# Yiddish or Hebrew word for collection of Kosher items **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755 "2001-08-17T16:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jimbrowski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@Jimbrowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimbrowski)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/1 "2001-08-17T16:27:28Z")
I am not Jewish, but I am familiar with the basic concepts of keeping Kosher. Two sets of dishes/silverware/cups&glasses/cookware/etc., right? One set is the “meat” set and the other the “dairy”, right? What are the Yiddish or Hebrew words that mean one or the other? For instance (not being Jewish please forgive my ignorance in setting these up)… If I see a bowl in a Kosher kitchen, how would I ask if that was for dairy or meat? “Is that a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ bowl, or a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ bowl?” Or if I saw someone about to use a dairy utensil on a meat product, how would I say “Stop! That’s a \_\_\_\_\_\_ utensil, not a \_\_\_\_\_\_ utensil.” Or a newlywed Jewish couple is showing their in-laws around their new house, and in the kitchen point out “In this cabinet are our \_\_\_\_\_\_ dishes, over there are the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ dishes.” I guess I’m just looking for something a little more snazzy than “dairy” and “meat”. The point of this is, I’ve got a joke in which the punchline relies on the words I’m asking for here. If you’d be so kind as to assist I’ll post the joke later. Thanks much, Jimbrowski ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/2 "2001-08-17T16:37:58Z")
milchigs = dairy fleishigs = meat Pareve = neutral ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/3 "2001-08-17T17:05:56Z")
Just to point out that the “ch” in milchig is pronouned “kh”, like in German “ach”. The adjective would be formed by adding -dik, as in, “That’s a fleishedik spoon.” No one would fault you for using “milk” or “dairy” and “meat”, however. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/4 "2001-08-17T17:21:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > The adjective would be formed by adding -dik, as in, “That’s a fleishedik spoon.” I am inclined to disagree with this. Everyone I know says “milchiger” and “fleishiger”. The suffix “-dik” in Yiddish is the equivalent of the English “-ing”. ---
**Author:** ![Jimbrowski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@Jimbrowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimbrowski)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/5 "2001-08-17T17:29:53Z")
Thanks much. OK, here’s the joke…… (Legal disclaimer: I really hope this doesn’t offend anyone. It is not intended to be offensive, and I honestly feel, deep down, that I’m not making fun of anyone or anything. I am juxtaposing two different cultures and finding humor in it, just like many sitcoms where there’s a “culture clash” used to produce the humor (“The Nanny”, “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”, “Beverly Hillbillies”, etc.). The groups I am NOT trying to offend are (but are not limited to): Native Americans, Jewish people, anyone who thinks I’m trying to offend them. Likewise, please don’t nit-pick my description of the hunt. No, it doesn’t really happen that way!) Oh and by the way I didn’t make this up. I heard it told by the character of Joel Fleischman in the TV show “Northern Exposure”. I just couldn’t remember the word he used. So here goes… Running Bear and Falling Water Goldstein were having a marital spat, Falling Water was giving her husband what for. “This teepee is rotting, it lets the rain in! And I haven’t had new clothes in a year! And we’re almost out of food! Get off your lazy butt and go kill us a buffalo!!!” So Running Bear packs a few things, bridles his horse, and sets off on the hunt. Several days later he finds a buffalo herd, skillfully separates one and chases it into a box canyon. He dismounts, grabs his tomahawk, and advances warily toward his prey. Man and beast size each other up… the buffalo snorts and paws the ground…. Running Bear is about to attack when…… D’OH!!! He realizes he brought the milchiger tomahawk!!! ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/6 "2001-08-17T17:44:44Z")
The older version of this joke is about a guy who who decides to become a highwayman. As he is about to stab his victim he suddenly realizes to his dismay that he brought the milchiger knife. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/7 "2001-08-19T12:24:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \* > The suffix “-dik” in Yiddish is the equivalent of the English “-ing”. I am having second thoughts about this. All the examples that I thought of on Friday were of this nature. But I’ve since thought of some examples where it is more like the suffix “-ish” or “-ous”. I think these may all be the same in Yiddish, in that a tense of doing an action may be expressed by means of a description of the actor. So there may be some justice in the statement by **C K Dexter Haven**. I asked my wife and she says she has heard of people using “milchedik”, though most people say milchiger. So basically, I retract everything I’ve said about this topic and leave it to greater experts than myself. ---
**Author:** ![berdollos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@berdollos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berdollos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/8 "2001-08-19T13:02:35Z")
A lady went to resort in the Catskills. She wanted to go swimming in a bikini. The lifesaver told her, “You have to wear only a one-piece bathing suit.” She replied, “Which piece should I wear, the milchidik or the fleishidik?” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/9 "2001-08-19T15:08:21Z")
As the OP asked for the Hebrew words, as well - **Chalavi** - Dairy **Basari** - Meat Oddly enough, there’s no widely-used Hebrew word for Parve. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/10 "2001-08-19T15:19:36Z")
pplease for give me for this, but when I saw the thread title: > [@](#): > > **Yiddish or Hebrew word for collection of Kosher items** My first thought was: **DELI** \>\>\>slinking off in shame, but still chuckling to myself\<\<\< ---
**Author:** ![bcullman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bcullman/32/8207_2.png) [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/11 "2001-08-19T16:13:53Z")
Oddly, this question just came up yesterday, and I was kinda stumped. While I know that in any given kosher meal you’ll have either Dairy or Meat. What if you have a dairy lunch, don’t clean up, and then have a Meat Dinner. Can you wash dirty Dairy dishes with dirty Meat ones? And how does a kosher restaurant handle the same situation, where customers could order either a Meat or Dairy dish? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/12 "2001-08-19T16:26:06Z")
I’m pretty sure the answer’s no, **bcullman** , because around where I live the “two separate drawers” model of dishwasher is very popular. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2001, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/13 "2001-08-19T23:09:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bcullman \* > **While I know that in any given kosher meal you’ll have either Dairy or Meat. What if you have a dairy lunch, don’t clean up, and then have a Meat Dinner. Can you wash dirty Dairy dishes with dirty Meat ones?** Like picmr said, most households who keep a ‘kosher kitchen’ would not mix the plates at all. According to a Rabbi I heard, it is OK to use a plate that is usually used for meat for a cold milk dish - I think it was as long as it was below 40 degrees celcius (eg icecream) - as long as you wash it thoroughly, and preferably in a ‘neutral’ sink (eg in the laundry). Most observant Jews would try to avoid this situation, though. > [@](#): > > \*\*And how does a kosher restaurant handle the same situation, where customers could order either a Meat or Dairy dish? \*\* All of the kosher restaraunts I’ve been to stick to either one or the other - if they serve meat, there aren’t any dishes with dairy products in them, and vice versa. That sounds strange to people used to regular restaraunts, but it makes things easier both for the people working in the kitchen, and for the people eating there, who don’t have to scrutinise all of the ingredients in every dish to know which dishes can be eaten together. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yiddish-or-hebrew-word-for-collection-of-kosher-items/76755/14 "2001-08-20T13:06:52Z")
\<\< I asked my wife and she says she has heard of people using “milchedik”, though most people say milchiger \>\> I can only go by what my parents and my inlaws and all my aunts and uncles etc said. In my circles, milchiger is rare. Maybe it’s a Litvak/Gallitzianer thing? On kosher restaurants, my experience is that most won’t serve meat and dairy at the same time of day. They do things like serve dairy until 11 AM, then meat. There are restaurants labelled “kosher style” that will serve both, but the risk of dishes becoming treifedik \< grin \> (contaminated by having both meat and milk touch them) is too great. The purification of some dishes can be a year long process when the dish cannot be used. This gets very complicated, as there are rules about which dishes are handled how, based on what the dish is made of (and how porous the rabbis thought that material was.)