I'm an Orthodox Jewish Woman, ask me anything.

[Jewishbookwork]

On the thread @Israelilefty started, people were asking about Orthodox Judaism. So I am starting (another) one here. Other Orthodox Jewish women are welcome to answer too, so we have more of a range of answers.

I am Chabad Chasidic, we are very religious - I wear a wig, my husband wears black and white and we have lots of books in hebrew in our house.

Aww sorry about the McCoy's, I love those 😢 What is it exactly that would make vegetarian crisps unkosher? Do Jewish shops have their own kosher brands of crisps/sweets?

@istoodonlegoagain yes their are kosher brand crisps and sweets. Some are pretty good (e.g. bamba, bissli etc). They recently made kosher salt and vinegar crisps in Israel which were really good, and I got very excited lol, but for a while I can't remember why, they stopped producing. They've started bringing them in again, and all the UK expats keep posting on my whatsapp group when they spot them in a shop 😅

I don't know for sure with the crisps what the issue was, as the laws are pretty intricate. One food colouring, cochineal, is derived from insects, which are treif (not kosher), and that can be used in sweets, for example.

Today is a busy one for me, as I have guests both Shabbos meals, which is pretty unusual, and an extra relative staying over as well, so instead of my usual 7 per meal (I have a relative who lives with me usually), I have 11-12 per meal.

One meal I am splitting with the guests, as the mum has food allergies, and one meal I am cooking it all. Thank G-d I have some food in the freezer, because I also have a big work deadline. DH stayed up super late to do all the cleaning, and took care of the 4 year old who woke up, so he can help with all the cooking, so I can focus on work. We don't have any cleaning help here, which I find quite tricky, as DH works long hours (and when not at war, he commutes 3/5 to Jlem/Tel Aviv offices, an hour each way), and I also work, plus with the kids SEN it gets hectic. I actually appreciate that we clean so much for Shabbos, because we want the house to sparkle for Shabbos, so we naturally end up resetting the house every friday, and aiming to get all the laundry done by then.

I have been reading all the Q&A's about kosher which has been so informative. I wanted to ask are there organisations who certify or inspect kosher products to check that they are indeed kosher? Mostly for meat, to check the animal has been killed following kosher rules and not stunned for example? Or would you base it on trust?

Hi @Parkingt111
Yes, if a product has a kosher symbol (hechsher), then the organisation that gives out the hechsher inspects the factory/ ingredients/products, and should do random checks.

I would only buy from a butcher with a reputable hechsher, and the organisation that gives it should do surprise inspections (a bit like food hygiene inspectors). There is of course an element of trust as well.

When we eat out in restaurants (including in Israel), we check the 'teuda'. Kosher restaurants should have a prominently displayed certificate, provided by the kashrus organisation who has given them the hechsher. Certificates must be updated (I think yearly). If a restaurant won't show the teuda (they should be happy to show you), or it is expired, that is a red flag.

People will keep different standards of kashrus, for example, my sister in law will only eat certain hechsherim, so when we eat out together, we will only go to a few establishments, or if I make a meal, I'll specifically use ingredients with hechsherim she trusts. I eat a wider range, but there are hechsherim I also wouldn't trust. Unfortunately there have been fraudulent 'hechsherim' in the past.

yes I found that surprising when I went to Israel. Many restaurants were not kosher at all. my MIL was very disappointed. Also kosher food there didn't seem cheaper compared to the uk at all, though there is more choice, more flavours of bamba. there is only regular and hazelnut bamba here in north london and the hazelnut bamba only comes in small packets.

@EllaDisenchanted thank you so much for that very detailed explanation.

@EllaDisenchanted i have been looking at the similarities between Kosher and Halal meat and some muslim scholars say that if Halal meat is not available then Kosher meat is fine to consume as they follow the same guidelines. The only difference is the prayer that is said. Can I ask please what prayer is said in the Kosher method? Thank you once again

Hi @Parkingt111 unfortunately I don't know the prayer that is said on shechita. Maybe @Jewishbookwork or @jewishorthomum know?

You've got a really busy Shabbos, good luck! Which crisps are these?

Its a prayer to sanctify the act of slaughtering, I'm loosely translating
"Blessed is You, Gd, who sanctifies us with the commandment of slaughtering"

@jewishorthomum תפוצ׳יפס ! Knock kolak out of the park, they taste like walkers.
also simba chips are good, but they are thick crinkle cut and I like a thin crisp 😅

thanks ;) pulling challah and soup out of the freezer and I bought thighs, rather than cutting up whole chickens, because the guests tomorrow are bringing grilled breast , so I don’t need carcasses for soup, or the breasts for shnitzel so actually my prep seems to be less than normal!

Cutting up chicken is so nasty, I'm lazy and usually buy the ready cut.
The תפוצ׳יפס are so good (and oily)! They sell them here for Pesach.
When I lived in Israel I loved all the different flavoured Dorito's. In the UK, we couldn't get them kosher until recently.

I've not found any ready cut up here yet that include the carcasses, and I like carcasses and wings for the soup. I don't mind it so much, I can't bear feathers though bleurgh

Shabbat Shalom everyone.

Too late again this week, but hope you have a lovely Shabbat 💐

I wear surgical gloves handling chicken I can't bear touching it either. I love making stock out of the carcass.

Are you somewhere around your late thirties? I have a real Thing about raw chicken, and I chalk it up to a particular series of public information ads I was exposed to during childhood, presumably at a crucial point in the formation of my cooking psyche. The ones with the luminescent purple chickeny fingerprints and smears, spreading undetected around an otherwise pristine kitchen, being deposited on ready-to-eat food — a sinister, lurking force of evil lying in wait to absolutely wreck somebody's week at the minimum, and worst case scenario, possibly murder them.

No a lot older, I remember those ads though. Funnily enough I've killed, plucked and drawn a chicken. It wasn't slimy at all. It's the treatment of mass production chicken that I think makes it slimy and particularly unpleasant.

Veg flavoured crisps are not always vegetarian, meat flavoured crisps are often vegetarian.

Walkers prawn cocktail, chicken, Worcester sauce, BBQ rib and chicken and chorizo flavours are all vegan.

Yes the non veg ones are usually something with cheese flavour. I was out shopping last night and spotted an offer on S&V McCoys (which I haven't had for ages) and when I ate one was horrified that they hardly had any taste. I remember my throat used to constrict when I opened the packet as the vinegar 'fumes' were so strong 🤣

We have a pretty small community where I am so everyone brings it in early. But even early is pretty late - we are not eating until 9pm. My small kids eat the first course and crash out.

@Jewishbookwork I'm assuming you are in G? I read the seminary is great there!

lol no I don't live in Gateshead, by a small community I mean a one synagogue type of place.

How do you find that? Is it not very isolating? Have you been on TV before?

The hats! Can the beautiful fur Shabbos hats be passed down from father to son? They look much more complicated from an aerial view from the top of the 149 bus than I had imagined, Are they all bought new or are there "family shtreimels" that have belonged to grandfathers and great-grandfathers?