We Eat Tahor, Not Kosher: Returning To YAH’s Standard of Clean Eating

This follows our previous blog post, so if you haven’t read it yet, be sure to do so:

Beyond the Label: Why Torah Keepers Must Dig Deeper Into Ingredients

Intro—Don’t Confuse “Kosher” With Biblical Clean Eating

As we strive to live by the whole Word of YAH and walk daily in the footsteps of the Messiah, we must return to the original path—not the traditions of men, but the set-apart instruction (Torah) of YAH. When it comes to what we eat, this means learning to discern what is truly clean—or “tahor” (טָהוֹר) in Hebrew—rather than relying on what has been labeled kosher according to Ashkenazi rabbinic standards.

Kosher food lists and labels can be helpful & convenient—they exclude pork and shellfish and other animal-based ingredients which are abominations for us, while providing some additional ingredient information. But kosher foods are not the same as tahor foods. Let us always remember that Torah warns us not to add to or subtract from His Word (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32), and unfortunately, some kosher rules do both.

Tahor Foods (Clean, according to YAH) vs. Kosher Foods (Fit, according to man’s tradition)

📖 Tahor – YAH’s Definition of Clean

According to Torah (Leviticus 11 & Deuteronomy 14), clean animals have specific identifiers:

• Land animals must have split hooves—such as beef, lamb, and goat (Leviticus 11:3).
• Seafood must have both fins and scales—like salmon, cod, trout, etc… (Leviticus 11:9).
• Birds must not be birds of prey or scavengers, which is why chicken, quail, and doves are clean, but hawks, vultures, owls, etc… are not (Leviticus 11:13–20).
• Insects are generally unclean, with the exception of locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers, which are permitted for food (Leviticus 11:21–22). All other bugs—whether whole or as hidden food dyes or coatings—are unclean.

A tahor lifestyle & diet is about honoring what YAH has permitted His people to eat & touch—and we must never allow our appetites to rule over us. As it is written:

“Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame—who set their minds on earthly things”

— Philippians 3:19

Obedience to YAH—even in what we choose to eat or not eat—is an act of worship (remember Eden). It goes far beyond just avoiding ham, shrimp, catfish, lobster, crab, etc… People all over the world may eat “clean” for personal taste preference reasons, health restrictions, diet plans, etc… For example, vegans avoid unclean meats—but that doesn’t mean they’re eating tahor. Tahor eating is truly intentional. It’s not just about diet—it’s about obedience. It’s a daily choice to honor YAH with what we consume.

✡️ Kosher – Rabbinic Additions

Kosher laws include most tahor animals, but they also add rules such as:

• No meat and dairy on the same plate
• Separate dishes and cookware for meat and dairy ingredients
• Waiting hours between eating meat and dairy
• Rabbinic supervision and certifications

And while the kosher system may provide caution, it misrepresents the clarity and strength of the Torah, for instance:

🧀🍔 Cheeseburgers are a Kosher no-go

One of the most popular examples is the kosher ban on cheeseburgers. This rule comes from twisting Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21, where YAH commands:

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

This command is specifically about not cooking a young goat in the very milk that was meant to nourish it—a practice that also has some ties to ancient pagan harvest rituals. The Torah command is not a blanket prohibition against mixing meat and dairy. Besides, most cheeseburgers are made from beef (not goat), plus you would have a hard time finding a cheeseburger where the meat and the cheese come from the same mother. A broad ban on all meat and dairy combinations goes beyond what the Torah actually says—and what we see approved of in Scripture. For example, consider Genesis 18:1–8, where Abraham prepares a meal of meat & dairy for YAH and His messengers. Not only is there no rebuke—but YAH accepts and eats the offering.

“And he (Abraham) took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.”

— Genesis‬ ‭18‬:‭8‬‬‬

Clean vs. Unclean — Hebrew Word Study: Tahor vs. Tamei

Hebrew letters are special—every Hebrew letter has meaning, allowing Hebrew words to form vivid word pictures. These pictures convey concrete, action-based ideas rather than abstract concepts, giving the language a depth and clarity that connects thought to real-life function. For more on that check out https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/

With that understanding, let’s now explore the Hebrew words for clean and unclean:

טָהוֹר – Tahor (Clean)

Root: ט־ה־ר Meaning: Pure, undefiled, acceptable.

Word picture: ט (Tet) – Basket (surround, contain) ה (Hey) – Reveal ו (Vav) – Nail (secure, connect) ר (Resh) – Head (leader, beginning) ➤ A picture of something enclosed, secure, and pure for the head or leader—something fit for a set-apart purpose.

טָמֵא – Tamei (Unclean)

Root: ט־מ־א Meaning: Defiled, impure, ceremonially unacceptable.

Word picture: ט (Tet) – Basket (contain, surround) מ (Mem) – Water (chaos, flowing) א (Aleph) – Ox (strength, leader) ➤ What surrounds and brings in chaos or defilement—even overtaking strength. A strong contamination.

Biblical Word Study: Tahor vs Kosher & Kashrut

🟩 “Tahor” (טָהוֹר) — Biblical Hebrew, and found in Torah dietary laws

Meaning: Clean, pure, uncontaminated. Used for: Clean animals for eating (Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14) Clean people, objects, offerings, and conditions (ritual purity) Examples: Genesis 7:2 – “Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean (tahor) animal…” Leviticus 11:47 – “…to distinguish between the unclean and the clean…” Isaiah 52:11 – “Be clean, you who bear the vessels of YAH.”

🟨 “Kosher” (כָּשֵׁר) — Biblical Hebrew, but NOT found in Torah dietary laws

Root Word: Kasher (כָּשֵׁר), meaning fit, proper, suitable. Used only a few times in the Tanakh (“Old Testament”), and it is NOT used in reference to food in Scripture.

“Kosher” as a food term came much later, developed through rabbinic tradition, NOT Torah. It became a way to classify food as ritually acceptable according to Oral Law (Talmud), not Scripture.

🟥 “Kashrut” (כַּשְׁרוּת) — Post-Biblical Hebrew

Derived from kasher, kashrut means “fitness” or “properness” but only in Rabbinic literature (like the Mishnah or Talmud). It’s never used in the Torah or Tanakh, so it’s not Biblical Hebrew. Today, “kashrut” refers to the entire kosher system, governed by oral laws and rabbinic interpretation.

✅ “Tahor”, is the one Hebrew term Scripture uses for “clean” animals for us—that is, animals set apart as acceptable for food. Now, let’s continue.

🛎️ Again—Kosher Can Help, But It’s Not The Standard

We’re not against people checking for kosher labels—sometimes they can be helpful starting points. But we cannot let kosher be our final standard. It is not always equal to tahor, and sometimes it goes beyond or works against Torah.

As The Messiah, Yahoshua said in Mark 7:8:

“You leave the commandment of Elohim (Torah) and hold to the tradition of men.”

Let’s return to keeping the commandments found in YAH’s instructions (Torah).

Closing—A Reminder to Be: Clean, Clear, and Set-Apart

The world has its dietary trends & fads. Ashkenazi Judaism has its rules & fences. But YAH gave us a clear and timeless definition of what is food and what is not food/abomination. We don’t need to complicate it. We just need to obey it.

Let us be clean & holy—not according to traditions of men, but according to the instruction (Torah) from YAH!

“You are to be qodesh (set apart, aka “holy”) to Me, for I Yahuah Am qodesh, and I have set you apart from peoples (nations) to be Mine.” —Leviticus 20:26

So, what do we do?

We follow the actual words of YAH.

We don’t follow man-made rules that add fences around fences.

We eat tahor, not kosher.

Until next time, shalom ✌🏾
~Yahrahn
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Additional considerations:

Kosher law (kashrut), forbids any combination of real meat & dairy, not just cheeseburgers. This prohibition is much broader than what Torah commands.

❌ Other Foods Banned by Kosher rules (But Not by the Bible):

🍕 Pizza (with meat toppings and cheese)

🌮 Tacos with meat & cheese and/or sour cream

🍝 Pasta with meat & cheese and/or cream sauce (e.g. chicken alfredo, meat lasagna, spaghetti & meatballs with parmesan cheese)

🥧 Shepherd’s pie topped with cheese, Gyros, Lamb & butter sauce, etc…

Again, this all stems from a twisting of Exodus 23:19, 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21, all of which say:

“… Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

Rabbinic Judaism interpreted this single command repeated three times as:

1. Don’t cook meat and dairy together
2. Don’t eat meat and dairy together
3. Don’t benefit (sell/share) from meat and dairy cooked together

From these twisted interpretations, a wide range of additional rules were created, including:

• Separate dishes and cookware for meat and dairy
• Separate meat and dairy fridges or sinks in many Orthodox homes
• Wait times between consuming one and the other (up to 6 hours)

Bottom Line

Torah provides clear dietary guidelines. Kosher laws impose burdensome prohibitions on mixing meat & dairy—kosher keeping is an unnecessary burden.

“For this is the love of YAH, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are NOT burdensome,”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬

Again—This is why we must return to reading and obeying YAH’s Scripture over everything. Just as we are no longer under churchianity, let us not bind ourselves to Judaism, or anything else that adds to or subtracts from YAH’s pure instruction.