Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-10-06
/" KOSHER" MEAT.

Why the Orthodox Jews Get Better Mea
than the Average Christian-They Hav,
d" Shochet," an Inspector Who Relig
iously Attends to Business-No Anima
Permitted to BE Killed Until 1t is in 8
State of Perfect Health.
The term Kosher " signifies clean
the term "triefe' unclean; ant
. Kosher" meat is the flesh fooc
which is clean according to the law OF
Moses, as expounded in the Talmud
while all other meat is frowned upon as
triefe," unclean, however great o
delicacy it may be to the Gentle
palate.
That the hog in its entirety is con-
sldered unclean by the orthodox Jew is
well-known fact, and it is, therefore.
quite superluous to look for hog meat
IN any shape in n "Kosher butcher
shop. But it is not 50 generally known
that headquarters of otherwise sKosh-
er ANIMALS are also excluded from
tne ist o. g DDS permissible in these
esslaopshments, at least in this country,
ior reasons which will be explained in
-le course of this sketch.
The first condition for 'Koshern
meat IS that it must come from an ami
maj Killed by the "Shochet." The
ShocLet is an expert meat Inspector I'M
der the law OF the Talmud, and can only
practice his art when he is accredited
10y a learned rabbi as being versed in
the law and learned in. his handicraft in
pne of the Talmudian schools to be
load in small numbers in the east OF
Germany and in Poland.
Every one Of the nine "Kosher'
butchers in Chicago employs his own
Shochet, who occupies, as II rule Il posi-
ton of Importance in the congregation
in which he belongs, although he has
no priestly functions. He seldom car
rics on any other business than that of
a Shochet, and even, rs q rule, consid-
ers it beneath his dignity to assist at the
cutting up of the animals killed by him,
leaving that business entirely to the
butcher. He receives for his services
generally fixed salary of from forty to
Sixty dollars month. but has ga private
income by occas onally practicing his
art for private families and butchers,
who do not deal exclusively in "Kosher'
goods.
1t is his duty to kill and examine
every animal intended to furnish food to
crr...Aodox Jewish stomachs. Here in
Chicago he has to practice principally
on cattle, calves, sheep and domestic
fowls. All the members or the fishy
tribe. providing they are scaly, may be
eaten by the Jews without the inter-
vention of the Shochet, but this privi-
lege does not extend to either salt or
dried fish, rs found in the stores, be-
cause there is ground for suspicion that
in the process of preparing them sun
Kosher matter may have been used.
The butcher has to buy all his stock
alive. and is generally accompanied by
the Shochet when he goes to market,
because the latter is ready to detect in
the living animal already the defects
which mark it as ''treife." After the
bullock has been selected and bought ii
is killed in tie slaughter house in a very
peculiar manner. In the first place,
the animal must be perfectly quiet and
well rested at the time of killing. While
in the slaughter-pen he gets rope
fastened to his horns, and others to his
legs in very cautious manner, so as
not to disturb him. He is then gently
pulled out and coaxed to lie down
peacefully by an ingenious pulling on
the ropes fastened to his legs. No
body is allowed to touch the doomed
animal but the Shochet, who, as soon
as the animal is lying down quietly,will
take hold of its head and cut its throat
with sharp knife, Wise blade, about
twenty inches long and two inches
wide, is highly polished and kept as
scrupulously clean as gentleman
razor. The cut almost sewers the head
from the body, and the animal is ther
allowed to bleed to death. As soon as
the carcass has ceased bleeding it is
opened, and the Shochet will enter up
on very close examination of the en-.
trails. The lungs are the special object
of this study, and the slightest spo
upon them or abnormal condition o.
any part OF them VIII insure the re-
lection of the entire animal as
.triefe." In case of doubt the lung:
are subjected to bath in clean water
and only if it is possible to give then
n perfectly healthy appearance by {
simple washing will the animal be pro
nounced I" Kosher" But even if Tn,
lungs are healthy if there be prosen
foreign bodies in any portion of tn,
carcass which might have caused th'
death of the animal sooner or later
the carcass has TO be rejected, for it il
the law that the animal must be in ;
perfectly healthy condition wher