Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, כשרות or כַּשְׁרוּת) is the set of Jewish dietary laws.
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Is Guinness Beer no longer kosher?
A new Smithsonian article has discovered Guinness Beer's use of isinglass, a technique that Guinness Beer has confirmed that it does to the Huffington Post, and even declared "Guinness Black Lager is ...
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A site to search Kosher Symbols by characteristics?
Several years ago, I found a website that let me search and sort Kosher symbols by look and other characteristics. It seemed like each symbol was tagged with its distinctive features. This was very ...
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Zimun and Bentsching (Bircat Hamazon / Grace After Meals) with Jews who ate non-kosher food
I came across an interesting situation recently. I was eating with Jewish, non-observant friends. I brought over a hamburger from a local kosher take-out place. They had homemade, non-kosher food, ...
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Must I check the kashrut certificate every time I visit a bakery or restaurant?
Say I visit a bakery, restaurant, jail, hospital, or nursing home. And say I already know that the food there is kosher. Must I still check the kashrut certificate every time I visit?
(Gershon ...
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Am I still Fleishig? When did we eat?
I'm sure this happens many times in a Jewish home on Shabbos: It's Shalosh Seudos time and there's dairy to eat, except no one remembers exactly what time the Shabbos meal took place.
So, my question ...
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Kosher accommodations in out-of-the-way US places
Are there any non-urban vacation areas in the United States with full-service kosher food available? I realize that the following are not hard to find:
Kosher restaurants in some urban centers.
A ...
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Who determines the kosher status of “new” foods?
Who determines the kosher status for "new" processed foods (e.g. Jell-O)? A few orthodox rabbis' approval? General consensus by the Jewish religious community? Certain kosher standards organizations? ...
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Which Kosher Certifications are trusted by all?
There are many hechsheirim in today's world, but unfortunately, not everyone considers all of them to be on par with their standards. Nonetheless, I am assuming (and you may correct me if I'm wrong) ...
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Does kosher mean healthy?
What is the relation between kosher and healthiness? G-d wants us to eat properly but also to be healthy. For example, it is better to try not to eat too much meat (even if it's kosher), and more ...
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If a product with a Hechsher doesn't say dairy does that mean it's pareve?
I'm not sure when this practice started, but I noticed that many/most/all Kosher Certifications indicate whether a product is dairy or not. Does a lack of such a marking indicate that the product is ...
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Is the lemon slice added to a soda in many bars a problem kosher-wise?
Many bars (and hotel lobbies) will add a lemon wedge to the top of a glass of soda; often it's used to differentiate between Diet Coke (gets the lemon) and regular Coke (no lemon).
Does this pose a ...
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How can people drink 7-11 Slurpees and soda?
There is no real Hechser on 7-11 Slurpees. How do people drink them? Is going on the Star-K's list okay? What about soda from the machine? I found that 7-11 switches the spouts sometimes. So even if ...
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What's the halachic advantage of double (or triple) wrapping food?
I've heard of both double and triple wrapping when it comes to shielding a food item in an oven with regards to Kashrus.
What exactly does double or triple wrapping accomplish that one wrapping ...
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Halachic Considerations for Women in the IDF
For a religious girl going into the IDF very soon, there are a few questions that are often asked:
Especially in active units, wearing a skirt while on base can be a problem:
While crawling, ...
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Does a pot that cooked food with a bug in it need to be kashered afterward?
If one were cooking a pot of pasta or a soup and later found a bug or many bugs in the pasta or soup, would the pot need to be re-kashered after it was thoroughly cleaned?
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Issues with cooking meat and milk at the same time
What issues are there (either potential or inherent) in cooking meat dishes and milk dishes at the same time on the same stovetop (not in the same pot)?
Please also compare benefits and problems ...
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Is Coca Cola (and other beverages) kosher everywhere in the world?
I'm currently sitting in an airport transit lounge in Istanbul, and thinking I wouldn't half mind a drink. Available to me are the usual range: Coke, Fanta, Sprite, filter coffee...
Are these ...
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Animals vs. plants: kashrus
Why did God make all plants, but only some animals, kosher? Sources, please.
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Why do some people have a custom to boil only odd numbers of eggs?
I heard that some still have a custom to boil only odd numbers of eggs at a time. I heard that the reason is if there is a blood-spot in an egg, the egg will be Battel Berov. This only explains why ...
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Is a Jewish farmer allowed to raise animals for non-kosher slaughter?
Is a Jewish farmer allowed to raise animals for non-kosher slaughter? Does it make a difference whether it is a non-kosher animal (e.g. pig), vs. a kosher animal? Does it make a difference whether the ...
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why create non kosher animals?
why did hashem create non kosher animals, was it to tempt us and see if we would control ourselves?
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Is being vegan “kosher”?
Is being a vegan completely following halacha? Even if not eating anything traif (non-kosher), perhaps it's not truly kosher because you are not following the commandments to domesticate animals and ...
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What is the practical difference between nebelah and terefah?
The second mishna on Chullin 32a explains that if an animal is rendered invalid by any death which does not occur through proper ritual slaughter it is nebelah while if it is rendered invalid for some ...
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Knife sharpening - can it be done anywhere?
Can you take a Challa knife to any knife sharpener or would you have to Kasher it after it is sharpened? Would there be a difference if it is a meat or cheese knife?
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Mehadrin vs. Non Mehadrin
What's the difference between mehadrin and non-mehadrin certifications.
(e.g. at http://www.kosherinjerusalem.com/where_to_eat/kosher-hotels)
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What makes something “worthy of being honored”?
When a piece of meat is in a mixture that should nullify it, we don't consider it nullified if it is ראוי להתכבד, or "worthy of being honored", something you would serve to a guest. Is there some kind ...
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Kosher symbols on non-food items
I just bought a box of 100 sandwich bags and on the box there is an (U) symbol. This is neither unique nor uncommon. Why do marks of hechsher appear on non-food products? Is there anyone in the world ...
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Do you have to check boiled eggs?
Is it necessary to check hard or soft boiled eggs for blood spots?
I've never seen anyone do it, so perhaps it is not, but if so, why?
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Is there any reason (based on the laws of kashrut) that one cannot brine kashered meat?
On Seasoned Advice, there is a question regarding brining kosher birds. Is there any halachic reason that one cannot brine meat that has already been kashered?
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Does kashrut depend on peah, leket, etc?
I understand that if a crop in the Land of Israel does not have the trumot and maaserot properly separated, then the produce is tevel and cannot be eaten (until it is done).
But that made me think of ...
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Is one allowed to eat foods that were grown from non-kosher materials?
There is a known story of how one time a person brought a giant carrot on Erev Pesach to the Belzer Rebbe (back in Europe) for Karpas. After the donor left, he said "burn it with the Chometz". As the ...
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Do besamim (spices) for Havdalah need to be kosher?
Suppose there is a pack of mixed spices that does not have a reliable hechsher, but looks like it would be good for besamim. Would it be OK to use them for havdalah since you have no intention of ...
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Timtum Halev not b'derech achila
Does the notion of Timtum Halev -- dulling of the heart (spirutal damage) which Rabbeniu Bachaye explains in Vayikra 11:43 -- apply when the non kosher food was put in one's body without doing it ...
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Is there such a thing as kosher perry?
This might be too obscure for most people, but I want to put it out there anyway. Perry is fermented pears (sort of a pear cider, if you will - from what I read in Wikipedia, perry produced outside ...
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How much does one have to eat to become Fleishigs?
Is there a minimum amount of meat or chicken required to be eaten in order to change one's status to being "fleishig" (i.e. so that he would have to wait before eating dairy)?
[same question can be ...
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impure animals: present, future, past
The verses in Vayikra 11:4-6 gives 3 examples of different impure animals which don't have split hoofs, namely: the camel, the 'hyrax' (shafan) and the hare. An interesting thing I once noticed is ...
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Does a Chalav Yisroel milk bottle help?
There are many stores out there (e.g. Coffee shops) that have a hechsher, but are Chalav Stam. To get around this issue, some of these stores offer the option to request Chalav Yisroel milk for those ...
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Bitul BeRov - the classic case in real life
In Halachah there's a tremendously powerful concept of Bitul BeRov (nullification among the majority). It goes like this:
If you have three identical pieces of meat, and you know for a fact that one ...
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Are there any hechshers that certify food as kosher for B'nei Noach?
Are there any hechshers that certify food as kosher for B'nei Noach? Or any restaurants that offer such food? If not, how do observant B'nei Noach ensure that the meat that they eat was definitely not ...
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Which rabbis permit food being kosher just based on the ingredients?
Kosherstarbucks.com give options of what to order based on different halakhic standards. They include the "No Utensils List" (CRC-recommended), the Regular list, and the Kosher by Ingredients list ...
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asking to see a kashrus certificate
A restaurant has a sign on its window, or a notation in an advertisement, indicating that it's under the kashrus certification of Rabbi So-and-so or Agency Such-and-such. The first time someone walks ...
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What is flavored beer vis-a-vis kashrus?
As referenced in Shalom's answer here, the cRc alcohol list here, and many other places, non-flavored, domestic beer can be assumed legally drinkable according to halacha.
What constitutes flavoring ...
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Can I trust a non-kosher home's coffee pot?
I thought I heard that its ok to use a coffee pot in a non-kosher home, but I could be mistaken. Does anyone know?
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Is autocannibalism halachically prohibited?
I was wondering if sucking your own blood or biting at your own scab or otherwise consuming yourself was halachically permissible, since, as far as I can tell, humans are not kosher. Even so, it would ...
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Kashrut in the Talmud
I've been speaking with someone about Judaism - what, how, why, etc. We came to the issue of kashrut, and she had a hard time understanding how we got these random laws from the Torah. I explained ...
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Is swordfish Kosher?
What's the deal with swordfish? Is it Kosher? Which sources say yes, and which sources say no?
EDIT: I know that R' Dr. Moshe D. Tendler is well known for having consulted with scientists (in 1951) ...
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Is it permitted to eat dirt?
If you find small (but visible) pieces of dirt on your food or drink is it permissible to eat it? Are there sources that discuss this?
By dirt I mean "an unknown foreign object that makes the food ...
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How to increase the demand for kosher food?
I live in the Hartford Connecticut area and while the population of people who practice the Jewish faith is increasing, the ability to find Kosher food is on the decline. Even the local Kosher grocery ...
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Is it OK to eat non-certified-as-kosher sushi?
I've heard the argument that since everything in sushi is raw (assuming there are no non-kosher ingredients), and that since the rice is cooked in a rice cooker that is used only for rice, it's OK to ...
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