Religion and Food: Judaism, Christianity, & Islam By: Allison Wentzell
Food, because it sustains life, is an important part of religious symbols, rites, and customs, [and] those acts of daily life intended to bring about an orderly relationship with the spiritual and supernatural realm (Kittler, Sucher, and Nahikian-Nelms, 2012, p. 79).
Background: Western Religions Judaism- First to be established Nearly 4,000 years old Created when Abraham received God s earliest covenant with the Jews Christianity- Derived from Judaism Begins with Abraham, the first man to believe in one God Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah, while Jews do not Islam- Founded by Mohammed Prophet who God was believed to have delivered his messages through Allah is Islam s one true God
Background: 14 million followers Attend synagogue or temple Led by a rabbi- spiritual leader First five books of the Bible a.k.a the Torah History and basic laws that express the will of God
Kashrut: Dietary Laws Allowed to eat (Kosher): Mammals with a cloven foot and chew cud Cattle, deer, goats, oxen and sheep Birds with crop, gizzard, and an extra talon Chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys Fish with fins and scales No shellfish Any processed or pre-packaged products if labeled with a hekhser
Slaughtering Process: Shehitah Performed by a shohet Must be a Jew who has been trained and licensed. Sharp knife slices animal s jugular vein and trachea All blood is drained Examined for blemishes in meat and organs Makes animal trefah, or unfit to eat.
Kashrut: Dietary Laws Forbids the consumption of Blood and Fat: It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood (The Holy Bible, Leviticus 3:17). Blood is the life of the animal Sciatic nerve: The Genesis tale of Jacob s wrestling with a mysterious stranger...[during which] Jacob was injured in the nerve of his thigh, we are told, and left the battle with a limp (Neusner, 1974, p. 97). Resulted in the change of his name from Jacob to Israel
Meat and Dairy: Forbidden to be eaten together Principle of cooking a baby in its mother s milk: You shall not boil a kid in the milk of its mother (The Holy Bible, Exodus 23:19). Must wait six hours after eating meat to eat dairy products, one hour if the other way around Two separate sets of everything in the kitchen, including appliances
Pareve: Food that is neither meat nor dairy Safe to be eaten with both meat and dairy Includes: bread, grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs, oils, and sugars
Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year A feast day Marks the beginning of a ten-day period of penitence Occurs in accordance to the lunar calender Challah is baked in a round shape: Symbol of the cyclical and eternal nature of life, [and] expresses the hope that the coming year will be complete, unbroken by tragedy (Kolatch, 1995, p. 234)
Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year On the second night a pomegranate is eaten reputedly contains 613 seeds, the same as the number of commandments listed in the Torah (Kittler, Sucher, and Nahikian-Nelms, 2012, p. 83) Pieces of the challah and apples are dipped in honey as a wish for a sweet New Year (Levinson, 2011, p. 27).
Yom Kippur: Fast Day End of Rosh Hashanah Holiest day of the year for the Jews: Yom Kippur is the day of spiritual reckoning, when Jews come face-to-face with themselves and their creator through fasting, prayer, and meditation (Fellner, 1995, p. 27). A fast day: Not permitted to drink any water or eat anything from sunset to sundown Can be broken is they are dangerous to the individual s health or they are pregnant, nursing, or ill
Passover: Liberation from Egyptian enslavement Avoid leavened products: the Jews left in such a hurry that they had no time to allow their bread to rise. To commemorate this during Passover, no unleavened bread or food products are eaten or even kept in [their] possession, the bread being replaced by matzah, (Levinson, 2011, p. 30). Separate set of dishes, pots and pans, and utensils Evening of the first day of Passover is the Seder meal
Passover: The Seder Plate Z roah: roasted shank bone Ancient paschal lamb in Egypt Beitzah: a roasted egg Required offering brought to the Temple at festivals and a symbol of mourning for the loss of the Temple in Jerusalem Maror: bitter herbs; usually horseradish or romaine lettuce Bitterness of Egyptian slavery Haroset: chopped apple, nuts, cinnamon, and wine Mortar used by the Jews to build the palaces and pyramids of Egypt during centuries of slavery Karpas: green vegetable, such as lettuce or parsley Symbolic of the meager diet of the Jews bondage Dipped into salt water in remembrance of the tears shed
Roman Catholicism: Largest number of Christians in the US Most important feast days: Easter- resurrection of Christ after crucifixion Christmas- the birth of Christ United States Catholic Conference abolishment most of the Catholic dietary restrictions in 1966
Roman Catholicism: Easter First Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equinox Palm Sunday begins Easter: Commemorates Jesus triumphant ride into Jerusalem on a donkey Maundy Thursday follows Palm Sunday: Commemorates the Last Supper Good Friday is the day after Maundy Thursday: Both a sad and joyful day
Roman Catholicism: Christmas Celebration begins four Sundays before with Advent to allow for preparation and reflection Most important event is Eucharist, or Communion service Believe that they receive Christ in the bread and wine Idea of God giving himself to human beings at Christmas Thank God for giving the world his only son Food consumed depends on individual s country of origin and family tradition
Roman Catholicism: Fasting Fast days permit one full meal at midday Small amount of food in the morning and evening Fast Days: All the days of Lent Fridays of Advent Ember Days (the days that begin each season) Abstinence- avoiding the use of meat, but not eggs, dairy products, or condiments made of animal fat
Roman Catholicism: Fasting- Lent 40 days that occur between Ash Wednesday and Easter Period of prayer and fasting during which Catholics give up particular pleasures Reminds them of the temptations of Jesus when he spent forty days in the wilderness before beginning his ministry
Eastern Orthodox Christians Less practiced in the United States than Catholicism Use leavened bread, known as phosphoron, for Communion Communion: Received on Sunday Abstain from food and drink before service Considered an opportunity to prove that the soul can rule the body
Eastern Orthodox Christians: Fasting During all fasts they must abstain from: Meat and meat products Dairy products Fish Olive oil Alcoholic beverages Fast days: Totaling about 180 days All Wednesday and Friday s that are not during fast-free weeks
Eastern Orthodox Christians: Great Lent Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon after March 21 Great Lent: a fast period of forty days before Easter occurs. Three important weeks before in preparation for the fasting period Meat Fare Sunday: Third Sunday before Great Lent when all the meat in the house is to be eaten Cheese Fare Sunday: Last Sunday before Great Lent all the cheese, butter, and eggs must be eaten Day after Cheese Fare Sunday, known as Clean Monday Weekdays: meat, all animal products, fish, olive oil and all alcoholic drinks are not consumed Weekends olive oil and wine are permitted
Islam: Background Submission to the will of God. Muslims means he who submits Centered on beliefs and devotional duties to God, or Allah, and is a way of life Islamic bible- Qur an No priests- every Muslim can communicate with Allah directly Eating and fasting- way of worshipping Allah
Islam: Food Habits No overindulgence Share food Should never be thrown out, wasted, or looked at with disgust Halal: Foods that are permitted to be eaten Haram: Foods considered harmful Mashboom: unsure if it fits into these two categories Foods that Allah has deemed haram are found listed in the Qur an
Islam: Haram Foods Qur an section entitled the Al-Maida (The Feast): You are forbidden to eat carrion; blood; pig s meat; any animal over which any name other than God s has been invoked; any animal strangled, or victim of a violent blow or a fall, or gored or savaged by a beast of prey, unless you still slaughter it [in the correct manner]; or anything sacrificed on idolatrous altars (Qur an, 5:3).
Islam: Haram Foods Rules are to avoid: All four footed animals that catch their prey by using their mouth, birds of prey, and swine Animals that have been improperly slaughtered Blood or blood products Consumption of alcohol or intoxicating beverages
Islam: Fasting & Ramadan Abstain from all food, drink, and sex Allowed to eat and drink before the sun comes up and after it sets Main fasting period is Ramadan Fast for the whole month Qur an was revealed as a guide for Muslims from Allah; therefore, giving them guidance and distinguishing right from wrong Show Allah how thankful they are Individuals who are on a journey, ill, pregnant, under fifteen, elders who are physically unable to, and those doing hard labor are exempt
Islam: Feast Days Feast of Fast Breaking or Eid al-fitr: Occurs for three days at the end of Ramadan. Feast in celebration and the giving of alms, or money, food, clothing, ect., to the needy takes place. Almsgiving is not considered charity. Rather, it is religious obligation and placed right alongside [formal worship] as a primary act of service to God.... The Qur an likens [almsgiving] to a good loan paid to God, which he will repay multifold (Earhart, 1993, p. 644).
Islam: Feast Days Eid al-azha, or the Festival of Sacrifice: end of the Hajj ritual in Mecca Commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, for God To celebrate a sheep is sacrificed to remember Abraham s trials Muslims slaughter the animal themselves and then distribute the meat to friends, family, and to the needy
References Albala, K., & Eden, T. (2011). Food & faith in Christian culture. New York: Columbia University Press. Catholic Church, Catholic Church, & Canon Law Society of America (1983). Code of canon law, Latin-English edition. Washington, D.C: Canon Law Society of America. Earhart, H. B. (1993). Religious traditions of the world: A journey through Africa, Mesoamerica, North America, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, China, and Japan. San Francisco, Calif.: HarperSanFrancisco. Emerick, Y. (2004). Complete idiot's guide to understanding Islam. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha. Fellner, J. B. (1995). In the Jewish tradition: A year of foods and festivities. New York: Smithmark. Haleem, M. A. (2004). The Quran. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Hexham, I. (2011). Understanding world religions. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. The Holy Bible. (1994). San Francisco, CA: Ignatius. Jenkins, J. (1995). Christianity. Oxford: Heinemann.
References Kittler, P. G., Sucher, K. P., & Nahikian-Nelms, M. (2004). Food and Culture (2012 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Kolatch, A. J. (1995). The Jewish book of why. Middle Village, NY: J. David Publisher. Levinson, Y. (2011). The Jewish natural nutrition...with kabbalistic insights. Lake Dallas, TX: Helm Publishing. Neusner, J. (1974). The life of Torah: Readings in the Jewish religious experience. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Quinton, R. K., & Ciccazzo, M. (2007). Influences on Eastern Orthodox Christian fasting beliefs and practices. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 46(5), 469-491. Shahak, I. (1994). Jewish history, Jewish religion: The weight of three thousand years. London: Pluto. Standke, C. (2008). Sharia - The Islamic Law. Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN VerLag. Willis, D. (2005). Clues to the Nicene Creed: A brief outline of the faith. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.