A few weeks ago, in Parshat Shmini, we learned about the signs that identify kosher species of animals. But making sure meat is kosher to eat doesn't end with knowing that a kosher animal must have split hooves and chew its cud. Meat isn't kosher unless the animal is slaughtered exactly according to Jewish law and prepared in the proper way.
In this week's parsha, HaShem tells Moshe, "Jews must never eat blood. It is not kosher!" You probably don't think blood sounds very appetizing, but if you eat meat, you have to be very careful to eat only kosher meat in order to avoid eating even a little bit of blood. Meat must be kashered - made kosher by removing all traces of blood from it - before it can be eaten.
Most people in America today buy kosher meat in a store, already packaged neatly in plastic. But people who live in small towns, and sometimes in places outside of America must kasher meat themselves. Just like in the olden days, shopping for kosher chicken was a big deal. First, the homemaker would buy a live chicken at the market, or take one of her own from her chicken coop. Then she would bring the chicken to a shochet (butcher) to be slaughtered according to Jewish law.
Finally, she would bring the chicken home and begin the kashering process to remove the blood. Here is how it’s done: The meat is first soaked in water. Then it is salted to draw out the blood and placed on a slanted surface so that the blood can flow down. Afterwards, the meat is rinsed thoroughly under running water from a faucet. Only then can it be cooked and eaten!
There are special rules for kashering the liver of a kosher animal. The liver is a special case; it has an excess of blood, since it is the organ whose job it is to remove impurities from the blood. Instead of soaking and salting, a liver must be broiled over a flame until all of the blood is gone.
Today, buying kosher meat in most places, is very convenient. Everything is done for us; we only have to go to the store and buy it. When you buy meat at your local supermarket or a kosher butcher shop, you can be sure that everything was done just the way it was supposed to be done if you see a reliable kosher symbol on the package. Then you can bring home your kosher chicken for the Shabbat soup, the kosher beef for the meatloaf, and the liver for Grandma's famous chopped liver, and enjoy.
