Kosher for Lent challenge

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My best friend and I have decided to eat Kosher for Lent, and we invite you to join us in this challenge.

Why: We are in the New Covenant and we don’t have to eat kosher. However, doing so for Lent can remind us of and connect us to the Jewish roots of Christianity. God’s people ate kosher for thousands of years, and many still do, so I think that it is a fitting tribute in this holy season.

What: Follow as many of the Old Testament dietary laws as you can. Kosher is more than about food, but we’re only looking at the dietary laws. We won’t eat pork, shellfish nor any other unclean food during Lent. Unfortunately, we can’t afford certified kosher meats, but if you can then all the better. Read the dietary laws in the books of Moses and do as much as you can. It also means no beef with cow’s milk (no cheeseburgers) if you want to get really strict.

Who will join us? If someone doesn’t beat me to it I will try to post relevant scriptures later on.
 
It ain’t easy. Will you just eat kosher food or will you keep a kosher kitchen as well?
 
newcalling said:
My best friend and I have decided to eat Kosher for Lent, and we invite you to join us in this challenge.

Why: We are in the New Covenant and we don’t have to eat kosher. However, doing so for Lent can remind us of and connect us to the Jewish roots of Christianity. God’s people ate kosher for thousands of years, and many still do, so I think that it is a fitting tribute in this holy season.

What: Follow as many of the Old Testament dietary laws as you can. Kosher is more than about food, but we’re only looking at the dietary laws. We won’t eat pork, shellfish nor any other unclean food during Lent. Unfortunately, we can’t afford certified kosher meats, but if you can then all the better. Read the dietary laws in the books of Moses and do as much as you can. It also means no beef with cow’s milk (no cheeseburgers) if you want to get really strict.

Who will join us? If someone doesn’t beat me to it I will try to post relevant scriptures later on.
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Unusual idea. But hey, Kosher is from God and it’s perfectly fine with the Church so good luck! BTW, I once had a Jew tell me keeping kosher is easy in community’s that keep it. It is only hard in community’s that don’t keep it. Maybe take that as some form of advice.
 
newcalling said:
My best friend and I have decided to eat Kosher for Lent, and we invite you to join us in this challenge.

Why: We are in the New Covenant and we don’t have to eat kosher. However, doing so for Lent can remind us of and connect us to the Jewish roots of Christianity. God’s people ate kosher for thousands of years, and many still do, so I think that it is a fitting tribute in this holy season.

What: Follow as many of the Old Testament dietary laws as you can. Kosher is more than about food, but we’re only looking at the dietary laws. We won’t eat pork, shellfish nor any other unclean food during Lent. Unfortunately, we can’t afford certified kosher meats, but if you can then all the better. Read the dietary laws in the books of Moses and do as much as you can. It also means no beef with cow’s milk (no cheeseburgers) if you want to get really strict.

Who will join us? If someone doesn’t beat me to it I will try to post relevant scriptures later on.
Click to expand...
If you want to go the full nine yards, try keeping kosher for Passover, which is more challenging than keeping kosher the rest of the year. Remember too there is a slight difference between kosher and glatt kosher, the latter being somewhat stricter.
 
True. It’s easier to be virtuous and good when the people around you are. If your surroundings are very secular, being a faithful Catholic is an uphill climb.
thephilosopher6 said:
Unusual idea. But hey, Kosher is from God and it’s perfectly fine with the Church so good luck! BTW, I once had a Jew tell me keeping kosher is easy in community’s that keep it. It is only hard in community’s that don’t keep it. Maybe take that as some form of advice.
Click to expand...
I think this is an awesome idea for Lent. I’ve been thinking of what I should be doing.

I don’t know if I’m able to practice it though. No pork, squid, shrimp…
 
fin said:
True. It’s easier to be virtuous and good when the people around you are. If your surroundings are very secular, being a faithful Catholic is an uphill climb.

I think this is an awesome idea for Lent. I’ve been thinking of what I should be doing.

I don’t know if I’m able to practice it though. No pork, squid, shrimp…
Click to expand...
I’m abstaining from all meat and dairy during lent. Since I have recently reverted back to the Church I want this period of time to really help with my relationship with God. That is why I’m going a little extreme. But lent should be a time of happiness. It shouldn’t be a bad time. It’s spiritually benefiting. Kosher is a great idea, indeed. A little unusual. But, if it can help you spiritually, then It is good. So, no pork, squid, and shrimp is actually a really good thing for this time. Because now he can connect closer to God by throwing away material food and searching for that spiritual food. Practices such as these are the best kind because they are the most spiritually benefiting.
 
Boy_Wonder said:
It ain’t easy. Will you just eat kosher food or will you keep a kosher kitchen as well?
Click to expand...
If I had a regular home I probably would try for a kosher kitchen, but as it is I’m in a motel room with a microwave, hotplate and crockpot and very limited cookware. I do intend to have all non-kosher food out of here before Wednesday. I’m researching the scriptures and some Jewish websites to figure out what all the rules are and what I can follow. I had a few Jewish friends growing up and I attended a Messianic Jewish church for a while, so I’m not totally unfamiliar with it, but I have never done it so I am researching to make sure that I get it as right as possible.
 
This is a great idea. I might join in but not very strictly since I don’t feel it’s right for me to demand my family perform a particular Lenten sacrifice and we’ve only got one kitchen and I’m the main cook but my kids cook quite often now too. We already don’t do shell fish (allergies), and usually don’t mix dairy with meat so I’m thinking they may be receptive in joining me.
 
Yes, kosher is in many ways better for the body. You can get pretty extreme with it though. It depends on what you can do and how far you feel you should take it. I recommend reading the page linked below for more information, but the basics of a kosher diet are listed in the excerpt I posted, including scripture references.

This website had the following information:

The Details*

Animals that may not be eaten*

Of the “beasts of the earth” (which basically refers to land mammals with the exception of swarming rodents), you may eat any animal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud. Lev. 11:3; Deut. 14:6. Any land mammal that does not have both of these qualities is forbidden.
The*Torah specifies that the camel, the rock badger, the hare and the pig are not kosher because each lacks one of these two qualifications. Cattle, sheep, goats, deer and bison are kosher.

Of the things that are in the waters, you may eat anything that has fins and scales. Lev. 11:9; Deut. 14:9. Thus, shellfish such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs are all forbidden. Fish like tuna, carp, salmon and herring are all permitted.

For birds, the criteria is less clear. TheTorahprovides a list of forbidden birds (Lev. 11:13-19; Deut. 14:11-18), but does not specify why these particular birds are forbidden. All of the birds on the list are birds of prey or scavengers, thus therabbis inferred that this was the basis for the distinction. Other birds are permitted, such as chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys. However, some people avoid turkey, because it is was unknown at the time of the giving of the Torah, leaving room for doubt.

Of the “winged swarming things” (winged insects), a few are specifically permitted (Lev. 11:22), but the Sages are no longer certain which ones they are, so all have been forbidden. There are communities that have a tradition about what species are permitted, and in those communities some insects are eaten.

Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects (except as mentioned above) are all forbidden. Lev. 11:29-30, 42-43.

Some authorities require a post-mortem examination of the lungs of cattle, to determine whether the lungs are free from adhesions. If the lungs are free from such adhesions, the animal is deemed “glatt” (that is, “smooth”). In certain circumstances, an animal can be kosher without being glatt; however, the stringency of keeping “glatt kosher” has become increasingly common in recent years, and you would be hard-pressed to find any kosher meat that is not labeled as “glatt kosher.”

As mentioned above, any product derived from these forbidden animals, such as their milk, eggs, fat, or organs, also cannot be eaten.

Rennet, an enzyme used to harden cheese, is often obtained from non-kosher animals, thus kosher hard cheese can be difficult to find.
 
I fail miserably in keeping a kosher kitchen, but I try to maintain a kosher diet. I’ve read two separate articles written by Rabbis where they said that we need to maintain a kosher diet if we wish to grow spirituality.

We have a major, new grocery store where I live and they have a large selection of kosher items. Depending what you buy,of course, but kosher foods seem quite expensive.
 
I think this is a great idea and will help you to understand the context of Easter and Passover more, perhaps even more so if combined with a reading of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible containing the Mosaic Law and the context in which it was given). The Gospel was in many ways first for the Jews and so putting yourself in a (First Century) Jewish mindset in the run-up to Easter could be quite helpful. Remember the rules about eating unleavened bread in the days before Passover. This is very important, as it would be what Jesus and the Twelve had at the Last Supper. I won’t be joining you in this journey, as a vegetarian I essentially east a kosher diet anyway, but best of luck and let us all know how you get on with it.
 
Catholics do not follow Jewish dietary laws. The Old Covenant was fulfilled by Christ, and we are no longer to follow the Mosaic law, except for the moral law (Ten commandments). The church has determined this, and the Church has the authority to. Here is an excellent article about this, and also people need to read the CCC concerning this. The Mosaic Law was given to the Chosen People to form them as a people, set apart from others. It was for them, and they followed the whole Law, not just the parts they wanted to. You should not be binding yourself to the Old Covenant–you are under the New and should be following the fasting and abstaining rules of the Church.

This is NOT a good idea and here’s why:

catholicbasictraining.com/apologetics/coursetexts/6j.htm

Now there is nothing wrong with eating Kosher foods because you enjoy them. That is different. You are enjoying a food, it has no religious significance. But once you put a religious meaning to it and begin keeping Kosher because it’s in the Bible and the Jews did it–that is where the error is. You are not showing a correct understanding of the New Covenant. That type of thing is often promoted by Sola Scriptura adherents.
 
This is a great idea. I try to eat kosher meat and chicken, and not to mix milk and meat. I believe - don’t quote me - is that you wait about 6 hours after eating meat before having dairy. But you only have to wait an hour between dairy and eating meat if the dairy is eaten first.

There is a whole process for making a kitchen kosher. So take baby steps. For fish, I usually just stick with tuna or salmon, and buy the meat at a local kosher shop.

Kosher is great spiritual discipline, but also has health benefits. Fascinating stuff.
 
When I was Jewish, I was Classical Reform and didn’t follow any restrictions on my diet. Now that I follow Jesus, I actually keep more kosher than I did before, as I am now a vegetarian and try to eat ethically, in a way that takes into account humane, environmental, and social justice factors. I’m deeply influenced by St. Francis of Assisi, Andrew Linzey, Daniel Dombrowski, Wendell Berry, Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi, Jonathan Safran Foer, and others who have written on Food Justice and Compassion for All God’s Creations. Also, the book Food and Faith has been a crucial text in this area of Christian Ethics for me. Ethical, Mindful eating as a spiritual exercise and Food Justice are important elements of Eucharistic theology that are often overlooked, in my opinion.

Kosher observance is not easy, when done according to the letter of the law. The easiest way to do this is pescetarianism; in Jewish law, kosher fish species with fins and scales and eggs are neither considered meat, nor dairy. Meat and dairy separation are the hardest part of this, as the utensils, pots, pans, sinks, ovens, etc. have to be separate for both. Kosher meat is also expensive. You can easily get kosher cheese with an OU-D symbol, such as Polly O mozzarella, Smart Balance slices, and many other brands of cheese have the Tablet K symbol (looks like a K in the ten commandments), such as Cabot. These cheeses are free of animal rennet. Also, one thing I do appreciate from kashrut is that they check and wash their greens, herbs, and berries very meticulously to rid them of small bugs, such as aphids, thrips, mites, and leafminers. I learned from an Orthodox neighbor about these bugs and I wash my greens very carefully in a vegetable soap, and then rinse under the tap and soak again in plain water. Leviticus forbids the eating of bugs. I’ve read a lot about kosher laws and could help guide you.
 
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