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From: trb@masscomp.UUCP (Andy Tannenbaum)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: how to be kosher
Message-ID: <146@masscomp.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 6-Dec-83 13:57:05 EST
Article-I.D.: masscomp.146
Posted: Tue Dec  6 13:57:05 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Dec-83 02:47:49 EST
References: <9245@akpcb.UUCP> <1884@fortune.UUCP>
Organization: MASSCOMP, Littleton, MA
Lines: 32


	   In fact, human flesh is quite traif.  Essentially, anything
	living on land must both chew their cud and have a cloven
	hoof to be kosher -- in addition to ritual slaughter, blood
	draining, etc.

	Alan M. Marcum		Fortune Systems, Redwood City, California
	...!hplabs!hpda!fortune!rhino!marcum

If fact, Alan is quite wrong.  Humans do not chew their cud or have a
cloven hoof, but Judaism does not group humans in the category with
other mammals.  Matter of fact, kosher laws are not just based on
common sense:  Meat from kosher mammals may not be eaten with milk.
Meat from kosher fowl MAY NOT be eaten with milk.  Kosher fish MAY be
eaten with milk.  If I was basing these laws on common sense, I'd group
fowl and fish together if the law was about "cooking the calf in its
mother's milk."  My point here is that the animal kingdom is not
treated as a single unit in the laws of kashrut, and humans are not
classified with other mammals.

Chasidic rabbinical students who are friends of mine tell me that
human flesh is most certainly kosher (humans being of a much higher
and holier form than the rest of animalkind) and there are other
reasons why Jews don't eat human flesh, nothing to do with kashrut.
Realize that while "kosher" does not mean "clean" in the lavatory
sense, it does imply "pure" and "holy" and to call human flesh and
thereby humans "treife" (not kosher) would be paying disrespect to
God's greatest creation, and that's certainly not in line with Jewish
belief.

	Bon Appetit!
	Andy Tannenbaum   Masscomp Inc  Westford MA   (617) 692-6200 x274