Decided to start
keeping kosher?

Welcome to a place that will walk with you, one step at a time. No pressure, at your own pace, with rabbis who answer every question.

Start with step one How long between meat and dairy?

Kashrut, keeping kosher, starts in the kitchen , continues at the supermarket , passes through the butcher's and reaches all the way to the table . Step by step.

The soul on the plate

Kashrut is part of who we are

For thousands of years, Jews all over the world have eaten kosher. In Yemen and in Poland, in Morocco and in Iraq, in good times and in hard times. Generation after generation, around the same table.

The Torah ties food to holiness: "You shall be holy people to Me." What we eat becomes part of us and affects the soul as well. When we choose kosher, we do God's will and join a long chain of one family.

Many of us grew up with Abba's Kiddush and a Shabbat table. Kashrut is the natural continuation of that same table.

Bread, salad and soup on the table, with a heart of light above them

The holiness of eating

The sources teach how much eating matters. They don't come to blame the past: from today on, every choice adds holiness.

You shall be holy people to Me

Exodus 22:30God wants us to be holy people, even in the most everyday thing of all: food.

You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be Mine

Leviticus 20:26Kashrut is part of what makes us unique as a people.

Sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy

Leviticus 11:44Said at the end of the passage that lists which animals may be eaten.

Now, a person's table atones for him

Berachot 55aSince the Holy Temple was destroyed, our table at home is like a small altar.

Whoever is careful in these matters brings added holiness and purity to his soul, and refines his soul for the sake of the Holy One, blessed be He

Rambam, Laws of Forbidden Foods 17:32Every small bit of care with food adds holiness to our lives.

Forbidden foods bring actual impurity into a person's heart and soul

Mesilat Yesharim, ch. 11That's why every step toward kashrut is a step of purity and closeness. What came before doesn't hold you back: you can start today.

Words of chizuk

Chizuk means encouragement. Short, down-to-earth pieces for the moments when you need to remember why you started. Each one takes two minutes to read.

Why food, of all things?

We eat several times a day. Every meal is a moment when we decide what will enter our body and become part of us.

The Torah commands us to keep kosher, and explains: "You shall be holy people to Me." The Ramban (Nachmanides) explains that forbidden food harms a person's spiritual life. Kashrut is not a diet and not a health matter. It is a mitzvah, a commandment. It is God's will.

And so food, the most everyday thing of all, becomes a way to make life holy. Not only in the synagogue, but in the kitchen, at the supermarket and at the family table.

Every step counts

Many people think kashrut is "all or nothing": if you can't keep everything by tomorrow morning, there's no point in starting. That simply isn't true.

Every time you choose a product with a hechsher (kosher certification), every time you wait between meat and dairy, every vegetable washed according to the instructions, is a mitzvah in its own right, and it carries its own reward.

So start with what you can. Maybe a dairy-only kitchen, maybe just shopping with a hechsher. Then add one step each week. If you've started, you've already done the hardest part.

It's OK to slip up, OK to ask

A meat spoon went into a dairy pot? You bought a product without checking? It happens to everyone, even to people who have kept kosher their whole lives.

Don't panic and don't throw anything out. In most cases there's a simple solution, and often it turns out the food is permitted and only the utensil needs hagalah (kashering in boiling water).

That's what rabbis are for. Kosharot's rabbis answer every question, even the most basic one. There's no such thing as a silly question, only a question that wasn't asked. And asking shows how much this matters to you.

One table for the whole family

When the home is kosher, everyone can sit around the same table: grandparents, friends, the neighbors from the building.

And the children see it. They learn from us to check for a hechsher, to ask and to wait. They receive an identity, not just rules.

Our Sages said that a person's table atones for him, like the altar in the Holy Temple. When what's on it is kosher, even an ordinary Tuesday dinner becomes a little holier.

Where are you right now?

Every home is different. Choose the situation most like yours, and we'll start with the basics. No complicated words.

Home with your parents, and wanting to eat kosher

For example, a soldier coming home for the weekend to parents and siblings who don't keep kosher. You can keep kosher and still be part of the family table.

First of all, honor your parents. Kashrut doesn't come at the expense of shalom bayit (peace at home). No criticizing and no preaching. Just do it, quietly and with love.
A small set of your own: a plate, a cup, cutlery, and a small pot or pan. Mark them and keep them in your own bin or on your own shelf.
Eat what's safe: packaged products with a hechsher (kosher certification), bread with a hechsher, and fruit and vegetables that have been washed.
Mark everything: a sticker of one color on each of your dishes, a sponge in another color, and a bin with your name on it. That way everyone at home knows what's yours and what's kosher.
Wash in cold water: you can wash your kosher dishes in cold water, even in the family sink. Why? Because taste only transfers with heat.
Shared microwave and oven? There's heat involved, so it's best to ask the rabbi. There are simple solutions, and no reason to give up on home because of it.
In the army: IDF kitchens are kosher, and you can eat in the base dining hall.

Sit down together at the table. Your food on your plate, and family stays first.

Kashrut first aid

Living with family who don't keep kosher? One principle solves most situations at home.

HotTaste transfers

ColdNo transfer

What happened?

Was it hot or cold?

Hot = boiling, cooked, from the oven, from the microwave or from hot water.

No problem

With cold water, you may wash your kosher dishes even in the family sink. Taste doesn't transfer when cold.

Mark things, so it's clear

A sticker of one color on each of your dishes
A sponge and towel in a color of your own
A bin or shelf with your name on it
Tell your family: "This color is mine." Most families are happy to help

There are a few exceptions even when cold: sharp foods like onion, garlic or lemon, cutting with a knife, and something that soaked in water for a full day. In those cases, and whenever you're unsure, ask the rabbi.

Your first three steps

Even if these are all you do, you've already started. Everything else you add slowly, at your own pace.

Buy only with a hechsher
On every packaged product, look for a kosher certification symbol. The ingredients list alone isn't enough.
Don't mix meat and dairy
Not in the same meal and not in the same pot. And after meat, wait before eating dairy.
Meat and poultry: hechsher only
On the package, look for a hechsher and the words "nimlach ve-hudach kadin" (salted and rinsed according to halachah).

And the kitchen gets kashered with a rabbi's guidance, no pressure. You can ask right now.

One week, one step

You don't need to learn everything in advance. Each week you watch one short episode, and at the end you get one mission to do at home. By the end of the season, the kitchen, the shopping cart and the table are already kosher.

Watch the episode

Two minutes with Yossi, who decided to start, and with Rabbi Moshe Katz of Kosharot. No complicated terms and no lectures.

Rabbi Moshe Katz in the kitchen, animated

Do the mission

Each episode ends with a small mission for the week: label drawers, check the hechsher on ten products, crack an egg into a glass. Check it off right here on the site.

Yossi sticking a mission note on the fridge

Ask freely

It's OK to make mistakes and OK to ask. Kosharot's rabbis answer every question, even the most basic, and also when something went wrong in the kitchen.

Keep going

Week after week, the home fills with new habits. Every step counts, and every time you choose kosher, you are doing God's will.

You're not alone on the way

A special WhatsApp group for beginners (in Hebrew): a short word of encouragement, a reminder of the week's mission, and a place to ask without embarrassment.

Join the group

How long do we wait?

After meat, we wait before eating dairy. Most communities wait six hours. No known custom in your family? That's very common among beginners: wait six hours, and check any other custom with a rabbi.

How long you wait according to your custom 6 hours 5.5 hours 5 hours and 1 minute 3 hours 1 hour

The custom of Sephardim and most Ashkenazim.

A reminder when the wait is over

Add an event to your calendar at the time you may eat dairy. Your calendar will send you a notification or an email, depending on its settings.

Google Calendar reminder In Outlook

And after dairy? Rinse your mouth, eat something small, wash your hands, and you can eat meat. After hard, aged cheese, many wait as they would after meat. A different custom in your family? Ask the rabbi.

Dairy from 19:00

How do I clean this of insects?

Type the name of a fruit, vegetable or dry good, and get the exact instructions from Kosharot's insect guide. It covers almost 500 foods, from avocado to spinach. The instructions open in Hebrew.

Didn't find it? See the full insect guide (in Hebrew) or ask the rabbi.

Eden Harel and Oded Menashe in the kitchen

Eden Harel and Oded Menashe check this way tooIn the middle of making a beet salad for Shabbat, they open the Kosharot guide and check in a second how to clean red beets.Watch on YouTube (Hebrew) · a minute and a half

Yossi washing lettuce leaves in a bowl of water

Go deeper: the guide

Based on the series scripts and on Yuval Golden's "Concise Guide to Keeping Kosher" on the Hidabroot site (Hebrew).

Kosher animals: a cow, a sheep, a goat and poultry

Kosher meatA kosher animal, slaughtered by a certified shochet, checked to make sure it isn't treif (unfit), then nikur (removing forbidden veins and fats) and salting. On the package, look for a hechsher and the words "nimlach ve-hudach kadin" (salted and rinsed according to halachah).

Kashrut in every situation

Testimonies and videos from around the web about people who kept kosher, even when it was hardest. Not to compare, but to see how much it matters to us.

"She kept kosher in captivity"

Liri Albag told how her fellow lookout, Agam Berger, avoided non-kosher meat throughout her captivity and refused to cook on Shabbat.

Hidabroot (Hebrew) · Shevat 5785

How I kept my Judaism in Hamas captivity

Agam Berger's testimony about Shabbat, holidays and kashrut, under the hardest conditions of all.

Kikar HaShabbat (Hebrew)

Kosharot's kashrut videos

Dozens more short videos about kashrut in the kitchen, at the supermarket and at restaurants.

Kosharot (in Hebrew)

Beginners' questions

Do I need two kitchens?

Not at all. Two sets of dishes that look completely different are enough, for example red for meat and blue for dairy, plus a pareve knife and board for onion, garlic and lemon.

Do I have to start everything at once?

No. You can start with a dairy-only or meat-only kitchen, and add the rest later. Every step is an achievement.

A meat spoon went into a dairy pot. Now what?

Don't panic and don't throw anything out. Check: Was the food hot? How much food is in the pot? Was the spoon used in the last 24 hours? Often it turns out the food is permitted, and only the spoon needs hagalah. In a complicated case, ask a rabbi.

Does fish count as meat?

No. Fish is pareve, but we don't eat it together with meat. And fish with dairy? It depends on custom: most Sephardim avoid it.

What's the difference between regular kashrut and mehadrin?

There are different levels of supervision. Regular kashrut meets the requirements of halachah (Jewish law) according to many poskim (halachic authorities), and mehadrin is also strict on questions where opinions differ. Which level suits your home? Ask the rabbi. And note: the words Badatz or mehadrin on a package don't by themselves guarantee a high standard.

Is the letter K on a package a hechsher?

Not necessarily. And a vegan restaurant isn't kosher for that reason alone. Without a certificate, it isn't necessarily kosher.

What doesn't need a hechsher at all?

Eggs (and you check each egg for blood), coffee beans, unflavored mineral water, nuts in the shell, dish soap and disposable dishes. This applies during the year, not on Pesach.

My spouse isn't on board yet. What do I do?

This happens to a great many beginners. Start with what's in your hands, with patience and love, and without forcing anything. Shalom bayit (peace at home) is very important, and in a complex situation it's worth consulting a rabbi who knows the subject.

What do I do with the dishes and food already at home?

Don't rush to throw things out. Some utensils can be kashered, and some need to be replaced. Kosharot's simulator (in Hebrew) has guidance for every utensil in the kitchen, and for opened products, ask the rabbi.

What if my question isn't here?

Kosharot's rabbis are available for every question, even the most basic. And it's OK to make mistakes; the main thing is to keep going.

Got a question? Ask the rabbi

Kosharot's rabbis answer every question, from kashering a pot to your family's custom. No question is too small.

It's OK to slip up. It's OK to ask.

Ask the rabbi

Rabbi Moshe Katz and Yossi in the kitchen, animated

Partners in growing kashrut in Israel

Kosharot accompanies thousands of families who are starting to keep kosher: videos, a simulator, rabbis who answer every question. Every donation helps another home in Israel become kosher.

Donate to Kosharot

Decided to startkeeping kosher?

Kashrut is part of who we are

The holiness of eating