Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, כשרות or כַּשְׁרוּת) is the set of Jewish dietary laws.
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what is kosher meat?
I have heard different theories about Kosher foods, such as
They sacrifice animal in a proper way
They recite God's name when sacrificing the animal
They only eat front limbs of animals. The rear ...
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Does consuming raw meat make one Fleishigs?
If one is making meat, and while the meat is still raw licks his/her fingers, does s/he become Fleishigs (to wait the appropriate amount of time before eating dairy)?
Essentially if we boil (excuse ...
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Is human flesh a kosher food?
Is human flesh a kosher food?
Please provide both modern and classical sources.
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kashrus of mouthwash, toothpaste, lip balm
What are the halachic and factual issues involved in, and various rabbis' holdings on, whether flavored mouthwash, flavored toothpaste, and flavored lip balm need to be kosher, or need a hechsher ...
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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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Is it permissible to use a Hotel's Drinking Glasses?
Is one allowed to use the glass cups provided by a hotel (usually in the bathroom) for drinking? Or is there a Kashrus problem?
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What are the reasons that chewing cud is a kosher sign?
In parashat Shemini (Lev. 11:3), we learn that one of the signs for distinguishing kosher mammals is that a species must chew its own cud. Are there any taamim (explanations) that elucidate the ...
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Why is Kosher important?
Why is Kosher important to Jewish people? It is not necessarily healthy food from what I can see.
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How does shechita (kosher slaughter) actually work?
If I understand correctly, the classical Halachic requirements on kosher slaughter only discuss cutting the trachea and esophagus. Is that enough to kill the animal quickly (and painlessly?) What ...
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Kosher status of medicine that comes in a gel capsule
What are the kashruth issues involved in the taking of non-prescription gel-capsule medicine which does not have kosher certification?
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Gigantic Tiger Fish - Is it Kosher?
Is this fish Kosher? It apparently has both fins and scales. Is there any problem with its having teeth, or its not having been discovered until now (and therefore being outside of our Mesorah)?
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is it considered watching
Would milk be considered cholov yisroel if someone was watching via webcam
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Buddha at Indian Restaurants
Is the Buddha statue (or Hindu statues) a problem at Kosher Indian restaurants?
(This is different than the cat question since the cat is only a good-luck superstition and these are actual idols)
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Problems with the kashrut of todays machine matzot
I read a disturbing article by Rav Menahem Eizenberg in Techumin (26, page 123). The one of the many issues raised in the article is that the hechser for machine mazah does not apply to today's ...
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Can my non-Jewish co-worker bring me coffee from the corner cafe?
Assuming coffee is Kosher, would it be alright if my non-Jewish co-worker brings me coffee on a trip to the corner cafe? May I assume that the co-worker indeed purchased a Kosher item and has not ...
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Food cooked by a non-Jew not kosher?
Why is it that food cooked totally by a non-Jew - without the participation of a Jew - is not kosher?
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Can meat ever be both “treifa” AND “neveila”?
I'd always assumed that if a cow died of any cause other than proper shechita (kosher slaughter), the meat is neveila. If it died by kosher slaughter but had already been seriously injured or ...
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What food product was the Birkei Yosef discussing when he said Bishul Akum didn't apply?
If my non-Jewish neighbor cooks some rice and brings it to my house, I'm not allowed to eat it because of Bishul Akum (even if I know his ingredients and equipment are 100% vegan and grape-free). Too ...
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chicken kashrus
When buying chicken from your local kosher butcher, what signs should one look for that would indicate there may be a question about the chicken's kashrus? Does it matter whether one bought a whole ...
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fruit-flavored tobacco Kashrut
Do the fruit-flavored tobaccos that are widely used in hookahs require a Kashrut certification similar to foodstuffs? If yes, why; if not, why not?
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How far does Chaticha Naaseh Neveila go?
Someone cooked an article of food in his kitchen in 2000. In 2010, he discovered that it was treif Gamur. Between 2000 and 2010 he changed all his cutlary, plates, etc. so that nothing that he owns is ...
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Hot water tap at work
Many offices have a water dispenser (with hot water spout) or a hot water tap next to a sink. Is this hot tap Kosher? Assume for a moment that someone uses the tap to dispense hot water into a cup of ...
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Transfer of taste to/from non-food items
There are a number of heating pads on the market for heat therapy cures and general warmth in the winter. Some are electric, but some of them need to be heated in a microwave or an oven. If you heat ...
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Cities' רבנויות's accepting others' food
Years ago, IIRC, I heard the following from a respectable source:
By Israeli law, if the רבנות of one city certifies a food as kosher, then the רבנות of any other city must allow that food as an ...
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Opened “please-take!” food items in a non-Jewish workplace
Is it alright to consume unsupervised food items at work that are open and available to anyone, assuming the items were initially known to be Kosher1 and there's no evidence of tampering?
Items that ...
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What makes something chametz?
Can I a recipe that uses flour but not water?
As kids, we all learned that if the water and the flour touch for more than 18 minutes, then the matzo is chametz.
When 20 ingredients are combined, ...
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Using a non-kosher toaster oven
What is the permissible way to use a non-kosher toaster oven? My thought process was that, when cooking milk in a meat oven, the covering of the dish and the rack makes it acceptable.
Would covering ...
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Would synthesized meat be Kosher?
Scientists are preparing synthesized meat for human consumption. See here for a excerpt, and two articles here and here.
My question is: Would this meat be considered Kosher? Might it depend on the ...
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What was the first product to receive Kosher certification?
What was the first product to receive Kosher certification?
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Are there any national brands of tuna that are Bishul Yisroel?
Are there any national brands of tuna in the USA that are Bishul Yisroel?
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How is it possible for a pot of meat to become pareve? [closed]
I was recently posed the following puzzle:
You have a pot of meat. You put in milk. It becomes pareve. How can this be?
Any ideas on how this is possible?
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I am or was a religious jew and purposely ate non kosher
I'm a religious Jew. I kind of lost faith and ate non-kosher purposely, and now I feel so bad with myself that I want to die. What should I do? Is there any type of repentance I should take upon ...
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Is there anywhere that you can buy Kosher non Glatt meat?
When you go shopping, it seems that they only offer Glatt Kosher. I would imagine non Glatt would be cheaper. Is there anywhere that someone who is not Makpid (It is an American post world war ...
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Is it prohibited to derive benefit from a mixture of milk and meat if the animal was improperly slaughtered?
Is it prohibited to derive benefit from a mixture of milk and meat if the animal was improperly slaughtered? Assume the animal slaughtered, like the milk-giving animal, is kosher, but the slaughter ...
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Fins and Scales
I once heard that if a fish has fins it's enough - and you don't need to find out if it had scales.
Is this true?
What is the source?
Why did the Torah write fins and scales, if fins is enough of an ...
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Is Rabbi Barnett Hasden's “Ner Tamid K” hechsher recommended?
Does anyone here know anything about the reliability of "Rabbi Barnett Hasden of Ner Tamid K in Staten Island, NY"?
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Easiest way to determine if something is “Chametz” or permitted for Passover?
A friend of mine runs a catering company that does do business with a sizable group of Jewish people. Around this time of year she gets requests to be 100% Passover Kosher of course. This often ...
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Seared Sushi Bishul Yisroel
Certain Sushi require the searing of the fish on the outside. Does this process require a Jew light the torch used to do the searing or is it not required? I have seen that some stores do and some do ...
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Does cooking kitniyot in a pot render it non-kosher-for-Passover for Ashkenazic Jews? If so, why?
I've heard of cases where a Sephardic family, for whom rice is totally kosher for Passover (assuming it's checked and contains no additives etc.), cooked rice in a pot. The next day, they invite their ...
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Would silverware intended for one-time kosher use (e.g. airlines) need to be immersed in a mikva?
According to the Star-K,
First Class and Business Class meals are double wrapped in real chinaware and sealed with kosher certification tape. They are then sent to the airline food service ...
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Children's Motrin and Advil
Recently it was publicized that certain lots of Children's Tylenol contain a non-kosher form of glycerin, and therefore should not be used in non-urgent situations. Does anyone have information about ...
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Shechting non-Kosher animals
The question was asked: If someone for example is sick and must eat from a non-kosher animal. Must it be shechted (slaughtered) first like a kosher animal? I don't see any reason why it should, since ...
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What forbids eating in a Jewish-owned restaurant open on shabbat?
Many restaurants in Israel, when asked about their kashrut status, reply that they are open on Shabbat. Thus, no hechsher. This also exists in establishments that would have a relatively easy time ...
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Can something be kashered by putting it in a cold pot then bringing it to a boil?
Normally the way a spoon would be kashered (in most circumstances) is taking a pot of boiling water, then dropping the spoon in.
Instead, could I put a spoon in a pot of cold water, then bring the ...
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Kashrus Explained
A close friend of mine asked me to fire this question at the mi.yodeya community so here goes:
"I came across this rather interesting rendition of "kashrus Explained", not sure who authored it, but I ...
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Eating your own (kosher) food in a non-kosher restaurant?
This was brought to mind by this question:
What are the rules about joining your co-workers (or the like) for a meal in a non-kosher restaurant, but bringing your own food? Is it prohibited as mar'is ...
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Jewish Person Selling Non-Kosher Product
At a local convenience store near my work, they stock all sorts of non-Kosher products. However at the cashier's desk is a guy obviously orthodox Jewish (Curls down from the side, Black Clothing ...
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Are there any brands of mustard powder (flour) that are kosher for Passover for Sephardim?
Prepared mustard (containing vinegar and the like) is certainly not kosher for Passover. According to Ashkenazic practice, the mustard plant itself is included in "kitniot" and prohibited on ...
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Bishul Akum Technology
Is there Bishul Akum when Using a Microwave being that it is not Cooking as it was in the times of CHAZAL?
