LEV119 Kashrut has been a basic part of Judaism for too long to be ignored; its role in the life of the Jew and in Jewish history ought not to be underestimated. The home in Jewish tradition is the mikdash m’at (small sanctuary) and the table is the mizbei-ach (altar); it is reasonable, therefore, to ask the Reform Jew to study and consider kashrut so as to develop a valid personal position. Judaism has always recognized a religious dimension to the consumption of food. Being a gift of God, food was never to be taken for granted. And if this was true of food generally, it was especially true of meat, fish, and fowl, which involved the taking of life. And so it is not surprising to find literally scores of passages in the Torah and the later Rabbinic literature specifying which foods are permitted, which forbidden, and how they are be prepared. Kashrut-- generally translated as “the dietary laws”-- involves a whole series of food disciplines that range from the avoidance of pork and shellfish to the eating of matzah on Pesach. (It should be noted that there is a wide gamut of Jewish dietary observance that is unrelated to kashrut, from the major prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur to such minor customs as eating blintzes on Shavuot, hamantaschen on Purim, and latkes on Channukah.) Jewish tradition considered kashrut to be an especially important part of the code that set Israel apart as a “holy people.” Maimonides viewed kashrut as a discipline. “It accustoms us to restrain both the growth of desire and the disposition to consider the pleasure of eating and drinking as the end of man's existence.” For many centuries it was kashrut which most conspicuously separated the Jew from the Diaspora society in which he/she lived.... The basic features of the traditional dietary laws are: (1) all fruits and vegetables are permitted and may be eaten with either dairy or meat dishes; (2) any type of fish that has fins and scales is permitted; (3) domestic fowl are permitted but birds of prey are prohibited; (4) all domestic animals which have both a split hoof and chew their cud are permitted; (5) meat and milk may not be eaten together, and the utensils used to prepare and serve meat or milk foods must be kept separate; and (6) fowl and animals which are permitted must be slaughtered and prepared for eating according to ritual law. In attempting to evolve a personal position on kashrut, the Reform Jew or the Reform Jewish family should understand that there are several options, e.g., abstention from pork products and/or shellfish, or perhaps adding to this abstention the separation of milk and meat; these practices might be observed in the home and not when eating out, or they might be observed all the time. Or one might opt to eat only kosher meat or even to adopt some form of vegetarianism so as to avoid the necessity of taking a life. (This would be in consonance with their principle of tzaar baalei chayim-- prevention of pain or cruelty to animals.) The range of options available to the Reform Jew is from full observance of the biblical and Rabbinic regulations to total nonobservance. Reform Judaism does not take an “all or nothing” approach. In the Torah (this verse and Deuteronomy 14:21) the Jewish people is commanded to observe the dietary laws as a means of making it kadosh-- holy. Holiness has the dual sense of inner hallowing and outer separateness. The idea of sanctifying and imposing discipline on the most basic and unavoidable act of human behavior, eating, is one of the reasons that may lead a person to adopt some form of kashrut. Among the other reasons that one may find compelling are: (1) identification and solidarity with the worldwide Jewish community, (2) the ethical discipline of avoiding certain foods or limiting one’s appetite because of the growing scarcity of food in parts of the world, (3) the avoidance of certain foods that are traditionally obnoxious to Jews, e.g., pork, which may provide a sense of identification with past generations and their struggle to remain Jews, (4) the authority of ancient biblical and Rabbinic injunctions, and (5) the desire to have a home in which any Jew might feel free to eat. One or more of these reasons as well as others might influence certain Reform Jews to adopt some of the dietary regulations as a mitzvah, while others may remain satisfied with the position articulated in the Pittsburgh Platform. However, the fact that kashrut was for so many centuries an essential part of Judaism, and that so many Jews gave their lives for it, should move Reform Jews to study it and to consider carefully whether or not it would add k’dushah (holiness) to their homes and their lives. (By Simeon J. Maslin, ED. “KASHRUT: A Reform Point of View”)