A Closer Look at Kashrut in the Messianic Movement: Do Messianic Jews Eat Pork?
The question of whether Messianic Jews eat pork and adhere to traditional kosher dietary laws is a complex one with a range of perspectives across the Messianic Jewish movement In this comprehensive 1888-word guide, I will explore the diversity of thought on kashrut observance among Messianic believers, examining the biblical basis and the practical implications for Messianic Jewish life today
Defining Messianic Judaism
First, it is helpful to clarify exactly what Messianic Judaism is. Messianic Judaism is a movement that combines belief in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah with continued observance of Jewish practices. Messianic Jews seek to integrate their Jewish identity with faith in Yeshua within a community that honors and celebrates its Jewish roots.
The Messianic Jewish movement emerged in the 1960s and 1970s but has precedents going back to the first century group of Jewish Yeshua-followers. Today the number of Messianic Jews worldwide is estimated at around 350,000. Messianic Jewish congregations celebrate Jewish holidays with Yeshua-centered interpretations and follow varying levels of Torah observance.
Kashrut in the Torah
To fully understand kosher eating in Messianic Judaism, we must first look at what the Bible says about it. The main source is the Torah, especially Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, which say that eating pigs, shellfish, and scavengers is wrong. Kosh er land mammals must chew their cud and have cloven hooves. Kashrut also prohibits mixing milk and meat and requires ritual slaughter.
These dietary rules served several purposes:
- Distinguishing Israel as God’s people
- Upholding holiness
- Promoting health—many unclean foods carried higher risk of disease when eaten or when their meat wasn’t fully cooked.
In addition, blood consumption is forbidden both in Genesis 9 and Leviticus 17. Avoiding blood honors the sacredness of life.
Traditional Kashrut Practice
Over centuries of rabbinic Judaism, these biblical dietary regulations evolved into a highly detailed, complex legal system known as kashrut. In addition to biblically prohibited animals, traditional kosher practice excludes any meat and dairy mixture, requires extensive ritual preparation and slaughter, and separates dairy and meat dishes, cooking instruments, and eating utensils.
Keeping kosher in the traditional sense requires great rigor, commitment and constant vigilance. For Orthodox Jews, strict kosher observance is mandatory, while other Jewish movements have a range of flexibility. Nonetheless, avoiding pig products and mixing milk and meat remain cornerstones of Jewish identity across denominations.
Diversity of Thought in the Messianic Movement
Given this background, there is a diversity of opinion on kashrut practice within Messianic Judaism. The issue essentially boils down to how much of traditional rabbinic halakha surrounding kashrut should be incorporated versus solely following the written Torah. There are a few main perspectives:
- Biblical Kosher Only
Some Messianic Jews only avoid biblically prohibited foods like pork but do not adher to rabbinic kosher traditions. They argue Yeshua nullified strict kosher law.
- New Covenant Kosher
This group adheres to rabbinic kosher traditions but believes they are no longer obligatory under the New Covenant. They keep kosher out of respect for Jewish heritage.
- Partially Kosher
Many Messianic Jews do not keep a strictly kosher kitchen but abstain from pork and shellfish as an observance of Jewish identity.
- Fully Kosher
Others in the Messianic movement keep fully traditional kosher similar to Orthodox Jewish standards out of a sense of divine commandment.
Do Messianic Jews Eat Pork?
Given this spectrum, do Messianic Jews eat pork or abstain from it? The simple answer is it depends. Here are some general observations:
-
A majority of Messianic Jews do not eat pork products, following the Torah prohibition.
-
Some adhere to traditional kosher and thus exclude all non-kosher meats.
-
Others who only follow biblical kosher still abstain from pork out of Jewish identity.
-
There is also a minority who do consume pork, believing Yeshua declared all foods clean.
What is the Basis for Messianic Kashrut?
Messianic Jews have several perspectives on the reasoning behind their kosher observance:
- Divine commandment from the Torah
- Custom reflecting Jewish identity
- Health considerations
- Spiritual discipline
- Evangelism to Jews who keep kosher
Some observe kosher purely to identify with Jewish community and ancestry, while others see it as obedience to God’s eternal decrees. Evangelism also motivates some Messianic Jews to keep kosher to build bridges.
Key Messianic Jewish Principles About Kashrut
Drawing from the diversity of Messianic thought, here
1 Kashrut: Decisions & Commentary
All fruits, grains and vegetables are kosher. Fish with fins and scales are also kosher.
These basic laws of kashrut are first enjoined in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. The story of Noah, on the other hand, already shows the difference between animals that are tahor (ritually pure) and those that are not. Genesis 9:3 says that Noah and his family can eat any animal, but Genesis 8:20 says that only tahor animals can be sacrificed. As a holy nation set apart for Hashem from all the other nations, Israel is told to limit the number of animals it eats so that its table can be like the temple altar.
Many people have said that these dietary rules are good for your health, but the Torah says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44; see also Deuteronomy 14:2).
The vision Peter had in Acts 10 makes it sound like all the nations of the world are now being asked to share Israel’s holiness without becoming less like their own countries. Therefore, they may now become holy, like Israel, without adopting Israels dietary regimen. But Acts 10 doesn’t mean that Israel can’t fulfill its own priestly calling in a way that’s different from that.
The traditional dispute over swordfish and sturgeon concerns the status of their scales. Ramban says that the Torah only talks about fish scales that can be taken off of the skin. The scales of the swordfish and sturgeon can be removed from the skin, but only with difficulty. Thus, Orthodox authorities generally regard these fish as non-kosher, whereas the Conservative movement has ruled them kosher.
This dispute also affects the kashrut of caviar, which is derived from sturgeon.
On the prohibition of meat from the hind quarters of permitted four-legged animals, see decision 3.1.3.3.
“Some substances that come from animals are chemically treated in such a way that they can no longer be thought of as meat products.” This is the case with both gelatin and rennet, which Conservative authorities have ruled are kosher. ” (S. Dresner, Keeping Kosher [United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, 2000], 63. ).
If you want to follow a mitzvah, like getting circumcised, getting married, having kiddush, or saying havdalah, you should only use kosher wine (Dresner, 64). The fact that the wine was made by Jews and that Jewish religious leaders watched over the process makes the event even more holy.
All people are told not to eat blood in Genesis 9:4 and again in Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25. This rule is given when people are first allowed to eat meat (Genesis 9:3). Permission to eat meat is a concession to the violence that precipitated the flood (Genesis 6:11, 13). The one universal food rule that says you can’t eat blood comes right after the one that says you can’t murder (Genesis 9:5–6), which means shedding human blood. Thus, this universal dietary law expresses the biblical value of reverence for life.
It is striking that all carnivorous animals are ritually impure, according to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. There are rules that say no one should eat animal blood, but Israel needs to go even further. It needs to stay away from the meat of animals that eat other animals’ blood. In this way the value of reverence for life is doubly reinforced.
Along with many other universal commandments, the one that says you shouldn’t eat blood is not what we call a “basic practice” because it is not just a Jewish rule. All people who believe in Yeshua should want to follow this commandment, so they should avoid eating blood as much as possible.
Ezekiel 33:25 makes it clear that eating blood is wrong. The prophet speaks out against it on behalf of Hashem, saying, “You eat with the blood” (which probably means, “You eat meat with the blood in it”). Thus, Jews must purge meat of blood to the extent that this can be reasonably accomplished. This is done through kosher slaughter and additional measures.
Usually, shechitah only means the kosher killing of an animal. But in this case, the word is used more broadly to refer to both the kosher killing (which is done by a shochet) and the processing and preparation of the meat (which is done by a butcher). This is called “porging,” and it involves (1) getting rid of any blood that is still there after “shechitah,” (2) getting rid of fats that are forbidden by the Torah (Leviticus 3:17), and (3) getting rid of the sciatic nerve, as Genesis 32:33 says must be done (see below). As Messianic Jews, we should respect the institution of shechitah because it is clearly based on the Written Torah. We should also try to buy meat that has been slaughtered and packaged under reliable kosher supervision if at all possible.
For a detailed description of the process of salting and boiling, see Klein, 350-57.
Liver requires broiling because of the preponderance of blood in it.
“Liver can only be koshered by broiling because it has too much blood in it. It shouldn’t be soaked.” Even if liver is to be cooked in some other way, it must first be broiled. ” (Dresner, 62).
According to our basic rules, the following cuts are fine: Chuck, Rib and Ribeye, Shank and Brisket, Skirt and Flank. London Broil (when it comes from the shoulder), Cubed Steak, and Ground Beef (when they don’t have any parts from the back) are also allowed.
Steaks like Top Loin (Strip or Shell), T-Bone, Porterhouse, Tenderloin, Sirloin, Tri-Tip, and Round should not be eaten. (London Broil from the Bottom or Top Rounds are likewise to be avoided. ).
The angel who wrestled with Jacob “wrenched Jacobs hip at its socket” (Genesis 32:26). To this day, the children of Israel don’t eat the thigh muscle that is on the socket of the hip (Genesis 32:33), because this is how the Torah says they remember what happened: “That’s why the children of Israel do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the socket of the hip.” A kosher butcher must cut out the sciatic nerve as part of this dietary restriction, which is still a Jewish custom. Chullin 7:1-6). It is common in the diaspora to set aside the hindquarters and sell them to non-Jews because this process is very hard to do, even for a trained kosher butcher.
It is against the law to eat kosher meat or be a vegetarian, and if we buy meat from an allowed animal from somewhere else, we should avoid meat from the hindquarters because it goes against Genesis 32:33.
The Church’s Kosher Pig: The Messianic Movement! -Rabbi Tovia Singer
FAQ
Are Jews ever allowed to eat pork?
What percentage of Jews are messianic?
Do Messianic Jews celebrate Easter?
What Bible do Messianic Jews use?