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Kashrut
Kashrut or "keeping kosher" is the name of the Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with Halakha (Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the Hebrew term kasher, meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption by observant Jews). Food not in accord with Jewish law is termed treifah ("torn"); the term originally referred to animals (from a kosher species such as cattle or sheep) which had been either incorrectly slaughtered or mortally wounded by wild beasts and therefore were not fit for human consumption. The basic laws of kashrut are in the Torah's Book of Leviticus, with their details set down in the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) and codified by the Shulkhan Arukh and later rabbinical authorities. Many varied reasons have been offered for these laws, ranging from philosophical and ritualistic, to practical and hygienic. The word kosher has been borrowed by many languages, including English. In its strictest meaning it means only "suitable according to Jewish law", but as slang it generally means legitimate, acceptable, permissible, genuine or authentic in a broader sense. |