Eating Kosher(ish) in Portugal
So this december, I decided I'd go fully kosher by September 2018... I decided that with or without the guidance of a rabbi I wanted to come closer to G-d and become more observant.
It's been about three weeks now... well... actually exactly three weeks now. There are certain things that have been happening that I didn't expect happening, well at least not so soon.
First off I would like to explain the reason why I say I eat Kosher-ish and not Kosher.
Foods to Avoid :
Seafood, Sea mammals, fish without scales
Mammals who don't chew the cud or don't have cloven foot
-No blood, Animals have to be completely drained of their blood. No Veins nor Skin ( that part was not hard. Never ate that anyway)
This includes blood spots in eggs
-Avian animals ( no change as I didn't eat any of the forbidden species)
-Not mixing dairy and meats ( some extend this to fish)
-Removal of all insects ( not Kosher) from fruits, vegetables and any foods [Nothing new here either]
Now these guidelines that I follow, sadly do not render my food Kosher. Although I eat only kosher permitted foods... this doesn't render my food Kosher.
There are certain measures I also take. I try to eat a mosly fish-based diet. Avoid meats [ even kosher ones] because of cross-contamination in processing of meats [may open an exception for avian animals from companies that produce/handle nothing but permissible animals].
Also even permitted animals are not kosher if not slaughtered according to Jewish guidelines under rabbinical supervision so I stick to fish as much as possible
I also have my own utensils, that at this point have been only used for fish or dairy.
Another thing I pay very attention too is labels to avoid any cross-contamination. Any food that otherwise " kosherish" that says may contain trace amounts of forbidden ingredients I avoid.
The other day I had a panick attack because I was going to eat something I always assumed was cheese flavoured ( made out of corn) ... and then upon careful inspection of the packaging it read Cheese and Bacon Flavoured. I was disgusted. Had already started eating[this friday].--- luckily after further analysis of the packaging I realized that it contained indeed dairy, but the bacon flavour was obtained through artificial " smoke flavour".It was a lucky break...no pork but a constant reminder to remain extra vigilant to the food packaging of anything we choose to purchase. Seemingly innocent foods may contain forbidden ingredients.
Extra challenges. Despite my food coming only for permissible sources/animals that are some limits to how kosher I can eat. None of the foods that I eat are cooked by real Jews... hence none is really kosher despite following strictly the recommendations. Why Eat kosherish at all if it's not fully kosher? We do our best with what is available to us. I'll do kosher as far as practicable... which brings me to the second point. I usually have lunch at school.. now while I try to always get the fish/vegetarian option certain points make it not Kosher. First they weren't cooked by anyone jewish, second they are served in non-kosher dishes and cuttlery... third cross-contamination.... and last but not least... I can't verify wether the vegetarian option's eggs had a bloodspot or not so I try to go mostly with the fish option[except when it's catfish or seafood].
Overall I'm still not converting, I'm still not obligated to anything. I am still not being guided by a rabbi... I do all this on my own volition. Still.
As for the results of these three weeks I'm very surprised... I never thought ( nor planned) going full kosher(ish) cold turkey. I had not anticipated to go kosher as soon as I did... it seems though I was headed that way, I thought I'd try just the first week of the year... that I wanted to experience the foods I'm used to a last time before I convert that I had a lot of time to go kosher... but that week of kosher had unforseen results. Somehow it helped become more observant... and foods that I used to like ( don't get me wrong I'd probably still enjoy them ) that are not permitted... now revolt me. The Idea of eating them... It just feels wrong [ even though I'm not obligated]. So I managed to make to week 3(4th beginning today] pretty much without cravings. My family filled the fridge with bacon and pork preserves... but I didn't feel any temptation ( even though I loved bacon). So far I've been fairly successful ( even though I know this alone doesn't make my food kosher).
I've had some pleasant surprises from my kosher diet. Even though I eat 3 times as much as I used to I've been loosing quite a lot of weight. I've also had my mensies a little more normal this month.
I don't know where this is getting me at but I'm fascinated with the outcomes. I'm also surprised at how just the act of going Kosher helps me with my commitment and observance. Soon I'll start beeing shomer shabbos. I'm surprised at how natural this feels.
Anyway Shalom, thanks for reading
Ana
It's been about three weeks now... well... actually exactly three weeks now. There are certain things that have been happening that I didn't expect happening, well at least not so soon.
First off I would like to explain the reason why I say I eat Kosher-ish and not Kosher.
Foods to Avoid :
Seafood, Sea mammals, fish without scales
Mammals who don't chew the cud or don't have cloven foot
-No blood, Animals have to be completely drained of their blood. No Veins nor Skin ( that part was not hard. Never ate that anyway)
This includes blood spots in eggs
-Avian animals ( no change as I didn't eat any of the forbidden species)
-Not mixing dairy and meats ( some extend this to fish)
-Removal of all insects ( not Kosher) from fruits, vegetables and any foods [Nothing new here either]
Now these guidelines that I follow, sadly do not render my food Kosher. Although I eat only kosher permitted foods... this doesn't render my food Kosher.
There are certain measures I also take. I try to eat a mosly fish-based diet. Avoid meats [ even kosher ones] because of cross-contamination in processing of meats [may open an exception for avian animals from companies that produce/handle nothing but permissible animals].
Also even permitted animals are not kosher if not slaughtered according to Jewish guidelines under rabbinical supervision so I stick to fish as much as possible
I also have my own utensils, that at this point have been only used for fish or dairy.
Another thing I pay very attention too is labels to avoid any cross-contamination. Any food that otherwise " kosherish" that says may contain trace amounts of forbidden ingredients I avoid.
The other day I had a panick attack because I was going to eat something I always assumed was cheese flavoured ( made out of corn) ... and then upon careful inspection of the packaging it read Cheese and Bacon Flavoured. I was disgusted. Had already started eating[this friday].--- luckily after further analysis of the packaging I realized that it contained indeed dairy, but the bacon flavour was obtained through artificial " smoke flavour".It was a lucky break...no pork but a constant reminder to remain extra vigilant to the food packaging of anything we choose to purchase. Seemingly innocent foods may contain forbidden ingredients.
Extra challenges. Despite my food coming only for permissible sources/animals that are some limits to how kosher I can eat. None of the foods that I eat are cooked by real Jews... hence none is really kosher despite following strictly the recommendations. Why Eat kosherish at all if it's not fully kosher? We do our best with what is available to us. I'll do kosher as far as practicable... which brings me to the second point. I usually have lunch at school.. now while I try to always get the fish/vegetarian option certain points make it not Kosher. First they weren't cooked by anyone jewish, second they are served in non-kosher dishes and cuttlery... third cross-contamination.... and last but not least... I can't verify wether the vegetarian option's eggs had a bloodspot or not so I try to go mostly with the fish option[except when it's catfish or seafood].
Overall I'm still not converting, I'm still not obligated to anything. I am still not being guided by a rabbi... I do all this on my own volition. Still.
As for the results of these three weeks I'm very surprised... I never thought ( nor planned) going full kosher(ish) cold turkey. I had not anticipated to go kosher as soon as I did... it seems though I was headed that way, I thought I'd try just the first week of the year... that I wanted to experience the foods I'm used to a last time before I convert that I had a lot of time to go kosher... but that week of kosher had unforseen results. Somehow it helped become more observant... and foods that I used to like ( don't get me wrong I'd probably still enjoy them ) that are not permitted... now revolt me. The Idea of eating them... It just feels wrong [ even though I'm not obligated]. So I managed to make to week 3(4th beginning today] pretty much without cravings. My family filled the fridge with bacon and pork preserves... but I didn't feel any temptation ( even though I loved bacon). So far I've been fairly successful ( even though I know this alone doesn't make my food kosher).
I've had some pleasant surprises from my kosher diet. Even though I eat 3 times as much as I used to I've been loosing quite a lot of weight. I've also had my mensies a little more normal this month.
I don't know where this is getting me at but I'm fascinated with the outcomes. I'm also surprised at how just the act of going Kosher helps me with my commitment and observance. Soon I'll start beeing shomer shabbos. I'm surprised at how natural this feels.
Anyway Shalom, thanks for reading
Ana
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