Kosher Certification of America – KCA

Eating Glatt Kosher Meat

Sephardim, who follow the rulings of Rabbi Yosef Caro (The Beit Yosef) are required to consume only Glatt kosher meat. Ashkenazim, who follow the rulings of Rabbi Moshe Isserles (The Rema) may consume non-Glatt meat. However, since today Glatt kosher meat is readily available and it has become prevalent that most observant Ashkenazim eat only strictly Glatt kosher meat, therefore, Ashkenazim too should make every effort to keep to this norm.

Forbidden Fats, Arteries and Veins

Certain fats, arteries and veins must be removed within seventy-two hours after slaughter. These are found in the thighs and legs, tongue, shoulder, chest, ribs, heart and spleen. This is a difficult process and requires skill. In most countries today (except for Israel), only the forequarter is purged of these vessels. The hindquarter, which has the sciatic nerve running through it, is particularly difficult to purge and requires a high level of expertise. It is also a time consuming procedure. Much of the problem is therefore avoided by selling the hindquarter to non-kosher packinghouses.

Kosher Cuts of Meat

The following cuts of meat are from the hindquarter and usually will not be found in a kosher butcher store:

The T-bone, porterhouse sirloin, filet minion, whole flank, club steak, rump roast and round of beef.

The following cuts of meat are from the forequarter and may be found in a kosher butcher store:

The rib eye, rib steak, rib top, flank rib, London broil, brisket, neck, chuck roast, deckle, minute steak and shoulder roast.

Kosher Slaughter
The animal must be slaughtered in the proper manner as prescribed by Halacha. This is done by a highly trained certified ritual-slaughterer (shochet). The certification for ritual-slaughter is called “Kabbala” (קבלה). In order to receive kabbala a person must be both learned in Torah and G-d fearing. Nowadays, many people learn to be a shochet as a post-rabbinical study after they have already received rabbinical ordination (Semichah). To receive Kabbala, a person must:

a) Study all the laws of shechitah (slaughter) until he is thoroughly familiar with them and review them on a regular basis. Even a shochet with years of experience is required to review these laws regularly.

b) Practice properly sharpening the knife on a whetstone until it is perfectly sharp and free of all nicks and imperfections.

c) Master the skill of checking the blade for perfect sharpness and any imperfections. This is done by sliding the thumbnail up and down the length of the blade. Sensitivity must be developed to notice even the tiniest nicks.

d) Learn all the techniques of proper slaughter from a qualified, experienced shochet.

e) Successfully slaughter at least three animals in close succession without hesitation or squeamishness.

f) Be tested on all the above. Most people begin with slaughtering chickens and only later graduate to slaughtering larger animals, such as goats and sheep and finally beef cattle.

The Slaughtering Knife

A special knife, called a chalef (חלף) is used for kosher slaughter. The blade must be at least twice as long as the neck-width of the animal being slaughtered. For chickens it is approximately from 3 to 6 inches long and for larger animals it may be as long as 18 inches. To insure that the blade is exposed throughout the cut and that it slices, rather than tears, the blade is rectangular in shape. It must be razor sharp and have no nicks in it, whatsoever.

Until a little over two hundred years ago most chalefs where made of wrought or cast iron blades. Then, the leader of the Chassidic movement, Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, the “Great Maggid”, introduced the use of chalefs made of honed steel with a tapered blade. This innovation instigated a great outcry amongst the opponents of the Chassidim, and they used it as justification to ban the consumption of all Chassidic slaughter, declaring it to be “non-kosher”. However, today the use of high quality tapered stainless steel blades is universal, not only in Chassidic circles, but by all Jews, everywhere.

Five General Rules of Slaughter

There are five basic rules which apply to the slaughter itself. These were given to Moses by G-d at Sinai. They are:

a)  Shehiyah (שהייה). There should not be any pause or hesitation in the movement of the knife during slaughter.

b)  Derisah (דרסה). The blade must slide smoothly without pressing down on the neck.

c)  Chaladah (חלדה). The blade must be exposed throughout the slaughter; therefore, before the slaughter of sheep, the wool must either be removed or brushed apart. If mud is encrusted on the neck of cattle, it must be washed off. The feathers of poultry must be pushed aside.

d)  Hagramah (הגרמה).  The cut should neither be too high or too low on the neck. Rather, it should be in the central area of the trachea and esophagus. Moreover, care must be taken to avoid cutting the spine.

e) Ikoor (עיקור). Great care must be taken that the blade slices rather than tears the trachea and esophagus. Therefore, the blade must be perfectly sharp and contain no nicks, which could cause tearing. In order to assure this, the knife is checked before and after slaughter. Besides these five above mentioned rules being essential requirements of kosher slaughter itself, they also assure that the slaughter is done in the most humane way possible. Thus they are also in accord with the mitzvah against causing undue pain to animals.

Draining the Carcass of Blood

The Torah forbids the consumption of blood. Therefore, the carcass is drained of its blood. In many slaughterhouses the carcass is hung upside-down to facilitate this.

Post-Mortem Inspection

Following the slaughter, the animal is checked to ascertain whether it is a treifah or not. (As mentioned above, a treifah is an animal which has a terminal condition and would die even without being slaughtered.) This is done by checking the lungs internally and externally. They are checked by a highly trained inspector (Bodek) who feels for adhesions. He also checks them by inflating and placing the lungs in water to ascertain that they are airtight. If they are completely smooth they are declared to be glatt (smooth). This means that the animal probably had a good health history. If they have too many adhesions, especially ones that are large or not easily removed, they are declared to be treifah. If the lungs have small adhesions which are easily removed and prove to be airtight, they are declared to be kosher but non-glatt.

The lungs of poultry are generally not checked since they usually do not have the problem of developing adhesions. They are therefore regarded as glatt even without examination. They are only checked if there is cause to suspect that there might be a problem. However there are varying opinions as to when they should be checked. In Israel, many slaughterhouses customarily check the lungs of all chickens slaughtered, as an extra precaution.

Nonetheless, it must be pointed out that if, upon buying poultry, one finds injuries that could have caused death, such as reddish-blue bruising, disjointed bones or wings, broken ribs or bones etc. a rabbinical authority should be consulted. Of course, if such a problem arises, the entire chicken should be set aside and not cooked until the rabbi decides its kosher status

Prohibition of Eating Neveilah or Treifah

It is forbidden to eat the meat of an animal that died by itself or was not slaughtered in accordance to the laws of Shechitah (kosher slaughter). Such an animal is called a neveilah (נבילה).  Moreover, the meat may not come from an animal that has some kind of physical condition that will cause its death. If it is diseased, has a birth defect, is mortally wounded, has a defective organ or limb which will lead to its demise, or is otherwise close to death, either due to frailty, old age or sickness; that animal is called a treifah (טריפה) and is forbidden to eat.

In his magnum opus, Mishneh Torah, Maimonides gives a complete list of seventy defects that render an animal treifah. Only the symptoms mentioned there render it so and no others. If medical science would determine that an animal will imminently die from different causes, this would have no bearing on the kosher status of an animal. In the same vein, if science would determine that a defect which is included in the list is not so serious and does not indicate imminent death, the animal would still be considered to be a treifah and would be forbidden.

Kosher and Non-Kosher Fowl

The Torah lists twenty-four families of non-kosher birds which, according to modern scientific classification, include thousands of known species and sub-species. Some of the non-kosher birds listed in the Torah are the barn owl, bat, cormorant, eagle, falcon, gull, hare, hawk, hoopoe, ibis, kite, magpie, ossifrage, osprey, ostrich, owl, pelican, raven, stork, and vulture. Though it is a mammal, the Torah includes the bat in the list because it uses different criteria for classification than modern science. The word “Auf” – עוף in Hebrew, which is usually translated as fowl, actually means any flying creature.

Even though the Torah does not specify the signs by which to recognize a kosher bird, as it does with other animals, nonetheless, the rabbis gave us four general indicators by which to differentiate between kosher and non-kosher fowl. Not all kosher birds possess all four indicators and some non-kosher birds may possess one of them, therefore, they are general guidelines rather than sure signs. Two of these signs are primary indicators of the kosher status of the bird and two are secondary.

The two primary indicators are:

a) The muscular wall of the gizzard of a kosher bird may be easily peeled off by hand, whereas the gizzard of a non-kosher bird will not peel easily.

b) Non-kosher birds tend to be birds of prey that hunt for their food. Therefore, they will use their claws to capture and hold their prey as they devour it. Kosher birds do not eat in this fashion.

The secondary indicators are:

a) Kosher birds will tend to have three toes in the front and one extra toe in the back, whereas non-kosher birds may have two, three or four toes. They may have three toes in the front and one in the back, two toes in the front and two in the back or all four toes in the front.

b) Many kosher birds will possess a crop which non-kosher birds do not have. This is a pouch-like organ on the wall of the esophagus which temporarily stores undigested food before it goes to the stomach to become fully digested. Ducks and geese do not have crops. However, since they possess the other three indicators of a kosher bird they are kosher.

Since the four above indicators are not of biblical origin and it would be extremely difficult to determine the kosher status of all the thousands of bird species, therefore, generally, only birds that are known to be kosher by tradition are consumed. The most common birds that are traditionally accepted as being kosher are:

a) All members of the chicken family.

b) Domesticated ducks.

c) Domesticated geese

d) Pigeons

e) Domesticated turkeys

Geese that have been forced fed by ramming a metal funnel down their throat could lose their kosher status because this method of feeding can puncture the esophagus. This would render the goose a treifah, which, as will be explained, means that the animal has a physical condition which will cause its death.

What Makes It Kosher

As stated above, all the kosher laws were either commanded by G-d at Sinai and incorporated in the Torah along with the other mitzvoth; are oral traditions which go back to Moses, who received them from G-d; or were ordained by the sages for the purpose of safeguarding and strengthening their observance and with health considerations in mind. Kosher (כשר) means, “That which is fit to eat according to biblical dietary law”. Now, though the kosher dietary law is comprised of many diverse subjects, nonetheless, since they chiefly revolve around the consumption of meat, we will, therefore, begin by explaining the requirements of kosher meat. Before meat may be consumed several prerequisites must be fulfilled:

Kosher and Non-Kosher Animals

Only the meat of certain animals may be consumed. The Torah specifies the signs by which to recognize kosher animals. They all are herbivores which chew their cud (That is, they must be ruminators) and have completely split hooves. Of the domesticated animals, this includes cows, sheep and goats. Kosher undomesticated animals include the addax, antelope, bison, buffalo, deer, gazelle, ibex, and reindeer, as well as others too numerous to enumerate here. (You are not likely to find them in your local neighborhood grocery store.) The Torah also lists four animals that only have one of these characteristics, but not the other. They include the pig, which has split hooves but does not chew its cud, and the camel, hare and rock-badger, which chew but do not have split hooves. These animals are not kosher.

It is interesting to note that though much of the world; such as Australia, North America, South America, Antarctica and great portions of Africa, Asia and Europe, were as yet, undiscovered when the Torah was written, the Torah, nonetheless, emphatically states that these four species possess only one kosher characteristic and not the other. The Talmud concludes that since only these species were named, no other such species exist. Incredibly, though tens of thousands of previously unknown creatures have since been discovered, categorized and studied, not a single additional one fits this description. This, itself, is ample proof of the Divine authorship of the Torah. Only the Creator Himself could know with certainty that no other such animals exist.

Indeed, the Malbim writes that had a human being, such as Moses, authored the Torah himself; he would never have risked destroying his credibility by listing these four animals. He could simply have stated that only animals that possess both these signs are kosher and left it at that. That would have been sufficient information for us to recognize the kosher animals and to reject the non-kosher ones, including those which possess only one of the two signs.

The Ultimate Purpose of Creation

As we said above, the purpose of the seven Noahide laws is to civilize the world in order to make it a settled, wholesome place. However, on a deeper level, the ultimate purpose of the Noahide laws is to prepare the world by civilizing it, specifically so that the Jew may have the proper environment to fulfill his mission, which is to bring about the ultimate purpose of Creation. The role of the Jew is not merely to be a good, wholesome, law-abiding citizen. His role is to sanctify this physical world and to reveal G-dliness in it. His function is not merely to make the world a place where man can dwell, but rather, to make the world a place where G-d can dwell with man.

Of the 613 mitzvoth of the Torah, 365 are negative, “don’t” mitzvoth, and 248 are positive, “do” mitzvoth. The 365 negative commandments serve as a means to sanctify the Jew by distancing and separating him from those matters which are spiritually detrimental and damaging to his soul. The Hebrew word for sanctity is kedushah (קדושה) which means holy, separate and removed. In other words, by removing himself from doing these 365 negative acts, which are spiritually detrimental, impure and damaging to his soul, a Jew sanctifies and purifies himself, thus making himself a fitting receptacle to receive the light of G-d’s revelation.

However, the negative mitzvoth, in and of themselves, do not draw down the actual G-dly revelation itself. Rather, through their observance one becomes purified of the gross materiality and impurities of the world. Because of this he becomes a pure and fit vessel to receive G-d’s light. On the other hand the 248 positive, “do” mitzvoth, are actual Divine acts which literally draw G-dliness into the vessels, thus revealing G-dliness into the world.

In general, the kosher dietary laws fall into the first category, i.e. they are negative commandments. (Later, we will discuss the fact that there are also positive commandments associated with diet, such as making special blessings before and after eating.) By desisting from eating forbidden foods we purify and refine ourselves, thus making ourselves fit vessels for the revelation of G-dliness through the performance of the positive mitzvoth. In fact, as mentioned above, the meaning of the word Kosher (כשר) is “fit”. In other words, not only does it mean, “That which is fit to eat”, but it also means that through keeping kosher we become “fit” vessels, thus making it possible for a “bond” to take place between us and G-d.

This is because the consumption of non-kosher foods causes insensitivity to G-dliness and matters of Torah and mitzvos. Conversely, the consumption of kosher food makes it possible to be sensitive to matters of G-dliness and to study Torah and perform mitzvos with an open heart.

Besides meaning fit, proper and good, the word kosher (כשר) also means “bond”, as in the verse, “He frees those who are imprisoned in bonds” (מוציא אסירים בכושרות). Thus, by keeping the negative aspects of the dietary laws, i.e. by distancing ourselves from forbidden foods; we create the proper conditions to bring about a bond between us and G-d. By fulfilling the positive aspects of the dietary laws, such as making blessings before and after eating; we make the actual connection and draw down G-dliness into the physical world. The biblical word for blessing is “Brachah” (ברכה) which also means to “draw down”.

This matter, of making the physical a fit vessel for           G-dliness, is especially true of the mitzvah of keeping a kosher diet. As we explained above, the negative commandments purify and sanctify us by separating and distancing us from that which debases and defiles us, whereas the positive commandments draw and reveal    G-dliness to us. However, since most mitzvoth primarily relate to such matters as thought, speech and actions etc. they only affect those levels of our being.

However, since the dietary laws directly affect the physical body itself, as in the well known adage, “You are what you eat”, therefore, by keeping kosher we literally transform, purify and sanctify our very physicality, the body itself, by refining it and making it a worthy and holy receptacle for spirituality. This is profoundly connected to the ultimate mission of a Jew, which, as mentioned above, is to transform this physical world, literally, and make it a dwelling place for G-d.

Eating the Limb of a Living Animal

Originally, until the time of Noah, mankind was not meant to eat meat. Adam was commanded, “You may certainly eat of all the trees of the garden but as for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it etc.” From this we surmise that, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam was permitted by G-d to eat only fruits and vegetables. Only later did G-d permit the consumption of meat when He told Noah, “Every creeping thing that is alive will be yours to eat similar to green vegetables etc.”

Nonetheless, as the Torah relates, the generations until the great flood were very evil in G-d’s eyes and, over time, descended into lower and lower levels of perverseness and depravity. Eventually, they fell so low that, in addition to other matters, not only did they eat meat, but they also ate the limbs of living animals, similar to wild beasts, which tear apart and devour their prey while it still lives. One can imagine the terrible savagery and cruelty of such acts.

As mentioned above, after the great flood, when Noah, his family and all the animals which survived with him, left the Ark, he and all his descendants were permitted by G-d to eat meat. However, the only caveat was the prohibition against eating the flesh of a living animal. The animal would first need to have died or be slaughtered and only then could it be consumed. Even part of the animal, such as a limb, could not be eaten while it still lived. This law, which is one of the seven laws received by Noah from G-d, is a universal law which applies to all mankind to this very day.

Today, as citizens of the western world, living in the 21st century, it is very difficult for us to imagine how anyone would want to eat a living animal. We cringe at the thought of committing such a cruel and gruesome act. It seems utterly barbaric and animalistic beyond description. However, it must be understood that we only have such sensitivity because, by now, during this juncture of history, most of the world has already been profoundly influenced by and imbued with the ethics and mores of Torah, either directly or indirectly.

Nonetheless, even today, in those parts of the world which have been relatively untouched by the influence of Torah, such practices are still prevalent and are every day occurrences. One example of this is Thailand, where it is considered to be a delicacy to scoop out and eat raw monkey brains while the victim is still alive and quite conscious. Furthermore, this is not just the practice of uncultured village primitives living in a remote corner of the Siamese jungles. Rather, this is a normal practice within the great metropolises of Thailand and is regarded as a delicacy of the rich and famous.

The Seven Noachide Laws

The seven Noahide laws are:

1) Do not commit Idolatry
2) Do not Blaspheme G-d
3) Do not murder
4) Do not steal
5) Do not commit forbidden sexual acts
6) Do not eat the limb of a living animal
7) Set up courts of law

Six of these laws were originally received from G-d by Adam, and the additional law concerning eating the limb of a living animal was given to Noah. Though G-d is the source of these seven laws, just as He is the source of the Torah, nonetheless, they serve a completely different function than the 613 mitzvoth (commandments) of the Torah. This is not merely a quantitative difference. It is not just that Jews have more commandments and therefore greater responsibility toward G-d than non-Jews. Rather, there is a profound difference between these two sets of laws. This is so much so, that they cannot be compared to each other altogether, in that they are of a different order and category.

The purpose of the seven commandments given to Noah is to civilize mankind, so that rather than being a “dog eat dog” world; a world of cruelty, bloodshed and violence, which degenerates into ever increasing chaos and turmoil, it becomes a world of lawfulness; a world of civilized, orderly society dictated by social mores, standards and customs. We, therefore, see that the function of these commandments is to make the world a settled, wholesome place.

Preventing Sadistic Tendencies

Now, in regard to the subject at hand, the commandment forbidding man from eating the limb of a living animal is to prevent him from sinking into sadistic tendencies of cruelty and bloodlust toward animals, which inevitably will spill over into his relationship with his fellow human beings as well. A person could rationalize to himself, “Of course, I would never be cruel to my fellow man. However, what is wrong with eating a live animal? First of all, it is for the purpose of eating, which I must do to survive, and secondly, it is quite normal in the animal world. I would not be doing unto them anything that they would not do unto me.”

The response to the first argument is that eating the animal alive is unwarranted cruelty. Animals, such as wolves or tigers, have no choice in how they hunt their prey. The only method available to them is to tear their prey apart with their teeth. Once they do this they become totally driven by the instinct of bloodlust and there is no stopping them. A human being, on the other hand, does not kill with his teeth. He could just as well kill the animal before he eats it, thus putting it out of its misery. Eating it alive would only be because he gets some kind of perverse pleasure and thrill in being cruel.

Such an act would only fuel his love of cruelty and fan the flames of his basest nature, and as we said above, inevitably this tendency to sadism would spill over into his relationship with his fellow human beings. As known, many sadistic serial murderers initially tortured and killed animals before graduating to torturing and murdering humans.

Now, as far as the answer to the second argument, i.e., that “animals do it”, he testifies against himself, because such an argument is itself proof that he equates himself with animals and has sunk to the level of a beast of prey.

Testimonies, Statutes and Judgments

Besides narrative, the Torah is also comprised of 613 commandments (mitzvoth). There are several ways these mitzvoth may be categorized. The most fundamental is that there are 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments. In other words, there are 248 do’s and 365 don’ts. For the most part, the dietary laws are amongst the 365 don’ts. Another way to categorize the mitzvoth is that there are those which address man’s relationship with G-d and others which address man’s relationship with his fellow man. Here, the laws of kosher are amongst those that address man’s relationship with G-d. However, the Torah gives us a third way of understanding the mitzvoth. It states, “If your son asks you, ‘What are the testimonies, the statutes and the judgments which HaShem our G-d commanded you etc.” (העדות החוקים והמשפטים).

Judgments refer to all those mitzvoth that make sense to our human understanding. These are laws such as “Do not steal”, “Do not murder” etc. which make logical sense to us and are therefore readily accepted. Had G-d not commanded them we could have likely arrived at them through our intellect.

Testimonies refer to those mitzvoth that we would never have arrived at had G-d not commanded them. However, now that they were given, they make sense to us and we can understand why we should keep and observe them. These are either commemorative mitzvoth, such as Passover, Succoth, and Shavuoth or mitzvoth that the Torah gives a reason for, such as the mitzvah of wearing fringes (Tzitzit) on a four cornered garment. The Torah tells us, “They shall be fringes for you so that you shall see them and remember all the mitzvoth of HaShem, to do them.”  By ourselves, we would never think to wear fringes on our garments. However, now that the Torah has told us, it makes perfect sense that they serve as a mnemonic by which to remember the mitzvoth. Likewise with the holidays; by ourselves we would never think to eat unleavened bread on Passover or dwell in huts on Sukkoth, but now that the Torah commands us, we understand that it is to commemorate and relive what our forefathers experienced when they were liberated from Egyptian enslavement.

However, statutes are those mitzvoth which we cannot understand through human intellect at all. Rather, we keep them solely because they are the decree of our King; the King, King of kings, the Holy One, blessed is He. All the laws of ritual purity and impurity fall into this category. It makes no logical sense that if one touches or is in the same building as a corpse, he becomes ritually impure and that with the sprinkling of the ashes of the red heifer he becomes pure again, whereas the Cohen who sprinkled him becomes impure, with a lesser degree of impurity. It makes no logical sense that during her menstrual cycle a Jewish woman is ritually impure and forbidden to her husband and that after counting seven clean days and immersing in a kosher mikvah, she becomes pure and permissible to him. Furthermore, the mitzvah of mikvah itself makes no logical sense. Why do the waters of a kosher mikvah purify her, whereas the waters of a bathtub or swimming pool not purify her? There is no physical difference between the two waters.

As stated above, these are decrees of the King and we do them, not because we understand them, but because, as His subjects, we have accepted the yoke of His kingship upon ourselves. Similarly, all the kosher dietary laws are statutes of the King. If one would examine a kosher beef steak, using the most advanced scientific equipment, and compare it to a non-kosher beef steak, he would find that there is scarcely any physical difference between them. They would be practically identical in every way; chemically, molecularly and atomically. Nonetheless, this is a kosher steak and may be consumed by a Jew, and this is a non-kosher steak and is forbidden to him. Ultimately, we keep kosher because G-d decreed it and as His subjects we do His will, whether we understand it or not.

Divine Universal Standards

All this notwithstanding, even though these mitzvoth are beyond human understanding, nonetheless, since G-d invested us with the faculty of  intellect, not only are we permitted, but it is even incumbent upon us, to try to fathom their meaning to the limit of our reach and to the fullest of our capacity. However, this must be done with the full awareness that ultimately, we keep the mitzvoth, not because we understand them, but simply because they are G-d’s will. Moreover, ultimately, even the mitzvoth that are called judgments and testimonies (which we think we understand) are in reality, beyond our reach and grasp. This is because, upon closer examination, we come to the deeper realization that the only reason not stealing or not murdering makes sense to us, is because G-d has instilled it into us.

When we study the animal realm, however, we find quite the opposite to be true. By nature, animals have no compunctions, whatsoever, about stealing or killing etc. The concepts of value of life, property rights, or morals and ethics, simply do not exist for them. Their only law is “The law of the jungle”, i.e. “Might makes right”, and they are completely devoid of any sense of conscience or morality. Man on the other hand has an innate sense of justice and the sense of right and wrong. These are inborn characteristics unique to man, that were instilled in him by his Creator.

This being the case, we see that, ultimately, even the mitzvoth which fall into the category of judgments are kept only because they are G-d’s will. We keep them because they are universal standards set by G-d rather than social standards set by human convention. Therefore, if any nation or society would deviate from them and decide to abrogate them by consensus, such as what happened in Nazi Germany, (may the name of the wicked be obliterated and may their bones be ground into dust) then that nation or society would be evil and unjust.

With all the above in mind, and with the understanding that whatever reasons or explanations we arrive at, do not represent the ultimate depth and intent of the mitzvoth, we will next examine the meaning of the kosher dietary laws to the best of our ability.

Because of the limits of the blog format we will not be posting footnotes to the halachic sources quoted by Rabbi Markel. While they are present in the hard copy of Going Kosher (available here) in this case it just isn’t possible to include them. We will however post the list of sources below for reference. (Included in this list as well are some of the Hebrew abbreviations used in this text.)

מפתח ראשי תיבות הפוסקים והספרים

א.
אג”מ – אגרות משה
אהע”ז – אבן העזר
או”ה – איסור והיתר
או”ח – אורח חיים
אעפ”כ – אף על פי כן
אפי’ – אפילו

ב.
באה”ט – באר היטב
בא”ח – בן איש חי
בדה”ש – בדי השלחן
ב”ח – בית חדש
ב”י – בית יוסף
ביה”ל- ביאור הלכה
ב”מ – בבא מציעא
ברכ”י – ברכי יוסף

ג.
גמ’ – גמרא
גר”א – גאון רבנו אליהו
גרב”צ – גאון רבי בן-ציון (אבא שאול)
גר”מ – גאון רבי משה (פיינשטיין)
גר”מ – גאון רבי מרדכי (אליהו)
גר”מ – גאון רבי משה (שטרן)
גר”ע – גאון רבי עובדיה (יוסף)
גרע”א – גאון רבי עקיבא איגר
גרש”ז – גאון רבי שלמה זלמן (אויערבך)

ד.
דגמ”ר – דגול מרבבה
דרכ”ת – דרכי תשובה
דע”ת – דעת תורה

ה.
הל’ – הלכות
העוה”ז – העולם הזה

ח.
ח”א – חיי אדם
ח”א – חלק א
ח”ב – חלק ב
ח”ג – חלק ג
חו”מ – חושן משפט
חזו”א – חזון איש
חיד”א –  חיים יוסף דוד אזולאי
חכ”א – חכמת אדם
חכמ”א – חכמת אדם
חלק”י – חלקת יעקב
חת”ס – חתם סופר

ט.
ט”ז – טורי זהב

י.
יבי”א – יביע אומר
ידי”נ – ידיד נפש
יו”ד – יורה דעה
יחו”ד – יחוה דעת
יעב”ץ – יעקב עמדין בן צבי
ישוע”י – ישועות יעקב

כ.
כה”ח – כף החיים
כ”מ – כסף משנה
כס”מ – כסף משנה
כ”ק – כבוד קדושת
כת”ס – כתב סופר

ל.
לח”מ – לחם משנה

מ.
מבי”ט – משה בן יוסף טראני
מג”א – מגן אברהם
מהד”ת – מהדורא תניינא
מהר”ם – מורנו הרב רבי מאיר (מרוטנברג)
מהר”ם שיק – מורנו הרב רבי משה שיק
מהרמ”ם (מרימנוב) – מורנו הרב רבי מנחם מענדל (מרימנוב)
מהרש”א – מורנו הרב רבי שמואל  אידלס
מהרש”ם – מורנו הרב רבי שלום מרדכי
מחצה”ש – מחצית השקל
מלבי”ם – מאיר ליבוש בן יחיאל מיכל
מנח”י – מנחת יצחק
משנ”ב – משנה ברורה

נ.
נ”ט בר נ”ט – נותן טעם בר נותן טעם

ס.
סוס”י – סוף סימן

ע.
ע”א – ענף א
עאכו”כ – על אחד כמה וכמה
ע”ב – ענף ב
ע”ז – עבודה זרה
עכו”ם – עובדי כוכבים ומזלות
עמ’ – עמוד
עפ”י – על פי
ערוה”ש – ערוך השלחן

פ.
פיהמ”ש – פירוש המשניות
פר”ח – פרי חדש
פמ”ג – פרי מגדים
פת”ש – פתחי תשובה

צ.
צי”א – ציץ אליאזר
צ”צ – צמח צדק

ק.
קו”א – קונטרס אחרון
קצוה”ש – קצות השלחן

ר.
ראב”ן – רבי אליעזר בן נתן
רא”ה – רבי אליהו הלוי
רא”ש – רבנו אשר
רדב”ז – רבנו דוד בן זמרה
ריטב”א – רבנו יום טוב בן אברהם
רימ”ד – רבנו יצחק מדמיונא
רי”ף – רבנו יצחק אלפסי
רמ”א – רבנו משה איסרלש
רמב”ם – רבנו משה בן מימון
רמב”ן – רבנו משה בן נחמן
ר”ן – רבנו נסים
רע”ב – רב עובדיה ברטנורא
רע”ק – רבי עקיבא (איגר)
רעק”א – רבי עקיבא איגר
רשב”א – רבנו שלמה בן אדרת
רשב”ם – רבנו שמואל בן מאיר
רש’י – רבנו שלמה יצחקי

ש.
שד”ח – שדי חמד
שו”ע – שלחן ערוך
שו”ע הרב – שלחן ערוך הרב
שו”ע המקוצר – שלחן ערוך המקוצר
שו”ע הקצר – שלחן ערוך הקצר
שו”ת – שאלות ותשובות
שיטמ”ק – שיטה מקובצת
ש”ך – שפתי כהן
של”ה – שני לוחות הברית
ש”ע – שלחן ערוך
שעה”צ – שער הציון
שע”ת – שערי תשובה

ת.
תבו”ש – תבואות שור
תוס’ – תוספות
תפא”י – תפארת ישראל
תשב”צ – תשובות שמעון בן צמח

Part I. Why Go Kosher?

1) Testimonies, Statutes and Judgments.
2) Divine Universal Standards.

Part II. What does Kosher Mean?

1) Fit, Proper and good.
2) Eating the Limb of a Living Animal
3) The Seven Noachide Laws
4) Preventing Sadistic Tendencies
5) The Ultimate Purpose of Creation

Part III. What Makes It Kosher?

1) Kosher and Non-Kosher Animals
2) Kosher and Non-Kosher Fowl
3) Neveilah and Treifah
4) Kosher Slaughter
5) The Slaughtering Knife
6) General Rules of Kosher Slaughter
7) Draining of Blood
Post-Mortem Inspection
9) Eating Glatt Kosher Meat
10) Removal of Fats, Arteries and Veins
11) Kosher and Non-Kosher cuts of Meat
12) Procedure for Removal of Blood
13) Removing blood from liver
14) Soaking and salting within 72 hours and Problem of Frozen Meat
15) Separation of Meat and Milk
16) Reciting Blessing before Eating
17) Kosher and Non-Kosher Fish
18) Checking Eggs for Blood

Part IV. Preparing for Koshering

1) Setting up Your Kosher Kitchen
2) Seeking Expert Assistance
3) Assessing what may be Koshered
4) Step One-What may be Koshered
5) Step Two- Separating the Unkosherable
6) The Dishwashing Machine
7) The Toaster
The Toaster Oven
9) Dishes, Cups, Saucers and Glassware
10) Pot Lids and Handles
11) Blenders and Food Processors
12) Mixers
13) Step Three-Thoroughly cleaning Kitchen

Part V. Koshering the Kitchen

1) Methods of Koshering
2) Koshering an Oven
3) Koshering an Oven/Additional Method
4) Koshering Dishwasher
5) Koshering Utensils
6) Koshering Countertops
7) Koshering the Sink
Cabinets and Refrigerators
9) Separation of meat and dairy utensils

Part VI. Immersing Vessels in a Mikvah

1) Immersing vessels in a Mikvah
2) Immersing Electrical Appliances
3) Performing the Immersion

Part VII. Separation of Meat and Milk

1) Torah Prohibitions
2) Rabbinical Prohibitions
3) Business dealings in Non-Kosher Food
4) Feeding Animals and Pets
5) Breast Milk
6) Maras Ayin-Giving Wrong Impression
7) Asking Non-Jew to cook Meat with Milk
Fish and Meat
9) Fish and Milk
10) Storing Meat with Milk
11) Meat and Milk on same Table

Part VIII. Problems and Solutions

1) Introduction
2) Some Common Problems
3) Salting is Equivalent to cooking

Part IX. Sharp Foods

1) The Unique Status of Sharp Food
2) Which Foods are considered to be Sharp
3) Avoiding problems cutting Sharp Food
4) Common problems in cutting Sharp foods
5) Cooking Sharp Food

Part X. Waiting from Meat to Dairy

1) Two Reasons for Waiting
2) Varying Traditions
3) How Long Should a Baal Teshuvah or Convert to Judaism wait between Meat and Milk?
4) Six Hours after eating Meat or Six hours after Reciting the After-Blessing?
5) Doubt whether Six Hours have elapsed
6) Chewing Meat without Swallowing
7) Meat Lodged between Teeth
Pareve Dish Cooked in Meat Pot
9) Dentures, False Teeth, Crowns etc.
10) Cooking next meal in the Six Hour Period
11) Waiting between Dairy and Meat

Part XI. Kosher Bread

1) Pat Yisroel-Jewish Bread
2) Pat Palter-Non-Jewish Bakery Bread
3) Dairy Bread and Meat Bread

Part XII. Separating Challah

1) The Laws of Challah
2) Blessing for Challah
2) Procedure for Separating the Challah

Part XIII. Bishul Yisroel-Cooked by a Jew

1) Food Cooked by a Non-Jew
2) Food Cooked by a Jew
3) Food that is Eaten Raw
4) Food Fit for a Royal Table

Part XIV. Cholov Yisroel-Jewish Milk

1) What milk is kosher?
2) Cholov Akum-Non-Jewish milk
3) Cholov Yisroel-Supervised milk
4) Cholov Stam-Plain milk

Part XV. Kosher Wines

1) The Prohibition
2) Boiled Wine
3) Pasteurized Wine
4) What constitutes handling by a non-Jew?
5) The Blessing for Wine

Part XVI. Bug and Larva Infestation

1) The Prohibition
2) Inspecting for Bugs
3) Recommended Methods for Checking

Part XVII. Dangerous Foods or Habits

1) The Prohibition
2) Fish and Meat
3) Fish and Milk
4) Disgusting Foods
5) Dangerous Foods or Habits

Part XVIII. Blessing When Eating

1) Categories of Blessings
2) The Order of the Blessings