kosher & halal

[Mark A Mandel]

On Mon, 25 Feb 2002, Laurence Horn wrote:

#At 8:27 AM -0500 2/25/02, David Bergdahl wrote:
#>....from eat-halal.com:
#>
#>Kosher
#>
#>* Jews are allowed to consume many types of alcohol, while Muslims must
#>abstain from all forms of intoxicants, including alcohol.
#>
#The most intriguing part of this post to me is the inference I feel
#licensed to draw from the above that Jews who maintain the dietary
#laws are not allowed to consume some types of alcohol.

Wine and grape juice can be non-kosher. I believe (but IANA halakhic
authority) that this restriction began because wine is used in both
Christian and Jewish ritual, and the rabbis in one period were concerned
lest a non-Jew who handled the wine might have been thinking about using
it for Christian ritual... or something of the sort. Kosher wine can be
stored, sold, etc., by non-Jews without affecting its kosher quality as
long as the seal is unbroken, so a Jew can use wine bought from a
non-Jewish liquor store.

This restriction doesn't apply AFAIK to beer and liquor, which are not
"fruit of the vine", nor to grapes (they're "fruit of the tree"; don't
ask). The Passover restrictions are separate, relating to all grain
products, which obviously includes beer and whisky, but which for the
orthodox also touches anything that might have come into contact with
grain products.

-- Mark A. Mandel