So after writing about bacon, I decided to teach my students about keeping Kosher. I teach third and fourth graders at Midrasha (Jewish Sunday school). I have eleven amazing students who are all growing up in a smaller city where there is not a lot of opportunity to keep kosher.
There are a few families who keep kosher, but it’s not easy. The nearest Kosher butcher is 90 miles away and there are no kosher restaurants here. That means they are required to cook all of their meals.
Even having the Rabbi over for dinner can be a challenge. Most of us do not have kosher kitchens. We can improvise with disposable baking pans and paper dishes.
So the first thing I did was poll the class and find out how many of the students keep kosher. There is only one family out of the class. Next I asked them how many like bacon, and 10 of the 11 raised their hands. My next question was how many like ham, and only 4 students like ham.
It was fun going through what animals we can eat under Jewish law and which ones are considered bad.
First, an animal has to have a cleft (split) hoof and chew its cud. It was fun explaining “chews its cud” to my students. Basically, the animal eats his food, throws it up and then eats it again. It has to do with their double stomach digestive system.
Quiz: So under that definition, is a camel kosher? The answer will be below.
All kosher fish must have scales and fins to be Kosher. Jews love salmon. Lox and bagels is always a treat! This means that “fish” with shells are not Kosher, so no shrimp.
Quiz: Is shark meat kosher?
We can eat chickens, hens, and turkeys. However, birds like Ostrich, crows, hawks and eagles are not kosher.
There is more to keeping kosher then what we eat. It involves keeping separate dishes for milk and meat, the way the meat is killed and the way it is cooked. For example “you can not eat a child in the mother’s milk.” Though it doesn’t apply today, back when people lived off the land, it was common that the milk and meat came from the same family. This rule of no meat and milk is more of an ethical rule.
Ready for the answer:
Both a camel and shark are not kosher. A camel does not have a split hoof, and a shark has smooth skin.
Anyone here keep Kosher? Please share your experience!