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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture this http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/italy-earthquake-cheese_n_1533761.html is, theologically, inexplicable to me. are we to assume that modren Eyetalian cheese makers gave up the sources of rennet used by their middevil forefathers, known to Jacob ben Meir? or was he just a closet "Conservative"? c from an Impeccable source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods#Cheese Cheese The situation of cheese is complicated if hard cheese usually involves rennet, an enzyme which splits milk into curds and whey. Although rennet can be made from vegetable or microbial sources, most forms are derived from the stomach linings of animals, and therefore could potentially be nonkosher. Only rennet made from the stomachs of kosher animals, if they have been slaughtered according to the laws of kashrut, is kosher. If a kosher animal is not slaughtered according to the halakha, the rennet is not kosher. Rennet is not considered a meat product and does not violate the prohibition of mixing meat and dairy. Jacob ben Meir, one of the most prominent medieval rabbis, championed the viewpoint that all cheese was kosher, a standpoint which was practiced in communities in Narbonne and Italy. Contemporary Orthodox authorities do not follow this ruling, and hold that cheese requires formal kashrut certification to be kosher; some even argue this is necessary for cheese made with nonanimal rennet. In practice, Orthodox Jews, and some Conservative Jews who observe the kashrut laws, only eat cheese if they are certain the rennet itself was kosher. However Isaac Klein's tshuva authorized the use of cheese made from non-kosher rennet, and this is widely practiced by observant Conservative Jews and Conservative institutions[37]. ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html