Beach Runner wrote:
<...>
>>>>> The laws proved to be HEALTHY over time.
>>>>
>>>> How is keeping two sets of cookware healthier than using the same
>>>> set, Boob?
>>
>> Answer this question, dumb ass.

Answer the question.

<...>
>>> It is mostly symbolic,
>>
>> IOW, a token (empty) gesture.
>
> It's not token,

Yes, it is.

> it an opportunity to sit around a differ table and
> hopefully maintain a culture.

Kashrut is a token effort at maintaining a "culture." How many Jews buy
pareve fake sausages so they can eat them without violating the command
not to eat pork, or to eat with dairy foods without violating that
command? I respect the Jews who eat the real thing more because they
know their piety and devotion is based on what they put into their mouths.

>>> You are not the authority on understanding Jewish laws.
>>
>> I never claimed to be, but I apparently have a better grasp of
>> contemporary Jewish thought and how so many Jews don't observe kashrut:
>
> Few non orthodox Jews are kosher. I am generally kosher,

My Jewish friends would take issue with that: it's an either or
situation. Either you're kosher (clean) or you're treif (dirty). There's
no half-kosher in between.

> except that I
> eat food that hasn't been inspected for insects.

Treif.

> And I drink wine not made by Jews.

Treif (rabinically).
http://www.ahavat-israel.com/torat/treif.php

> Since wine is often a symbol, we should not use a symbol
> of another religion. You got me there, I love late season German Ice
> Wines, which are clearly not made by Geed, but no one would use that
> expensive stuff in a ceremony. It's expensive old in small bottles, but
> worth the gastronomic delight. IMHO it would still be kosher since it
> is not used symbolically.

No.
http://www.gemsinisrael.com/e_article000033155.htm

> German Ice Wines are incredible sweet. They are picked as raises, have
> a nobel fungus on them, are pure grape (the quality mit predicate means
> only grapes were used) But then I feed animals before myself and treat
> animals kindly, as requested by Torah.

So you pick and choose what commands you follow.

> Ritual is part of all religions. Strangely, Communism became more
> ritualistic, where pictures of Mao were required, books were banned,
> and any reference to the past was destroyed with the failed cultural
> revolution. Any western musical instrument was destroyed. It as a
> great loss. Now China is coming back as a tiger, but is devoid of human
> rights.

I'm not convinced that China is a tiger. All these predictions remind me
of expectations that South America was the next big boom. It wasn't, and
I don't think the Chinese economy can continue to expand at this rate (a
lot of which is smoke and mirror because of the central government's
peculiar fiscal policies, which have recently received well-deserved
media attention).

> So as I admit to eating some hidden vegan ingredients (but never add
> themselves) I call myself vegnaish and perhaps Kosherish if there was
> such a word. I might might a cake knowing it had some hidden egg. And
> I would eat a vegetarian cake made for me by a neighbor, though it's not
> strictly kosher.

At least you're not orthorexic in your own life, even if you recommend
it to others.

>> Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism hold that these laws are
>> no longer binding. Most Jews in Reform Judaism have considered these
>> laws a hindrance, rather than a facilitator, of piety; this is still
>> the mainstream Reform position. Some parts of the Reform community
>> have begun to move towards a more traditional position. This
>> tradition-leaning faction agrees with mainstream Reform that the rules
>> concerning kashrut are no longer binding, but holds that keeping
>> kosher is an important way for people to bring holiness into their
>> lives. Thus Jews are encouraged to consider adopting some or all of
>> the rules of kashrut on a voluntary basis. The Reconstructionist
>> movement advocates that its members accept some of the rules of
>> kashrut, but does so in a non-binding fashion; their stance on kashrut
>> is the same as the tradition-leaning wing of Reform. The different
>> movements' positions on kashrut are reflective of their broader
>> perspectives on Jewish law as a whole.
>>
>> Many Jews who do not meet the complete requirements of Kashrut
>> nevertheless maintain some subset of the laws; for instance,
>> abstaining from pork or shellfish. Many Jews will likewise avoid
>> drinking milk with a meat dish, without knowing why doing so seems
>> alien. Similarly, many keep a degree of Kashrut at home while having
>> no problems eating in a non-kosher restaurant.
>> http://www.answers.com/topic/kashrut
>
> Reform Judaism was an attempt to keep Jews. Rabbi Kirsch showed the joy
> of Judaism. Rabbi Samson Hirsch is still quoted for his brilliance in
> all forms of Judaism. He certainly was against animal cruelty. his
> work has permeated all forms of Judaism.
>
> In summary, the poster had her food altered.

No, that was never suggested.

>>> Generally, over time, science proves that the laws have helped
>>> protect the Jews from various diseases.
>
> They avoid bacteria laden shellfish,

So do the goyim who follow health department warnings when oyster beds
are contaminated, for example.

> carnivores, and trigonsis ((sp>) i
> have no idea how to spell.

Trichinosis is something easily prevented through freezing and/or
properly cooking meats.

> It avoided cross contamination, so complete
> write-up in restaurants healh inspector. I would be glad to send local
> urns.

Produce can be contaminated without ever coming near meat, such as the
application of or proximity to manure or irrigation with water
contaminated with manure. And don't forget that it wasn't
cross-contamination that caused the green onion hepatitis scare in
Pennsylvania. It was direct contamination with human feces in the fields
where the onions were grown.

>> Any proof? The only "proof" of the benefits of kosher I've seen have
>> to do with how quickly animals die compared to other slaughter
>> techniques.
>
> I will write after getting rest .

Just respond in the right thread.

>> And as far as diseases go, kashrut doesn't protect Jews from Bloom's
>> syndrome, familial dysautonomia, torsion dystonia, or Tay-Sachs;
>> further, Jews are also more likely to have diabetes than the general
>> population.
>>
>> http://www.mendosa.com/jewish.htm
>>
>>> A lot is ritual.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ritual is, of itself, irrelevant to health.
>>
>>> That is off topic.
>>
>>
>>
>> And you should stop straying from the topic.