Kashrut: The Battle, The Decision
I consider myself a religious Jew but I don't keep kosher. Now, there is a contradiction that I can no longer live with. I have attempted to keep kosher in the past - more than a few times - but failed each time. I think that I was trying to just jump in all at once (and without much help) which made it difficult to succeed in my goal of becoming kosher. So, I have gone on a search for some simple steps to get me started in the right direction. I came across this the other day and I think it will help me on my path to becoming kosher.
The decision
The author suggests that this is the point where one will commit to experimenting with kashrut or committing oneself to eventually keeping a kosher home. This is a decision that has been long in the making and one that I cannot take lightly. I have experimented with keeping kosher in the past and this time I need to commit to keeping a kosher home.
Getting your big toe wet
The author suggests eliminating non-kosher items from the diet and purchasing on kosher products. Okay, by this stage, I would think this would be fairly simple (except for maybe the meat and seafood). Once I get to this stage, I will need to again talk to the rabbi about how to proceed and make sure that I am following halachah.
Wading in
The author suggests familiarizing yourself with the local kosher butcher, the kosher meat section of the grocery store, and the local kosher bakery and elimiate non-kosher meat and seafood from the diet. We have no local kosher butcher or bakery and only one or two grocery stores that (might) carry kosher meat. Through my shul [synagogue], we can purchase meat from a kosher butcher and have it delivered on a monthly basis to the shul for pickup. This is very expensive though so I am not sure what to do when I get to this stage. I may have to become vegetarian and learn to like (or at least tolerate) many of the foods that I currently dislike. We have no kosher bakery so anything that would come from a bakery would be out. I would need to bake my own items or go without. I only eat permitted seafood and I will need to do research on where to get kosher fish (other than canned tuna).
Letting go
The author suggests stop eating meat and dairy together, begin waiting an hour or two after eating meat to eat dairy, and purchase more kosher items. Okay, this is where it gets sticky for me. I do not eat red meat but I do eat chicken and turkey. Now, according to rabbinic law, fowl is considered meat and I cannot eat a chicken sandwich with a glass of milk. Unfortunately, I do not like enough varied food items to become a vegetarian so I will need to really work on this issue. Once I got this down, I think waiting an hour or two between meat and dairy will not be such a great leap. As far as the kosher items, I would hope that by this point, I will only be purchasing kosher items.
Swim like a fish
The author suggests only buying kosher food, not eating at any non-kosher restaurants, and consider kashering the kitchen. I try to buy only kosher foods but I must admit that there are some foods (especially popcorn) that I buy that are not kosher simply because I like them. However, I do feel a twinge of guilt when I see kosher popcorn on the shelf but I choose the non-kosher item. So, I guess I need to make sure that I begin choosing only kosher items. As far as restaurants go, there is only one kosher restaurant in my area and it is about 25 minutes away so I do not go there. I do sometimes eat pizza or subs from non-kosher restaurants however - but this is becoming rare in my life. When I completely get to this stage, I will need to cut out the non-kosher restaurants. As far as kashering the kitchen, that will be a bit more difficult. I live with non-Jews so I will need to make my own little "kitchenette" by using a new microwave and/or double-wrapping my food to be used in the oven. This is something I will need to talk to my rabbi about because it is a bit more complicated.
Ready to Kasher your home?
The author suggests talking to a rabbi or friends who keep kosher. I will be making plans to speak with some friends who began keeping kosher in adulthood. I think that talking to them will help me learn about the process on a practical and emotional level. After I talk to them, I can go to the rabbi to further discuss the issue and to learn the rules and get a list of what needs to be done in order to make my home kosher.
The decision
The author suggests that this is the point where one will commit to experimenting with kashrut or committing oneself to eventually keeping a kosher home. This is a decision that has been long in the making and one that I cannot take lightly. I have experimented with keeping kosher in the past and this time I need to commit to keeping a kosher home.
Getting your big toe wet
The author suggests eliminating non-kosher items from the diet and purchasing on kosher products. Okay, by this stage, I would think this would be fairly simple (except for maybe the meat and seafood). Once I get to this stage, I will need to again talk to the rabbi about how to proceed and make sure that I am following halachah.
Wading in
The author suggests familiarizing yourself with the local kosher butcher, the kosher meat section of the grocery store, and the local kosher bakery and elimiate non-kosher meat and seafood from the diet. We have no local kosher butcher or bakery and only one or two grocery stores that (might) carry kosher meat. Through my shul [synagogue], we can purchase meat from a kosher butcher and have it delivered on a monthly basis to the shul for pickup. This is very expensive though so I am not sure what to do when I get to this stage. I may have to become vegetarian and learn to like (or at least tolerate) many of the foods that I currently dislike. We have no kosher bakery so anything that would come from a bakery would be out. I would need to bake my own items or go without. I only eat permitted seafood and I will need to do research on where to get kosher fish (other than canned tuna).
Letting go
The author suggests stop eating meat and dairy together, begin waiting an hour or two after eating meat to eat dairy, and purchase more kosher items. Okay, this is where it gets sticky for me. I do not eat red meat but I do eat chicken and turkey. Now, according to rabbinic law, fowl is considered meat and I cannot eat a chicken sandwich with a glass of milk. Unfortunately, I do not like enough varied food items to become a vegetarian so I will need to really work on this issue. Once I got this down, I think waiting an hour or two between meat and dairy will not be such a great leap. As far as the kosher items, I would hope that by this point, I will only be purchasing kosher items.
Swim like a fish
The author suggests only buying kosher food, not eating at any non-kosher restaurants, and consider kashering the kitchen. I try to buy only kosher foods but I must admit that there are some foods (especially popcorn) that I buy that are not kosher simply because I like them. However, I do feel a twinge of guilt when I see kosher popcorn on the shelf but I choose the non-kosher item. So, I guess I need to make sure that I begin choosing only kosher items. As far as restaurants go, there is only one kosher restaurant in my area and it is about 25 minutes away so I do not go there. I do sometimes eat pizza or subs from non-kosher restaurants however - but this is becoming rare in my life. When I completely get to this stage, I will need to cut out the non-kosher restaurants. As far as kashering the kitchen, that will be a bit more difficult. I live with non-Jews so I will need to make my own little "kitchenette" by using a new microwave and/or double-wrapping my food to be used in the oven. This is something I will need to talk to my rabbi about because it is a bit more complicated.
Ready to Kasher your home?
The author suggests talking to a rabbi or friends who keep kosher. I will be making plans to speak with some friends who began keeping kosher in adulthood. I think that talking to them will help me learn about the process on a practical and emotional level. After I talk to them, I can go to the rabbi to further discuss the issue and to learn the rules and get a list of what needs to be done in order to make my home kosher.
posted by Rachel-Esther at
5:46 AM
1 Comments:
I enjoyed reading this post though I am surprised that you were able to convert through the Conservative Movement seven years ago not keeping any of the laws of Kashrut. I mean no offense by this comment but I find it almost shocking.
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