Eating kosher can be as difficult as you want to make it. It depends upon how strict your beliefs are. It also relies on how you define the term. If you want to be strictly kosher in your diet, you have to avoid certain dietary restrictions. If you want to use a more modern approach or interpretation, you have more leeway.
Kosher Foods
If you want to eat strictly kosher, you need to avoid all shell food, pork and other meat from cloven hooved animals that do not chew their cud. It is also imperative that you do not mix-and-match dairy and any meat products together. This applies to both the preparation and serving of these dietary items. Such a practice can make life difficult unless you have two sets of cooking utensils.
If you are a vegan or vegetarian, it is always easy to eat kosher. Any and all vegetables and fruit fall into this category. They are all sanctioned under kosher law. Better still, you do not have to worry about whether the product has been blessed before being slain. This is another major requirement for kosher food. It does come up for debate among purists on occasion.
While a few rabbis know how to wield the sacrificial knife, most slaying of animals takes place in commercial slaughterhouses these days without a learned rabbi presiding or taking part. This industry – the kosher food industry, has grown into an approximately $12.5-billion-a-year business. Food is now certified kosher by one of several organizations who specialize in this. Certification grants those who follow the laws to purchase meat confidently in supermarkets and not just specialty stores.
A Personal Choice
Whether you adhere to strict religious dietary regulations is no longer a matter of religious requirement. It is a matter of personal choice. At least, this is what many modern or reform religious. While strict orthodox Jews continue to follow the original laws closely, others consider them as guidelines. They look at the kosher dietary laws as anachronistic. Some see them as historically relevant but not an imperative through which to rule their lives.
Eating Kosher Today
Today, if you choose to follow Judaism, your dietary preference will reflect your culture and your religious philosophy. It can be an expression of the overall approach to your life in general. No matter what path you follow, if you live in Florida you can eat bagels at Moty’s Grill. They can satisfy you no matter what side of the kosher dietary fence you sit on.
