The synagogue (shul) prayer service may confuse the unfamiliar. Here is a brief guide to following the congregational prayers.
 
Ends/Beginnings of Paragraphs
Each individual says most of the prayers, but the leader sets the pace. He says out loud the last line or two of many paragraphs (and sometimes the next paragraph's first few words), to help others find where he is in the prayers.
Hint If you get lost, listen to the leader and try to find those words at the beginning or end of one of the paragraphs near where you think you should be!
 
Saying Amen
When the prayer leader/chazan says a blessing (Baruch ata adonai...) and finishes the final word, everyone usually replies amen.
 
Baruch Hu U'Varuch Shemo
It is common (but not required) to say baruch hu u'varuch shemo after hearing God's name (Adonai) when it is said in a blessing.
This list mainly includes the parts of the prayer service that are said together or when in synagogue, not those said individually or at home.
NoteIf you need to use the toilet between baruch she'amar and yishtabach, say asher yatzar after saying yishtabach and before saying yotzeir or.
 
The initial blessings beginning with asher natan... through the end of ven brit may be said at home.
 
Ma Tovu
Upon arriving in synagogue in the morning, say Ma tovu....
 
Talit
Married men (and also those with a tradition to wear a talit from bar mitzva age) normally put on their talit gadol on all days (except Tish'a b'Av morning).
For more details, see Talit (Gadol).
 
Tefilin
On weekdays, all men put on tefilin. They do not interrupt putting on tefilin to respond to other's prayers, not even to say amen. 
For more details, see Tefilin.
 
Birchot HaShachar/Initial Blessings
If you have not yet said the initial blessings beginning with asher natan... through the end of ven brit, say them once you are in synagogue and after you have put on talit/tefilin (if relevant).  
Everyone stands while the prayer leader reads the initial blessings aloud.  They say amen after each one. 
 
L'Olam Yehei Adam/Shema
L'olam yehei adam is said quietly, with everyone saying the shema line together.
 
Order of the Sacrifices
Some read (quietly) the order of the sacrifices.
 
13 Principles of Talmud Explanation/Kaddish

• The 13 principles of how the Talmud is explained are read quietly.
• Kaddish is said by any mourners.
• Everyone says, amen, yihei shmei raba...

 
Mizmor Shir/Kaddish

• Mizmor shir is read quietly.
• Another kaddish is said by the mourners.

Baruch SheAmar
            Baruch she'amar is said by everyone, standing.  The leader says the final blessing out loud.
 
Verses (Psukim)
The following several pages are verses (psukim) from various sources, said by everyone quietly.
Mizmor L'Toda/Yehi Chevod

• Everyone stands to say mizmor l'toda quietly (just for this paragraph).
• The next paragraph (yehi chevod) is read quietly.

 
Ashrei and 5 Psalms
Ashrei and the following five psalms (#146 to 150) are said quietly by everyone; the leader says the final line or two out loud.
 
Baruch Adonai L'Olam Amen v'Amen
Baruch adonai... is said by the leader.  
 
VaYevarech David
The next section (from va'yevarech David until after bar'chu) is said quietly by everyone while standing.
 
Shirat HaYam
Shirat ha'yam is read quietly by everyone.
 
Yishtabach/Kaddish
Yishtabach is said quietly by everyone together. The leader says the final line of yishtabach out loud and then kaddish.
 
Bar'chu

• The leader says Bar'chu et Adonai ha'mevorach.
• Everyone bows from the waist and replies (aloud), Baruch Adonai ha'mevorach l'olam va'ed (which is then repeated by the leader).
• Everyone says the blessing's ending ...u'vorei et ha'kol.

 
Shema and Its Blessings
The next paragraphs lead up to the shema:

• Leader says, “Et shem ha'el...”
• Everyone says aloud, together: Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh... and Baruch kevod Adonai mi'mkomo.
• Leader says the final line or two of La'el baruch ne'imot... and everyone responds amen.
• Everyone says ahavat olam quietly.
• Leader reads the final lines aloud.
  Note It is the custom to not say amen to the blessing before shema.
• Everyone says the first line of the shema together and aloud, but Baruch shem... silently. 
• Everyone reads the shema individually, and the leader repeats out loud Adonai eloheichem emet.
• Everyone reads the next paragraphs, through ezrat avoteinu, together, quietly.

 
Mi Chamocha
Stand for Mi chamocha until after the amida.

Adonai Yimloch
Everyone reads together and aloud: Adonai yimloch... until the final blessing before the amida.
Note At some time before completing that blessing, step back far enough (one large step is fine) so that you can take three small steps forward to begin the amida. If there is no room to step back, you may pray the amida without stepping forward.
 
The Amida
Amida: Details and Direction
For more details on saying the amida, see What To Pray: Set Prayers: Amida
For where to face during the amida, see Amida: Location: Where To Face
 
Stepping To Begin the Amida
After saying ga'al Yisrael, symbolically approach God by taking three steps forward (any size of steps is fine):

• Step forward with your right foot,
• Step forward with your left foot, and
• Step forward with your right foot.
• Bring your left foot to meet the right one, so that both feet are touching at the heels and at the balls (so that you are standing as if you had one leg, like the angels!)

Bowing in the Amida
Next, with your feet still together, do knee-bowing at the start and end of the first paragraph.  You will also be bowing at:

• Beginning of modim (waist-bowing).
• End of modim (knee-bowing at Baruch ata Adonai of the blessing ending u'lecha na'eh l'hodot).

           
Slach Lanu
In slach lanu, when saying ki chatanu and ki fashanu, hit your chest over your heart with your fist.
Reason We are saying that we sinned, so we strike our heart for leading us astray.
 
Ending the Amida
Symbolically take leave of God by taking three steps back after Adonai tzuri v'go'ali:

• Step back on your left foot,
• Step back on your right foot,
• Step back on your left foot (and then place your right foot next to your left foot).
• Bow to the left while saying Oseh shalom bi'mromav...,
• Bow to the right while saying Hu ya'aseh shalom alenu, and
• Bow to the middle (straight in front of you) while saying Ve'al kol yisrael v'imru amen.

Then pause for at least three seconds before walking forward or sitting down.
 
Reader's Repetition of Amida
At kedusha, everyone stands (even if they were sitting so far for the amida's repetition) with their feet together, again imitating the angels who only have one leg.

• The leader says nekadeish (in some places, everyone says nekadeish).
• Everyone says the next line together (kadosh, kadosh, kadosh...).

• After the leader says Halleluya, everyone else may move their feet (or sit down, if that is their custom).
• On fast days, the leader says an extra paragraph in shacharit (other paragraphs in mincha are said by everyone).

Tachanun

When To Say Tachanun
Tachanun is usually said on weekdays.

How To Say Tachanun
Tachanun is said differently, depending on if there is a Torah scroll in the room, as follows:

• Say Va'yomer David sitting down, while resting your head on your left arm (unless you are wearing tefilin on your left arm, in which case lean onto your right arm). 

• When you reach shomer Yisrael, lift your head up and sit normally while saying the paragraphs until v'anachnu lo neida ma na'aseh.
• Before saying “na'aseh,” stand up for the remainder of tachanun.

• Say tachanun standing until Va'yomer David... at which time, everyone sits down.
• Follow the directions above for the remainder of tachanun.

 

Hallel

• When hallel is said, most of the psalms are said quietly by everyone.  (In some synagogues, several of the psalms are sung in unison.)
• The lines beginning Hodu l'adonai... are read aloud by the leader.
• Everyone else responds aloud, Hodu l'adonai... and reads quietly the next line (which the leader then reads aloud when they finish).
• Similarly, Ana adonai is read responsively by the leader, followed by everyone else.

 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish out loud.
 
Torah Reading (Mondays and Thursdays)

• Everyone reads quietly the phrases va'yehi be'nso'a... and brich shmei.
• The Torah is taken out and carried to the bima.
• As each man (called an oleh) is called up to the Torah:
  • The oleh says Bar'chu...
  • Everyone responds Baruch Adonai....,
  • The oleh repeats that line and says a blessing.
  • Everyone answers amen.
• After each reading, the oleh says one more blessing and everyone replies amen.
• After the third aliya, the Torah is lifted up.
• Everyone says, V'zot haTorah....
• The Torah is rolled and wrapped.
• Meanwhile, the leader reads four paragraphs beginning, Yehi ratzon mi'lifnei avinu...
• The final paragraph, Acheinu kol bet yisrael... is read by everyone aloud.
• The Torah is put back while everyone reads two psalms quietly.

 
Ashrei/U'va L'Tzion

• Everyone reads ashrei quietly, followed by la'menatzeiach and u'va l'tziyon.
• Everyone together says, Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh and Baruch kevod.

 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish.
 
Alenu
Everyone says alenu together.
 
Kaddish
Mourners say kaddish.
 
Psalm for the Day
Psalm for that day is read by everyone.
 
Kaddish
One more kaddish is said by the mourners.
 
L'David

• During Elul and into Tishrei, L'David is read by everyone.
• One more kaddish is said by the mourners.

 
Praying Ma'ariv
 
V'hu Rachum
Everyone reads the two introductory lines of v'hu rachum.
 
Bar'chu

• Leader says bar'chu.
• Everyone else responds, baruch Adonai....
• The leader repeats that line.
• Everyone reads the next paragraph/blessing.
• The leader says that final line out loud.
• Everyone responds amen.

Note Don't say baruch hu u'varuch shemo at all during ma'ariv.
 
Shema and Its Blessings

• The leader repeats the final two words of the shema and the word emet.
• Everyone continues quietly saying the phrases until Mi chamocha.
• Mi chamocha is said by everyone together including by the leader, who then also reads the next line.
• Everyone says Adonai yimloch... together, continuing through the end of the next blessing, which is repeated by the leader.
• Everyone says hashkiveinu quietly.
• The leader says the blessing shomer amo Yisrael la'ad out loud.
• Baruch Adonai l'olam... is said through to the end by everyone quietly.
• The leader says the final line and the final blessing out loud.

Note Baruch Adonai l'olam is not said in Eretz Yisrael.
 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish.
 
Amida
Everyone says the amida silently and individually.
 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish.
 
Alenu
Everyone says alenu together.
 
Kaddish
Kaddish is said by any mourners.

 

Chazal have the authority to make laws, so we say “Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us” (asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu) for Chanuka blessings and other purposes that Chazal instituted after the Torah was given.

You should not shave or cut your hair on chol ha'moed.
Reason Chazal made a takana so people would do those types of grooming before each holiday and not wait until chol ha'moed.

Although the mitzva d'oraita is to thank God only when you are satiated from the meal, chazal decreed that we say birkat ha'mazon even when eating only the volume of a k'zayit and even if not satiated. So you must still say birkat ha'mazon after eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of bread within four minutes--even if you are not full.  This is known as birkat ha'mazon d'rabanan.

Light Chanuka candles in your own house, unless you are not in the city in which you live.

All Jews, both men and women, must fulfill the commandment to remember what Amaleik did to the Israelites. The paragraph about that episode, called Parashat Zachor (found in Parashat Ki Teitzei:  Deuteronomy/Devarim 25:17-19) is read on the Shabbat morning before Purim as a law established by Chazal (takana). The commandment is fulfilled whenever that episode in the Torah is read, even privately and at home, but there is special value in hearing it read in a synagogue on that Shabbat preceding Purim.

Muktza (“set aside” in one's mind) is an item that normally has no permissible use (or no use) on Shabbat. Muktza items may not usually be moved by hand on Shabbat—even if your hand is gloved—except for certain Shabbat needs, such as you need the space or the item. However, it is ALWAYS OK to move muktza items with any other part of your body.
  Chazal instituted muktza rules to make Shabbat special by requiring that actions be done differently on Shabbat than on weekdays. The basis for the idea of muktza was when Moses/Moshe instructed the Children of Israel in the wilderness to prepare the mun for Shabbat in order to eat it on Shabbat. Chazal extended the idea to prohibit moving by hand on Shabbat anything that was not prepared in one's mind before sunset on Friday.
The several categories of muktza vary according to their purpose and their permissibility to be moved. Purpose Item whose normal purpose is forbidden to be done on Shabbat.
Permissibility To Be Moved You may move this item by hand, without using a shinu'i:

• If you need the space where it is resting, or
• For a permissible use.

• Using a hammer to open a coconut.
• Using pliers to crack open nuts.
• Using a portable radiator to prop open a window.

No prior preparation or thought before Shabbat is required.
Note You may not move it just to protect the item.

Muktza Machmat Gufo: No Use
Purpose An item that has no use. This item is not normally ever designated for use; for example, a rock or stone. However, an item in this “no use” category is rendered non-muktza and usable on Shabbat as long as you had intended--before Shabbat or the festival began--to use it for a permitted purpose. As long as you intended that, you do not even need to use a shinu'i. If you did not intend, before sunset on Friday, to use this normally unusable item, then you may only move it using a shinu'i.
Permissibility To Be Moved Unless you prepared before Shabbat to use it for some permitted purpose on Shabbat, you may not move it by hand even for a permitted use and not even in order to use the space where it is resting.
Note You might need to use the item regularly for the non-standard purpose because for just a one-time use, it might not be permitted. Consult a rabbi.
Exception Garbage has no use. You may move garbage within your house (example: push the garbage across the room with your foot), but if you want to dump your garbage outside and you have a private domain or an eruv, you may pick it up and carry it outside.

Muktza Machmat Chisaron Kis
Purpose A valuable item that you are concerned may be damaged.
Examples Passport, porcelain china, or other expensive and fragile or difficult-to-replace objects.
Such an item may not be moved except for its designated purpose and you may not move it once you have finished using it. But once you are already holding it, you may take it to a place where you want to leave it and you do not need to drop it where it is when you finish with it.  

Basis L'Davar Ha'Asur

Purpose Muktza item resting on a normally permitted item makes the lower item muktza too.
Example A candlestick will render the table on which it stands muktza (unless there are one or more other items that are more valuable than the muktza item, in which case the table does not become muktza).
Situation There are multiple objects; some are permitted and some are not—for example, in a drawer.
What To Do If the permissible objects are more valuable than the non-permitted objects, you may open the drawer.

Non-Muktza on Top of Muktza
If you want a non-muktza item that was left on top of a muktza item from before Shabbat started, you may use it without restriction.

 

Situation

You discover you have coins in non-patch pockets of your pants that you will wear on Shabbat.

What To Do

You may empty coins out of non-patch pockets if you need to use the pants, but not by taking the coins out: you must dump them out of the pockets.
Note If you have coins in a patch pocket, the whole garment is muktza, unless you forgot that the coins were there or if you intended to remove the coins before Shabbat began but forgot to remove them (in which case you may shake the coins out of the pocket and the garment is not muktza).

Non-Patch Pockets

Situations

Pants with muktza items in the pockets are on your bed and you want to sleep on Shabbat afternoon.

What To Do

You may move the pants off your bed using any body part including your hands; no shinu'i needed.

Item that Becomes Muktza
If you are holding a permissible item and it becomes muktza, you may put it in safe place; you do not need to immediately drop it or put it down where you are.
Example You are holding a pot from which you dispense all of the food. The empty pot is now muktza, but you may take it to the kitchen to put it down.

For More Information about Muktza

To see the TorahTots article on muktza, click here.

If you are not sure if you said ANY blessing in ANY category, don't repeat it.
 

Cheese/Gvinas Akum
 
Gvinas akum is cheese which has been made by non-Jews and by rabbinical prohibition is only kosher if a Jew was present during the cheese making OR if a Jew put the rennet into the milk.
Note If a Jew owns the milk before processing, a non-Jew can add kosher rennet as long as it can be confirmed that the rennet is kosher, even if no Jew is present during the cheese making.
 
Origin of the Problem: Chazal were concerned that the rennet used to make cheese might be from a non-kosher animal or even from a kosher animal that had not been slaughtered properly. Shulchan aruch says that even cheese curdled by kosher plant enzymes (such as fig branch sap or substances from certain thistle plants) are subject to the takana.
Note Gvinas Akum is not related to chalav yisrael; they are separate halachot.

Note Even rennet-less cheeses need hashgacha (religious supervision), but some non-hard cheeses may be an exception. Ask a rabbi.

We are required to eat two meals on Jewish festivals, each preceded by kiddush, one in the evening and one in the morning. For both meals for each Jewish festival day (and all three meals on Shabbat), say ha'motzi over two complete loaves of bread, each of which is at least 1.3 fl. oz. in volume. 

Source of Saying Jewish Festival Kiddush
Some kiddushes are commanded by the Torah (d'oraita); the others are from Chazal (d'rabanan), as follows:
Kiddush d'Oraita

• First night of Jewish festivals
• Night of seventh day of Passover
• Night of Shmini Atzeret.

Kiddush d'Rabanan

• First day of Jewish festival
• Second night of Jewish festival
• Second day of Jewish festival
• Seventh day of Passover
• Eighth night of Passover
• Eighth day of Passover
• Shmini Atzeret day
• Night and day of Simchat Torah.

Source of Jewish Festival Kiddush Location
Saying Jewish festival kiddush at the place where you will eat your meal is a rabbinical (d'rabanan) enactment.
Jewish Festival Kiddush-Meal Quantities: Evening

• For evening kiddush for a first-night (d'oraita) Jewish festival, a minimum of 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) of wine must be blessed on and at least half must be drunk.
• For evening kiddush for a second-night (d'rabanan) Jewish festival, a minimum of 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine must be blessed on and at least 2.0 fl. oz. must be drunk.
• For the evening meal, as on the first two Shabbat meals and for all required Jewish festival meals, a minimum of 1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml) of bread must be eaten within four minutes.

Eating Requirements for Jewish Festival Morning Kiddush
There are two separate eating requirements during the daytime. They may be combined (say/hear kiddush and start the main meal right away) but are often done separately (say/hear kiddush and then eat some light foods and beverages; the main meal is eaten later in the day).
Note Since eating and drinking requirements on all morning kiddushes (both Shabbat and Jewish festivals) are d'rabanan, the required beverage amount for morning kiddush is only 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) instead of the d'oraita 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) (which is required for kiddushes for Shabbat evening and all first-night Jewish festivals).

• Morning kiddush requires a halachically legal “meal” with these elements:
  • Blessing on a minimum of 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine (or other beverage),
  • Someone's drinking at least half the beverage, followed by
  • Eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of some type of mezonot within four minutes. 
    Note If you drink at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine within 30 seconds, you do not need to eat mezonot.
    Note You do not need to drink the wine or other kiddush beverage to fulfill “establishing a meal.” You may hear kiddush and then simply eat the required amount of bread or mezonot. This applies to Shabbat or Jewish festivals, evening or morning.
     

 

• The real meal (kovei'a se'uda) requires eating at least 1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml) of bread (or matza during Passover!) within four minutes. It must include enough food to satiate. 
  Note You can simultaneously fulfill the requirement to “establish a meal” and to “eat a meal” by eating one (the same) piece of bread.

The Torah forbids cooking on Shabbat.   “Cooking” means making food edible by heating it to above 120° F (49° C).
Cooking includes:

• You may not make a soft food hard (such as cooking an egg).
• You may not make a hard food soft (such as cooking meat).
• You may not, in any manner, heat (to 120° F or above ) liquids that you will drink or foods with liquids—such as sauces and gravies--whether fully cooked or not. 

According to the Torah, you may eat food on Shabbat that had been placed on the heat source Friday afternoon but was not completely cooked by sunset.
ReasonNo action is being taken and the cooking will be completed by itself.
 
According to Torah law, food is only considered to be cooked if it has been directly heated from the heat source, such as a kettle on a fire or a pot on a flame (even if that utensil has been removed from its heat source). This is called a kli rishon.
Once you pour water from a kli rishon into a glass, the glass is a kli sheni. Some foods, such as an egg or tea, get cooked in a kli sheni (kalei bishul--easily cooked). These foods are forbidden by Torah law to be put into a hot kli sheni on Shabbat.

• You must have taken it off with the intention of replacing it, and
• You may not put the utensil down onto a surface; you must continue to hold the food (or the utensil) in your hand.
• The heat source must be covered.

Shabbat was the goal of Creation. Just as God completed the world's creation on the sixth day and ceased His work on the seventh, so Jews are supposed to imitate God and not do any creative work on the seventh day. Everything we need for living through Shabbat must be prepared ahead so that we do not do any creative activities on Shabbat.
Our observance of Shabbat thus testifies that God created the world. In the Shabbat kiddush, we mention the Exodus from Egypt, too, to testify to the world that God is continuously involved in our lives.
By ceasing our normal efforts to dominate the physical world, we can appreciate the spiritual aspects of our existence.
On Shabbat, all observant (shomer Shabbat) Jews receive an extra “soul.”

Zachor and Shamor

Remember (Zachor) the Sabbath day to make it holy—Exodus/Shmot 20:8
Observe (Shamor) the Sabbath day to make it holy—Deuteronomy/Devarim 5:12
Shabbat has two dimensions:

• Zachor  “Remember,” encompassing positive (“to do”) commandments, and
• Shamor  “Observe,” encompassing negative (“refrain from”) commandments.

Zachor:  Positive Shabbat Commandments
What Are Positive Shabbat Commandments
Positive Shabbat commandments include:

• Lighting candles,
• Making kiddush evening and morning,
• Making havdala,
• Honoring Shabbat (Kivod Shabbat), and
• Enjoying Shabbat (Oneg Shabbat), including eating three meals on Shabbat.

Honoring Shabbat: Special Food and Clothes
Honoring Shabbat includes eating tasty food and wearing nice clothes.

Shamor: Negative Shabbat Commandments
Shabbat Laws from the Torah (Shabbat D'Oraita)
What Are Melachot
On the Jewish day of rest, we refrain from 39 creative activities (melachot) that had been used to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness. These 39 melachot, prohibited by the Torah, are listed in the mishna of Shabbat and in later halacha books.

The word melacha is frequently mistranslated as “work,” but work has nothing to do with the Jewish concept of melacha. Some melachot are physically strenuous (plowing, grinding wheat, skinning an animal) and some are easy to do (drawing, baking). The defining point is whether the activity is one of the 39 creative, value-adding labors. Emptying your pockets before leaving an eruv (so you are not “carrying”) may seem confusing to someone who thinks that resting on Shabbat means refraining only from hard physical labor!

What Are Toldot
Toldot are variations of the 39 melachot. These types of melacha are also prohibited by the Torah.

Intention and Other Considerations
Most Torah (d'oraita) prohibitions of melacha on Shabbat are for cases in which you:
            1) Intend a permanent change.
                Often, actions that may be forbidden when they cause permanent change, will
                be permissible by Torah law if the result is only temporary. Or
            2) Intend or act for a specific purpose.
                Random or unintended actions are generally not prohibited by Torah law.
                (However, actions that are not prohibited by the Torah, may be prohibited
                by Chazal.)

Whether you may benefit from a melacha done on Shabbat depends on intention:

• A Jew who intentionally does a melacha on Shabbat may never benefit from that melacha.

            Note Any other Jew may benefit from that melacha as soon as Shabbat is over.

• A Jew who does melacha on Shabbat by mistake (shogeg) may benefit from that melacha immediately after Shabbat ends.

In order to violate a prohibited melacha d'oraita, the melacha must be done as follows. If any of these do not apply, then the melacha is forbidden d'rabanan but not d'oraita:

• K'darko--The action must be done in a normal way.
• Tzorech tikun—The action must be done for a constructive purpose.
• Tzricha l'gufa--You must need the normal result of that action.
• Asiya b'yachid—The action must be done by one individual (if commonly done by just one person).
• Mit'aseik--You must realize that you are doing a melacha.

 
Shabbat Laws from Chazal (Shabbat D'Rabanan)
Chazal instituted additional restrictions, such as:

• Activities that might lead directly to violating a Torah prohibition.
• Use of items not designated for Shabbat use (muktza). For a good explanation of muktza from the TorahTots website, please click here.
• Activities that might lead one to think that a prohibited activity is permissible (mar'it ayin--the appearance of the eye).
• Activities that are not appropriate for Shabbat, even though they are technically permissible according to the Torah (“uvda d'chol”).
• Tircha--Exerting a physical effort to accomplish a result that is not required for Shabbat.

Enjoying Shabbat/Oneg Shabbat
Chazal instituted laws to engender a positive Shabbat atmosphere and experience.  Beyond the actual halachot of shamor and zachor, we have a concept of enjoying Shabbat (oneg Shabbat)—of enhancing our experience of Shabbat by doing whatever each person finds to be enjoyable and relaxing--as long as it is neither destructive nor violates the laws of Shabbat. The criteria are subjective. To fulfill the idea of honoring Shabbat, do things you would not do just for yourself if it were not Shabbat. Take essential life activities such as eating and sleeping and do them more and better and make them especially enjoyable.

Meals as Oneg
On Shabbat, we eat better foods and more types of food than we would normally do on weekdays.
The main idea behind meals for Shabbat is enjoyment (oneg; by contrast, the main idea for Jewish festivals is joy--simcha), so on Shabbat you should eat bread and either fish, poultry, or meat (but only if you enjoy them).
In order to have a special appetite for our Shabbat evening meal, we don't eat a full meal with bread on Friday afternoon.

Special Shabbat Songs (Zmirot)
Special songs (zmirot) are sung at the various Shabbat meals. Some zmirot have an aspect of prayer to them.

Studying Torah
Studying Torah on Shabbat is another way of increasing our spiritual experience. It honors the Shabbat and should bring about enjoyment of Shabbat.

Shabbat and Muktza
For information on Shabbat and muktza, see section below, Shabbat: Muktza.

Weekday Talk
Don't talk about subjects that are forbidden to do on Shabbat (weekday subjects); for example, don't talk about what you will do after Shabbat is over. There is no prohibition about discussing actions from the past as long as no planning is discussed.

Gender/Kashrut Status Transfer
Foods and kitchenware (pots, pans, dishes, utensils, and containers) can absorb taste from each other and so adopt a new gender or kosher status. They can change from:

• Kosher to non-kosher,
• Kosher pareve (neutral) to kosher dairy or kosher meat, or
• Kosher Passover to kosher (or non-kosher) non-Passover.

 
Note You can sometimes change a utensil/container to kosher-pareve (see Kashering, below), but you cannot change a

• Gendered food to neutral-pareve, or
• Non-kosher food to kosher.

 
Taste Absorption
Taste gets absorbed in three ways: Heat, pressure, and soaking. 
 
Heat
To absorb taste, and therefore gender or kashrut status, through heat, a food or utensil must be heated to 120° F or more while:

• Steamed with a halachically “liquid” food, or
• In wet physical contact with the food or utensil.

Examples

• Two hot pans, which are clean on their outsides, only transfer taste from one to the other if they are wet on the outside and are touching each other.
• A hot utensil placed onto a counter only transfers gender to the countertop if there is liquid or food at the point of contact.

Note  All liquids plays a major role in facilitating taste transfer.
NOTE Taste, gender, or non-kosher status do not travel upstream into the utensil that food is being poured from. Even if you pour hot liquid (pareve or of one gender) from a pot onto a non-kosher or opposite gender food, the genders are not transferred back through the stream of liquid to the pot, even if any or all of the elements are more than 120 degrees.
Situation You pour hot liquid from some pareve vegetables into a non-kosher sink that had hot in it within 24 hours. There are dishes or utensils in the sink.
Status The dishes do not change gender unless the hot liquid fills up from the sink onto them. If so, the dishes or utensils become non-kosher. But no gender change occurs through the stream of liquid back to the pot of vegetables.
 
Note If the non-kosher sink had not had anything hot (120 degrees or above) in it for at least 24 hours, no change of gender or kosher status happens at all.
 
Note On Passover, gender and chametz status DO get transferred through a stream of hot liquid.
 
Pressure
To absorb taste, and therefore gender or kashrut status, through pressure or short-term soaking, one of the items must be spicy/charif.
 
Soaking
To absorb taste, and therefore gender or kashrut status, through long-term soaking, the food must soak for specific amounts of time.
 
Note If the food or utensil is not hot (120° F or more), is not spicy/charif, and is not soaking for a long time, there is no gender or kashrut-status transfer.
Examples
You may use a non-kosher utensil for any cold food of the opposite gender, so you may:

• Eat cold (kosher) cereal out of a meat or non-kosher bowl, or
• Use a meat or non-kosher spoon to eat kosher ice cream.

Note Even though these are permissible, they may not be done regularly but only on an ad hoc basis.
 
Food and Kitchenware: Which Influences What
Hot or Spicy/Charif Foods
With hot (more than 120° F) or spicy/charif foods:
Foods and utensils/containers transfer taste to each other.
 
Cold or Non-Spicy Foods that Soak
With cold (less than 120° F) or non-spicy/charif foods that soak:

• Foods do not transfer taste to utensils/containers;
• Utensils/containers do NOT transfer taste to foods.

NOTE No substances (not salt, or any food...) absorb gender from the open air.
 
 
The 24-Hour Rule: Eino ben Yomo
Torah Law: Reverts to Kosher-Pareve
By Torah law, a utensil/container always reverts to kosher-pareve after 24 hours (since the taste of any absorbed food becomes ruined with time). 
 
Rabbinic Law: Must Be Kashered
However, by rabbinic law, the utensil/container must be kashered before using.
 
NOTE Even by Torah law, a hot or spicy/charif food can revive the milk-meat or non-kosher status of another utensil/container (see below) even after 24 hours.
 
Accidentally or Intentionally
Food Hot and Accidentally Placed; Utensil Not Hot for 24 Hours
Kosher food hotter than 120° F (49° C) remains kosher if accidentally placed into a non-kosher, clean utensil that has not been heated to 120° F or more for at least 24 hours.
REASON After 24 hours, b'di'avad, the utensil has reverted to being kosher-pareve.
NOTE If the utensil had been “used” (heated to 120° F or more) within the preceding 24 hours, the hot food that accidentally entered the utensil would be non-kosher. Ask a rabbi for possible exceptions.
 
Food Hot and Intentionally Placed
If the hot food had been put into the utensil intentionally, the food would not be kosher.
REASON Chazal made a rule (takana) that if you intentionally place food of one gender into a utensil of the opposite gender and heat it to 120° F or more, the food is not kosher.

By Sara-Malka (Diane) Laderman

Kosher (Hebrew for “fitting” or “suitable”) means foods that comply with certain laws. Kosher rules could be summed up like this:

• The food must start out kosher. 
• The food must stay kosher during processing.

Starting Out Kosher
The Food's Natural State

Rule #1

Plants
All Plants, Raw, Are Inherently Kosher

All raw, unprocessed plants are kosher. However, restrictions on produce grown in Eretz Yisrael may apply (teruma, ma'aser, shmita), and orla may apply to produce grown anywhere in the world.

• For laws about eating perennial fruits, see appropriate listings under Agriculture. 
• For laws regarding bugs in plant produce, see below.

Rule #2

Mammals
All Mammals that Chew Their Cud and
Have Split Hooves Are Inherently Kosher

Kosher mammals are all cud-chewing, split-hooved animals (Leviticus/Vayikra 11:1-8 and Deuteronomy/Devarim 14:3-8). Included are both domestic ("beheimot"--goat, sheep, and cow families ) and wild ("chayot"--deer, giraffe, and wild goat and sheep families) mammals. There are two (sometimes) practical differences between the two groups:

• You may eat the cheilev (a type of fat) from a wild kosher mammal, and
• After slaughtering, you must cover the blood from a wild kosher mammal but not a domesticated kosher mammal.

Below is a sampling of kosher mammals:

Hooves

Q: How can you tell if an animal has split hooves?

A:
1)  Split Hooves Must Be Hooves

Hooves must be made of hoof material--a hard substance similar to your fingernails—not fleshy feet.

2)  Split Hooves Must Be Split

Hooves must be split all the way through from front to back.

Cud-Chewing

Q:  How can you tell if an animal chews its cud?

A:  Watch for the sliding ball.

When a cud-chewing animal starts to eat, you will see it bolting down its food into its first stomach, like a hungry 9th grade boy (much like humans racing to throw groceries into their shopping carts), in case a lion or bear is coming to eat him or her.

Next, it will find a safe place to more leisurely bring up its cud and chew its stash. During cud-chewing time, especially for goats (sheep are usually too woolly to make out shapes), you will distinctly see:

• Racketball shape popping up the goat's throat, 
• Goat's cheeks ballooning out and its lower jaw chewing in a horizontal figure-eight pattern, and, a little later,
• Racketball shape sliding down the throat again.  

You will soon see the shape of a new racketball pop up the throat.

By contrast, a non-kosher animal will chew slowly and well the first time—it will not have another chance to chew its food later, like the kosher animals do.  

Imposters

Animals in the camel family (camel, llama, alpaca, vicunya, etc.) appear to have split hooves when seen from the front.  These are actually just two long toenails in front of a padded, fleshy, incompletely split foot, which you can easily distinguish as a whole foot when looking from the back.

One non-kosher animal has great-looking split hooves but doesn't chew its cud—animals from the pig family.

Insight from Masechet Chullin

All kosher mammals inherently have horns; all non-kosher animals are hornless.  Bottom line:  If you find a horned animal, it's definitely kosher.

But horns are not a halachic requirement from the Torah like split hooves and cud chewing are, which is a good thing, since some breeds of goats, sheep, and cows are naturally “polled” (born hornless) or their horn buds were removed when they were young to prevent damage later.

Rule #3

Fowl
All Fowl That Have “Masoret” Are Inherently Kosher

Not everyone's agreed as to what the Torah means by a “netz” or a “yanshuf.”  So when Leviticus/VaYikra 11:13-19 lists the 20 non-kosher flying species—allowing us to eat anything NOT on the list—we ignore the list and just eat what we know our ancestors traditionally ate as kosher.  This tradition is known as masoret.

In the US, we eat all breeds of chickens and--in most circles--turkey, all breeds of goose except those whose beak is black (such as the Canadian goose) or whose beak does not go straight back to its forehead (like the Chinese goose), and Peking duck (we don't eat mallard or Muscovy ducks or their close relatives).

In Israel, additional birds eaten as kosher include mallard and Muscovy ducks, guinea fowl, Couternix quail, pigeons, and turtle doves.

Note Some Jewish families originating in Germany, Iran, and other places maintain their masoret on eating pheasant, and you may be able to receive masoret on various species from researchers such as “The Aris”--Dr. Ari Greenspan and Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky, both Jewish ritual slaughterers (shochtim) who have spent the last 20 years interviewing and videotaping elderly European and Sefardi immigrants to Israel as to what birds they ate as kosher in their home countries. You can google their work or read some of Dr. Zivotofsky's articles on www.kashrut.com.

Zivchei Cohen, a book written and published by a Jewish ritual slaughterer (shochet) in Italy, shows colored illustrations of 29 species known to be kosher, including peacock, pheasant, Couternix quail, mallard duck, and numerous songbirds.  Maor L'Masechet Chullin U'Vechorot (vol. 2, Feldheim, pp. 29-33) reproduces these colorful illustrations and names each bird in five languages, noting that the 29 were listed to acquaint students of Jewish ritual slaughter (shechita) only with rarer birds' identities and that the well-known kosher species were not included in the 29!

Chazal noted that kosher birds share certain characteristics:

• They sit on a branch with three toes in front and one in back.  Non-kosher birds usually sit two and two, as they need equal strength on both sides of their feet for killing and carrying off food, except for:
  • Owls, whose feet are flexible and can move their toes to the side, forward, or back, and 
  • Vultures, who need balance walking instead of gripping, since they walk on the ground to eat food that is already dead.
• They lay eggs that are not entirely round or oval but are, well, egg-shaped, with kad v'chad—a rounded end and a pointed end. Not all egg-shaped eggs are kosher, but all totally round eggs, if from fowl, are not kosher (fish eggs from kosher fish, which are perfectly round, are of course kosher). There are some eggs, including from doves, that seem perfectly oval but are actually kosher.

Rule #4

Fish
All Fish That Have Fins and Scales Are Inherently Kosher

This excludes most eels (some conger eels that have kosher scales are kosher!) and all shellfish, catfish, sharks, swordfish, sea urchins, jellyfish, sea slugs, and many other sea creatures.

In addition to commonly eaten kosher fish such as salmon and tuna, some unexpected fish are also kosher, including barracuda, goldfish, and many other pet and tropical fish.

Rule #5

Grasshoppers

All other creatures, except the four kosher locusts, are not kosher. Rule #6

Kosher from Kosher
Whatever Food Substances Come Out of a Kosher Animal Are Inherently Kosher…

except for some fats (cheilev), blood, and the sciatic nerve (gid ha'nashe).

Milk from a cow (a kosher animal) is kosher. Milk from a pig (a non-kosher animal) is not. An egg from a kosher bird is kosher; an egg from a non-kosher bird is not kosher.
Exception

Q:  Since bees are not kosher, how can we eat honey? 

A:  Honey is not produced from bee parts, but rather from flower parts.

Rule #7

Animal Blood
May Not Be Eaten in Any Form.

Note Fish blood is not forbidden.

Preparing Kosher
Harvest and Kitchen

Plants

What To Check

• Remove bugs (see Why Bugs May Not Be Eaten)
• Select fruits and vegetables that have no harvest-related problems such as orla (and in Eretz Yisrael, kilayim, shmita, etc.); separate out teruma and ma'aser from any Israeli-grown produce that requires it (see Teruma/Ma'aser: Ownership: What Is Hefkeir Produce)
• Make sure that any liquid grape product to be handled by a non-Jew for a Jew has been cooked or pasteurized before being handled.  Cooking turns the wine into an inferior product disqualified for use in idolatrous practices.

Animals

Mammals

Slaughter/Shechita

Kosher mammals must be slaughtered in the quickest and most humane manner possible, according to halacha.  A highly trained ritual slaughterer (shochet) must perform the slaughtering (“shechita”).  He checks the knife before the slaughtering to ensure there are no burrs to catch on the animal's throat.  He says the blessing “al ha'shchita” and then cuts the windpipe and the esophagus as well as the neck arteries.  After slaughtering, he checks the knife again for burrs (if he finds one, the animal is not kosher) and checks the animal's lungs to make sure the animal wasn't about to die of lung perforation in the near future.  

Certain types of adhesions may be found on the animal's lungs. If they can be removed (by peeling) without perforating the lungs, the meat is kosher. If there are only small and easily removed lesions, the meat is glatt (“smooth”). If there are no lesions at all, the meat is classified as “Beit Yosef.”

Kosher lamb and goat are always glatt/chalak kosher.

Actually, there are 18 organic or physical defects that may make meat non-kosher but, as a practical matter, we only check for lesions in the lungs and also in the second stomach. 

If the animal proves to have been healthy, it is sometimes hung upside down to allow the arterial blood to drain out. (It is possible to hang the animals before being slaughtered but this is not the usual method). 

Skinning and Traiboring

The animal is skinned.

Next, the animal is traibored. Traiboring removes certain nerves, sinews, blood vessels, and fats that we don't eat, including the sciatic nerve damaged when our forefather Jacob wrestled with the angel at the Jabbok stream.  

In the US, only the forequarters are traibored and eaten, and the hind portion is sold to the non-Jewish consumer. In Israel, the hind portion is traibored too and eaten as kosher.

May you traibor meat once it's cooked?  And if not, how did Jews traibor more than 1 million Passover lamb offerings that had to be slaughtered and prepared between midday and evening (and it takes 2-3 hours to traibor one lamb!). The Jewish commentator The Raavad says the Passover lamb was traibored before roasting; Rambam disagrees, since the lamb had to be roasted whole. Rambam opines that the sinew, unlike fat, does not impart its flavor to the meat and that people would just traibor the Passover offering meat on their plates.

Removing Blood

The next steps involve removing blood (“kashering”) and can be done at the butcher's or at your home.  The meat is cut, rinsed, soaked for at least 30 minutes, put on a slanted board to allow the blood to run off, and covered with kosher (a coarse) salt for one hour.  After being rinsed three more times, the meat is now kashered.

Preparing the Liver

The liver is cut halfway through several times and covered with kosher salt top and bottom.  You can oven broil the liver on a rack reserved for that purpose. The blood must be able to drain away from the liver 

You can instead broil the liver over a fire outdoors.  Grilling outside will give the liver a delicious smoky flavor that even children like--but do NOT allow the neighborhood cats to steal your livers off the grill!  

Fowl

Covering Blood

Kosher fowl is slaughtered and, when it stops flapping, is usually hung upside down to allow the arterial blood to run out and onto the earth. Cover all the blood with dirt (a mitzva from the Torah--mitzva d'oraita) and say the blessing “al kisuy dam b'afar.”

Defeathering

Rinse with water and remove the feathers. Defeathering can take a while for chickens and up to two hours for one small duck, especially if you are saving the down!  

Removing Internal Organs

Rinse the bird. Usually, a circle of flesh surrounding the anus is cut out.  Start pulling out the digestive system.  Recognizable items such as the liver, heart, and giblets will come out and eventually you will be able to stick in your hand and pull out the lungs.  This is not as cold and unpleasant as it sounds because the bird will be warm for quite a while.

Salting

Once the bird is defeathered and the internal organs have been removed, rinse and salt with kosher salt inside and out and put it on a slanting board for an hour. Rinse three more times and cook!

Preparing the Giblets

Cut off the hard coating at one end of the giblets and rinse out the fine sand within. Remove the yellow internal lining.  Salt and kasher with the rest of the bird.

Preparing the Liver

To kasher the liver, see Preparing the Liver, above, for meat liver.

Fish

Buying Fish

Kosher fish bought from a store in which non-kosher fish are also sold should have any cut surfaces scraped and should be rinsed before using. Ideally, the knife that cuts the fish should be washed with soap and water beforehand. 

Grasshoppers

Chagav Grasshoppers

Not much preparation needed here. Many Yemenites just twist off their heads and eat. B'tei'avon!

Substances from Animals

Milk

Dairy must be kept separate from meat, with a separate set of pots, pans, servers, scrubbers, and dishpans each for dairy and meat. See Kashrut: Dairy/Meat Combinations.

Eggs

Eggs must be checked for blood spots.  Throw out a fertilized egg with a blood spot. You may remove the blood in the white of the egg and eat the rest of an unfertilized egg, but the custom is to not eat the egg at all.

Unwanted Additives

Manufacturing Aids

In the US, food manufacturers are allowed to add “manufacturing aids”--even more than 1/60th of the volume of the other ingredients--without listing them. Some foods therefore need special supervision to ensure non-kosher substances have not been added.

Examples

• Kosher oils may be deodorized by heating them in vats that previously contained non-kosher oil, which renders the formerly kosher oil non-kosher. Or they may be put into tankers previously used for non-kosher liquids.
• Food colorings may come from the cochineal insect, which is non-kosher, and flavorings may be derived from the musk of non-kosher animals.
• Cheeses may have non-kosher rennet or pig milk added. Also, the rabbis of thousands of years ago made an injunction that even where the ingredients are kosher, cheese still requires kosher supervision.
• Maple syrup in the vat may be stirred with bacon (which is non-kosher) to reduce the froth produced by boiling.  
• Candy may include non-kosher oil that is put into the molds so the candy does not stick.
• Kosher meat might not be kosher for Passover.

Transference of Taste (Ta'am)

Sometimes dairy will spatter onto a meat utensil, or someone will set a hot pot of kosher food into a non-kosher sink.  Or someone will cut a lemon or onion with a dairy knife and then put the lemon into a pot used for meat.  What happens next depends on whether the offending substance was:

1. Charif (spicy/sour/strong) enough to transfer the taste to the new item.
2. Hotter than yad soledet bo (too hot to hold your hand in it for a few seconds—about 120° F, or 49° C).
3. More than 1/60th of the total volume.

See following halachot for what to do next.

Kitchen Set Up

A hungry Martian landing in a modern kosher kitchen must assume earthlings eat in binary: Ideally, two sinks. Two dish towels.  Two sponges.  Two dishpans. Two cutting boards.  Even, if the owner is fortunate, two dishwashers.

And what about those strange markings on the pots, pans, and servers?  Perhaps he'll find a bright splotch of red paint or an “F” (for fleishig--Yiddish for “meat”) lettered in nail polish on utensils in the left cabinets.  Blue paint or nail polish, or an “M” (for milchig--Yiddish for milk) on utensils in the right cabinets. The plates, bowls, and silverware in left cabinets do not in any way match those in the right cabinets. Somewhere in a central cabinet, pots, pans, and servers are painted with a white dot, marked with a “P” for pareve, or left unmarked.

Opening the pantry, little symbols jump out from canned and packaged goods.  Star-K, O-U, O-K, KOF K…..  Only the dried beans and grains seem symbol-less.  And the freezer?  Well stocked but no frozen bacon, pepperoni pizza, and shellfish TV dinners.…

How do these people eat?

The Great Divide

Separating Dairy and Meat

Welcome to the world of dairy and meat. Most kashrut problems in the kitchen involve the transfer of milk or meat flavor to the other gender by means of heat or, less commonly, by hot/spiciness.

It's easy to be jealous of vegetarians, or people who only eat plants and dairy products or who only eat plants and meat products!  They never confuse their pots and serving utensils or deal with spatters of hot dairy foods onto meat utensils or vice versa.  Large institutions and kosher cafeterias, similarly, may not have these mix-ups, since they can usually devote a whole room to a dairy or a meat kitchen.

Here's how the rest of us live:

Countertops

If you can, designate some countertops for dairy and some for meat.  This will help you stay organized spatially.  If you have only one sink, you may need to use the counter to the left for one dishrack (dairy or meat) and the counter to the right for your other dishrack. 

Some countertop materials, such as granite, can be kashered by pouring boiling water over them.  This will make the counters kosher and pareve (neutral--not dairy or meat).  Once you have kashered your counter(s), you will be able to set down hot utensils, pots, and pans directly onto the counter (dairy utensils on your designated dairy counter; meat utensils on your designated meat counter). 

If your countertop is not kosher or kasherable, you will need to cover the countertop before setting down hot (above 120° F) utensils, pots, and pans. Trivets work fine but so does a simple piece of corrugated cardboard in a pinch.  

Dishes and Flatware

If feasible, select different patterns of dishes and flatware for dairy and meat so you can tell them apart.  It is helpful to store the dairy and meat dishes in separate locations, preferably close to the counter of its gender. Porous dishes (stoneware, china, ...) cannot be kashered once used for hot non-kosher food and cannot be changed from one gender to the other. Metal dishes generally can be kashered. Glass only assumes a gender if it is placed directly on a fire or other heat source (to at least boiling temperature) or into a hot oven, so even if you pour boiling water or hot food into a glass bowl, such as hot pasta, and add cheese or other dairy food, the bowl remains pareve (or whichever gender it was previously).

Sinks and Dishracks

If you don't have two sinks--one for dairy and one for meat--and must use the same sink for both, try to choose different colors for your dairy, meat, and pareve dishpans, dishracks, and sponges/scrubbers (or sponge holders). If not, distinguish your dairy dishpans, dishracks, and sponges/scrubbers (or sponge holders) from your meat ones by placing them on opposite sides of the sink. Neutral, or pareve, dishes/cookware require a third sponge and dishpan. In a pinch, you can wash dishes, pots, and utensils by holding them in the air or placing them on a counter (whether either kashered or not) next to the sink as long as the dishware, pots, etc., do not reach 120° F.  

Drawers

You can designate one drawer for dairy flatware and a second drawer for meat (and a third drawer for pareve). Color-coding or purchasing “dairy” and “meat” stickers to place on the outsides of cabinets and drawers can be especially helpful if anyone else will be cooking/washing dishes in your house and doesn't know your kitchen well.  

Cooking Utensils/Food Processors

Distinguish your cooking utensils (your choice of colors) for dairy, meat, or pareve by using paint or nail polish, using different patterns, or even different shapes (one person uses round baking dishes for dairy and rectangular ones for meat!). If you lack drawer space, hang utensils from the wall or overhead rack or put them on your counter in jars color-coded for dairy, meat, or pareve. In a pinch, colored electrical tape can be used temporarily to mark dairy or meat servers or serving pieces (until it falls off during washing or turns black in the oven…).

You will only need one blender, blending stick, bread machine, mixer, food processor, etc., if you always keep them pareve.  Otherwise, you may need duplicates of these items. Color-code them as well.

Stove Burners

To kasher a non-kosher stove burner, clean off any hard deposits on the grate, cover the burner with a sheet of metal (to hold the heat on the grate), and heat it full-blast for 45 minutes. (See halachot below for kashering burners by putting them in the oven.) 

Stovetop

A stainless steel stovetop can be kashered, but a ceramic one (due to porousness) might not be kasherable-consult a rabbi.  When cooking, place an appropriate spoon rest or bowl nearby (for dairy or meat, depending on what you are cooking) to hold your hot stirring spoon or spatula. This way, you won't need to set down your hot stirring utensil onto a non-kosher countertop or stovetop, or place a hot dairy stirrer where you previously set down a hot meat spatula.  

Oven

You can kasher a non-kosher oven by cleaning off any accumulation of old food (whether burned on or not, it must be removed) and turning up the oven full blast for 40 minutes.  You may use the same oven for dairy and meat foods if you always keep either the dairy or meat covered. Consider the oven to be one gender and always cover liquid foods of the opposite gender (dry foods do not require a cover).

Cutting Board

If you only have one cutting board for fruits and vegetables and one knife, you may want to keep them pareve. The main kosher problems with knives and cutting boards happen when cutting a fruit or vegetable with a strong-spicy taste that can transfer the milk or meat status of one utensil or food to another.  Such items are garlic, lemon, onion, and sour apples, and sour grapefruits.

Examples

• Garlic was chopped with meat knife on a dairy cutting board (rendering the garlic, the knife, and cutting board non-kosher), or
• Onions cut with a dairy knife were tossed into a boiling meat pot (rendering the pot and contents non-kosher unless the onions were less than 1/60th the volume of the pot's food). 

TABLE'S SET

Glasses, washed, can be used for a dairy or meat meal. You can use the same salt and pepper shakers and clean glasses for dairy and meat; however, it is recommended to use separate salt and pepper shakers since you might have food of one gender on your hands when you use the shakers of the opposite gender. If you typically use a table for serving either dairy or meat, and want to serve the opposite without switching tablecloths, lift the tablecloth and use the original table surface or cover the tablecloth with placemats. If one person wants to eat dairy and another wants to eat meat at the same time on the same table, place a reminder to remind them not to mix the foods (different placemats or tablecloths, physical barrier between the people's dishes, etc.).

COOKING FOR RELIGIOUS JEWISH FRIENDS

Let's say you don't keep kosher and want to have your kosher-observant friend over. What to serve?

As long as your utensils are clean, you chose kosher foods (see Going Shopping, below) or fresh fruits and vegetables, nothing gets 120° F or above, there is no involvement of anything spicy (charif), and you don't mix dairy and meat (don't offer a kosher bologna sandwich with kosher Swiss cheese!), everything should be OK. Some people will prefer if you serve them using disposable plates, bowls, flatware, and cups; if you are Jewish, you should only serve on disposables. Some will prefer to be in the kitchen during food preparation. Don't be offended; it's hard to keep track of everything to remember even in a kitchen set up for being kosher!

You might want to keep the wrappers or containers from any processed food so that the kosher guest can see what you actually are serving and check for the ingredients or for a kosher supervision symbol.

GOING SHOPPING

Major towns usually have at least one kosher supermarket, but you can find plenty of kosher food in regular supermarkets too. (Even in Salt Lake City, home of the Mormons, a major supermarket chain sells Empire Kosher Chickens!) Here are some tips:

• You may consider all fresh and uncut fruits and vegetables to be kosher. Sharp-flavored fruits and vegetables such as garlic, when cut, must be cut with a kosher utensil.
• Look for a kosher symbol (“hechsher”) on prepared foods (except those foods that do not need a hechsher—see When Hechsher Needed  and When Hechsher NOT Needed).

For more information on kosher symbols and on what goes into certifying a prepared food as kosher, see this link: http://kosherquest.org/symbols.php

WHY EAT ONLY KOSHER?

The basic reason that Jews only eat kosher food is because God commanded us to do so. There are many explanations of how eating kosher benefits us. One approach is that kosher food enhances the spiritual well being of the Jewish people. That holiness is blocked when we eat non-kosher.

While kosher food raises us up spiritually, we raise it up too. When we say the correct blessing before or after we eat, we acknowledge that God is the food's true source. When we use food's resulting health and strength to perform God's commandments, we reunite our food and ourselves with our higher purposes, “rectifying the world.” That brings spiritual and physical blessing down to us and to the world.

You don't want a rapacious spirit?  Don't eat predators. You don't want to think like a bottom-feeder? Don't eat scavengers—whether catfish or vultures or pigs—or reptiles, amphibians, or bugs (except kosher grasshoppers!). You don't want to be callous? Don't eat the life-blood of a bird or mammal—or even the bloodspot of an egg. You don't want to be cruel? Make sure the animals you eat were slaughtered quickly and humanely. Don't want to separate yourself from worshipping the Only One? Don't drink wine or grape juice that could have been used for idol worship.

And non-Jews? Shouldn't they keep kosher too?

Non-Jews must keep only one kosher law--aver min ha'chai. This means non-Jews, like Jews, may not cut off and eat the limb of a live animal.

We can come up with numerous explanations for why keeping kosher is healthier, more pleasant, more logical, or more spiritual than eating non-kosher. But the bottom line is, we do it because God says to, we are here to serve Him, and we trust that God wants what is best for us!