In my last post, I advocated for independent communities of Converts, Noachides, and Baalei Teshuvah. I believe that these three groups have far more in common with each other, than any of them have in common with the wider Jewish community that...
A potential pitfall in my proposal of independent Noachide communities is the issue of observance. As I have already shown, rabbinic opinion varies as to what a Noachide may or may not do. My own belief is that a Noachide may do any mitzvah...
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servantto raise up the tribes of Jacoband to bring back the preserved of Israel;I will make you as a light for the nations,that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
Suppose...
In 2002, shortly after my return to the States, I attended a lecture, hosted by the Long Island Board of Rabbis. The speaker was a rabbi who publishes a Kashrut magazine. He waxed eloquent about the pitfalls of buying bread at a bakery without...
Before continuing, I would like to clarify one point. One often hears, especially in non-Orthodox circles, the term "Biblical Kashrut", meaning observing only those parts of the dietary laws that are clearly specified in the Torah. We must bear in...
The Torah forbids the eating of animals that either died of themselves, or that were "torn". This prohibition of carrion, was understood to mean any animal that was killed by any other means rather than shechitah, or that has a deadly condition....
There are eighteen types of organic defects that can render an otherwise kosher animal non kosher. However, the halachah is that since most animals ARE assumed to be without defects, there is no need to do a post mortem to look for defects. Only...
After the lungs have been checked, there is no need to see if other problems are present, as their rarity makes any defect unlikely. However, if, as the viscera are removed, something looks "strange", the shochet must examine further. Often, a...
The method of kashering (making kosher; removing the blood), is stated in rabbinic sources as follows:
"We wash, soak, salt, and rinse the meat, then throw it into a pot"
We have two major interpretations of this statement. The more common and...
Although I always advocate the study of sources in the original (where possible), the fact is that there are many words in the Bible and Talmud whose meaning has been lost. Translations are no more than an educated guess. Some editions will,...
When we lived in Israel, Sima and I were once invited to a Bar Mitzvah celebration for a Chabad young man (now the Chief Rabbi of an East European country). While Sima was eating dinner, the wife of a friend approached her and asked: "How are you...
At the end of my last post, I mentioned that a huge portion of the bug problem is alleviated by the simple fact that a bug, unless whole, is not a problem in most cases. The exception would be if one were to eat an entire bug, without any other...
The story of bugs in fish, is a fascinating one. Rabbis differ on the issue, depending on their understanding of the nature of Talmud and the Oral Torah. I have already written in another series, that there are those who regard Talmud as a...
When is a part of a non-kosher animal kosher? When it is no longer food. It is clear in the Talmud that although a dead bug is not kosher, a bug that has turned to dust is of no consequence. We also find that the hooves and horns of non-kosher...
Trigger warning! I will now tell a horror story. If "The Godfather" was too difficult for you to watch, please skip this post.The story begins about seveneen years ago, in a community that had for many years, followed a very liberal, albeit...
