What are the dietary restrictions that some Jews follow
to "keep kosher" (the laws of kashrut)?
can find the source of the laws of Kashrut in Exodus,
Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. There are four main laws,
written within these books, upon which all laws are based.
These rules are: "You shall not cook a kid in its mother's
milk" (Exodus 23.19); "You shall set apart the ritually
clean beast from the unclean" (Leviticus 20.25); "You
must not eat flesh torn by beasts" (Exodus 22.30); and
"You shall not eat anything that dies a natural death"
How strictly one observes kashrut varies not only within the denominations but, like the
observance of Shabbat, from family to family.
There are a number of foods that have already been predetermined
by the Torah and interpreted by the rabbis as either kosher
Prohibited Fowl: Bat, cuckoo, eagle, hawk, heron,
kite, lapwing, ostrich, owl, pelican, stork, swan, and
Permitted Fowl: Capon, chicken, dove, duck, geese,
pigeon, and turkey.
Prohibited Fish and Seafood: Catfish, eel, porpoise,
shark, whale, clam, crab, frog, lobster, octopus, oyster,
scallop, shrimp, and snail.
Permitted Fish and Seafood: Anchovy, bluefish,
butterfish, carp, cod, flounder, fluke, haddock, halibut,
herring, mackerel, pike, porgy, red snapper, salmon, sardine,
seabass, shad, smelt, sole, trout tuna, weakfish, and
Meat restrictions: All animals that chew their
cud and have a split hoof are kosher. This includes cattle,
sheep, goats, and deer, and excludes horses, donkeys,
camels, and pigs.
Meat must be killed according to the laws of shechitah, laws written that govern
how an animal that is to be eaten must be killed.
Once a beast has been slaughtered, it must be salted properly in order to remove
Egg restrictions: Eggs from non-kosher birds are
not kosher. Eggs with bloodspots are not kosher.
There are no holidays in which the laws of kashrut are
not in effect. There are a few, however, when there are
extra restrictions on what you can and cannot eat. The
holiday that has the most restrictions on what we can
and cannot eat is Passover.
Kosher food can often be identified by the following markings
that may be stamped