Of all the
Religious Dietary Laws and Restraints, the
Orthodox Judiac dietary laws are possibly the most complicated.
A number of
Jews are either unable or unwilling to
keep kosher as prescribed by the
Talmud (see
Kashrut, the body of
rabbinic law that discusses what is and is not
kosher). Those that instead choose to
keep kosher precisely as instructed in the
Bible are said to remain '
biblically kosher'.
Jews who pick and choose which
dietary laws to follow at
whim are sometimes described as
faux kosher.
An example will help. Deuteronomy 14:21 and Exodus 23:19 say,
Thou shalt not seethe [cook] a kid in his mother's milk.
This was extended by
rabbinic Judaism to ban the
consumption of
milk products and
meat together completely -- this ban also includes
plates,
cutlery,
utensils and
cooking vessels used to prepare or serve either.
Some (including Karaite Jews, a sect that rejects the Talmud) believe that this is excessive and choose to combine meat and dairy, or not, as they wish. Most Karaites, for example, will eat chicken and dairy together -- and some will combine beef and dairy provided they're from different sources.
Source:
- Israel's 30,000 Karaites follow Bible, not Talmud
- http://www.jewishsf.com/bk991210/1ackariate.shtml
- rec.food.cuisine.jewish FAQ
- http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/rfcj/kosherfaq.htm