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[[Image:Kashrut advertizement.jpg|thumb|right|300px|As illustrated by this advertizement for a New York delicatessen, the observance of kosher transforms food into a vehicle for holiness, making the kitchen the spiritual hub of the home. Through observance, every activity associated with food becomes an opportunity for spiritual refinement.<ref>"Y2K" (2002) [http://www.ok.org/Content.asp?ID=22 Committee For The Advancement of Torah]. Retrieved 23 July 2008.</ref>]]

[[Image:Kashrut advertizement.jpg|thumb|right|300px|As illustrated by this advertisement for a New York delicatessen, the observance of kosher transforms food into a vehicle for holiness, making the kitchen the spiritual hub of the home. Through observance, every activity associated with food becomes an opportunity for spiritual refinement.<ref>"Y2K" (2002) [http://www.ok.org/Content.asp?ID=22 Committee For The Advancement of Torah]. Retrieved 23 July 2008.</ref>]]

[[Kosher]] is the [[English|Anglicized]] form of the [[Hebrew]] term ''kasher'', which literally means "good" or "proper," but came to indicate an item "fit for ritual use." '''Kashrut''' thus means "fitness" for ritual use.<ref>"Kosher Terminology" [http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/practices/kosher.htm Keeping Kosher: Jewish Dietary Laws]. Retrieved 23 July 2008.</ref> The Hebrew word for non-kosher is ''trayf'', derived from the word ''terayfa'', "torn", stemming from the commandment not to eat meat that has been "torn" by other animals.<ref name="k">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm</ref> Any style of food may be kosher or non-kosher, from [[China|Chinese]] to [[Mexico|Mexican]] to [[Jewish]] food. Similarly, traditional Ashkenazic Jewish foods like knishes, bagels, blintzes, and matzah ball soup can all be non-kosher if not prepared in accordance with Jewish law.<ref>"Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws" [http://kosherfood.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=kosherfood&cdn=food&tm=18&gps=180_189_1436_754&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm Judaism 101]. Retrieved 23 July 2008.</ref>

[[Kosher]] is the [[English|Anglicized]] form of the [[Hebrew]] term ''kasher'', which literally means "good" or "proper," but came to indicate an item "fit for ritual use." '''Kashrut''' thus means "fitness" for ritual use.<ref>"Kosher Terminology" [http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/practices/kosher.htm Keeping Kosher: Jewish Dietary Laws]. Retrieved 23 July 2008.</ref> The Hebrew word for non-kosher is ''trayf'', derived from the word ''terayfa'', "torn", stemming from the commandment not to eat meat that has been "torn" by other animals.<ref name="k">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm</ref> Any style of food may be kosher or non-kosher, from [[China|Chinese]] to [[Mexico|Mexican]] to [[Jewish]] food. Similarly, traditional Ashkenazic Jewish foods like knishes, bagels, blintzes, and matzah ball soup can all be non-kosher if not prepared in accordance with Jewish law.<ref>"Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws" [http://kosherfood.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=kosherfood&cdn=food&tm=18&gps=180_189_1436_754&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm Judaism 101]. Retrieved 23 July 2008.</ref>