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Malka Esther's Suggested Going Kosher Plan...

Here is a plan for going kosher in and outside the home. Taking 12-24 months to get to full kashrut there is a reasonable timeframe.

•  Start with cutting out either pork or shellfish, then when comfortable, cut out the other,
•  Then cut out meat and dairy combinations,
•  Then replace used food supplies with kosher alternatives,
•  Then separate your current dishes/pots/pans/etc. into "meat" and "dairy" labeling them for practice, and
•  When you feel ready, (preferably with your rabbi's supervision), go totally kosher in the house •
•  Then eat only kosher outside your house (at this point you would be shomer kashrut)

I found it helped me to be behind by 1-3 months on what I ate out versus what I ate in the house. For example, when I gave up pork/shellfish at home I continued to eat it out until I took the next step at home and then giving up pork/shellfish outside the home. This let me slide into kashrut without undue stress and guilt.

Great advice from the Conservative Movement on Going Kosher

Recently the conservative movement published this document on going kosher. Rabbi Edelman gave Larry and I permission to post this in its entirety.  I think these are great suggestions for going kosher and quite similar to how I did it. I've replaced the o with - in G-d as that is my minhag especially when I'm doing something that might be printed.

Setting up a Kosher Kitchen Microsoft word document

KASHRUT: IN 8 STEPS OR 12 STEPS…

Essential to Conservative Jews Rabbi Moshe Edelman

We must engage in those daily and weekly activities that are the building blocks of Judaism, because they reflect the sanctity that Judaism places on the everyday. Kashrut is one such activity. Kashrut helps to teach the value that every activity can be invested with a sense of the sacred.

Judaism views every dining table as if it were the alter of the ancient Temple and each of us a priest of G-d. The rituals surrounding each meal and the special care placed in choosing the types of food we eat bring home the special nature of each meal.

Kashrut also helps us to define ourselves as Jews by creating a sense of separateness and difference. Differences are not negative as long as we also realize that we are still part of the general community and that "different" does not mean better.

By integrating the Jewish dietary laws into our lives and our communities, we are adding a level of kedusha (holiness) into our daily routine, affirming our Jewishness, as well as making a conscious commitment to the preciousness of life.

If you have never kept kosher, it may seem like an insurmountable task – getting new dishes, depriving your family of certain foods, discarding some of your favorite recipes and shopping for food with greater care. Yet, when you realize that Kashrut enhances the meaning of Jewish life, it really is not too difficult.

Learning about and observing Kashrut provides us with the opportunity to incorporate the tradition into our regular lives. Sh'mirat Kashrut is available to us all.

The Basics

While the basic principles of Kashrut are found in the Torah, they have been expanded and clarified in the Talmud and later texts. They are divided into the following general categories: separating milk and meat, regulating the slaughter of animals, and prohibition against eating certain foods.

The separation of milk and meat is derived from the Biblical command (Ex. 24:36) against cooking a lamb in its mother's milk. This commandment teaches us that Judaism requires a recognition and sensitivity that the animals we eat are living creatures, created by God.

This sensitivity is shown in shechita, the manner in which animals are slaughtered. When the animal is killed according to Jewish law, death is quick and virtually painless. In addition, blood -- seen as the essence of life in the Bible – is drained from the animal.

Steps Up The Ladder of Commitment

In 8 Steps

Step 1: Don't Eat Pork

The first rung up of ladder of Kashrut observance is the abstinence from all pork products. Although pork has no greater Biblical significance than any other un-kosher meat, it has become a symbol of Kashrut.

Step 2: Don't Eat Shellfish

The avoidance of all shellfish should be the second step up the ladder of Kashrut observance.

In general, we are permitted to each any fish that has fins and scales. Fish without either fins or scales are forbidden. This includes clams, oysters, mussels, crab, lobster, octopus, and squid.

Step 3: Eat Only Biblically Permitted Meats

The next rung in Kashrut commitment is the eating of only "Biblically permitted" meat. The only animals that can be used for kosher slaughter are non-carnivorous domestic poultry and land mammals that have cloven hooves and chew their cud.

Step 4: Separate Milk and Meat

It is time to move on to the separation of milk and meat. Kashrut forbids us from mixing the two categories of food together either in cooking or eating. Examine food packages carefully to see if they contain milk or meat derivatives.

Step 5: Wait Between Milk and Meat

Observe a waiting period between eating a meat meal and any dairy product. There are many traditions as to the correct time to wait between milk and meat. Conservative Jews wait anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. There does not have to be a waiting period after a dairy meal.

Step 6: Look for the Kosher Label

When shopping, purchase only food that has a kosher label on it. A kosher label tells you that the food was produced or prepared under the supervision of a specific rabbinic authority.

Step 7: Eat Only Kosher Meat

The kosher status of meat is determined both by the species of animal (e.g., no pork products) and by the method of slaughter. To be kosher, an animal must be slaughtered by a shochet.

The meat must be soaked in water and salted to remove any remaining blood. It is only after all these steps are followed that the meat is considered fit, "kosher", and can be eaten.

Step 8: Kosher Your Kitchen

Koshering your kitchen is the important step: the acquisition of separate dishes, silverware, appliances, pots to be used for milk and meat meals. Your kitchen should also be koshered and cleansed of any un-kosher foods or remnants.

A Twelve-Step Program

Rabbi Jack Moline has suggested a 12-month family program for the adoption of Kashrut. Each month the family adds a new observance – takes a new step up the ladder. This yearlong plan is based on his idea.

With Rosh Hashanah on the horizon, now is the time to make a decision and commitment for Kashrut. And if your home is kosher already, yasher koach.

(Excerpted from Jewish Living Now: Kashrut – Moving Up The Ladder. Available free in hard copy)

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