A Quick Guide To Keeping Kosher For Non-Practicing Jews

by Kosher River Cruise Kosher Tour Operator

If you’re reading this, chances are that you might not be too familiar with your Jewish roots and are henceforth rather rusty as to what rules apply. You might even be interested in rediscovering your Jewish heritage, but don’t know how to start, especially when it comes to Jewish dietary laws. Don’t worry! We’ve prepared this quick guide to help you learn more about what it takes to keep it kosher, which will be mighty helpful if you plan to go on Jewish trips for your next vacation.

The dos and don’ts of meat

Keeping Kosher requires certain levels of specificity. As specified by the Torah, fish and seafood must have fins and scales, ruling out shrimps, prawns and crustaceans. In terms of meat taken from animals on land, they need to have “cloven hooves” and chew their cud, which means pork, camels and rabbit aren’t allowed.

Dairy and meat together cannot be

Kosher rules strongly prohibit the mixing of dairy and meat. For some Orthodox Jews, mixing fish with meat or dairy is also prohibited. This explains why some medicines that come in gelatin capsules and some hard cheeses are not Kosher - there is a high chance that the rennet used might be derived from non-kosher animals.

Ensuring proper preparation

A major aspect of keeping kosher is ensuring that the animals where the meat is sourced from were able to live and die in an ethical and humane way, free from suffering. While there are lots of things to consider, the basic rules specify that the animal must be:

unconscious so as to keep them from experiencing any pain.
the slaughtering of the animal must only be done by what is called a ritual slaughterer, which is traditionally called a “schochet.”
the animal must have been in good health, not only so that their byproducts do not pass on any unfortunate diseases, but also so that their offspring is assuredly healthy as well.

These are just a few rules mentioned in maintaining a kosher lifestyle. As you’ve probably observed, rules are heavily tied to keeping the preparation of food humane, as well as the overall cleanliness of the final product. You will notice these details more if you ever go on kosher river cruises or other kosher vacation options.

If you want to learn more about kosher living as well as Jewish life and history, we highly recommend checking out KosherRiverCruises.com. This cruise line has a fantastic line-up of river cruises that open you up to the world of Jewish heritage and cuisine.