# Gentile has question for Jews about dietary laws, etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827 "2003-01-15T21:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827/41 "2003-01-19T19:09:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raisinbread \* > \*\*One quick (and offtopic) question though. Can a Jew eat something labelled “Helal” and it’d still be rabbinically considered Kosher or are there subtle things that would keep them from even trying something that is helal? Would the same go for a Muslim confronted with something Kosher but _not_ Helal? \*\* Halal is not kosher. In short, meat must be slaughtered by a trained Jewish slaughterer. As to whether the reverse is true or not, you would need to ask a qualified Muslim. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827/42 "2003-01-19T19:12:57Z")
But fake bacon bits are a gateway meat!!! Soon they’ll be eating pork and lizard and… and… owl!!! i’m being silly ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827/43 "2003-01-19T19:18:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raisinbread \* > \*\*But fake bacon bits are a gateway meat!!! Soon they’ll be eating pork and lizard and… and… owl!!! > i’m being silly \*\* Well, of course. Anyone who posts in purple is being silly… 😃 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827/44 "2003-01-19T20:32:23Z")
question and i’m not trying to be offensive. it’s about the pork thing. i was always given to understand that pork was forbidden, not just because of the possible diseases it may carry, but also because… people taste like pork. and you never knew what despicable practices the people you may encounter during your 40 years in the desert might have. so if you didn’t eat pork, you couldn’t be fooled by the taste. but that’s probably just my somewhat eccentric (jewish) grandfather’s reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827/45 "2003-01-19T20:36:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by irishgirl \* > \*\*question > and i’m not trying to be offensive. > > it’s about the pork thing. > > i was always given to understand that pork was forbidden, not just because of the possible diseases it may carry, but also because… > > people taste like pork. > > and you never knew what despicable practices the people you may encounter during your 40 years in the desert might have. > > so if you didn’t eat pork, you couldn’t be fooled by the taste. > > but that’s probably just my somewhat eccentric (jewish) grandfather’s reasoning. \*\* The bottom line reason why Orthodox Jews do not eat pork (or other non-kosher foods) is simply because we believe that God said so. That’s really the only reason. There have been various attempts over the years to explain why God said what he said. However, in the end, it boils down to “God said so.” The upshot of it is this: a popular theory of why Jews avoid pork is because pork can cause trichinosis. While that may be a side-benefit, it’s not the reason. Thus, if trichinosis were to disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow, we would still not eat pork. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827/46 "2003-01-19T21:25:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by irishgirl \* > \*\*people taste like pork. > \*\* Do you have a cite or do you speak from experience? If the latter, can I come to your Thanksgiving Day dinner? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gentile-has-question-for-jews-about-dietary-laws-etc/148827.md?page=2)