Beth El's kitchen is not kosher in the traditional sense; however, some elements of Kashrut [the dietary laws] are observed at Beth El. In addition, there is a policy of making kosher meals available to those who desire them.
Beth El maintained a kosher kitchen until 1991. To keep the kitchen kosher, it was necessary to forbid bringing food into the temple that had been prepared at someone's home. This made it impossible to have pot luck dinners at the temple. Largely to permit pot lucks, a decision was made in 1991 to no longer run a kosher kitchen.
Why observe any of the dietary laws? The RAMBAM (also known as Maimonides, a great Jewish thinker born in 1134) explains what he sees as the meaning for these laws in his
Guide for the Perplexed
: ``The object of [the dietary laws] is to restrain . . . the disposition to consider appetite for eating and drinking as the end of man's existence.'' The dietary laws are an expression of the Jewish idea that reason should rule over passion.
All food prepared
or bought into the synagogue should obey the Kashrut dietary laws observed
at Beth El, which are the following:
(1) No mixing of meat and milk.
Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) cannot be eaten together with meat products. Fish and eggs are not considered ``meat.'' Poultry is considered ``meat.'' A tuna sandwich and a glass of milk is OK; a turkey sandwich and a glass of milk is not. A meal can be classified as being either
Dairy
or
Meat
, but never both. At a
dairy meal
, no meat is served. At a
meat meal
, meat is served but no dairy is served. If you ever participate in a pot luck at the temple, you will be told beforehand if the meal is to be
dairy
or
meat
.
(2) Only
``clean''
animals can be eaten.
Kosher meat is the meat of a
clean
animal that has been slaughtered, soaked in water, and salted according to Halacha [Jewish religious law]. At Beth El, meat does not have to be kosher, but it must be from a ``clean'' animal.
The following meats are considered
clean
: lamb, veal, and beef.
The following fowl are considered
clean
: turkey, chicken, duck, and geese.
Fish with both fins and scales are considered
clean.
Catfish, shark, eels, and sturgeon are not permitted. Shellfish is not permitted. (Swordfish is considered
clean
, because of the assertion it has scales when young, although it loses them. Conservative Jews accept this opinion; Orthodox Jews do not.)
(3) Over Passover no chametz is permitted.
Beth El observes more of the dietary laws over Passover. Anyone planning an event during Passover at which food will be served should consult with the Rabbi and Ritual Committee.
