Is being Kosher obsolete?

For those of you that don't know, Kosher is not eating Pigs, Shellfish, or other bottom-feeders, and not mixing milk and meat. The other day I found out (after being Jewish all these years) why these animals are considered unkosher.

The whole idea about being kosher is not getting sick. Back in ancient days, pigs couldn't be cooked properly, they would be raw, giving people dieses, so the Jews were smart and said "Hey, if this makes us sick, lets not eat it!” the same goes for most hoofed animals.

With the bottom feeders (clams, lobster, catfish, etc.) in olden days, people would dump their waste off of the pier, and the bottom feeders would eat the *waste*, and than you would eat the bottom feeders, so you would be eating your own *waste*, which is disgusting, and also provoked dieses so once again the Jews said "Hey, this is making us sick, and it is disgusting, lets just not eat it!"

Finally the milk and meat, this one has two reasons, one from the Torah, and one from my Rabbi, and most websites. The first from the Torah says it is unholy to cook, or eat a cow (beef) in its mother milk, and since they didn't know which cow was which's mom, they just didn't do it.

The other reason sound more logical with the pigs and shellfish, Way back when, they used wooden plates. When the dairy would sit out in the sun, it would create bacteria with the wood, and than mix with the meat, thus making you sick, and the Jews once again said not to eat it.

Here's the thing, nowadays, pigs can be cooked properly, we use china, not wood, and the shellfish is still a problem, but nobody cares because the ocean is big, and shellfish is being caught farther out from shore than dumping sites. So is being Kosher obsolete, I think so, what do you think?

Well yea it is kinda obsolete. Because of the technology of todays standards. We can cook properly so not to intake any desieased food. But it does not matter you can still eat kosher. That is totaly up to you. Thik of it as a kind of diet in a way. But her if you want to not eat kosher no one is stoping you. As for me bring on the pork chops.

You're right, it is obsolete. But I think it's pretty good that they still stick to it for which ever reason they do. It might not be practical but it's traditions like this which personalise each religion and for lack of a better term, make them more interesting.

It's all a matter of tradition, sure the reasons as to why one must be kosher are no longer applicable in places like america and western Europe, but tradition is a very lovely thing. Tradition unifies people, and one of the best aspects of Judaism is it's traditions that bring the family togethor.

On a lighter note, if you eat kosher, then one of the only hotdog brands avaible to eat are the Hebrew National, which happen to be some of the best tasting hotdogs I've every had.

Originally Posted by vacumgod

On a lighter note, if you eat kosher, then one of the only hotdog brands avaible to eat are the Hebrew National, which happen to be some of the best tasting hotdogs I've every had.

They've also started to introduce Kosher ice-cream trucks in England. Saying that though, they were probably in other countries first.

like vacumgod said, kosher is a tradition, so it's just as obsolete as any tradition. it's not like they think they're going to hell if they eat meat and cheese by accident. traditions are a huge part of judaism.

In some ways Kosher is definitely obsolete because of all of the "rituals" the animal has to go through or whatever, I don't understand the full concept of Kosher, but anyway, in today's society we have to improvise to keep with our religion if we have one, and sometimes society will force us to break those rules we "must" follow, I am non-religious, and it is today's society that has made me like that, because it can be so impractical in certain circumstances.

Originally Posted by Mad Hatter

like vacumgod said, kosher is a tradition, so it's just as obsolete as any tradition. it's not like they think they're going to hell if they eat meat and cheese by accident. traditions are a huge part of judaism.

Tradition is an important aspect of religious custom, however, whether the reasoning exists or not.

As people have said, it's obsolete in the fact that the reasons its practiced no longer apply to our modern world, but it's not obsolete in the fact that its a tradition. People practice traditions for all sorts of reasons.

And Hebrew National hotdogs are the best hotdogs out there. ;-)

For Jews: absolutely.

The entire purpose of the laws were to set the Jews apart as a people and to make them God's people.

Yes, it had some major practical aspects in that it kept them from eating food that was more prone to give them disease. However, this isn't the real reason.

Until God releases you from the laws, you should keep them. Believing Jews, I would contend, should follow these laws.

it is not really obsolete it wplaced their with good reason even now some possibly all of the laws are a benifeit if follow like not eating pork (bacon, sauge), pork will raise your blood pressure and if you have a real high blood sugar quit eating pork for a while and see what willl happen to your blood pressure it will reduce and if your eating kosher you should talk note that ppl that do in general live healthier.

Belief or disbelief is up to you.