There are many Jewish laws for the preparation of food. These laws come from Kashrut, the part of Jewish law dealing with foods that can and cannot be eaten. The word kosher is more commonly used to describe these rules. A common misconception is that kosher is a style of cooking. Any type of food can be kosher, as long as it is prepared according to the laws of the Torah. Treyf is a word used commonly to describe food that is not kosher. .
For some modern Jews, the kosher laws are nothing more than a series of health regulations. While keeping the kosher laws is certainly healthy, health is not the only reason for them. The main reason as to why Jewish people keep the kosher laws is because the Torah instructs them to do so. Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin suggests that the kosher laws were established as a way to help Jews distinguish right from wrong. In his book, To Be a Jew, he explains that being able to tell right from wrong and good from evil is very important to the Jewish religion. .
The hardest part of keeping the kosher laws for Jewish people is knowing that the rest of the world does not. Eating in a non-kosher restaurant is what causes problems for many Jews. Some Jews have suggested that making it harder for them to socialize with people outside of their religion was one intention of the kosher laws. .
There are about 7 central rules for the Jewish kosher laws. The laws include: the restriction of certain animals, the animals that may be eaten must be killed and prepared in accordance to kosher, no blood must remain in the meat when it is eaten, certain parts of the non-restricted animals may not be eaten, meat cannot be eaten with dairy, utensils that are used for meat may not be used for dairy, and grape products made by non-Jewish people may not be eaten. .
Any land mammal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud may be eaten. Anything with fins and scales may also be eaten.
