Milk before meat is ok, but not meat before milk…why? (Some families wait 20 minutes after milk before meat, but the stomach hasn’t purged itself in 20 min.) Do the Commentaries give rationale for this, perhaps? (a) I’ve heard it said that it was a symbolic custom of the enemies of Israel to cook a calf in its mother’s milk - as a sort of a slap in the face…along with raping and pillaging, I’m sure. So, (b) by that logic, eggs should not be parve. (Maybe the enemies of Israel had egg allergies? LoL…)
Also, what is glatt kosher, and why can’t chicken be glatt kosher? I’ve heard it said that poultry once was considered parve. IIRC, glatt referes to meat, and poultry was not considered meat, correct? Bonus: Why isn’t fish considered meat? Whether beef, poultry, or fish…you’re eating muscle! Isn’t that “flesh”, and thus meat according to kosher laws?
Explain what you can about the finer points of these customs…
Wow, Jinx… That’s like graduate-level halacha study questions you’re asking.
I went looking for information about glatt kosher to the Orthodox Union, the largest certification organization in the country. Their FAQ does cover glatt, named for Beit Yoseph Glatt, who ruled that since cattle must not have died from natural causes to be considered kosher, and many cattle suffer from respiratory ailments (lesions) before slaughter, inspectors must also check an animal’s lungs before the meat can be considered glatt. I don’t personally know who follows such restrictions, or how much meat out there can and cannot be considered glatt. I haven’t found anything about why poultry does not have this restriction, but I’ve never heard of chicken being referred to as “pareve”.
The site that Ginger posted has this to say about milk & meat separation:
So it’s not about digestion time, it’s about time food spent in the mouth.
Here’s my question, back at the OP (and it’s not just you that does it. You just did it most recently). Why is the thread called, “We need an ‘Ask the Jewish Person’ Thread”? You probably wouldn’t see a thread called “Ask the Christian Person” or “Ask the Muslim Person.”
Why are some non-Jews so reluctant to use the word “Jew” that they use the phrase “Jewish person”?
Maybe some of the Orthodox posters will answer after Shabbas is over, but IME, 20 minutes is far too short a time. Most Orthodox people I know wait at least a couple hours between eating meat and milk, although there isn’t a strict rule. I had a friend who would wait two hours, and when she got married she switched to waiting three hours, which was his rule.
Can’t speak for everyone, but for me saying “Jews” feels kind of like saying “blacks” or “gays,” both of which make me cringe. I usually say “Jewish people/person.”
I recall seeing in one of my stylebooks that “Jew” is considered offensive. Checking my AP stylebook, though, it simply says not to use “jewess.” I’m positive I’ve seen “Jewish person” recommended, though.
As a Jew, I don’t find it offensive at all. But obviously there are some who do. Lots of different opinions, you know? We only utilize the hive-mind when it comes to things like world banking or exchanging recipes that use baby’s blood.
I honestly don’t know why I thought ‘Jew’ was derogatory. It’s got to be something I’ve picked up from TV.
Another question:
I always wondered about the distinction between being of the Jewish religion and being born in Jerusalem. Would a Christian born in Jerusalem be called a Jew?
Jewish identity, traditionally, is matrilineal. That is, if a person’s mother is a Jew, the person is a Jew. Where a person is born, the religion of the father, etc., do not matter.
The above is according to Orthodox Judaism. Other denominations have their own definitions. (Reform believe in matrilineal or patrilineal descent - meaning if one parent is a Jew, the child is a Jew. Which parent does not matter.)
No. Being born in Jerusalem makes you a Jerusalemite. The two words aren’t related. The word “Jew” comes from the tribe of Judah, which was one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and which, after the 10 northern tribes disappeared
Sorry about that. As I was saying, the tribe of Judah made up most of the followers of the God of Israel, so followers of the God of Israel became known as Jews. (It’s closer in Hebrew…Judah in Hebrew is “Yehuda”, and Jew in Hebrew is “Yehudi”) Jerusalem comes from an entirely different root, has been the name of the city since the Canaanites, and means either “city of peace”, or “city of the Canaanite god Shalem”.
And now for a really dumb question. :smack: With all this talk about 20 minutes between milk and meat, does that have a bearing on the time between kissing breasts and kissing vagina? Yike, what a dumb question. But you know, I’m not seeing this stuff through a Jewish viewpoint. All I have is this al-goy-rhythm that’s a part of my own twisted heritage. I’m trying to cope. Work with me, OK?
The prohibition of milk/meat mixtures has nothing to do with what any non-Jewish nations might or might not have done at any time. Very simply, it is prohibited because God said so.
After eating dairy, one does not need to wait to eat meat. One simply needs to wipe out one’s mouth (drinking water, or eating bread will do) and then one may eat meat. After eating meat, one must wait six hours before eating dairy (although different communities have different waiting times: some wait only three hours and others only one). I’m not certain why one waits only after meat but not after milk - I’d have to do some research into it.
I’ll address eggs in the next section.
The word glatt means “smooth” in Yiddish. After an animal is slaughtered, the organs are inspected, as certain defects can render the animal non-kosher. Certain lesions on the lungs are permitted. However, a stricter standard is that the lungs be free of lesions (smooth). That’s glatt. Poultry, AFAIK, can be glatt kosher.
Fowl, according to Torah law, is pareve. However, considering it’s similarity to (red) meat, the Rabbis decreed that it be treated as meat. Eggs (and fish) were considered dissimilar enough from meat to not need the extra prohibition.
Lastly, AskNott, I won’t answer your question directly, but I will say this. Human breast milk is pareve.
I agree though, it does rankle. Maybe it’s the awful use of “Jew” as a verb that has caused problems for the noun. Maybe it’s the fact that historically, Jews have been dehuminized for so long and by so many that taking the “person” out of our identity feels like more demonization. To me, identifying a person by his/her religion seems icky anyway.
F’rinstance, you never hear the infamous lie phrased thusly: “Hey, you know who killed Christ? Some people who were Jewish.” No, it’s always “The Jews killed Christ.” :rolleyes:
I don’t know. All I know is that as a Red Sea pedestrian myself, I’d vastly prefer:
"She’s Jewish"
to
"She’s a Jew."
(/Sideshow Bob shudder)
Um. Let me put it this way. Would a Jew born in Rome be called a Christian?
Sorry, but c’mon, am I the only person who feels like we’re being whooshed here?
I’m not certain of why. However, the Shulchan Aruch rules (Yoreh Deah 81:7) that human breast milk is permitted once it is expressed (obviously for a child an exception is made). Furthermore, in 87:4, he rules that human breast milk is pareve. The ruling there is that it is forbidden to cook meat with human breast milk because of appearences sake (i.e. people will think that you are cooking with “real” milk). However, if breast milk were to accidently fall into a pot of meat it is kosher and one does not need to be concerned about it.
Zev Steinhardt
(N.B.: I am not a rabbi. For an actual halachic ruling, please consult your local rabbi.)
Except that “Jewish” or “Jew” can and often is more than a statement of religion. It’s also a declaration of culture.
I can’t say I have any problem with “He’s a Jew” because, well, I am a Jew. It’s all the same to me, so long as it isn’t being said with explicit derision.
The two words aren’t related. The word “Jew” comes from the tribe of Judah, which was one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and which, after the 10 northern tribes disappeared