"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Dog3 wrote:
> >
> > This thread has me questioning a few things with the deli I buy my
> kosher
> > food at. I am not Jewish but about 1/2 my friends are and I am
> invited to
> > their homes on holdays. I love kosher food. I buy kosher salami,
> kosher
> > bologna, kosher potato salad and lots of other things. Now I wonder
> if what
> > I am buying is really kosher. I love the taste of kosher foods. The
> deli is
> > called Kopperman's Deli and the other is the Posh Knosh. Posh Knosh
> is in
> > Clayton not to far from my house. Kopperman's is in my old
> neighborhood.
> > Both have been around for decades.
> >
> > Michael
>
> If it's a Certified Kosher deli then what's purchased/eaten there is
> kosher. But once the product leaves the premises all bets are off.
> The kasruth laws must be adhered to for the products to remain
> kosher... once the products are comingled with non-kosher products
> and/or brought into non-kosher premises then the integrity of what
> constitutes kosher has been irreparably violated. Of course this in no
> way suggests you still can't enjoy the products. The kosher salami
> from the typical stupidmarket is not truly kosher anyway because
> typically it's kept in too close proximity with similar non-kosher
> products, and those who do keep kosher don't buy there. But those
> kosher products are purchased and enjoyed by many who could care less
> about keeping kosher per se. To be kosher it's not enough that say
> kosher salami be made Certifiably Kosher, it must also be handled
> accordingly at all times after it leaves the factory. For many the
> kosher deli is not good enough, the ultra ortodox don't buy there, they
> purchase their kosher provions from a kosher butcher shop, and usually
> a special kosher butcher shop, Certified Glatt Kosher. Btw, other than
> philosophical there is no logical reason for "kosher"... and everyone
> who adheres does so at their own personal level... keeping kosher is
> difficult and is purposely designed to be difficult, if for no other
> reason but to make the eating aspect of ones life so tough that all
> other terrible things that befall one seem trivial in comparison.
> Michael, if you converted to Judaism and kept kosher then all the other
> aspects of your life would seem so much easier and perhaps then you'd
> not be such a drama queen. <G> Just a thought.
>
> Sheldon
>
Sheldon is partially right in his discussion of Kashruth. While the Old
Testament does not tell us why we should keep Kosher, it is universally
accepted by rabbinic writers of the Talmud that we are required to do so
because G-d tells us to in the OT scripture. Talmudic writings suggest that
the disciplines of Kashruth are G-d's way of telling us to moderate our
lives, that something's we in fact do without because we need to do without
them. Kashruth is not only for food prep and certification; the combination
of wool and linen is also strictly forbidden.

With Passover a week away, there are an entire new set of rules for this
wonderful celebration of freedom which precludes us from consuming almost
anything containing yeast and any sort of flour except specifically
designated "meal." And with Passover, there is some disagreement as to what
vegetable are permitted depending whether you are Northern European
(Ashkenazic) or African or Middle Eastern (Sephardic) Jewish. The biggest
disagreement has to do with the consumption of corn, peas and beans during
this period.

There are many symbols that are found on products that imply they are
Kosher. Among them are the letters U and K in a circle, K in a 5 pointed
star (not star of David) and the letter K in the Hebrew letter chaf. These
are called hekhshers. However, some manufactures just put the letter K on
their products when most every expert agrees these items are NOT Kosher.
The best example is Jell-o which every reliable Orthodox Jewish authority
agrees is not Kosher. It is because one can not trademark just a letter of
the alphabet. So caution is the rule.

As a side note, Koshering meat and the way meat is prepared in Islam, called
Hallal are not the same and the dietary rules for both a significantly
different. While both abstain from any contact with pork products, Hallal
allows for the consumption of shellfish, fish without any scales, and
preparation of meat with milk.

Rand