JEWISH PASSOVER
WHAT "KOSHER" MEANS
THE Jewii-h Passover, which be
gan last Wednesday at sunset,
will be celebrated by Hebrews all
over the world with the same
ceremonies that tradition tells us
vere the practices of the ancient Jews.
No feast In the Hebrew calendar is of
greater Importance; for the Passover
fcigniflee to every Hebrew the Deliver
ance of the beloved children of Israel,
the chosen of the Lord, from the bond
age of the Egyptians. Even under cir
cumstances of extreme adversity the
Passover festival has l>een observed.
The liberty-loving Americans could not
celebrate the Fourth of July, the birth
of our independence, with more sin
cere feeling than that with which the
Hebrew, the first t<> strike for liberty,
brings to his celebration of the Pass
over. Unlike our Independence day,
however, the Passover stands not for
political independence, but for freedom
of religious thought. For days before
the festival the Hebrew housewife is
preparing her home for the ereat event,
scrubbing floors and cupboards, and
cleaning every spot in the h<. U se. Not
a bit of leaven must be found on the
day of the Passover, not any utensil
used that has been employed with
leaven food.
On the morning of the festival eve
the master of the house goes from room
to room, performing the peculiar cere
mony called Byur Chometz: that is. re
moving the leaven or chometz. No one
Is ever permitted to partake of bread
or other leaven substance or liauid
after 10 o'clock in the mornlne preced
ing the feast, until the evening cere
mony.
On the evening of the first two niehts
of Passover the males of the family at
tend the synagogue, while the women
prepare the table for the seder. The
seder, or order <>f service, beeinß with
the sanctification of the wine. God is
thanked for tlie delights and blessines
of life, and for having relieved the Is
raelites from the Egyptian yoke. Then
all at the table arise. Each person
takes hold of the plate containing the
unleavened bread, while the master re
peats the service. In Jewish households
it is the custom to bless the wine on
the Sabbath eve. and on festival occa
sions- Over it is pronounced the bless
ing of sanctiflcation. The two loaves
of bread always placed upon the table
in every Jewish household at the Sab
bath meal are typical of the two por
tions of manna gathered by the Israel
ites on the Sabbath eve in the wilder
ness.
To any student the religious ceremo
nies of the Jews would be interestins.
The Jewish teachers inculcate the doc
trine that Judaism is the relirion of
life, not death, and tesch us to enloy
the blessings th* Lord has provided to
hl» people during their sojourn unon
earth. As in other religions, however.
there are ascetics among the Hebrews
who by no means pass their lives as if
this were merely a world of pleasure,
but spend their days in penitence and
mortification.
fy CATTERED through the "City of
V^. Restaurants," as San Francisco
v~~ 1 likes to call itself, are numerous
X-"/ restaurants distinguished by the
* title 'Kosher." Some of them are
in the Ghetto, that quarter of the city
in the neighborhood of Sixth and How
ard streets; one is on Taylor street, one
on Eddy street and others in various
sections.
While the majority understand that
the "kosher" restaurants have some
thing to do with the Jewish religion,
few have real knowledge ot what the
■word implies. The sign "Kosher Res
taurant" has no further meaning to the
uninitiated than to emphasize the fact
hat the mode of cooking in such a
♦afe is in strict accordance with the
dietary laws of the Jews. In other
words it means that the food cooked In
such a restaurant, as in the Jewish
home, is fit and proper, which is the
literal translation of the word kosher.
What is not kosher, according to the
Jews, is "tcmeh" or unclean; if clean,
it is "lo tomeh." There are but few^
Jews nowadays who live absolutely up
to the laws of kosher.
■ During the Passover season, the or
thodox Jews live up to old Biblical
admonitions very strictly, but the re
formed Hebrews by no means believe
they should do the same. Certain
dishes are cooked and eaten only during
the Passover, the institution of which
is fully described in Exodus, and
which commemorates the "passing
over" of the plague In Egypt without
injury to the faithful of the Lord. This
is the feast of unleavened bread, the
bread known as matzos.
It is a popular fallacy that pork
must not be offered to a Jew at a meal.
Any one reading up the Scriptures will
find that terrapin is equally abhorrent
to an orthc-dox Jew. The original mean-
Ing, as already, stated, of the word
kosher was "fit," "proper. '' In rabbini
cal literature it had the meaning of
"fit, ' "permitted " in contradistinction
to "posul" and "terefah" (unfit, forbid
den). Extensively used in the Halakah,
the word crept into the common par
lance of the Jews, and the verb "kash
eren" wag formed to denc-te any pro
cess by which vessels for food were
made ritually fit for use. Thus, the
process of cleansing vessels for the
Passover festival is known by that
term; also the process of immersing in
a ritual bath new metal vessels bought
from a nove-Jew. "Kosheren" is es
pecially applied to the ritual prepara
tion c-f meat. In order to soften meat
before it is salted so as to allow the
salt to extract the blood more freely,
the meat is soaked in water for about
half an hour. It is then covered with
salt for an hour and afterward washed
three times. The whole process is des
ignated by the term "kosheren."
The word kosher has domesticated it
self to Jewish dietary laws, in accord
ance with the Biblical and rabbinical
regulations concerning forbidden food.
The ancient Israelites lived chiefly on
vegetable food and fruit, on which the
Bible places no restriction. Among the
early Hebrews animal food was par
taken of by the common people only on
festival occasions. Some of the Tanaim
were of the opinion that during their
journey through the wilderness the Is
raelites were permitted to eat the meat
of only such animals as had previous
ly been sacrificed, some portions of
which had been burned on the altar,
and some given to the priests. The law
of sacrifices is very fully laid out in
the seventh chapter of Leviticus. The
Bible, in its legislative portions, makes
explicit provisions for the distinction
between clean and unclean animals.
These are all in the eleventh chapter of
Leviticus.
And the lord spake unto Moses and to
Aaron, paying untu them. Speak unto the
children of Israel, saying: The»« are the
beasts which ye shall eat among all the
beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever
parteth the haof, and Is cloven-footed, and
cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall
ye cat .
Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them
that chew the cud, or of them that divide
the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth
in* cud but dlvideth not the hoof; he la un
clean unto you.
And the coney, because he cheweth the
cud. but dlvideth not the hoof; he is unclean
unto you.
And the hare, because he cheweth the cud,
but dlvideth npt the hoof; be is unclean unto
you.
And the swine, thotiffh he divide the hoof
and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the
cud; he is unclean unto you.
Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their
carcase shall ye not touch- they are un
clean to you.
These shall ye eat of all that are In the
waters: Whatsoever hath fins and scales in
the waters in the seas and in the rivers, them
shall ye eat.
And all that have not fins and scales in the
**as end in the rivers, of all that move in
the waters, and of any living thing which
Is la the waters, they shall be an abomina
tion unto you. They shall be even an abotn
laatlon unto you; ye shall not eat of their
flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in
abomination. Whatsoever hath no fin? nor
scales in the waters, that shall be an abom
ination unto you.
And these are they which ye shall have in
abomination among the fowls; they shall not
b*: eaten, they are an abomination: The eagle
and the ossifrage and the osprey. and the vul
ture and the kite after his kind; every raven
■ after; his f kind; and * th* owl ■ and ' the -night- -
hawlr, the cuckoo, and the cuckex* and the
hawk alter 1 ; his kind; and; the little owl, and
{ the cormorant and i the owl; and the
! •wan 'and the pen£an?andjthe?gler,:ei£gle;^»nd'!
? .th«T«(k)rk^ the heron after her, klnd,-< the
- lapwing land-: the bat:::-'. •■!;^.,^J: f v/* I'.^-;^'
£? All: in«.fbwi£ jjia<^r#«a. upq»^(U-four ( :
Snail be an abo nun alien unto you. -*-«•*
| ' '; Yet these may ye eat of every , flying, creep- \
ing thing: that goeth upon all lour, which have
less above < their* -" feet," to' leap wjlhal*uybtt» the/
' earth. \C ; ;.W' •"• •* -'i'^-'vv :> t -'.>vT;"» v-^-'V*';?"!'
:-' i Even these of "them yp may eat; locust ■
• aUer his. Kind.., and the balU locunt after .bin ,
' kind," and 1 the . beetle \ after his * kind, : and } the •
grasshopper aft-r kind.. ... . :^'r'^':'.^t''
. • Hut all other lly.ing, creeping things', which-
I have four feet shall be: an abomination • unto ■
• you. ,?• v<- • •"•-''■" '•■:•:- << ' •Vi ■■■■■'■ *'i".---' ■ ■■■■ '
» And * for • the s?; r ye shall be unclean: who- -
soever ,'tcucheth ,tM 'carcase of them shall be
unclean until the even. : rj. :• i . ■••-*».: "-'■J". '■?•.: iV
■. And i whosoever beareth ought "of i the car-
case of them shall .wash 'bis. clothes and be.
unclean' until ; the -even. '.' ■'■ .;• .':■'■' "\ ', • •■•■*'< ■■'
■ . The crrcases '~otl every ; beast ;» which divideth J
the • hoof ; and f is not- cloven- footed, nor . chew- i
eth , the ■ cud, . are 1 unclean , unto you j every one
that toucheth them shall' bo unclean. ' f ';■;.' -. '.'■
' : And ; whatsoever. goeth '£-. upon' ", • his paws,*.
. among' all 'manner:. of beasts that go on all;;
cur,' ; , those ■ are unclean '* . unto ;•; you; r j, whoso'
touche.th ihelr carcase shall be unclean until 1
i the even. ,■ : - :•"..'<'■/- •■-;, ',■.-.'. '.". ';.-.'- ; -'- : >' -.- '
. And- he that beareth th« ; carcase- of ,them
! shall-, wash I his , clothes; - and ; be | unclean : until
'.the even; they are un.lean unto you.;---;':: 1 .. s •• ",
These also Fhall be unclean unto you among
the creeping things that creep upon the earth;
the weasel - and ¥ . the; mouse / and ;. the ;. tortoise ij
'. after.. his klnd;. ¥ and the ferret and the *cha»,
meleon- and the ! lizard and the snail and the .
mole. -■: .■■■A 1 .-, -i -: ' ■'',», •■' ■.*> '-.■■■".■■-. h- <>•':'•' <■?•'
■ These - nre unclean to " you among < all [i, that ;
. creep; whosoever , doth ;j touch them- when th y
be dead shall be unclean until the even. And
upon .whatsoever any :of them; when -they 'are":
' d«ad. doth. falV , It' shall "be unclean; whether
it be any vessel of wood,' i or raiment, or skin,',
' or sack, or whatsoever vessel -it be. ;- wherein :
.any work is done, It must be put' Into water,
•, ami It shall 'be unclean until the even; <so it ;
shall be cleansed. *; ; .. .' ■-. , ■. .' •
• And -■ every | earthen i vessel ■* wherein . any ', of
. th»m - falleth, . whatsoever ■is In it shall jbe un- 1
e'ean, .. end ye shall' break it. '.-.■. .-■ .' ,• ; •;•■..
' 'Of all meat which j may be eaten, , that ' on
which such, wat- r cometh shall 'be unclean; : ;
and all drink that may be drunk in every such
. vessel ; chall >be vnclean.' ..', - .■„. -: ..- r: ■» :."*;-•-!
" And r ; every/.' thine •, whereupon • any ■ part of .:
> their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether
It', be vven-or.ranz's for pots, ' they ; shall " be 1
. broken down- tor they ■: are 5 unclean and shall .
.be . unclean to you.' i •> Nevertheless :a i fountain or, .
j pit. wherein there -Is, plenty of water,-; shall he
* clean;, but i that which .; touehr;th r . their carcase *
shall be unclean. ':/.--■■-'.. .... • ■ '.-; * ' •. * r :~.'r:
' \ And .If any part . of ■ their . carcase fall , upon .
• any .tc wing : seed : which ■ is to -be tyjwn," :lt' shalJ
•• be clean. -vS366S*P«^^?^»l®jS*^3SsS^^B«
- '". But If any J. water be"; put upon ', the seed, and
any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall
be unclean unto you. '.*?. -'■; ■ ,-.-.' *-;,j-.:« : , ~ , ; : •.
'• And if i any :. beast iof I which. ye may eat ;
: die, ' bo that toucheth! the. carcase thereof shall
be unclean, until* the even. _ .; . . . :. ■
And he that ealeth of the careas? of it shall
wash his clothes and 'be unclean until the even; :
he i also that beareth the carcase of •it shall "
wash his clothes and be unclean until the
even. ■'."'/": :J_'.z".l '-'■ '-; • '. ■■' J/J- .-.*«*';?'-.; '.-■'■■'■
'"'And every creeping thing that creepeth upon
the earth shall be an abomination; It shall not
be : eaten. .. ; '.■■•. :■'■■. /■■■■■ .;,"'.■':'.:■■■. '•:•-, .
■ Whatsoever. goeth upon the belly, and what- '
for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves j
- more feet among all creeping things that creep .
:upon the earth, them ; shall ye ", not .; eat; f for .:
. they- are -an i abomination. : '■•'■!■'. -V.: r %v>--v,j<_iJ. ;,■
P ■Ye ; shall ( not make ( yourself abominable with
" r.ny : creeping th ing ■ that creepeth, neither shall '
' ye make -yourselves uncle«n with them that
yt should "be defiled : thereby. •;,. ••-■■ .:
j -'For.; I am the "Lord your God; ye shall there
fore sanctify; youraelves. and ;y* i shall be | holy: I
for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves
I with any manner of . creeping thing that ' creep- j
; eth f. upon '. the ' earth. ''■■j-'-'i. . - : -*,:''/.'. "'-.'- r. ■.
• -\For, 1 am : the i Lord ; that bringeth you up out :
of the; land; of Egypt to be your God; >ye shall \
' therefore be holy, for I am: holy. - .-■-'■•";.'■ .;»*t.
This in r the law of ? the beasts and of the ;
fowl, • and cf , every living creature , that . moveth
In .T: the .•. waters, • and of -_ every £ creature % that t ;
I cretpeth ' upon • the I earth ; to make | a difference j
.between , the unclean and the clean, and be- '
; tween • the , beast \ that may ibe \ eaten ■ and i the >
• beast that may not be ■' eaten. .-"..'
: . One .of the strictest fot) the ' Jewish
dietary laws applies] to the ; preparation i;
of meat. The blood must be drawn and
the meat properly salted or else It is not t
. kosher. The mode of killing also enters 5
: : into the proper preparation. The kosher
butcher shops, of which the kosher res- >
' taurants and the orthodox "i' Jews buy ;
I their meat, obtain the : animals from the j
ordinary slaughter-houses, but the beef r
is not killed in the ordinary i way. On |
j Mondays, Wednesdays | and : Fridays *in <
• the i morning or afternoon one may ; see s
■ cattle slaughtered fin the kosher] fash
; ion. It ]is 1 certainly • more humane than
the way the other animals meet their
deaths, and 1 there is every argument in ~
; its favor. It ■is more . than probable ! that ;
the cattle are slaughtered In this way I
to | insure 'their s being ' healthy. About :
twenty head , a .week . are killed ; for-the ?
"kosher" 6hops. The animal ]is * driven t
THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALU.
itUo" a sued and, «*.^»ut one of its fore
legs is placed an iron ring, while a rope
is tied about its legs in such a way
that It cannot struggle. The sochet,
tht rabbi deputed to kill the animal, is
provided with a sharp knife of peculiar
shape, being square instead of curved
at the end. With this weapon he severs
the /uguiar vein at one stroke, the ani
mai's death being instantaneous. It. is
this quick death that is supposed to
conduce- to the purity of the flesh. The
blood tlbws from the neck in a steady
str«am for perhaps fifteen minutes, and
then the carcass is hung up, with the
head downward, so that if there is any
mere blood to now it will come from the
neck. The heart, liver and entrails are
carefully examined to discover possible
impurities, and if any of these appear
the animal-* is rejected as not kosher.
If it is all right it is blessed by the
rabbi who killed it, and a label in He
brew characters is pasted upon it. In
the cold room-,., where the beeves are
placed after the killing, the kosher law
is also carefully observed. Everything
is pure according to the Biblical in
junction. The actual slaughtering must
be done by an ordained rabbi. For
twenty years Rabbi M. Golden has per
formed the killing for the kosher meat
at one slaughter-house.
It is forbidden to use the milk of un
clean animals which suffer from some
visible malady. When, after the Jewish
ritual slaughtering, an animal appar
ently sound during its life is found to
have been diseased, its milk or cheese
made of its milk is fqrbldden as food.
Now that the agitation about pure food
1h absorbing so much of the public's
attention, these laws of the ancient
Jev?s do not appear, so harsh as they
would a few years ago. Indeed they
appear wholly dictated by common
sense. Eggs of unclean birds, or birds
suffering from a visible sickness, are
forbidden. The rabbis laid down the
Israel's Ancient Kits* and symbolic jranc
lions as practised, amor^ tine ortnodopc
amid tke scenes of Modern American
following as one sign In regard to the
law: "If both ends of the egg are
sharp or round, or if the yolk is outside
and the white inside, it Is of an unclean
bird." The roe of unclean fishes is
also forbidden. Blood, which Is sup
posed to contain the vital element, is
repeatedly forbidden in the Bible, and
not only blood itself, but flesh contain
ing blood, is forbidden. This prohibi
tion applies only to the blood of animals
or of.blrds, not to the blood of fishes or
of locusts. Only the blood which is
contained in the veins or congealed
upon the surface of the meat is forbid
den. As long as it Is ti part of the meat
it may be eaten. The three-fold repe
tlon of the law prohibiting the seething
of a kid in its mother's milk is explain
ed by the rabbis as referrir.gr to three
distinct prohibitions; casting meat and
milk together. Animal fat is forbidden.
Milk must not be drunk for two hours
after meals.
There are a great many delicious
dishes prepared for Jewish consump
tion that would commend themselves to
epicures of all religions if they only
knew of them, but to the majority of
people they are utterly unknown. For
instance, ha^ many would think of
asking a butcher for a haslet? This
means the liver, heart, lung and milt.
The liver is generally cut off and the
rest thrown away, unless especially
asked for by a customer. There Is a
restaurant down in the business quar
ter which, though not strictly "kosher,"
makes a specialty of preparing certain
Jewish dishes. It Is frequented between
11 asd 3 by prominent bankers and
brokers and other men who are num
bered among our epicures. From the
bill of fare of this place one can select
such distinctively Jewish dishea. M
Wiener schnitzel, filled magen or stuffed,
milt and sauerkraut. German fricadells
and mushroom sauce, Swiss sausage
and mashed potatoes, cold salmon with
raisin sauce, sour beef with potato pan
cake, Koenigsberger klops with caper
sauce, sour lung and potato pancake,
chopped Wiener schnitzel with paprika*
sauce, Wiener meat roll with sauer
kraut. lungennuss with egg. In neatly
all Jewish and German households they
know how to prepare these dishes, but
to the French chef or the American
cook who prides herself on her knowl
edge of dainty cooking, they are dishea
unknown. From a '"kosher" chef the
writer obtained the following recipes:
Cold salmon with raisin sauce (a. fa
vorite Jewish dish). — The salmon is left
whole, or cut in slices, boiled", then
drained and laid on a dish. The sauce
is prepared In the following way:
Brown a piece of butter in the frying
pan with a chopped onion and a little
sugar. Soak a bit of honey cake In a
cup of sour claret and add to the other
ingredients in saucepan, with pepper,
salt and a little ground ginger; also
two slices of lemon, one-half cup.- of
raisins and a bay leaf. Cook slowly
and then pour over the fish. 3erva
cold.
Stuffed milt (another typical Jewtstt
dish.) — There are two veins inside the
milt which must be taken out and then
it is scraped. To the- intide is added
soaked bread, egg. onion,, chopped par
sley and seasoning to taste; ail mixed
together, and then sewed up. This
is placed in boiling soup for half art
hour, taken out and browned, and is
ready to serve.
Sour lung is an appetizing dish. Pre
pare the lung by first thoroughly clean-
Ins;, then ball until soft. Throw away
the water and cut the lung into small
squares. Put fat in the saucepan and
brown an onion. Add (tour, a table
spoonful of sugar and two of vinegar.
Make smooth by adding one cup of
meat stock and season with ginger,
pepper, salt, a bay leaf and chopped
parsley. The lung is then placed in the
pan and all cooked slowly together for
twenty minutes. Boiled beef can be
prepared in the same W3y. Another
munner is to prepare lung like hash,
substitute soaked bread for. potatoes
and serve on toast.
The - heart, chopped ss in hash,
sometimes with the lung and sometimes
by Itself, is another favorite kosher
dish.