What are Reconstructionist approaches to kashrut?
Our philosophy values kashrut as part of the spiritual and cultural legacy of the Jewish people, and as one aspect of the Jewish search to welcome the Divine presence to our tables and into our communities. We therefore embrace kashrut as more than an issue of appropriate foods and instead view kashrut as a tool for sanctifying our public and private lives within the context of Jewish civilization. With a host of options upon which to base a decision including factors ranging from traditional Jewish legal guidelines to ethical and ecological considerations, most Reconstructionist communities agree on a kashrut policy. Whatever a community’s specific guidelines may be, the overriding value is the recognition that our communities’ relationship to practicing kashrut is premised upon our rich cultural heritage rather than upon obeying a divine commandment. It should therefore not be surprising that in a recent movement wide survey more than 30% of our member households kept some form of ka
