Kosher v. Halal: A Comparison

ARTICLE

Jewish dietary law, kashruth , has differences and similarities to Islamic dietary law. Understanding when kosher helps us and when it hinders us from keeping halal is key to raising awareness with manufacturers, distinguishing ourselves as a market of our own, and driving the demand for halal food products.

Alcohol

kosher_halal In Islam, alcohol and alcohol-derived products including (most) wine vinegars are prohibited—even when used in cooking .

Alcohol is kosher, however, all grape products, including wines, brandies and other grape-based alcohols must be prepared under Orthodox Rabbinic supervision. For a wine to be kosher, it cannot be produced by non-Jews. All other (non-grape) alcoholic drinks can be certified kosher, so long as it contains no non-kosher ingredients and the equipment used to prepare it is inspected under the supervision of a rabbi .

Blood

kosher_halal In Islam, the eating or drinking of blood that has flowed from flesh is prohibited. A slaughtered animal must be thoroughy exsanguinated (drained of all flowing blood). Accordingly, while preparing meat for cooking, Muslims routinely wash raw meat, soaking it in a solution of vinegar and water, or water and salt, to further draw out surface blood from the meat.

For meat to be kosher, all blood and large blood vessels must be removed from the meat. This is most commonly done by soaking and salting, but also can be done by a special broiling process. The hindquarters of a mammal are not kosher unless the sciatic nerve and the fat surrounding it are removed.

Cheeses

kosher_halal Islam has no prohibition against mixing meat and dairy products. Cheese is allowed in the Muslim diet. However, Muslims concerned with the slaughter of the calf from which the rennet came may choose to eat kosher or vegetarian cheeses to avoid doubtful areas.

For any cheese to be kosher, whether or not it is made with GM, microbial or animal rennet, it must be " Jewish cheese " ( gevinat Yisrael ) – cheese produced by a Jew or by a Jewish owned company. ¹ Contrary to common knowledge, the use of animal rennet in cheesemaking does not go against the kashrut prohibition against eating meat and dairy together. ² Rabbinical opinions differ as to whether animal rennet must come from a kosher-slaughtered calf. ^{1, 3}

Dead Meat

Islamic and Jewish both prohibit the eating of dead meat. It is forbidden to eat the meat from an animal that died of illness, a blow, by trapping, or a natural death, or any animal killed in any manner other than by slaughter or the hunt (not permissible in Judaism) ⁴ .

INsects

Islam prohibits eating insects, except for the Arabian locust. Vegetables must be washed to remove insects .

Eating insects violates 3-6 laws of the Torah; so it is a greater sin than the consumption of pork in Jewish law. ⁵ However, as in Islam, certain sub-species of locust are kosher. To be kosher, vegetables, especially leafy vegetables must be checked for insect infestation.

Mixing Meat and Milk Products

kosher_halal Islam does not forbid the eating of meat and dairy in the same meal.

Jewish dietary law forbids: 1) cooking meat and milk together in any form; 2) eating such cooked products, or 3) deriving benefit from them. As a safeguard, the Rabbis extended this prohibition to disallow the eating of meat and dairy products at the same meal or preparing them with the same utensils. Milk products cannot be consumed after eating meat, for a period of time. Most customs say to wait six hours. Prior to eating meat after dairy, one must eat a solid food, either drink a liquid or thoroughly rinse one’s mouth, and check the cleanliness of ones hands.

Slaughter

kosher_halal In both zabiha and shechita , the Islamic and Jewish methods of slaughter, the animal must be in good health and fully conscious. Before either zabiha or shechita occurs, the slaughterer recites a blessing, saying:

Islamic zabiha : " Bismillah, hal raHmaan ar-raHeem (In the Name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful)."
Jewish shechita : "Blessed are You... Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning slaughtering." ⁶

Both must use an extremely sharp knife and swiftly, and with enough depth, cut through the major veins of the neck. Lastly, for the meat to be halal or kosher, the animal must be drained of all flowing blood .

Utensils

kosher_halal Islam does not mandate seperate utensils. Utensils previously used to prepare pork or another haram substance must be thoroughly washed while the Islamic statement of faith ( shehadah ) spoken.

A kosher kitchen must have two different sets of utensils, one for meat and poultry and the other for dairy foods. There must be separate, distinct sets of pots, pans, plates and silverware.

A **comparative list of kosher and halal animals**

ANIMAL	KOSHER ⁷	HALAL	Notes
Antelope	Yes	Yes
Boar	No	No
Buffalo	Yes	Yes
Camel	No	Yes
Cephalopods octopus, squid, cuttlefish	No	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other Sunni Traditions. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Cow	Yes	Yes
Crustaceans crab, lobster, crawfish	No	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other Sunni Traditions. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Deer	Yes	Yes
Donkey	No	No
Frog	No	No
Goat	Yes	Yes
Horse	No	Yes
Insects carmine, shellac, cheese mites	No*	No*	The Arabian locust is both halal and kosher.
Ostrich	No	Yes
Pig swine, boar	No	No
Predators, Air hawk, owl, falcon	No	No
Predators, Land bear, dog, alligator, snake	No	No
Predators, Sea	No	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other Sunni Traditions. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Scavengers, Carrion Eaters buzzards, raccoon, worms	No	No*	Scavenging sea creatures are permitted.
Sheep	Yes	Yes
Shellfish mussels, clams, oysters	No	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other Sunni Traditions. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Snails	No	No
Zebra	No	Yes

References:

[1] Gordimer, Rabbi A. "How is Cheese Made Kosher?" AskMoses.com reprinted from OUKosher.org. (Retrieved: March 26, 2009)
Cited reference (reference not currently verified)

[2] Wikipedia: Kashruth : Vegetarianism. (Retrieved March 26, 2009) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashruth#Vegetarianism

[3] "Wikipedia: Kashruth : How Kashrut is viewed by contemporary Judaism. (Retrieved March 26, 2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashruth#How_kashrut_is_viewed_by_contemporary_Judaism

[4] Luban, Rabbi Yaakov "The Kosher Primer," The OU website: http://oukosher.org/index.php/common/article/the_kosher_primer/P1/

[5] Positive Mitzvah #151: Searching for the prescribed signs in grasshoppers. Leviticus 11.21

[6] Hecht, Rabbi Mendy. "What is kosher meat?" Ask Moses.com. Cited reference (reference not currently verified)

[7] Hecht, Rabbi Mendy. "What are kosher animals?" Ask Moses.com. Cited reference (reference not currently verified)