Coursework 2

Besides commandments and ethical laws of living, Judaism has a series of observances and practices called the Halakha that do a considerable part of their practice. For this reason, since Judaism does not make great distinctions between religious and non-religious rules and laws, many of these practices have a religious and an ethical meaning (Edelheit & Edelheit, 2000). Moreover, given the great Diaspora, Judaism has suffered in the last millennium, these rules serve as a corpus of laws regarding what it is to be a Jew and the rules and attribution it has. In this essay, we shall speak about two of these laws: the religious dietary rules known as Kosher in English and Kashrut in Hebrew; and the observance of the Sabbath.

Regarding the rules of Kashrut, there is much speculation regarding why the Jews decided to maintain such strict dietary laws since the Torah just warns them to abstain from certain foods, but does not provide a rationale in that respect (Leviticus: 11:3-36, 1958). However, besides the restrictions the Law imposed over Jews, many scholars have argued that the rules of the Kashrut might be rooted in precepts such as the hygiene of the preparations and that without proper care during the slaughter the animals can become contaminated, rendering them unable to be consumed. On the other hand, kosher laws seem to have a more anthropological rationale since these laws help to separate Jews from non-Jews, forbidding them from marrying other people as a way to m…