The title of this post may have confused you. Sure, there’s kosher meat and non-kosher meat. But there’s more. There are grades of kosher meat! And not in the USDA Grade A sense. Kosher Meat: Kosher meats are a) kosher animals b) slaughtered according to Jewish law. Certain internal injuries can render that meat un-kosher. […]
Adventures in Semantics: Types of Kosher Meat Read Post »
When you’re new to converting, it can be hardest to figure out why everyone freaks out when you get a little too close to the wine bottle. What’s that about? (And later on, you get freaked out by how many people don’t know these laws and try to hand you the wine bottle!) Let’s discuss.
Non-Mevushal Wine Survival Tips Read Post »
While researching yesterday’s post for conversion gift ideas, I came across one of the strangest bits of Judaica I’ve ever seen: The Mitzvah Measure. It is “[a] tape measure that contains measurements in accordance with Jewish Law such as tefachim, amot, minimum sizes for lulavim, etc.” I thought these measurements were hotly contested by the rabbonim;
Jewish Resources Are Getting Weirder and Weirder Read Post »
This is something that perplexes me. When I first began learning the brachot (blessings), I could not understand why water doesn’t have its own blessing. I even contacted a rabbi to ask what blessing we say on water because I believed that I simply missed it. I still don’t understand, so I thought I would
Why Does Water Not Have Its Own Bracha? Read Post »
You’ve been invited to a Shabbat meal. That’s great! But oh no, they’ve asked you to contribute something towards the meal! As a halachic non-Jew, this can raise a lot of kashrut issues. So what are your options? Bring nothing and simply enjoy the hospitality of your host. Being an overly polite Southerner, I don’t
For an introduction to hechshers, read What Are Hechshers and Why Do I Care? Now let’s go more in-depth to hechshers. Conversion candidates and others new to kashrut get hechsher-dependent and get anxious about eating anything without a hechsher because we don’t trust our own knowledge (or may still lack that knowledge). What kinds of products
Things That Don’t Need a Hechsher Read Post »
Shavuos is my favorite holiday. Really! I get to stay up all night learning interesting stuff and eating cheesecake. What’s not to like?? And I’m not the only convert who likes Shavuot best! Besides the nerdy, cheesy aspects of the holiday, it is also the holiday for converts. Quite honestly, I don’t understand why Shavuot
Shavuot: The Holiday of Nerds, Vegetarians, and Converts Read Post »
What is a hechsher? (Pronounced “heck-shure.”) It’s a symbol on a product that certifies that some rabbi or rabbinical organization has ruled that the item is kosher. Here is a list of hechshers you may see. What kinds of products have hechshers? In theory, something you would eat or might potentially consume (like swallowing toothpaste).
What Are Hechshers and Why Do I Care? Read Post »
Since I became observant of the kosher laws while living in a largely non-Jewish area, I got a lot of practice in explaining kashrut in a quick-and-dirty way. This is what I came up with, and maybe it will be useful to you! Eating kosher is essentially three levels of paying attention to what you
Explaining Kashrut to the Clueless Read Post »
Well, the first days are over. Three days without chametz, and I haven’t killed anyone yet! However, I was dismayed to realize that we’re not even halfway through Pesach yet… My only good joke so far for the yontif: Person 1: “The bread of affliction just afflicts you with constipation.” Me: “Maybe this is to
Reflections on the first days of Pesach Read Post »