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→Kashrut in the New Testament
# The ancient Israelites looked with horror upon the custom prevalent among the surrounding nations of cutting off a limb or a piece of flesh from a living animal and eating it.<ref name="JE"/> Such limbs had to be thrown away.<ref name="JE"/>
# The ancient Israelites looked with horror upon the custom prevalent among the surrounding nations of cutting off a limb or a piece of flesh from a living animal and eating it.<ref name="JE"/> Such limbs had to be thrown away.<ref name="JE"/>
# Water that was left uncovered overnight was not permitted as drink in olden times, because of the apprehension that a serpent might have left its venom in it.<ref name="JE"/> Where serpents are not found this prohibition does not exist.<ref name="JE"/>
# Water that was left uncovered overnight was not permitted as drink in olden times, because of the apprehension that a serpent might have left its venom in it.<ref name="JE"/> Where serpents are not found this prohibition does not exist.<ref name="JE"/>
==Misconceptions about Kosher==
Jewish people who do not keep kosher often complain that keeping kosher is difficult.<ref name="difficult">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Difficult</ref> Actually, keeping kosher is not particularly difficult in and of itself; what makes it difficult to keep kosher is the fact that the rest of the world does not do so.<ref name="difficult"/> In fact, the basic underlying rules are fairly simple.<ref name="difficult"/> If you buy only kosher certified products at the market, the only thing you need to think about is the separation of meat and dairy.<ref name="difficult"/> Keeping kosher only becomes difficult when you try to eat in a non-kosher restaurant, or at the home of a person who does not keep kosher.<ref name="difficult"/> In those situations, your lack of knowledge about your host's ingredients and food preparation techniques make it very difficult to keep kosher.<ref name="difficult"/> Some commentators have pointed out, however, that this may well have been part of what God had in mind: to make it more difficult for us to socialize with those who do not share our religion.<ref name="difficult"/> Products that have been certified as kosher are labeled with a mark called a hekhsher.<ref name="certify">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Certification</ref> Approximately 3/4 of all prepackaged foods have some kind of kosher certification, and most major brands have reliable Orthodox certification.<ref name="certify"/>The total number of certified kosher packaged food products in the United States has reached close to 100,000.<ref name="crc"/> The most controversial certification is the K, a plain letter K found on products asserted to be kosher.<ref name="certify"/> A letter of the alphabet cannot be trademarked, so any manufacturer can put a K on a product, even without any supervision at all.<ref name="certify"/> For example, Jell-O brand gelatin puts a K on its product, even though every reliable Orthodox authority agrees that Jell-O is not kosher.<ref name="certify"/>
Another misconception about Kosher is that a rabbi is required to bless food, which is false.<ref>http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/industry/whatkosher.html</ref>
==The reason why Kosher exists==
According to AskMoses, a traditional Jewish website, "keeping kosher is the
means of finding God in your food."<ref name=AM>http://www.askmoses.com/article/553,157/Why-keep-kosher.html</ref>
"With Shabbat, we can spiritualize time."<ref name=AM/>
"With the Shul(synagogue), we can spiritualize place."<ref name=AM/>
"With Tefillin, we can spiritualize leather."<ref name=AM/>
"And with kosher, we can spiritualize breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks."<ref name=AM/>
In his classic book Think Jewish, Rabbi Zalman Posner eloquently elaborates the above point: most secular, Westernized Jews think in secular, Westernized terms.<ref name=AM/> This results in the notion that spirituality is restricted to certain times, or certain places, or certain rituals, and that “real life” exists separately, outside spirituality.<ref name=AM/>
But according to Judaism, spirituality is all times, and all places. Even when you eat.<ref name=AM/>
==Who buys Kosher certified products==
$50 billion per year is spent on kosher foods by various different groups.<ref name="crc">http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/industry/crcedge.html</ref>
1. Jews seeking to meet their religious obligations <ref name="crc"/>
2. Muslims who keep the [[Halal]] dietary laws <ref name="crc"/>
3. Consumers insisting on a high-quality, safe and healthy product <ref name="crc"/>
4. Lactose intolerant customers purchasing non-dairy (Pareve) Kosher products <ref name="crc"/>
5. [[Vegans]] and [[vegetarians]] <ref name="crc"/>
==Kashrut in the New Testament==
==Kashrut in the New Testament==