might argue that it is indeed the oldest monotheistic religion in the world. Members of the Jewish
faith have certainly endured a turbulent past and even still, though not as intense, today. Despite
their past, the approximately 14 million Jews in the world today maintain the resilient tradition of
their ancestors of kindness and communion among food and family.
In the words of Claudia Roden in her 1996 work, The Book of Jewish Food, “Every
cuisine tells a story. Jewish food tells the story of an uprooted, migrating people and their
vanished worlds. It lives in people’s minds and has been kept alive because of what it evokes and
represents. …show more content…
Furthermore, some Orthodox Jews obtain a third set of cookery for “parve” foods or neutral
foods that are neither kosher nor treif, such as eggs, fruits or vegetables. Jewish dietary laws have been a contested issue for a long period of time. A
overabundance of sources both primary and secondary, exist. Primary sources that are available
include those from Biblical, rabbinic and historical outlooks. Various scholars, theologians and
historians have analyzed the evidence that has been presented through primary sources.
Several primary sources provide evidence for this topic. The Holy Bible is one of the
earliest sources for these laws, specifically the Torah. The primary books where such laws are
listed in the books of Genesis, Deuteronomy and Leviticus. While there is information in each of
these books, Leviticus will be used most frequently in this essay. Jewish historians of the period
like Eleazar and Philo also give detailed commentaries on the issue as well as put it in historical
context. Personal correspondence like The Letter of Aristeas will be analyzed for …show more content…
“Talmud”
is Hebrew for instruction. It is the most essential text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud notes
that the ingredients of foods are what should cause concern, and not the animals that provide
sustenance. The text speaks specifically to the prohibitions of food products like milk, spices
and other goods forbidden for kosher ingestion. ____________________________
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on
land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that
chews the cud. Leviticus 11: 1-2 Meat is a major food group for many cultures around the
world past and present. In Judaism there are lots of rules concerning the preparation and
consumption of meat specifically. Because meat is so closely associated with ritual sacrifice and
God’s instructions to his people, it is one of the more stipulated items within dietary laws.
Meat is a major topic of contention for those who follow kashrut. Leviticus 11:3-4 states,
“Whatever parts of the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals,