To fulfill the two requirements for Jewish festival evening kiddush:

1. Make Kiddush
   Say, or hear, the three Jewish festival evening kiddush blessings/segments:
   1. Borei pri ha'gafen (if on wine or grape juice—preferred option), OR
      Ha'motzi (on two challot if you have no wine or grape juice, since no chamar medina is allowed for Jewish festival evening kiddush; see Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: Challot for Kiddush) AND
   2. Asher bachar banu mi kol am.... mekadeish Yisrael v'hazmanim, AND
   3. She'hecheyanu on all Jewish festival nights, except the last two nights of Passover.  So say she'hecheyanu on:
      • Both nights of Rosh Hashana (in or outside of Eretz Yisrael),
      • First two nights of Passover (1 night in Eretz Yisrael),
      • Both nights of Shavuot (1 night in Eretz Yisrael),
      • First two nights of Sukkot (1 night in Eretz Yisrael), and
      • Nights of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (same day in Eretz Yisrael).
      Note There is never any requirement on an indvidual to drink kiddush wine (except at the Passover seder), but the kiddush wine must be drunk by one or more persons.
      Note A woman who had said she'hecheyanu when she lit the Jewish festival candles does NOT say she'hecheyanu again if she makes kiddush for herself, even when making kiddush at the Passover seder.
      Note There is no need to eat a new fruit after saying she'hecheyanu on the second night of  Shavuot, Passover, or Sukkot. This is not comparable to Rosh Hashana, since the second festival night was instituted due to uncertainty of the actual date of the holiday, while Rosh Hashana is considered to be one single, long day.
2. Establish a halachic “meal” (kovei'a se'uda).
   For how to establish a halachic meal, see Introduction to Jewish Festival “Eating a Meal” Requirements.

Jewish Festivals are listed in the Torah and are of two types: 

1. Three pilgrimage festivals (shalosh regalim):

• Passover,
• Shavuot, and
• Sukkot (including Shimini Atzeret).

These festivals were celebrated in ancient times by "appearing before God"--by bringing offerings to the Tabernacle or Temple.

2. High Holidays: 

• The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana—“Yom Teru'a” in the Torah), and the
• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

 
Duration
Jewish holidays that were originally one day are now observed as follows:

• Rosh Hashana--2 days.
• Yom Kippur--1 day.
• Shavuot--1 day in Eretz Yisrael or 2 days elsewhere.
• Passover has festival days at the beginning and end of the holiday and intermediary days of lesser holiness, which are called chol ha'moed. In Eretz Yisrael, Passover lasts for 7 days in total and the first and last days are festival days. Outside of Eretz Yisrael, Passover lasts 8 days and has two festival days at the beginning and two at the end.
• Sukkot has festival days at the beginning and at the end and intermediary days of lesser holiness, which are called chol ha'moed. In Eretz Yisrael, Sukkot lasts for 8 days and the first and last days are festival days (the last day is Shimini Atzeret). Outside of Eretz Yisrael, Sukkot lasts for 9 days and the first two days and last days are festival days (the 8th day is Shimini Atzeret and the 9th day is Simchat Torah).

Character
Each holiday contributes its own character to Jewish life (Passover--the theme of freedom; Yom Kippur brings atonement, etc.). 

Celebrating
How to celebrate these holidays is detailed in our Oral Law and halacha books. Jewish festivals as practiced today are similar in holiness to Shabbat. As with Shabbat, the Jewish festival has candle lighting, kiddush at two meals, and havdala.   We eat our best food and wear our best clothing on Jewish festivals (we eat our next-best food and wear our next-best clothing on Shabbat!).
The main idea behind eating meals on Jewish festivals is joy (simcha), so you should drink wine and eat meat (only if you enjoy wine and meat).  There is no third meal on Jewish festivals since people used to eat two meals each day (adding a third meal on Shabbat was for enjoyment/oneg).
 
Melachot
Any activities or actions permitted on Shabbat are also permitted on the Jewish festivals. Actions that are forbidden on Shabbat are generally also forbidden on Jewish festivals, but there are some leniencies (only if the actions are needed for that festival day).
Examples

• Lighting from an existing flame,
• Cooking and baking for the Jewish festival day, and
• Carrying outside the eruv (hotza'a--transferring objects between domains).

 
Grama
Grama (indirectly causing an action) is permitted on Jewish festivals (but not on Shabbat). For example, you may advance or delay a timer that will make a light go on or off in the future (the timer must already be plugged in and operating from before sunset of the festival day).
Note For an action to be considered indirect based on time, there must be at least 2.5 seconds after the first action is done before the resulting action begins to happen.

Psik Reisha Dla Neicha Lei
Psik reisha dla neicha lei is forbidden on Jewish festivals, just as it is on Shabbat.

D'oraita Restrictions
D'oraita restrictions apply world-wide to:

• First and seventh days of Passover,
• First and eighth days of Sukkot,
• First day of Shavuot,
• Yom Kippur,
• First day of Rosh Hashana.

Note The same restrictions apply to all other Jewish festival days but are rabbinical.
 
Women
In general, women are not required to perform the positive, time-dependent commandments. Women and girls are not required to eat any Jewish festival meals except the Passover seder meal (but they are not allowed to fast on those days).

The synagogue (shul) prayer service may confuse the unfamiliar. Here is a brief guide to following the congregational prayers.
 
Ends/Beginnings of Paragraphs
Each individual says most of the prayers, but the leader sets the pace. He says out loud the last line or two of many paragraphs (and sometimes the next paragraph's first few words), to help others find where he is in the prayers.
Hint If you get lost, listen to the leader and try to find those words at the beginning or end of one of the paragraphs near where you think you should be!
 
Saying Amen
When the prayer leader/chazan says a blessing (Baruch ata adonai...) and finishes the final word, everyone usually replies amen.
 
Baruch Hu U'Varuch Shemo
It is common (but not required) to say baruch hu u'varuch shemo after hearing God's name (Adonai) when it is said in a blessing.
This list mainly includes the parts of the prayer service that are said together or when in synagogue, not those said individually or at home.
NoteIf you need to use the toilet between baruch she'amar and yishtabach, say asher yatzar after saying yishtabach and before saying yotzeir or.
 
The initial blessings beginning with asher natan... through the end of ven brit may be said at home.
 
Ma Tovu
Upon arriving in synagogue in the morning, say Ma tovu....
 
Talit
Married men (and also those with a tradition to wear a talit from bar mitzva age) normally put on their talit gadol on all days (except Tish'a b'Av morning).
For more details, see Talit (Gadol).
 
Tefilin
On weekdays, all men put on tefilin. They do not interrupt putting on tefilin to respond to other's prayers, not even to say amen. 
For more details, see Tefilin.
 
Birchot HaShachar/Initial Blessings
If you have not yet said the initial blessings beginning with asher natan... through the end of ven brit, say them once you are in synagogue and after you have put on talit/tefilin (if relevant).  
Everyone stands while the prayer leader reads the initial blessings aloud.  They say amen after each one. 
 
L'Olam Yehei Adam/Shema
L'olam yehei adam is said quietly, with everyone saying the shema line together.
 
Order of the Sacrifices
Some read (quietly) the order of the sacrifices.
 
13 Principles of Talmud Explanation/Kaddish

• The 13 principles of how the Talmud is explained are read quietly.
• Kaddish is said by any mourners.
• Everyone says, amen, yihei shmei raba...

 
Mizmor Shir/Kaddish

• Mizmor shir is read quietly.
• Another kaddish is said by the mourners.

Baruch SheAmar
            Baruch she'amar is said by everyone, standing.  The leader says the final blessing out loud.
 
Verses (Psukim)
The following several pages are verses (psukim) from various sources, said by everyone quietly.
Mizmor L'Toda/Yehi Chevod

• Everyone stands to say mizmor l'toda quietly (just for this paragraph).
• The next paragraph (yehi chevod) is read quietly.

 
Ashrei and 5 Psalms
Ashrei and the following five psalms (#146 to 150) are said quietly by everyone; the leader says the final line or two out loud.
 
Baruch Adonai L'Olam Amen v'Amen
Baruch adonai... is said by the leader.  
 
VaYevarech David
The next section (from va'yevarech David until after bar'chu) is said quietly by everyone while standing.
 
Shirat HaYam
Shirat ha'yam is read quietly by everyone.
 
Yishtabach/Kaddish
Yishtabach is said quietly by everyone together. The leader says the final line of yishtabach out loud and then kaddish.
 
Bar'chu

• The leader says Bar'chu et Adonai ha'mevorach.
• Everyone bows from the waist and replies (aloud), Baruch Adonai ha'mevorach l'olam va'ed (which is then repeated by the leader).
• Everyone says the blessing's ending ...u'vorei et ha'kol.

 
Shema and Its Blessings
The next paragraphs lead up to the shema:

• Leader says, “Et shem ha'el...”
• Everyone says aloud, together: Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh... and Baruch kevod Adonai mi'mkomo.
• Leader says the final line or two of La'el baruch ne'imot... and everyone responds amen.
• Everyone says ahavat olam quietly.
• Leader reads the final lines aloud.
  Note It is the custom to not say amen to the blessing before shema.
• Everyone says the first line of the shema together and aloud, but Baruch shem... silently. 
• Everyone reads the shema individually, and the leader repeats out loud Adonai eloheichem emet.
• Everyone reads the next paragraphs, through ezrat avoteinu, together, quietly.

 
Mi Chamocha
Stand for Mi chamocha until after the amida.

Adonai Yimloch
Everyone reads together and aloud: Adonai yimloch... until the final blessing before the amida.
Note At some time before completing that blessing, step back far enough (one large step is fine) so that you can take three small steps forward to begin the amida. If there is no room to step back, you may pray the amida without stepping forward.
 
The Amida
Amida: Details and Direction
For more details on saying the amida, see What To Pray: Set Prayers: Amida
For where to face during the amida, see Amida: Location: Where To Face
 
Stepping To Begin the Amida
After saying ga'al Yisrael, symbolically approach God by taking three steps forward (any size of steps is fine):

• Step forward with your right foot,
• Step forward with your left foot, and
• Step forward with your right foot.
• Bring your left foot to meet the right one, so that both feet are touching at the heels and at the balls (so that you are standing as if you had one leg, like the angels!)

Bowing in the Amida
Next, with your feet still together, do knee-bowing at the start and end of the first paragraph.  You will also be bowing at:

• Beginning of modim (waist-bowing).
• End of modim (knee-bowing at Baruch ata Adonai of the blessing ending u'lecha na'eh l'hodot).

           
Slach Lanu
In slach lanu, when saying ki chatanu and ki fashanu, hit your chest over your heart with your fist.
Reason We are saying that we sinned, so we strike our heart for leading us astray.
 
Ending the Amida
Symbolically take leave of God by taking three steps back after Adonai tzuri v'go'ali:

• Step back on your left foot,
• Step back on your right foot,
• Step back on your left foot (and then place your right foot next to your left foot).
• Bow to the left while saying Oseh shalom bi'mromav...,
• Bow to the right while saying Hu ya'aseh shalom alenu, and
• Bow to the middle (straight in front of you) while saying Ve'al kol yisrael v'imru amen.

Then pause for at least three seconds before walking forward or sitting down.
 
Reader's Repetition of Amida
At kedusha, everyone stands (even if they were sitting so far for the amida's repetition) with their feet together, again imitating the angels who only have one leg.

• The leader says nekadeish (in some places, everyone says nekadeish).
• Everyone says the next line together (kadosh, kadosh, kadosh...).

• After the leader says Halleluya, everyone else may move their feet (or sit down, if that is their custom).
• On fast days, the leader says an extra paragraph in shacharit (other paragraphs in mincha are said by everyone).

Tachanun

When To Say Tachanun
Tachanun is usually said on weekdays.

How To Say Tachanun
Tachanun is said differently, depending on if there is a Torah scroll in the room, as follows:

• Say Va'yomer David sitting down, while resting your head on your left arm (unless you are wearing tefilin on your left arm, in which case lean onto your right arm). 

• When you reach shomer Yisrael, lift your head up and sit normally while saying the paragraphs until v'anachnu lo neida ma na'aseh.
• Before saying “na'aseh,” stand up for the remainder of tachanun.

• Say tachanun standing until Va'yomer David... at which time, everyone sits down.
• Follow the directions above for the remainder of tachanun.

 

Hallel

• When hallel is said, most of the psalms are said quietly by everyone.  (In some synagogues, several of the psalms are sung in unison.)
• The lines beginning Hodu l'adonai... are read aloud by the leader.
• Everyone else responds aloud, Hodu l'adonai... and reads quietly the next line (which the leader then reads aloud when they finish).
• Similarly, Ana adonai is read responsively by the leader, followed by everyone else.

 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish out loud.
 
Torah Reading (Mondays and Thursdays)

• Everyone reads quietly the phrases va'yehi be'nso'a... and brich shmei.
• The Torah is taken out and carried to the bima.
• As each man (called an oleh) is called up to the Torah:
  • The oleh says Bar'chu...
  • Everyone responds Baruch Adonai....,
  • The oleh repeats that line and says a blessing.
  • Everyone answers amen.
• After each reading, the oleh says one more blessing and everyone replies amen.
• After the third aliya, the Torah is lifted up.
• Everyone says, V'zot haTorah....
• The Torah is rolled and wrapped.
• Meanwhile, the leader reads four paragraphs beginning, Yehi ratzon mi'lifnei avinu...
• The final paragraph, Acheinu kol bet yisrael... is read by everyone aloud.
• The Torah is put back while everyone reads two psalms quietly.

 
Ashrei/U'va L'Tzion

• Everyone reads ashrei quietly, followed by la'menatzeiach and u'va l'tziyon.
• Everyone together says, Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh and Baruch kevod.

 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish.
 
Alenu
Everyone says alenu together.
 
Kaddish
Mourners say kaddish.
 
Psalm for the Day
Psalm for that day is read by everyone.
 
Kaddish
One more kaddish is said by the mourners.
 
L'David

• During Elul and into Tishrei, L'David is read by everyone.
• One more kaddish is said by the mourners.

 
Praying Ma'ariv
 
V'hu Rachum
Everyone reads the two introductory lines of v'hu rachum.
 
Bar'chu

• Leader says bar'chu.
• Everyone else responds, baruch Adonai....
• The leader repeats that line.
• Everyone reads the next paragraph/blessing.
• The leader says that final line out loud.
• Everyone responds amen.

Note Don't say baruch hu u'varuch shemo at all during ma'ariv.
 
Shema and Its Blessings

• The leader repeats the final two words of the shema and the word emet.
• Everyone continues quietly saying the phrases until Mi chamocha.
• Mi chamocha is said by everyone together including by the leader, who then also reads the next line.
• Everyone says Adonai yimloch... together, continuing through the end of the next blessing, which is repeated by the leader.
• Everyone says hashkiveinu quietly.
• The leader says the blessing shomer amo Yisrael la'ad out loud.
• Baruch Adonai l'olam... is said through to the end by everyone quietly.
• The leader says the final line and the final blessing out loud.

Note Baruch Adonai l'olam is not said in Eretz Yisrael.
 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish.
 
Amida
Everyone says the amida silently and individually.
 
Kaddish
The leader says kaddish.
 
Alenu
Everyone says alenu together.
 
Kaddish
Kaddish is said by any mourners.

 

There are two main types of bowing during the prayer services: 

• Bowing just from the waist (with and without taking steps), and
• Bowing with the knees, plus two variations on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (hands and knees on floor).

I. Waist-Bowing (Two Forms)

• Modim;
• Modim in reader's repetition of amida;
• Bar'chu;
• Lecha Dodi; and
• Alenu.

          To bow this way, keep your legs straight and bend forward from your waist.
    B.  Waist-Bowing/Take Steps, for:

• Amida, and
• Kaddish.

• Bow down from waist with your legs straight.
• Take three steps backward (left foot, right foot, left foot),
• Then:
  • Bow from your waist to the left and say, oseh shalom bi'mromav,
  • Bow from your waist to the right and say, hu ya'aseh shalom alenu, and
  • Bow from your waist to the front and say, ve'al kol yisrael v'imru amen.

II.    Knee-Bowing (Three Times during Amida)

• Beginning of amida's first blessing,
• End of amida's first blessing, and
• Next-to-last amida blessing: ha'tov shimcha.

• Bend knees (at baruch),
• Bow forward (at ata), and
• Straighten up (before God's name).

III.  Knee-Bowing to Floor (Two Forms)
       A.  Knee-Bowing to Floor--Hands and Knees Only

• Kneel (with your back straight up) (at “hayu kor'im”), and
• Bow down with hands and knees on floor (at “u'mishtachavim u'modim”), but
• You are not required to touch your forehead to ground.
  Note You should still bow from your waist (but not to the floor) on Rosh Hashana--even if you are praying alone and even if there is no Torah present.

• Kneel (with your back straight up) (at “hayu kor'im”),
• Bow down with hands and knees on floor (at “u'mishtachavim u'modim”),
• Touch forehead to floor (at v'noflim al pneihem).

 

1. What Makes a Woman a Nida

 
Introduction to What Makes a Woman a Nida
Vaginal Blood Flow
Only vaginal blood flow makes a woman nida. 
 
Nida D'Oraita
According to Torah law (d'oraita), a woman becomes a nida when she experiences a flow of uterine blood, preceded or accompanied by a hargasha. Because uterine blood flow is difficult to distinguish from the more general vaginal blood flow, we assume that a vaginal blood flow is from the uterus--unless a medical person (it could be a midwife) determines that the blood flow is not uterine.
 
Nida D'Rabanan
 
By rabbinic law (d'rabanan), a woman can become a nida even with only a qualifying stain (see below).

Hargasha
A hargasha is anything that signals that the woman's period is imminent. There are three classical hargashot, as well as possible hargashot that pertain only to an individual woman.
Note Many women today do not have hargashot.
 
Classical Hargashot
There are three classical hargashot:
1) Body Tremor
2) Petichat HaMakor
Some women, at petichat ha'makor (“opening of the uterus”), have a sensation of release similar to when one's bladder opens to urinate.
3) Zivat Davar Lach
Sensation of wet discharge that comes only with her period; this is not the wet discharge that every woman normally feels multiple times daily.
Note She does not necessarily need to feel it coming from her cervix in order for it to make her a nida.
 
Individual Hargashot
What Is an Individual Hargasha
The individual hargasha can be any physiological occurrence (pimples on her face, a bout of yawning, a bloated feeling in the belly, etc.) that correlates with a woman's getting her period within 24 hours. To become established as a hargasha, it must have happened three times in a row.
 
Note Cramps for most women may be a hargasha, since they may mean that the woman is about to have her period.
 
When a woman has a hargasha, we assume that her period has started, and she should immediately stop what she is doing and check internally with a bedika cloth. If she does a bedika as soon as possible and the cloth shows a forbidden color, or shows no discharge at all, she immediately becomes nida for at least 12 days, after which she goes to the mikva. 
Note If she had a hargasha and finds no blood and no discharge, she becomes a nida, since we assume there was blood and she just didn't find it.  If the bedika cloth shows brown, magenta, salmon, brick, amber, orange, etc., the rabbi will want to see the cloth to determine her status.
Note Most medium browns are OK.
 
What To Do If Not Sure
If she is not sure she has had a hargasha, she asks a rabbi and together they will sort out the answer.
 
 
Nida D'Rabanan
 
Stain (without Hargasha)
 
Stain Colors
A rabbi should be consulted in all matters of questionable colors of stains.  Some may seem to you to be forbidden but turn out to be permissible, and vice versa.
 
Stain Location
A stain of a color that could make a woman a nida can be on material or on the woman's body. None of the following lenient conditions apply if the woman is nida d'oraita:
   

1. Not positively attributable to another cause, AND
2. At least the size of a gris. For small, unconnected spots, she must evaluate whether, together, they equal the size of a gris (on material, the spots DO NOT get combined). If yes, she should consult a rabbi.

 
 
II. HARCHAKOT: How Do the Couple Conduct Themselves while the Wife is a Nida?
 
According to Torah law, when a woman is a nida, she and her husband are prohibited not only from having intercourse, but also (“lo tikrav”—Vayikra 18:19) from having any physical contact of a passionate or romantic nature (negiya shel chibuk v'nishuk)--those patterns of physical contact that often lead to intercourse. Since the penalty for violation is kareit, husband and wife should live separately during the nida period, but because we don't, we use “distancers” (harchakot) as reminders of distance while living together in the same home. The harchakot sensitize us to the smallest gestures of love. The couple who know that in a finite amount of time their union will not only be permitted, but even be davar sh'bekedusha--a thing of sanctity--will have the willpower to wait it out.
 
These harchakot are applied during the nida period:
                                 
III. Tahara after Nida:    

1. Wash or cleanse lower regions of the body.
2. Do an internal check/bedika: Insert a white cloth into vagina and circle it around to make sure to get every nook and cranny.
3. Moch dachuk: Insert a bedika cloth within two halachic hours of sunset and leave it in until after dark.

 

1. Bedika

 

2. White Underpants

 

3. No Hesech Da'at

A woman does not need to think about the seven clean days all of the time, but she must keep in mind, during the entire nida purification process, that she is not in an active nida state.  
Situation A woman found a stain and asked a rabbi about it. She assumed she was definitely nida.
What To Do Once she assumes that she has become a nida during that seven-day period, she must begin her count again--even once she has found out that she was not, in fact, a nida. 
Note If she asked the rabbi while not yet assuming that she was definitely a nida, she may continue her original count after the rabbi determines that she was not a nida.

• Full body cast.
• Being covered with sand.
• Being sweaty from head to toe.

• Moisturizer that covers most of her body.
• Adhesive that is left on her skin after a band-aid has been removed.
• Imperfect manicure, if she would not go to an interview like that.

         
 

• Shalom Bayit (in this case, she is not permitted see her husband until after dark Friday night).
• Dangerous Neighborhood.
• Infertility Issues (if she will miss ovulation if she does not go Friday night).

    Kosher immersion/tevila requires simultaneous immersion of every exposed part of the body (not bet ha'starim).   Here is the best way to accomplish simultaneous immersion:

• Enter the water until it is about 12 inches above the navel. 
• Make sure that every part of your body is relaxed (if you squeeze anything, you create crevices and cracks that impede complete access to your skin). 
• “Flesh”/basar is exposed to the water when standing while leaning a little forward.
• Exhale and push yourself under the water until you are certain that all of your body and all of your hair are submerged. 
• Once your head is above the surface of the water, say the blessing and then immerse again, the same way.

 
IV. Anticipating the Next Period/Veset
 
What To Anticipate
In anticipating the time of the month when her period is most likely to occur (onat ha'veset), a woman must determine both:

1. The day of the month, and
2. Whether it will begin during the daytime period (sunrise to sunset) or the nighttime period (from sunset to sunrise)

 
Regular and Irregular
Every woman needs to be able to anticipate her next period, whether she is a) regular or b) irregular. “Regular” is determined by any pattern to one's menstrual cycle that occurs three times in a row.
Note It is very uncommon for a woman to maintain her regular period for a long time.
 
Anticipating a Regular Period
Here are the five most classic regular patterns:

1. Veset HaChodesh (Monthly Cycle)

   

2. Veset Haflaga (Intervals Cycle)

 

3. Veset HaGuf (Body Symptoms Cycle)

 

4. Veset HaMurkav (Combination Cycle)

    A woman with an irregular period may have to abstain from relations and affectionate intimate contact (negiya shel chibuk v'nishuk) during these three onot/time periods:

1. Yom HaChodesh

 

2. Haflaga

 

3. Ona Beinonit

The earliest permissible time to say mincha before a Jewish festival is one-half hour after halachic midday, as with all mincha prayers including before Shabbat.

Jewish Festivals: Medicines: When To Take
Medicine generally may not be used on the d'oraita Jewish festival days.

Jewish Festivals: Medicine for Chronic Diseases
You may take medicine on Jewish festivals (whether d'oraita or d'rabanan) for:

• Chronic diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, or
• Any disease that affects your entire body.

Jewish Festivals: Medicine for Non-Chronic Diseases
You may take medicine on Jewish festivals for non-chronic illnesses, if skipping one day will prevent cure.  You may not take medicine for non-chronic illnesses if skipping a day will just delay your being cured (unless the disease affects your entire body--in which case, you may take the medicine).

Jewish Festivals: Medicines: When To Take: D'Oraita Festival Days
Here are the d'oraita Jewish festivals:

• First day of Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot
• Seventh day of Passover
• Shmini Atzeret (8^th day of Sukkot)
• Yom Kippur
• Both days of Rosh Hashana (even though the second day is d'rabanan).

On these days, as well as on d'rabanan Jewish festivals, you:

• MUST take medicine whenever there is any question of a life-threatening disease or condition.
• MAY take medicine for a condition that affects the entire body (illness, weakness, etc.). Consult a rabbi if possible.
  ExceptionYou may not smear substances on skin UNLESS the illness is life-threatening, in which case even smearing is permitted.
• MAY use some medicines if only part of your body is affected by a non-life-threatening disease--consult a rabbi.

Jewish Festivals: Medicines: When To Take: D'Rabanan Festival Days
You make take medicines for any reason on d'rabanan Jewish festivals--even medicines not allowed on the first day of Jewish festivals--except:

• Medicines that you smear on skin.
• If the Jewish festival falls on Shabbat (which can only be second day of Shavuot).

By Sara-Malka (Diane) Laderman

Kosher (Hebrew for “fitting” or “suitable”) means foods that comply with certain laws. Kosher rules could be summed up like this:

• The food must start out kosher. 
• The food must stay kosher during processing.

Starting Out Kosher
The Food's Natural State

Rule #1

Plants
All Plants, Raw, Are Inherently Kosher

All raw, unprocessed plants are kosher. However, restrictions on produce grown in Eretz Yisrael may apply (teruma, ma'aser, shmita), and orla may apply to produce grown anywhere in the world.

• For laws about eating perennial fruits, see appropriate listings under Agriculture. 
• For laws regarding bugs in plant produce, see below.

Rule #2

Mammals
All Mammals that Chew Their Cud and
Have Split Hooves Are Inherently Kosher

Kosher mammals are all cud-chewing, split-hooved animals (Leviticus/Vayikra 11:1-8 and Deuteronomy/Devarim 14:3-8). Included are both domestic ("beheimot"--goat, sheep, and cow families ) and wild ("chayot"--deer, giraffe, and wild goat and sheep families) mammals. There are two (sometimes) practical differences between the two groups:

• You may eat the cheilev (a type of fat) from a wild kosher mammal, and
• After slaughtering, you must cover the blood from a wild kosher mammal but not a domesticated kosher mammal.

Below is a sampling of kosher mammals:

Hooves

Q: How can you tell if an animal has split hooves?

A:
1)  Split Hooves Must Be Hooves

Hooves must be made of hoof material--a hard substance similar to your fingernails—not fleshy feet.

2)  Split Hooves Must Be Split

Hooves must be split all the way through from front to back.

Cud-Chewing

Q:  How can you tell if an animal chews its cud?

A:  Watch for the sliding ball.

When a cud-chewing animal starts to eat, you will see it bolting down its food into its first stomach, like a hungry 9th grade boy (much like humans racing to throw groceries into their shopping carts), in case a lion or bear is coming to eat him or her.

Next, it will find a safe place to more leisurely bring up its cud and chew its stash. During cud-chewing time, especially for goats (sheep are usually too woolly to make out shapes), you will distinctly see:

• Racketball shape popping up the goat's throat, 
• Goat's cheeks ballooning out and its lower jaw chewing in a horizontal figure-eight pattern, and, a little later,
• Racketball shape sliding down the throat again.  

You will soon see the shape of a new racketball pop up the throat.

By contrast, a non-kosher animal will chew slowly and well the first time—it will not have another chance to chew its food later, like the kosher animals do.  

Imposters

Animals in the camel family (camel, llama, alpaca, vicunya, etc.) appear to have split hooves when seen from the front.  These are actually just two long toenails in front of a padded, fleshy, incompletely split foot, which you can easily distinguish as a whole foot when looking from the back.

One non-kosher animal has great-looking split hooves but doesn't chew its cud—animals from the pig family.

Insight from Masechet Chullin

All kosher mammals inherently have horns; all non-kosher animals are hornless.  Bottom line:  If you find a horned animal, it's definitely kosher.

But horns are not a halachic requirement from the Torah like split hooves and cud chewing are, which is a good thing, since some breeds of goats, sheep, and cows are naturally “polled” (born hornless) or their horn buds were removed when they were young to prevent damage later.

Rule #3

Fowl
All Fowl That Have “Masoret” Are Inherently Kosher

Not everyone's agreed as to what the Torah means by a “netz” or a “yanshuf.”  So when Leviticus/VaYikra 11:13-19 lists the 20 non-kosher flying species—allowing us to eat anything NOT on the list—we ignore the list and just eat what we know our ancestors traditionally ate as kosher.  This tradition is known as masoret.

In the US, we eat all breeds of chickens and--in most circles--turkey, all breeds of goose except those whose beak is black (such as the Canadian goose) or whose beak does not go straight back to its forehead (like the Chinese goose), and Peking duck (we don't eat mallard or Muscovy ducks or their close relatives).

In Israel, additional birds eaten as kosher include mallard and Muscovy ducks, guinea fowl, Couternix quail, pigeons, and turtle doves.

Note Some Jewish families originating in Germany, Iran, and other places maintain their masoret on eating pheasant, and you may be able to receive masoret on various species from researchers such as “The Aris”--Dr. Ari Greenspan and Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky, both Jewish ritual slaughterers (shochtim) who have spent the last 20 years interviewing and videotaping elderly European and Sefardi immigrants to Israel as to what birds they ate as kosher in their home countries. You can google their work or read some of Dr. Zivotofsky's articles on www.kashrut.com.

Zivchei Cohen, a book written and published by a Jewish ritual slaughterer (shochet) in Italy, shows colored illustrations of 29 species known to be kosher, including peacock, pheasant, Couternix quail, mallard duck, and numerous songbirds.  Maor L'Masechet Chullin U'Vechorot (vol. 2, Feldheim, pp. 29-33) reproduces these colorful illustrations and names each bird in five languages, noting that the 29 were listed to acquaint students of Jewish ritual slaughter (shechita) only with rarer birds' identities and that the well-known kosher species were not included in the 29!

Chazal noted that kosher birds share certain characteristics:

• They sit on a branch with three toes in front and one in back.  Non-kosher birds usually sit two and two, as they need equal strength on both sides of their feet for killing and carrying off food, except for:
  • Owls, whose feet are flexible and can move their toes to the side, forward, or back, and 
  • Vultures, who need balance walking instead of gripping, since they walk on the ground to eat food that is already dead.
• They lay eggs that are not entirely round or oval but are, well, egg-shaped, with kad v'chad—a rounded end and a pointed end. Not all egg-shaped eggs are kosher, but all totally round eggs, if from fowl, are not kosher (fish eggs from kosher fish, which are perfectly round, are of course kosher). There are some eggs, including from doves, that seem perfectly oval but are actually kosher.

Rule #4

Fish
All Fish That Have Fins and Scales Are Inherently Kosher

This excludes most eels (some conger eels that have kosher scales are kosher!) and all shellfish, catfish, sharks, swordfish, sea urchins, jellyfish, sea slugs, and many other sea creatures.

In addition to commonly eaten kosher fish such as salmon and tuna, some unexpected fish are also kosher, including barracuda, goldfish, and many other pet and tropical fish.

Rule #5

Grasshoppers

All other creatures, except the four kosher locusts, are not kosher. Rule #6

Kosher from Kosher
Whatever Food Substances Come Out of a Kosher Animal Are Inherently Kosher…

except for some fats (cheilev), blood, and the sciatic nerve (gid ha'nashe).

Milk from a cow (a kosher animal) is kosher. Milk from a pig (a non-kosher animal) is not. An egg from a kosher bird is kosher; an egg from a non-kosher bird is not kosher.
Exception

Q:  Since bees are not kosher, how can we eat honey? 

A:  Honey is not produced from bee parts, but rather from flower parts.

Rule #7

Animal Blood
May Not Be Eaten in Any Form.

Note Fish blood is not forbidden.

Preparing Kosher
Harvest and Kitchen

Plants

What To Check

• Remove bugs (see Why Bugs May Not Be Eaten)
• Select fruits and vegetables that have no harvest-related problems such as orla (and in Eretz Yisrael, kilayim, shmita, etc.); separate out teruma and ma'aser from any Israeli-grown produce that requires it (see Teruma/Ma'aser: Ownership: What Is Hefkeir Produce)
• Make sure that any liquid grape product to be handled by a non-Jew for a Jew has been cooked or pasteurized before being handled.  Cooking turns the wine into an inferior product disqualified for use in idolatrous practices.

Animals

Mammals

Slaughter/Shechita

Kosher mammals must be slaughtered in the quickest and most humane manner possible, according to halacha.  A highly trained ritual slaughterer (shochet) must perform the slaughtering (“shechita”).  He checks the knife before the slaughtering to ensure there are no burrs to catch on the animal's throat.  He says the blessing “al ha'shchita” and then cuts the windpipe and the esophagus as well as the neck arteries.  After slaughtering, he checks the knife again for burrs (if he finds one, the animal is not kosher) and checks the animal's lungs to make sure the animal wasn't about to die of lung perforation in the near future.  

Certain types of adhesions may be found on the animal's lungs. If they can be removed (by peeling) without perforating the lungs, the meat is kosher. If there are only small and easily removed lesions, the meat is glatt (“smooth”). If there are no lesions at all, the meat is classified as “Beit Yosef.”

Kosher lamb and goat are always glatt/chalak kosher.

Actually, there are 18 organic or physical defects that may make meat non-kosher but, as a practical matter, we only check for lesions in the lungs and also in the second stomach. 

If the animal proves to have been healthy, it is sometimes hung upside down to allow the arterial blood to drain out. (It is possible to hang the animals before being slaughtered but this is not the usual method). 

Skinning and Traiboring

The animal is skinned.

Next, the animal is traibored. Traiboring removes certain nerves, sinews, blood vessels, and fats that we don't eat, including the sciatic nerve damaged when our forefather Jacob wrestled with the angel at the Jabbok stream.  

In the US, only the forequarters are traibored and eaten, and the hind portion is sold to the non-Jewish consumer. In Israel, the hind portion is traibored too and eaten as kosher.

May you traibor meat once it's cooked?  And if not, how did Jews traibor more than 1 million Passover lamb offerings that had to be slaughtered and prepared between midday and evening (and it takes 2-3 hours to traibor one lamb!). The Jewish commentator The Raavad says the Passover lamb was traibored before roasting; Rambam disagrees, since the lamb had to be roasted whole. Rambam opines that the sinew, unlike fat, does not impart its flavor to the meat and that people would just traibor the Passover offering meat on their plates.

Removing Blood

The next steps involve removing blood (“kashering”) and can be done at the butcher's or at your home.  The meat is cut, rinsed, soaked for at least 30 minutes, put on a slanted board to allow the blood to run off, and covered with kosher (a coarse) salt for one hour.  After being rinsed three more times, the meat is now kashered.

Preparing the Liver

The liver is cut halfway through several times and covered with kosher salt top and bottom.  You can oven broil the liver on a rack reserved for that purpose. The blood must be able to drain away from the liver 

You can instead broil the liver over a fire outdoors.  Grilling outside will give the liver a delicious smoky flavor that even children like--but do NOT allow the neighborhood cats to steal your livers off the grill!  

Fowl

Covering Blood

Kosher fowl is slaughtered and, when it stops flapping, is usually hung upside down to allow the arterial blood to run out and onto the earth. Cover all the blood with dirt (a mitzva from the Torah--mitzva d'oraita) and say the blessing “al kisuy dam b'afar.”

Defeathering

Rinse with water and remove the feathers. Defeathering can take a while for chickens and up to two hours for one small duck, especially if you are saving the down!  

Removing Internal Organs

Rinse the bird. Usually, a circle of flesh surrounding the anus is cut out.  Start pulling out the digestive system.  Recognizable items such as the liver, heart, and giblets will come out and eventually you will be able to stick in your hand and pull out the lungs.  This is not as cold and unpleasant as it sounds because the bird will be warm for quite a while.

Salting

Once the bird is defeathered and the internal organs have been removed, rinse and salt with kosher salt inside and out and put it on a slanting board for an hour. Rinse three more times and cook!

Preparing the Giblets

Cut off the hard coating at one end of the giblets and rinse out the fine sand within. Remove the yellow internal lining.  Salt and kasher with the rest of the bird.

Preparing the Liver

To kasher the liver, see Preparing the Liver, above, for meat liver.

Fish

Buying Fish

Kosher fish bought from a store in which non-kosher fish are also sold should have any cut surfaces scraped and should be rinsed before using. Ideally, the knife that cuts the fish should be washed with soap and water beforehand. 

Grasshoppers

Chagav Grasshoppers

Not much preparation needed here. Many Yemenites just twist off their heads and eat. B'tei'avon!

Substances from Animals

Milk

Dairy must be kept separate from meat, with a separate set of pots, pans, servers, scrubbers, and dishpans each for dairy and meat. See Kashrut: Dairy/Meat Combinations.

Eggs

Eggs must be checked for blood spots.  Throw out a fertilized egg with a blood spot. You may remove the blood in the white of the egg and eat the rest of an unfertilized egg, but the custom is to not eat the egg at all.

Unwanted Additives

Manufacturing Aids

In the US, food manufacturers are allowed to add “manufacturing aids”--even more than 1/60th of the volume of the other ingredients--without listing them. Some foods therefore need special supervision to ensure non-kosher substances have not been added.

Examples

• Kosher oils may be deodorized by heating them in vats that previously contained non-kosher oil, which renders the formerly kosher oil non-kosher. Or they may be put into tankers previously used for non-kosher liquids.
• Food colorings may come from the cochineal insect, which is non-kosher, and flavorings may be derived from the musk of non-kosher animals.
• Cheeses may have non-kosher rennet or pig milk added. Also, the rabbis of thousands of years ago made an injunction that even where the ingredients are kosher, cheese still requires kosher supervision.
• Maple syrup in the vat may be stirred with bacon (which is non-kosher) to reduce the froth produced by boiling.  
• Candy may include non-kosher oil that is put into the molds so the candy does not stick.
• Kosher meat might not be kosher for Passover.

Transference of Taste (Ta'am)

Sometimes dairy will spatter onto a meat utensil, or someone will set a hot pot of kosher food into a non-kosher sink.  Or someone will cut a lemon or onion with a dairy knife and then put the lemon into a pot used for meat.  What happens next depends on whether the offending substance was:

1. Charif (spicy/sour/strong) enough to transfer the taste to the new item.
2. Hotter than yad soledet bo (too hot to hold your hand in it for a few seconds—about 120° F, or 49° C).
3. More than 1/60th of the total volume.

See following halachot for what to do next.

Kitchen Set Up

A hungry Martian landing in a modern kosher kitchen must assume earthlings eat in binary: Ideally, two sinks. Two dish towels.  Two sponges.  Two dishpans. Two cutting boards.  Even, if the owner is fortunate, two dishwashers.

And what about those strange markings on the pots, pans, and servers?  Perhaps he'll find a bright splotch of red paint or an “F” (for fleishig--Yiddish for “meat”) lettered in nail polish on utensils in the left cabinets.  Blue paint or nail polish, or an “M” (for milchig--Yiddish for milk) on utensils in the right cabinets. The plates, bowls, and silverware in left cabinets do not in any way match those in the right cabinets. Somewhere in a central cabinet, pots, pans, and servers are painted with a white dot, marked with a “P” for pareve, or left unmarked.

Opening the pantry, little symbols jump out from canned and packaged goods.  Star-K, O-U, O-K, KOF K…..  Only the dried beans and grains seem symbol-less.  And the freezer?  Well stocked but no frozen bacon, pepperoni pizza, and shellfish TV dinners.…

How do these people eat?

The Great Divide

Separating Dairy and Meat

Welcome to the world of dairy and meat. Most kashrut problems in the kitchen involve the transfer of milk or meat flavor to the other gender by means of heat or, less commonly, by hot/spiciness.

It's easy to be jealous of vegetarians, or people who only eat plants and dairy products or who only eat plants and meat products!  They never confuse their pots and serving utensils or deal with spatters of hot dairy foods onto meat utensils or vice versa.  Large institutions and kosher cafeterias, similarly, may not have these mix-ups, since they can usually devote a whole room to a dairy or a meat kitchen.

Here's how the rest of us live:

Countertops

If you can, designate some countertops for dairy and some for meat.  This will help you stay organized spatially.  If you have only one sink, you may need to use the counter to the left for one dishrack (dairy or meat) and the counter to the right for your other dishrack. 

Some countertop materials, such as granite, can be kashered by pouring boiling water over them.  This will make the counters kosher and pareve (neutral--not dairy or meat).  Once you have kashered your counter(s), you will be able to set down hot utensils, pots, and pans directly onto the counter (dairy utensils on your designated dairy counter; meat utensils on your designated meat counter). 

If your countertop is not kosher or kasherable, you will need to cover the countertop before setting down hot (above 120° F) utensils, pots, and pans. Trivets work fine but so does a simple piece of corrugated cardboard in a pinch.  

Dishes and Flatware

If feasible, select different patterns of dishes and flatware for dairy and meat so you can tell them apart.  It is helpful to store the dairy and meat dishes in separate locations, preferably close to the counter of its gender. Porous dishes (stoneware, china, ...) cannot be kashered once used for hot non-kosher food and cannot be changed from one gender to the other. Metal dishes generally can be kashered. Glass only assumes a gender if it is placed directly on a fire or other heat source (to at least boiling temperature) or into a hot oven, so even if you pour boiling water or hot food into a glass bowl, such as hot pasta, and add cheese or other dairy food, the bowl remains pareve (or whichever gender it was previously).

Sinks and Dishracks

If you don't have two sinks--one for dairy and one for meat--and must use the same sink for both, try to choose different colors for your dairy, meat, and pareve dishpans, dishracks, and sponges/scrubbers (or sponge holders). If not, distinguish your dairy dishpans, dishracks, and sponges/scrubbers (or sponge holders) from your meat ones by placing them on opposite sides of the sink. Neutral, or pareve, dishes/cookware require a third sponge and dishpan. In a pinch, you can wash dishes, pots, and utensils by holding them in the air or placing them on a counter (whether either kashered or not) next to the sink as long as the dishware, pots, etc., do not reach 120° F.  

Drawers

You can designate one drawer for dairy flatware and a second drawer for meat (and a third drawer for pareve). Color-coding or purchasing “dairy” and “meat” stickers to place on the outsides of cabinets and drawers can be especially helpful if anyone else will be cooking/washing dishes in your house and doesn't know your kitchen well.  

Cooking Utensils/Food Processors

Distinguish your cooking utensils (your choice of colors) for dairy, meat, or pareve by using paint or nail polish, using different patterns, or even different shapes (one person uses round baking dishes for dairy and rectangular ones for meat!). If you lack drawer space, hang utensils from the wall or overhead rack or put them on your counter in jars color-coded for dairy, meat, or pareve. In a pinch, colored electrical tape can be used temporarily to mark dairy or meat servers or serving pieces (until it falls off during washing or turns black in the oven…).

You will only need one blender, blending stick, bread machine, mixer, food processor, etc., if you always keep them pareve.  Otherwise, you may need duplicates of these items. Color-code them as well.

Stove Burners

To kasher a non-kosher stove burner, clean off any hard deposits on the grate, cover the burner with a sheet of metal (to hold the heat on the grate), and heat it full-blast for 45 minutes. (See halachot below for kashering burners by putting them in the oven.) 

Stovetop

A stainless steel stovetop can be kashered, but a ceramic one (due to porousness) might not be kasherable-consult a rabbi.  When cooking, place an appropriate spoon rest or bowl nearby (for dairy or meat, depending on what you are cooking) to hold your hot stirring spoon or spatula. This way, you won't need to set down your hot stirring utensil onto a non-kosher countertop or stovetop, or place a hot dairy stirrer where you previously set down a hot meat spatula.  

Oven

You can kasher a non-kosher oven by cleaning off any accumulation of old food (whether burned on or not, it must be removed) and turning up the oven full blast for 40 minutes.  You may use the same oven for dairy and meat foods if you always keep either the dairy or meat covered. Consider the oven to be one gender and always cover liquid foods of the opposite gender (dry foods do not require a cover).

Cutting Board

If you only have one cutting board for fruits and vegetables and one knife, you may want to keep them pareve. The main kosher problems with knives and cutting boards happen when cutting a fruit or vegetable with a strong-spicy taste that can transfer the milk or meat status of one utensil or food to another.  Such items are garlic, lemon, onion, and sour apples, and sour grapefruits.

Examples

• Garlic was chopped with meat knife on a dairy cutting board (rendering the garlic, the knife, and cutting board non-kosher), or
• Onions cut with a dairy knife were tossed into a boiling meat pot (rendering the pot and contents non-kosher unless the onions were less than 1/60th the volume of the pot's food). 

TABLE'S SET

Glasses, washed, can be used for a dairy or meat meal. You can use the same salt and pepper shakers and clean glasses for dairy and meat; however, it is recommended to use separate salt and pepper shakers since you might have food of one gender on your hands when you use the shakers of the opposite gender. If you typically use a table for serving either dairy or meat, and want to serve the opposite without switching tablecloths, lift the tablecloth and use the original table surface or cover the tablecloth with placemats. If one person wants to eat dairy and another wants to eat meat at the same time on the same table, place a reminder to remind them not to mix the foods (different placemats or tablecloths, physical barrier between the people's dishes, etc.).

COOKING FOR RELIGIOUS JEWISH FRIENDS

Let's say you don't keep kosher and want to have your kosher-observant friend over. What to serve?

As long as your utensils are clean, you chose kosher foods (see Going Shopping, below) or fresh fruits and vegetables, nothing gets 120° F or above, there is no involvement of anything spicy (charif), and you don't mix dairy and meat (don't offer a kosher bologna sandwich with kosher Swiss cheese!), everything should be OK. Some people will prefer if you serve them using disposable plates, bowls, flatware, and cups; if you are Jewish, you should only serve on disposables. Some will prefer to be in the kitchen during food preparation. Don't be offended; it's hard to keep track of everything to remember even in a kitchen set up for being kosher!

You might want to keep the wrappers or containers from any processed food so that the kosher guest can see what you actually are serving and check for the ingredients or for a kosher supervision symbol.

GOING SHOPPING

Major towns usually have at least one kosher supermarket, but you can find plenty of kosher food in regular supermarkets too. (Even in Salt Lake City, home of the Mormons, a major supermarket chain sells Empire Kosher Chickens!) Here are some tips:

• You may consider all fresh and uncut fruits and vegetables to be kosher. Sharp-flavored fruits and vegetables such as garlic, when cut, must be cut with a kosher utensil.
• Look for a kosher symbol (“hechsher”) on prepared foods (except those foods that do not need a hechsher—see When Hechsher Needed  and When Hechsher NOT Needed).

For more information on kosher symbols and on what goes into certifying a prepared food as kosher, see this link: http://kosherquest.org/symbols.php

WHY EAT ONLY KOSHER?

The basic reason that Jews only eat kosher food is because God commanded us to do so. There are many explanations of how eating kosher benefits us. One approach is that kosher food enhances the spiritual well being of the Jewish people. That holiness is blocked when we eat non-kosher.

While kosher food raises us up spiritually, we raise it up too. When we say the correct blessing before or after we eat, we acknowledge that God is the food's true source. When we use food's resulting health and strength to perform God's commandments, we reunite our food and ourselves with our higher purposes, “rectifying the world.” That brings spiritual and physical blessing down to us and to the world.

You don't want a rapacious spirit?  Don't eat predators. You don't want to think like a bottom-feeder? Don't eat scavengers—whether catfish or vultures or pigs—or reptiles, amphibians, or bugs (except kosher grasshoppers!). You don't want to be callous? Don't eat the life-blood of a bird or mammal—or even the bloodspot of an egg. You don't want to be cruel? Make sure the animals you eat were slaughtered quickly and humanely. Don't want to separate yourself from worshipping the Only One? Don't drink wine or grape juice that could have been used for idol worship.

And non-Jews? Shouldn't they keep kosher too?

Non-Jews must keep only one kosher law--aver min ha'chai. This means non-Jews, like Jews, may not cut off and eat the limb of a live animal.

We can come up with numerous explanations for why keeping kosher is healthier, more pleasant, more logical, or more spiritual than eating non-kosher. But the bottom line is, we do it because God says to, we are here to serve Him, and we trust that God wants what is best for us!

Food Nullification in Utensils: Torah-Law and Rabbinic Decree
By Torah law (d'oraita), any clean utensil, countertop, etc., automatically reverts to neutral/pareve and kosher after not being heated to more than 120° F (49° C) for 24 hours.
But by rabbinic decree, utensils do not automatically become neutral/pareve even after 24 hours and must be kashered by heat (libun—direct heat; hag'ala—boiling in a pot; or eruy rotchim—pouring boiling water over item) or, if some types of glass, by soaking in water (meluy v'eruy ).
 
Changing Gender of Utensil
You may kasher a pot or cooking/eating utensil from:

• Non-kosher to kosher, or
• Year-round use (chametz) to kosher for Passover.

 
You may not intentionally kasher a utensil in order to change it from dairy to meat or meat to dairy; you must first kasher it from accidentally (or intentionally) non-kosher to kosher/pareve, or from non-Passover to Passover/pareve. You may then use it for either dairy or meat.

Once you have used it for that gender, the item retains that gender (unless you re-kasher it for Passover or you make it non-kosher first, then kasher it to neutral/pareve).
But if you accidentally heat meat with a dairy utensil or vice versa, you may kasher it back to its original gender by any one of the kashering methods, depending on how it became non-kosher.
 
Items/Materials that Can Be Kashered
The following materials can be kashered:

• Glass, including Corelle, if not used directly on the stove or oven. Glass does not change gender or other kosher status unless heated on a flame or in the oven. Unless it is heated in this way, glass does not ever need to be kashered (except for Passover) (see Meluy v'Eruy, below).Glass, including Corelle, if not used directly on the stove or oven. Glass does not change gender or other kosher status unless heated on a flame or in the oven. Unless it is heated in this way, glass does not ever need to be kashered (except for Passover) (see Meluy v'Eruy, below).Glass, including Corelle, if not used directly on the stove or oven. Glass does not change gender or other kosher status unless heated on a flame or in the oven. Unless it is heated in this way, glass does not ever need to be kashered (except for Passover) (see Meluy v'Eruy, below).

• Granite (not granite composite)
• Marble
• Wood, if smooth (see notes on Eruy Rotchim, below)
• Metal, including stainless steel, cast iron, and aluminum.

Note While metal can be kashered if thoroughly cleaned, welded handles and other difficult-to-clean parts may render a metal utensil not kasherable. You might be able to use libun kal on the problematic area and still use hag'ala for the remainder of the utensil.
 
Items/Materials that Cannot Be Kashered

• China
• Corian
• Corningware
• Crockpot
• Formica
• Glass that has been used directly (kli rishon) on a stove or in an oven; however it can be kashered in a kiln
• Granite (composite)
• Knives with Plastic Handles (knives with wooden handles may be kashered if there are no cracks in the wood and if the rivets do not have spaces that catch food and prevent you from cleaning it completely)
• Mixer-there might be exceptions. Consult a rabbi.
• Plastic
• Porcelain (Enamel)
• Pyrex (if used directly on stove or in oven--kli rishon)
• Rubber (synthetic)
• Silestone
• Silverstone
• Stoneware
• Teflon
• Toaster/Toaster Oven
• Waffle Iron.

 
Pot Lid Handle
Kashering
The handle on a pot lid does not need to be kashered for normal use during the year. 
Reason It does not normally get hot.
Cleaning
However, the pot lid handle must be removed and the lid cleaned where the handle attaches, if possible.
Note If the gap between the handle and lid cannot be completely cleaned, you may not use that lid for Passover and you normally may not kasher it if it becomes non-kosher. If the lid handle cannot be removed, consult a rabbi.

Pot or Pan Handle
A plastic handle that gets hot, especially if it is over a flame on a burner, may not be kashered. If the handle becomes non-kosher, it must be replaced. If a plastic handle connects directly to the metal of the utensil, consult a rabbi about what to do.
 
Food Nullification: Heat-Kashering
Three Methods of Heat-Kashering
Heat-Kashering is of three types:  Libun, Hag'ala, and Eruy Rotchim.

1. Libun (Direct Heat)
   How It Works  Burns up any residual food taste

       

• Direct a flame, such as a blowtorch, onto the inside of a pot. Pot is hot enough when a piece of paper that touches the outside of the utensil burns (it does not need to burst into flame, just to smolder), or
• Put the pot into the oven at 500 ° F for 40 minutes. (First, remove any non-metal handles; they will need to be kashered separately or not used.)

   

2. Hag'ala (Boiling)
    

• Boil Method Boiling water within the pot to be kashered, and making the boiling water overflow, or
• Dip Method Dipping a smaller pot or utensil to be kashered into a larger pot of boiling water.

       

• If the pot in which you are kashering the items had been heated to 120° F (49° C), with food of that gender in the pot, or more within the previous 24 hours, the items you are kashering will assume the gender of the pot.
• If the pot in which you are kashering the items had NOT been heated to 120° F or more for at least 24 hours, any items that are kashered in it will become kosher and pareve.

     
 

3. Eruy Rotchim (Hot-Water Pour)

         

 
Food Nullification: Meluy V'Eruy
Meluy V'Eruy To Kasher Glass
Halachically, “glass” includes Arcoroc, Corelle, crystal, Duralex, and Pyrex.
NOTE In pre-war Europe, where glass was expensive and hard to obtain, it was customary to kasher drinking glasses, especially for Passover, by soaking the glasses for three 24-hour periods (meluy v'eruy), as follows:
Step 1: Submerge glasses in cold water for 24 hours.
Step 2: Empty water, refill, and submerge glasses again.
Step 3: Repeat Step 2.
NOTE If any of these materials were heated directly on a flame or other heat source, they cannot be kashered by meluy v'eruy!

To wash hands the Three-Times Method:

• Fill the washing cup with at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of water for the first pair of pours.
• Pour enough water (may be as little as 1.3 fl. oz.--39 ml, or 1/6 cup) from the washing cup to completely cover your entire first hand (either hand may be first, but it is proper to wash your right hand first).
• Pour enough water to completely cover the second hand.
• Repeat the pouring twice more, alternating hands, until each hand has been completely covered a total of three times.

To wash hands the One-Time Method:

• Fill the washing cup with at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of water.
• Pour enough water (may be as little as 1.3 fl. oz.--39 ml, or 1/6 cup) from the washing cup to completely cover your entire first hand (either hand may be first but it is proper to wash your right hand first).
• Pour enough water to completely cover the second hand.

See HaMotzi: Washing Hands.
 

To wash hands for rachtza:

• Fill the washing cup with at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of water.
• Pour enough water (may be as little as 1.3 fl. oz.--39 ml, or 1/6 cup) from the washing cup to completely cover your entire first hand (either hand may be first, but it is the custom to wash your right hand first).
• Pour enough water to completely cover the second hand.

You do not need to pour more than once per hand and you do not need to break up the revi'it into more than one pour for each hand.
 

To view all halachot related to washing for ha'motzi, see HaMotzi: Washing Hands.