Kosher tourism is tourism which is geared mostly towards Orthodox Jews. The accommodations in these destinations include kosher foods, and are within walking distance of Orthodox synagogues. Flights to these destinations often have kosher airline meals available.
Many kosher vacation packages are geared toward the Jewish holidays throughout the year including Passover, Sukkot and Hanukkah. In Israel, schools are on vacation and parents take advantage of the free time to travel within the country or overseas. Yeshivas in other parts of the world also have a vacation period during these holidays known as Bein Hazmanim .
A seasonal subcategory of the Kosher tourism industry is travel for Passover, a period of a week that otherwise involves special preparation of the personal home and kitchen. It includes specially designed all-inclusive Passover cruises [1] and resorts. [2]
The week-long holiday of Sukkot involves the need to eat meals and sleep in a sukkah which destinations and locations wishing to attract observant Jews will build, either for eating only, or overnight use as well.
During the holiday of Hanukkah, places such as Modi'in are popular for those who want to see the historical sites where many of the events leading up to the Maccabean Revolt took place. [3]
Another subcategory of the Kosher tourism industry is tourism products geared toward the Haredi community. This segment of the Kosher tourism industry has a potential customer base of about 800,000 households. Important aspects of this segment of the industry include separate hours for men and women at swimming pools and beaches and the hotels might remove televisions or Internet access from rooms and the lobby. [4]
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or Yamim Tovim, are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar. They include religious, cultural and national elements, derived from three sources: biblical mitzvot ("commandments"), rabbinic mandates, and the history of Judaism and the State of Israel.
Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz is forbidden.
Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt. Pesach starts on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan which is considered the first month of the Hebrew year. The Hebrew calendar is adjusted to align with the solar calendar in such a way that 15 Nisan always coincides with Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. The Hebrew day starts and ends at sunset, so the holiday starts at sunset the day before. For example, in 2023, 15 Nisan coincides with Thursday April 6. Therefore, Pesach starts at sundown Wednesday April 5. The word Pesach or Passover can also refer to the Korban Pesach, the paschal lamb that was offered when the Temple in Jerusalem stood; to the Passover Seder, the ritual meal on Passover night; or to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is celebrated for seven days in Israel and for eight days among the Jewish diaspora, based on the concept of yom tov sheni shel galuyot. In the Bible, the seven-day holiday is known as Chag HaMatzot, the feast of unleavened bread (matzah).
Sukkot is a Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which those Israelites who could were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. In addition to its harvest roots, the holiday also holds spiritual importance with regard to its abandonment of materialism to focus on nationhood, spirituality, and hospitality, this principle underlying the construction of a temporary, almost nomadic, structure of a sukkah.
Shemini Atzeret is a Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei in the Land of Israel, and on the 22nd and 23rd outside the Land, usually coinciding with late September or early October. It directly follows the Jewish festival of Sukkot which is celebrated for seven days, and thus Shemini Atzeret is literally the eighth day. It is a separate—yet connected—holy day devoted to the spiritual aspects of the festival of Sukkot. Part of its duality as a holy day is that it is simultaneously considered to be both connected to Sukkot and also a separate festival in its own right.
Kitniyot is a Hebrew word meaning legumes. During the Passover holiday, however, the word kitniyot takes on a broader meaning to include grains and seeds such as rice, corn, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds, in addition to legumes such as beans, peas, and lentils.
Hallel is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113–118 which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving.
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions centred around Shabbat. Jewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the entire world.
Chametz are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover. This law appears several times in the Torah; the punishment for eating chametz on Passover is the divine punishment of kareth.
A kosher restaurant or kosher deli is an establishment that serves food that complies with Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). These businesses, which also include diners, cafés, pizzerias, fast food, and cafeterias, and are frequently in listings together with kosher bakeries, butchers, caterers, and other similar places, differ from kosher-style businesses in that they operate under rabbinical supervision, which requires that the laws of kashrut, as well as certain other Jewish laws, including the separation of meat and dairy must be observed.
Bein Hazmanim refers to vacation time in Jewish Orthodox Yeshivas. These periods of time, generally corresponding to the major Jewish holidays, are large blocks of calendar dates in which official studies are suspended and students typically leave the Yeshiva setting. These Bein Hazmanim blocks divide between the three major Yeshiva Zmanim (semesters) – the Elul Zman, the Choref (winter) Zman, and the Kayitz (summer) Zman.
Susan Beth Fishbein is an American Orthodox Jewish kosher cookbook author, cooking teacher, and culinary tour leader. Her Kosher By Design series of cookbooks was a runaway best-seller for ArtScroll, with over 500,000 copies sold. In 2008 she was included on the Forward 50 as one of the 50 most influential Jews.
A kosher airline meal is an airline meal that conforms to the standards of kashrut. Many airlines offer the option of kosher meals to passengers if ordered in advance. These not only contain food that is kosher, but also other features to aid observant Jews, such as copies of Tefilat HaDerech and prayers that are recited before and after eating and bread on which the mezonot blessing is recited, thereby enabling observant Jews to consume the bread without washing hands.
L'Chaim Kosher Vodka is a line of Israeli kosher alcoholic beverages. It is distributed by Group Force Capital, LLC of Miami, Florida, in the Wynwood Art District. L'Chaim is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, the largest certifying body in the world. It is one of a number of certified kosher spirits.
Thirteenth Avenue is a roughly 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) street in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Thirteenth Avenue is the commercial center of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park, and Dyker Heights.
Sfeka d'yoma is a concept and legal principle in Jewish law which explains why some Jewish holidays are celebrated for one day in the Land of Israel but for two days outside the Land. The implications of sfeka d'yoma are discussed in Rosh Hashanah 21a and in the commentaries and poskim.
The White House Passover Seder was an annual private dinner held at the White House on the Jewish holiday of Passover during the presidency of Barack Obama. Obama initiated it in 2009 for his family, staff members, friends, and their families. The gathering recited the Passover Haggadah, discussed the themes of the Passover Seder and their relation to current events, and partook of a holiday-themed meal. Obama hosted and attended the Seder each year from 2009 to 2016. It was the first Passover Seder to be conducted by a sitting U.S. president in the White House.
American Jewish cuisine comprises the food, cooking, and dining customs associated with American Jews. It was heavily influenced by the cuisine of Jewish immigrants who came to the United States from Eastern Europe around the turn of the 20th century. It was further developed in unique ways by the immigrants and their descendants, especially in New York City and other large metropolitan areas of the northeastern U.S.
Ethiopian Jewish cuisine is the cuisine of the Beta Israel. The cuisine of the Ethiopian Jews is similar to the cuisine of other Ethiopians, with some variations.
Kosher by ingredient is an approach to observing the laws of kashrut that determines whether a food is kosher or not based on ingredient, rather than by the presence of a hechsher. This approach has fallen out of favor with Orthodox Jews, but is practiced by many Conservative Jews as well as by some Reform Jews and Reconstructionist Jews.
