Please Pass the Cheese: Kraft Cheese, Tablet-K, and the Politics of Kashrut

(5) Rabbi Yehuda says: Rabbi Ishmael asked Rabbi Yehoshua [a question] as they were walking along the road. He said to him, "What is the cause for the prohibition against the cheese of non-Jews?" He said to him, "Because they curdle it inside the stomach of carrion." He said to him, "But is not [the law regarding] the stomach of a burnt offering more stringent than the stomach of carrion?! And they [the Sages] said: [It was proposed that] a priest with a good disposition may burn [a burnt offering after sucking out the fat from its stomach] while it it still raw [and has not yet been burnt with the offering, which would forbid one form deriving any benefit from it]. And they [the sages] did not agree with him [who proposed this opinion], but they said: One may not derive benefit [from the fats of the stomach], nor is one [who does so] liable for meilah [deriving prohibited benefit from from a sanctified object]." [Implying that one should therefore not be liable for the less stringent case of a stomach of carrion.] He [Rabbi Yehoshua] retracted, and [instead] said, "Because they curdle it in the stomachs of calves that were used for idolatry." And he [Rabbi Ishmael] said, "If so, why is there no prohibition to benefit from it?" He [Rabbi Yehoshua] redirected him to another topic. He said to him, "Ishmael, my brother, how do you read (Shir HaShirim 1): 'For dodechah [Heb. masc: "your love"] is better than wine,' or 'For dodayich [Heb. fem: "your love") is better than wine'? He said to him:, "'For dodayich is better than wine.'" He said to him, "The matter is not so. For its fellow [the following verse] teaches about it: 'For the fragrance of shemanecha [Heb. masc: "your oils"] is good.'"

Diverted him to another matter: What is the meaning of the words "For thy love is better than wine?" For when Rav Dimi came from Palestine he explained it in this way: Knesset Yisrael says to the Holy Bless one: Master of the Universe! The words of your beloved ones are more pleasnt to me than the wine of the Torah."

Why did he ask him just about his verse? Rav Shimon ben Pazi - some say Rav Shimon Bar Ami said: he hinted at the beginning of this verse, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" meaning, Yishmael, my brother, press your lips on eto another and do not be too eager to ask for an answer. Why? Ulla (or R. Shmuel ben Aba) said: This is a new ordinace about which one should not investigate.

But what is the reason for this law? R. Shimon ben Pazi said in the name of Rav Yehoshua ben Levi: The probability that the cheese has been bitten by a snake. Then why not tell him the reason? Because of Ulla's ruling, for Ulla said, "When an ordinace is made in the West, its reason is not revealed before a full year passes, lest there be someoen who would disagree with the reason adn would treat the ordinace lightly. This was ridiculed by Rav Yirmiyah. If so, then hard cheese adn old cheese should be permitted. Hanina said, when anything becomes dry it is permitted because snake venom would not let it become dry, and if it is aged cheese it should be fine since snake venom would prevent the cheese aging. Rav Hanina said: The reason for prohibiting the cheese is becasue it is impossible for it not to have particles of milk. Shmuel said, because it is set in the skin of the rennet of a neveilah. But this implies that the rennet itself is permitted. How could Shmuel ahve said so? Did we not learn, "The rennet of a gentile's animals or of a neveilah is forbiden?" And when the quetison was asked, is then any animal of a gentile indeed considered neveilah? Shmuel answered, These are meant to be taken together: The rennet of an animal slaughtered by gentiles which is neveilah is forbidden. This is not a contradiction for...

...the former represents R. Yehoshua's position before it was reversed the latter after it was reversed and the Mishnah was left unchanged.

R. Malkiah in the name of Rav Adda bar Ahava said: Cheese is forbidden because its surface is smeared with pig fat. Rav Hisda said, becaue it is curdled in vinegar. Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: Becasue it might be curdled with the sap of orlah plants.

Rabbenu Tam said that now, since we no longer find a simple reason to prohibit since the reason for the prohibition is snake venom, as is said by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, for we uphold the halakhah in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, even when he disputes Rabbi Yochanan, and even the more so when he disputes Shemuel for when Shemuel disputes Rabbi Yochanan, the halakhah is in accordance with Rabbi Yochanan. And this was the ruling of Rabbenu Hannanel and so too Seder Tena'im ve'Amoraim declares that the halakhah is in accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi in all cases. And the words of Rav Ada bar Ahava ammount ot nothing since he si tnot the same Rav Ada bar Ahava who was a student of Rava, for he came later - for his words are mentioned earlier than those of Rav Hisda and Rav Nahman bar Yitzchak who were all earlier than Rava. And also the words of Rav Hisda and Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak stand in conflict. And there is no need to be concerned about a mixture of non-kosher milk since it will not become cheese as Rashi explains, for the gentiles are not so foolish as to mix non-kosher milk into their cheese mixtures since it will not form cheese. Rather, it is certain that the reason for the prohibition is for no other reason than the concern about snake venom and we, who do not live in a region with many snakes have no reason to be concerned about uncovered liquids. And do not say that a decree that has been enacted by a court requires another court to gather to overturn the decree for certainly it was never forbidden for any region other than those wherein snakes are found as I will explain concerning wine. And in many places they eat these cheeses because they are are made using flowers. However, in thsoe places wehre the cheeses are made with rennet, Rav Yitzchak ben Rabenu Hayim says there is a slight reason to forbid since the rennet is salted with its skin adn there is a concern of dairy and meat together since salting is equivalent to roasting. And I have seen places where they make the cheese firm with some other salted thing.

Accordingly, logic would dictate that any milk found in the possession of a gentile is forbidden, lest the gentile have mixed the milk of a non-kosher animal with it. And the cheese of the gentiles should be permitted, for the milk of a non-kosher animal will not form cheese. Nevertheless, during the age of the Sages of the Mishnah, they issued a decree against gentile cheese and forbade it, lest they use the skin of the stomach of an animal they slaughtered - which is forbidden as a nevelah - to cause it to solidify.

If one would say: The stomach skin is a very small entity when compared to the milk that it is used to solidify. Why is it not nullified because of its insignificant size? Because it is used as the catalyst to cause the cheese to curdle. Since the catalyst which causes it to curdle is forbidden, everything is forbidden, as will be explained.

[The following laws apply when] cheese is left to solidify with herbs or fruit juice, e.g., fig syrup, and it is apparent [that these substances were used for] the cheese. There are some of the Geonim who have ruled that it is forbidden, for [our Sages] already decreed that all the cheeses of gentiles are forbidden, whether they caused them to solidify with a forbidden entity or with a permitted entity.This is a decree, [instituted] because they cause them to solidify using forbidden entities.

(2) Cheese made by non Jews was forbidden because that they are produced with the dried stomach of an animal that was not correctly slaughtered. And even when the cheese is produced using vegetarian rennet it is forbidden. Rema: And thus is the custom, and it must not be changed, unless you are in a place that has permitted this since earlier times. And if a Jew oversees the production of the cheese and the milking, it is permitted. And thus is the custom that spread in all of our countries. And if a Jew oversaw the making of the cheese, but not the milking, it is permitted after the fact, because there is no concern that perhaps something non-kosher was mixed in after the cheese was made from the milk, because non-kosher milk will not allow the cheese to form, and of course the non-Jew did not mix anything in once he knew it was for making cheese. And in any case, it is forbidden to eat such milk.