Can non-jews eat Kosher food, or is this an insult to the Jewish people.?

Question

I am not a jew, and do not have any Jewish family.

Near where I work there is a large jewish community, and there is a Kosher Deli.

As a matter of curiosity, I would love try some Jewish 'specialty' foods, but I don't know if that is considered acceptable to the Jews themselves, or whether their food is considered 'sacred' and not to be shared with outsiders.

I don't really want to go in and ask to buy, incase they have to refuse on religious grounds, and doing so makes them feel awkward.

Answer 1

Actually we are all supposed to.

Answer 2

You eat kosher food everyday and may not even notice it. A lot of frozen foods and packaged foods for that matter are considered Kosher it usually has a little U in a circle on the package, that indicates its kosher.
As far as buying something from the store go ahead, you will find a healthier cut of beef and chickens in that store. If you are afraid of insulting people just make sure you don't put any dairy products in the same cart as your meats. I can't remember exactly where it says it in the bible but they hold something like a babe should not be in its mothers milk. From that they got keeping meat and dairy products separate. The food is considered sacred but they are not going to refuse business from an outsider. Oh by the way Jews don't eat Pork, just in case you didn't know. If you have a question about something ask, if they are a strict store, you may have to ask a woman. So don't get offended if you ask a man and he ignores you or looks to the ground if you come in his eyesight.

Answer 3

Who Eats Kosher Food

Answer 4

There is no religious issue here, any kosher restaurant would value a courteous, paying customer. You should definitely try the restaurant, with three potential caveats:

(1) due to the special handling and rabbinic supervision, expect to find the prices a little higher than non-kosher restaurants.

(2) it is forbidden to have any dairy products in a meat restaurant. That means no milk for your coffee (a non-dairy creamer is usually available) and no ice cream for dessert.

(3) observant Jews have a "modest" dress code. In some communities, an improperly dressed person could create a probem. Perhaps you already have an idea how the regular patrons dress, so you should do similar. Otherwise, do a web search on the word "tzius" and you can get an education about modest dress.

Happy eating!

Answer 5

Of course, Jewish people are allowed to eat non kosher food either because the term Kosher is not a religious term, in farsightedness language it's meaning is related to the word homogen, as an example, kosher salt does not contain yodine .

Answer 6

Answers and comments about the question and earlier posts.
1. Kosher food isn't "holy" in the sense that only Jews are allowed to eat it. If fact, much of the food you already buy is kosher -- fresh fruit, for example, or processed foods that are already under kosher supervision (like Nabisco Oreos!).
2. Meissen97's comment that everyone is supposed to eat only kosher food is not the Jewish viewpoint; Judaism says that only Jews are obliged to follow the kosher food laws. The only "kosher" rule that Judaism says applies to everyone is not to eat meat torn from a living animal. (This is one of the seven Noachide laws, that Judaism says apply to everyone; others include not committing murder, not stealing, and not taking G_d's name in vain. A Google search will tell more, including a book by Clorfene and Rogalsky that discusses all the Noachide laws in detail and which is available for free online.)
3. Brendon's comment that kosher foods can be recognized by a "K" somewhere on the label is sometimes true, but dangerous to use as a guideline. The letter "K" is a letter of the alphabet, and can be used by anyone, whether or not the food is kosher. A list of commonly accepted symbols that indicate reliable kosher supervision can be found at http://kosherquest.org/index.asp?theaction=symbols
4. Dharmator's comment that "kosher" and "halal" are almost interchangeable is not quite true. "Halal" is the Islamic equivalent of kosher for Jews, and kosher meats meet the requirements for Moslems to consider them as halal (kosher for Muslims, if you will), but it doesn't go the other way: halal does not mean that something is kosher. (Incidentally, Muslims actually buy more kosher meat in the U.S. than Jews do!)
5. Coolrogue's post had a lot of valuable information. I'll add a few details:
a. The laws of kashrus are, as C. wrote, extensive -- unfortunately, they cannot all be derived from a set of simple rules. There's a reason that one of the principal requirements to become a rabbi is to learn those laws!
b. Fish, meat and dairy: One must wait after eating meat before eating dairy; the most common period is six hours, but some have a family tradition, depending on where their families used to live, to wait only three hours or, in a few cases, only one hour. Fish and meat may not be eaten together, but there is no waiting period required between them; just eat and drink something else to clear the mouth before going from one to the other. (Chabad has a custom not to eat fish and dairy together, either.)
c. Neither Coolrogue's post nor my comments give the whole story!
6. Dyker901's comment that kosher meat has to be soaked *to get rid of bacteria* gives the wrong reason; it's part of the process usually used to get rid of blood, though that can also be done, within the parameters of Jewish law, by broiling the meat. (In fact, broiling is the only accepted way to prepare liver as kosher; salting and soaking don't suffice for liver.)

Overall, though, a great discussion with lots of excellent posts!

Bar Yisrael

Answer 7

No it is not an insult..

Kosher refers to preparing food in a manner that complies with jewish law and nothing else..

When a food is labeled Kosher It doesn't make the food somehow off limits to others it just means orthodox jews know that the food has been prepared in accordance with the laws and rituals they live by ..

Read this it will explain a Kosher kitchen.. (a kitchen designed to keep certain foods seperate which enables them to be labeled Kosher.)

http://www.iwantanewkitchen.com/planning/kosherkitchens.asp

Answer 8

Actually Kosher food is a much better grade of foods than what tend to be found in most non-jewish eateries. You'll find that it actually has some FLAVOR and not just tasteless crud that's full of chemicals, hormones and other stuff. It also tends to be grown, killed, butchered in a MUCH cleaner environment. No, It's NOT offensive to Jews to eat kosher foods at all. They may even find this question to be a bit funny because of your ignorance about what it is to be kosher.

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 9

Of course non Jews can eat Kosher food, we all do it all the time. Why would you think it an insult to people of the Jewish
faith?
Kashrut is the body of Jewish law dealing with what foods we
can and cannot eat and how those foods must be prepared and eaten. "Kashrut" comes from the Hebrew root
Kaf-Shin-Reish, meaning fit, proper or correct. It is the same root as the more commonly known word "kosher," which describes food that meets these standards. The word "kosher" can also be used, and often is used, to describe ritual objects that are made in accordance with Jewish law and are fit for ritual use.

There is no such thing as "kosher-style" food. Kosher is not a style of cooking. Chinese food can be kosher if it is prepared in accordance with Jewish law, and there are many fine kosher Chinese restaurants in Philadelphia and New York. Traditional Ashkenazic Jewish foods like knishes, bagels, blintzes, and matzah ball soup can all be non-kosher if not prepared in accordance with Jewish law. When a restaurant calls itself "kosher-style," it usually means that the restaurant serves these traditional Jewish foods, and it almost invariably means that the food is not actually kosher.

Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple, straightforward rules:

1.Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.

2. Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.

3. All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.

4. Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.

5. Fruits and vegetables are permitted, but must be inspected for bugs

6. Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).

7. Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.

8. Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.


Basically with a few exceptions people of the Jewish Faith eat the same foods as everybody else. So feel free to try foods from a "Kosher" Deli. I think you'll find that it's not much different than your local Subway Sandwich Shop...But try some of the more traditional "Jewish" foods too. You may be surprised at how good they are....

Answer 10

Of course non-Jews can eat Kosher foods. Many Kosher foods are healthy, not to mention taste pretty good... they're just prepared a certain way to make them "kosher". They even sell Kosher food at regular supermarkets--there's a little "K" somewhere on the label, if it's Kosher, to let the buyer know if it is or isn't. Either way, anyone can buy it.

Answer 11

In Boro Park Brooklyn NY strictly religious restaurant owners employ Mexican immigrant non Jewish people to prepare food, so it is not an insult on the jews if not Jewish people also eat such kind food that is blessed by a rabbi.