Slaughtering In Judaism

In the Jewish religion, people are required to follow specific dietary laws that were given to them through Gods commandments. This can pertain to separation of milk and meat, what meat is permitted to be consumed, how food can be prepared and a plethora of other detailed guidelines. In particular, the slaughtering of animals stands out among all other restrictions as imperative in kashrut. The Talmud explicitly states, “The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said ‘Since you are merciful to the flock of a human being, you shall be the shepherd of My flock, Israel.” This is referring to the mission of Moses to protect the animals of Israel, since he is adept in caring for animals. Judaism places great stress on proper treatment of animals. Judaism distinctively …show more content…
The slaughtering process is designed to be as fast and painless as possible, and if anything ensues that might cause pain, the flesh is not considered kosher and may not be consumed. A shohet is an individual who is carefully trained and licensed by rabbinic authority to carry out the act of slaughtering the kosher animal. As a shohet, it is that individual’s responsibility to not only slaughter the animal, but also conduct an examination of the animal (bedikah). The proper way to slaughtering is quick deep strokes across the throat with a sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is concluded as the least painful and most humane way of slaughter. If a shohet does not follow these slaughtering guidelines, then the slaughter would be deemed not kosher and would not be able to be …show more content…
It is part of the Jewish people covenantal responsibility to follow these dietary laws for what they consume. Food is considered kosher based on: how the animal is killed, who is doing the killing and what is being killed. The dietary restrictions of slaughtering, a main aspect of the dietary laws, are established for the sole purpose of preventing cruelty to animals. They view animals lives as equally as important as humans, hence why the rules are so strict to prevent the animal from suffering. In order for the slaughtering to be kosher, the animal needs to be killed by quick deep strokes across the throat with a sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is concluded as the least painful and most humane. The Torah is very specific on who can carry out the slaughtering. In the case of M. Hullin 1:1-2: Law of Ritual Slaughter, if a gentile slaughters an animal, it is deemed not kosher. This illustrates that in the instance a gentile slaughters an animal, the Jewish people cannot eat it. This explains how the Jewish people view gentiles and overall the importance of kosher