“You are what you eat”, a cliche that screams the truth in so many ways. We are what we eat, the very building blocks of our bones from a cellular level is created by the food that we eat. When referring to kosher food and making a conscious choice to eat only kosher we are insuring our soul that it will have an easier time living in a coarse body. Our body will make it that much easier to serve G-d and fulfill his will in our temporal sojourn in the lowest of worlds, Earth.

By choosing to eat only kosher food, we are saying to G-d, we invite you into our kitchen, we then invite you into our mind and body. We are choosing to be mindful about what and how we eat and we are intentionally and successfully transforming an act as mundane as eating into an act of holiness.

On a practical level, Kosher restaurants are meticulous in maintaining a sanitary kitchen where there is no chance that milk will come into contact with meat or that any type of insect will end up on your plate.

Did you know that a “mashgiach temidi” is someone who is specifically hired to check vegetables for insects by thoroughly cleaning and inspecting all produce. A mashigach is also responsible for assuring that only food that is kosher will enter the kitchen area and carefully supervises all food preparation.

The ultimate elevation of ingesting food would be to eat with the intention of serving our Creator. We could eat and indulge our animal soul by eating in a glutinous manner or we could sanctify the act by eating in order serve our Creator.

Food, obviously kosher food has the power to elevate our body allowing us to serve Hashem with a clarity and fervor that can be determined by the quality of the food that we eat paired with our intentions.

It is a great feat to eat with the proper intention at a time when our glutinous self is very strong. There is a saying in the Zohar that, “Bread should be eaten on the edge of a sword.” This means that when come to eat at the table we should be prepared for battle and have our swords drawn so that we can make sure we win.

I highly recommend that you begin by koshering your kitchen and bringing G-d into your home in a very real way. The torah explains that G-d says to us, build for me a temple so that I may dwell within it. By following G-ds dietary laws in our homes, we are allowing G-d to be present, we are inviting G-d into our kitchen and affecting anyone who drinks or eats in our home. By taking the next step and choosing to keep kosher out of our home as well, we are saying to G-d , we know that there is no place devoid of you, in fact there is nothing but you.

As for eating out, to be sure that you are dining in a kosher establishment, you must become familiar with different kosher supervisions. Some are more stringent than others. I suggest to use www.findakosherrestaurant.com website. It is incredibly thorough, updated and perfect for travels.

Through this site, you can find a kosher restaurant wherever you are located anywhere in the world. They also have a very easy to use and advance free iPhone and Android application for your connivance

Bon appetit….