[The Avon Lady]

Originally Posted by Skybird

I knew of the Jewish ban for meat if the animal was not killed in some mysteriously correct way. That Jews are banned from alcohol, too, so far escaped my attention.

It also escaped from your attention that my 1st post here described how I enjoy kirsch-filled chocolate.

I thought that was a Muslim thing only, so at least now I know where they copied that from.

Nope! There is no Jewish prohibition against drinking alchohol per se.

So I spare you the debate about that special german red wine I prefer, sweet and light like fresh grape juice, it is like summer on your tongue and runs down your throat like a warm breeze, and I really think that everyone who has not tasted it has lived his life in vain and must die in clear desperation

Now wines and all grape derived liquids do have to be kosher.

The Rabbis several 1000 years ago prohibited (even to derive benefit from) the wine of a Jew if it was touched and moved (or even if it may have been touched) by a non-Jew. The decree with out of concern that the non-Jew may have poured some of the wine as an offering to his diety and Jewish law prohibit Jews from benefitting in any way from materials used or dedicated to idol worship.

While this decree is not in synch with today's circumstances most of the time, it cannot be rescinded for other complex legal reasons.

So unfortunately, we cannot indeed enjoy the good wines you speak of.

However, the kosher wine market has mushroomed over the past 30 years and there is no lack of kosher Israeli, French, Spanish, Italian, US and Chilean wines, including numerous international prize winners.

Or is it marcipane that is not kosher?

I assume you mean marzipan.

The biggest but not the only problem with chocolate is the emulsifier. While synthetic/chemical emulsifiers are used today (most US produced Hershey and many Nestle chocolate products, as an example), high quality and gourmet chocolate is still often produced using animal enzyme based emulsifiers, which are not kosher unless derived from animals that were slaughtered and processed afterwards according to Jewish dietary laws.