Jewish Dietary Laws Essay

For some people food is just a necessity to satisfy a basic human need, for others food is more than just a basic necessity; food is an integral part of a material culture that individuals identify with, enjoy, and consume. Few activities are as instinctive and provide a significant impact on us in so many multiple ways (biologically, psychologically and spiritually) such as eating. In our most primitive development, mankind has distinguished between food fit for consumption and food unfit for consumption. As such, one of the oldest documented set of food laws are the Jewish dietary laws, also known by the Hebrew term (Kashrut) from which the word kosher is derived. Jews who observe the dietary laws of Kashrut must make constant decisions about what they eat, and how they prepare their own food. As a result, the observant Jew eating ceases to be a totally instinctive activity.
To some, it may seem shocking to hear that foods such as pork, bacon and ham, seafood (that has neither fins nor scales), lobster, crab, scallops, and more are prohibited in the Jewish religion. Mankind was made to be free;
Nevertheless, the issue of food in Judaism is
Jewish dietary law maintains that the dietary laws were a means of both symbolizing and maintaining Jewish status as the chosen people, apart from the rest of society. The dietary laws in Judaism portray the sort of behavior that is expected of its people, this implies that Judaism and more importantly Judaic dietary laws have been implemented in an ‘unclean world’. “Interfaith Family”, a website in our case study which claims to be ‘Supporting Interfaith Families Exploring Jewish Lifestyle’ explains the disparity amongst practicing Kashrut and those who do