse until the entire crust is uniform in colour. With the processor on, drizzle the melted butter into the machine.
Once all the butter has been added, turn the processor off and dump the wet crumbs into the bottom of the lined pan. Using the back of a spoon, press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan (it doesn’t have to go all the way up, just as much as you can).
Place the crust in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges of the crust start to brown a bit and smells fragrant. Leave crust to cool for about ten minutes and then transfer to the fridge to finish cooling.
Make the ganache. Finely chop the chocolate and put in a medium-sized bowl. Put 200g coconut cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute, watching to make sure it doesn’t bubble over.
Pour the warm cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Don't stir yet.
After 2-3 minutes, whisk the chocolate/melted coconut milk until smooth. Add vanilla if desired. Let cool in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
Make the whipped coconut cream. Chill a mixing bowl in the fridge for ten minutes (you can do this while the ganache is cooling to save time). Put 200g coconut cream (the thick white part, not the clear liquid) in the chilled bowl. Beat for 30 seconds with an electric whisk until creamy. Add vanilla and icing sugar and mix until creamy and smooth – about 1 minute. Avoid overwhipping because it can cause separation. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed.
Carefully run a knife around the edge of the crust tin and remove the crust from the tin.
Spread a layer of the cooled ganache over the bottom of the crust. Top with a layer of sliced banana and return to the fridge to set for ten minutes.
Add a layer of the caramel, another layer of sliced banana, and return to the fridge for ten minutes again.
Top with the whipped cream (I like to leave the edge of the bananas visible around the edge). Dust with cocoa powder or grated chocolate and add chopped pecans if desired.
*Tomor contains sunflower oil, but sunflower oil is not considered kitniyot in England: https://www.kosher.org.uk/article/sunflower-oil-kitniyot
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