The Benefits of Kosher

The benefits of kosher usually derive from the kosher rules
themselves as will now be outlined. Some of these benefits
are real. Others are only perceived, meaning that they
cannot be proven true.

The benefits of, and the reason for, keeping kosher are
two different things. The reason can only be
because it is a Torah (Biblical) commandment.
Two previous articles listed below expand on this idea.

Health and Nutrition

Among the benefits of kosher resulting directly from
kosher rules are the health and nutrition advantages.

1) An unhealthy animal - t'reifa - is prohibited. Apparently
the inspection methods used in kosher slaughterhouses exceed
the standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture.
These methods have been in use for millenia -
since the Torah was given to the Jewish people.

2) N'veila - a carcass - is also forbidden.
The disease attached to spoiled meat is thus avoided.

3) Blood is never kosher and must be removed before it
begins to coagulate after slaughter. Because of this rule
the toxins that develop within the blood are also removed.

4) Since this article is about all benefits of kosher -
real or perceived - I am including the following as speculation:

• Forbidden species - like swine and shellfish - are more detrimental
  physically than permitted species.
• Separation of meat and milk is an aid to digestion.
• Soaking meat in water removes toxins.
• Ridding vegetables of insects prevents the spread of disease.

Note: I have yet to see any proof that kosher observant
people are any healthier than others. That's why I have to
classify the above as speculation rather than fact.

Special Diets

Special diets comprise another group of benefits
of kosher which stem from kosher rules.

1) Lactose intolerance is an obvious example of a diet
which can be managed by using kosher food.

All kosher foods must be classified as meat, dairy or neutral
- fleishig, milchig or parve. This is to prevent consumption
of a forbidden mixture of milk and meat. Even food with no dairy

ingredient is afforded special status if produced with equipment
used for dairy products. The DE - dairy equipment - designation
of kosher certifiers alerts the consumer. Thus, this kosher restriction
can help even one with pronounced lactose intolerance.

Note however, that Jewish law may permit a change in status
of a utensil from dairy or meat to neutral. This can happen
when the "milk taste" is physically removed. If you do react
severely to milk this factor may be important to you. See our
article "Make Your Kitchen Kosher" for further information.

2) Vegetarian diets can be aided in a like way. Food containing
meat or poultry ingredients will be identifiable to a kosher consumer.
Production equipment used with meat will - as described in the
previous paragraph - also be known. Since fish is eaten separately from
meat, fish ingredients are identified on a label as well.

An exception is eggs. Eggs may be eaten with any other food
and are not distinguished on a label. A vegan who avoids eggs
would have to examine the ingredient list even if the food is kosher.

3) In my years in the kosher retail industry I noticed that
some Muslims seem to prefer kosher food. It seems that kosher
meat is deemed an acceptable substitute for halal meat when it is unavailable. (This is an observation only and is not intended as advice).

4) I can also report that there is a general perception that
kosher food is "clean", "healthy" , "pure" and otherwise preferable
to non-kosher. Whether or not this perception is true there is
a rule underlying it. The overall law applying to all aspects of
life including food consumption is that a Jew must "guard his life".
In other words he must protect his body from harm, internal or external.

In the centuries when cholera, the black death, spread through Europe,
Jews were somewhat less susceptible to it than were others.
This is mostly because Jews washed their hands a lot. Even so,
because Jews also wash and inspect their food minutely, the aura of
cleanliness and purity probably developed. That may explain the
attitude of those who consider themselves generally health conscious
and prefer kosher food.

Social and Other Benefits

There is a set of non-physical benefits of kosher
observance that arises not from specific kosher rules
but from their logical consistency and scope.

A Jew, at home or away, must eat

• food containing only kosher ingredients
• prepared by Jews or under Jewish supervision
• produced on kosher equipment and
• served on kosher plates with kosher utensils.

This reality has some inevitable consequences.

1) It channels interactions between Jews and non-Jews
away from social relationships. (Food is an unavoidable part
of socializing). Part of our society prizes egalitarianism
and will see this as a detriment, not a benefit. However
Rabbinic leadership over the years has recognized the effect
that such social (as distinct from business or professional)
relationships can have on Jewish life.

Possible outcomes include

• reduced Torah observance
• assimilation
• intermarriage
• denial of the Divine Source of the Torah.

Thses results occur because of the difference between the
Torah way of life and other ways of life.

Torah and mitzvos are meant to dedicate all aspects of life
toward Divine service. Alternate ways of life serve other masters.

2) The opposite dynamic is at work in strengthening ties
among Jewish people. In the all important are of food preparation
and consumption, Jews can rely only on each other. The sense of
community grows and the community thrives as its goals are met.

3) Keeping kosher denies the idea that only our spiritual element
can be dedicated to the service of our Creator.

Instead it affirms the fact that everything physical can be used
to achieve a spiritual goal. This prevents us from becoming lowly and base.

4) Judaism demands discipline and self-control in the areas
of strongest physical desire. This is taught early in life and
is not watered down by exceptions.

5) Our bodies are used for holy purposes and nourished by food
fit for those purposes.

Awareness of these non-physical benefits of kosher observance -
if one stops to think about them - can be very powerful.

Reasons Versus Benefits

That last headline appears elsewhere in this section:
Why Eat Kosher?
The Torah's Reason For Kosher.

In this article I have tried to show that the many other
motivations people have for doing so are not reasons at all,
but benefits. All of them, even if they are only perceived
benefits of kosher observance, are rooted in the kosher rules.

To review those rules the sections to examine are
"What is Kosher?" and
"When May I Eat It?"

My next planned article for this section will be about
the Torah laws that pertain to living things in regard
to everything besides using them for food.

Another will discuss long-standing myths about kosher food.
Keep visiting!