Bishul Yisrael (literally "

cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...

of Israel" - i.e., by a Jew) is a Hebrew term for one of the laws of

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. The rule prohibits eating certain foods if they are cooked exclusively by non-Jews. The term is the opposite of ''bishul akum'' (cooking by a non-Jew), which the rule forbids. ''Akum'' (עכו"ם) is an acronym of ''Ovdey Kochavim U'Mazalot'' (עובדי כוכבים ומזלות), literally "worshippers of stars and zodiac signs", but is actually a term for non-Jews). This rule is part of a set of

decrees A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

instituted by the rabbis of the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

to prevent intermarriages with non-Jews. The prohibition of ''bishul akum'' applies to a formal meal prepared exclusively by non-Jews, even if the situation was one that had no other kosher food problems. The prohibition applies only if the food is prepared ''exclusively'' by non-Jews. A small amount of Jewish participation can suffice to keep the food kosher. Different rabbis have different views on the absolute minimum: Sephardi

poskim In Jewish law, a ''posek'' ( , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the application of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah, in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are inconc ...

state that the minimum participation is to light the fire and place the pot on it to cook, while Ashkenazim are satisfied with merely lighting the fire, or even making a slight adjustment to a fire that was already lit by a non-Jew. The law applies only to foods that, according to the

, are "fit for a king's table" and are not generally eaten raw. Foods that would not be served at a state dinner are exempt from ''bishul akum'', and are kosher even if cooked totally by non-Jews, provided that all the other requirements of kosher food are met.

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

explains that this prohibition was originally decreed in order to avoid a Jew being invited over by a non-Jew for a meal (which may lead to intermarriage), and people do not invite each other for dinner over food that is not "fit for a King's table" (Maimonides, Ma'akhalot Asurot 17:15). In contemporary observance, '' mashgichim'', along with supervising food preparation, typically help start the stove and/or provide other participation in the cooking sufficient to ensure that the rule of ''bishul Yisrael'' is complied with.

References

External links

OUKosher.org: Aish M'aish: Bishul Yisroel
{{Kashrut Kosher food Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law Cooking

See also

References

External links