Kosher Cuts Blog
The Five Disqualifying Acts
There are five primary acts that will disqualify a kosher slaughter. In Hebrew, these are called the ḥamisha poslei shechita (the five disqualifying acts): Shehiya / Pausing – Any pause during the incision renders the meat non-kosher. The knife must move in one continuous, uninterrupted motion. Chalada / Covering – The knife must be drawn visibly across the throat. It may not be stabbed into the neck or obstructed by fur, feathers, or any other barrier. Drasa / Chopping – The cut must be performed with a smooth back-and-forth sawing motion, not by pressing down or chopping as one would cut a pumpkin or turnip. Hagrama / Misplaced Cut – The incision must be made within the correct area of the throat: roughly below the vocal cords and above the base of the neck. Ikur / Tearing – If the trachea or esophagus are torn rather than cleanly cut, the slaughter is invalid. This usually results from a nicked or improperly sharpened knife. These five prohibitions are the foundation of the laws of shechita. Established thousands of years ago, they are still followed by kosher slaughterers today. As the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 23:1) states: “Any butcher who does not know the laws of shechita—it is not permissible to eat from his slaughter. And these are the laws: shehiya, drasa, chalada, hagrama, and ikur.” Modern animal welfare research has affirmed their wisdom. Temple Grandin, a leading expert in humane livestock handling, found that when these laws are properly observed, an animal’s reaction to the cut is drastically reduced or eliminated altogether. It’s remarkable that these ancient laws have been validated by modern science. If you’re beginning to study kosher slaughter, the ḥamisha poslei shechita are the very first principles to master. * In studies, there was either no reaction or the reaction was equivalent to that of an animal receiving a vaccine or having a flag waved in its face. (Grandin Regenstein 1994)
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The Shechita Knife
The shechita knife—often referred to as a chalif (chalef/chalof) or sakin—is a specially designed, custom-made tool. Its unique design, maintenance, and use help the shochet avoid performing one of the hamisha poslei shechita (the five disqualifying acts). If you’re not yet familiar with these, you’ll want to read our post on them before continuing with this article. Knife Design A kosher slaughter knife must be at least twice the length of the animal’s neck. This ensures the shochet has enough space to make a smooth sawing motion, rather than chopping down on the neck, which would disqualify the cut through drasah (pressing). Following this tradition, we label every knife in our shop according to the animal it is best suited for. Additionally, each knife is squared at the end to prevent stabbing into the animal’s neck (ḥaladah). Pictured below are our Beginner’s Poultry Knife and Professional Shechita Knives for poultry, sheep, and cattle. Sharpening and Maintenance Unlike most knives, kosher slaughter knives rarely come with a finished edge. Instead, the shochet must set the edge by hand. This ensures the blade is ultra-sharp and customized to the shochet’s preferred angle. For that reason, all of our knives are sold with either a basic machine edge or no edge at all, requiring hand-sharpening before use. Shochtim are expected to put the edges on their own knives, and anyone without sufficient training should seek proper shechita instruction from an experienced teacher before attempting this. The initial edge, as well as ongoing maintenance, is created using a progression of wet sharpening stones: typically a ~250 grit stone, a 1000 grit stone, a 6000–8000 grit polishing stone, and often one or two natural finishing stones. Complete sets—including flattening and cleaning stones—are available in our shop. Alongside sharpening, shechita knives must be checked frequently for absolute smoothness. This prevents tearing of the neck, which would disqualify the slaughter through ikkur (tearing). After sharpening and between animals, shochtim test their blades by carefully running a fingernail across the edge to detect nicks or roughness. This is a delicate and potentially dangerous process that should only be undertaken with proper training. Purchasing a Shechita Knife If you’re buying a chalif for the first time, we recommend starting with our Beginner’s Shechita Knife for practice. Once you’ve mastered sharpening, you can upgrade to one of our Professional Shechita Knives. Finding kosher slaughter knives in the United States used to be difficult, but today you can source just about any style you need directly through our shop.
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Rabbi Landsman Z”L - Our Teacher
When I first began searching for someone to provide shechita training for our community in Colorado, I looked for months—and came up empty. It wasn’t just that qualified instructors were few and far between—they were virtually nonexistent. Eventually, while flipping through a book, we came across the name and contact information of Rabbi Yisroel Landsman. That discovery changed everything. Rabbi Landsman agreed to come out to Colorado, and what followed was nothing short of transformative. In just over 1 week, he provided a level of training in both shechita and knife sharpening that I had only heard of others taking months or even years to accomplish. His deep knowledge was matched by his masterful approach and joy for teaching. His simchadic spirit, warmth, and enthusiasm made every student feel welcome, capable, and inspired. He wasn’t just a teacher—he was a true mensch and mechanech, uplifting each of us through the process. By the end of the course, I was able to shecht six chickens in one minute without issue—something I would’ve never imagined just weeks earlier. Rabbi Landsman was so impressed with how I had set up the infrastructure for the course that he mentioned the possibility of working together to help run more trainings in the future. After completing his self-guided halacha course a few months later, both I and Rabbi Dovid Shaffier went on to receive kabbalah from Rabbi Landsman. Sadly, that dream of future collaboration was never realized. Shortly after we completed the course, Rabbi Landsman passed away. We were honored to be among the last of the Rabbi’s student to receive his Kabbalah. His dedication to his student’s was so great and even though he was bed ridden and could not speak he made time to finish out our csavim before his passing. His loss was deeply felt—not just by us, but by the many thousands of students he inspired across the world. Rabbi Landsman was to our knowledge the only person providing effective and accessible training outside of the slaughterhouse setting in the United States. He was known not just for his shechita teaching but also instruction in mila, safrus, and so much more. We started The Kosher Cut to carry forward his legacy and fill the need only he had filled in the past. Before The Kosher Cut existed, there was nowhere to buy kosher slaughter equipment online in the United States. But more than filling a logistical gap, we wanted to keep Rabbi Landsman’s teaching model alive. Our entire course is closely based on his structure and approach for both the halacha and hands-on training. Using his proven methods—along with a few additions we’ve picked up along the way—we’ve helped students master knife sharpening and shechita in as little as 1–3 weeks, where other programs often take months. Through The Kosher Cut, we’re humbly working to continue Rabbi Landsman’s legacy to the best of our ability: making high-quality, no-nonsense shechita training accessible in the U.S., and passing down the skills, values, and spirit of a true master teacher. We’re honored to do so and could have never achieved what we have without his incredible instruction.
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A Thanksgiving Massacre
The first time I ever witnessed an animal being slaughtered was when a friend’s friend butchered a Thanksgiving turkey—ironically named Thanksgiving. At the time, I was just about to begin training in kosher slaughter and was looking for any opportunity to learn about processing animals. The fellow doing the butchering—let’s call him John—had only done it once before. He wasn’t experienced, and things did not go as planned. Fair warning: the next paragraph is graphic. If you’re easily upset, you may want to skip ahead. John used a basic kitchen knife that hadn’t been properly sharpened. Having only ever watched YouTube videos, he made a poor cut to the bird’s neck. It didn’t release much blood or cause rapid brain death, and after several minutes of struggling the turkey was still very much conscious, thrashing in the kill cone in a desperate attempt to escape. At one point, Thanksgiving even managed to flip over inside the oversized cone and looked up at us with a disturbingly vacant expression while its neck hung open. We had to turn it back over, trying not to touch the gaping wound. John attempted a second cut, but it didn’t do much. After many long, agonizing minutes, the turkey finally died. It was a horrific experience for everyone—especially the bird. John felt terrible about the suffering he had caused. In the end, the turkey was processed, but the ordeal could have been avoided with proper slaughter training. Truth is, most people in John’s position would have ended up in the same situation. A hundred years ago, butchering skills were passed down through families. Today, most Americans don’t even know how to carve a roasted chicken, let alone slaughter one. If you fall into that group and want to slaughter your own animals, hands-on training is essential. Some small farms offer workshops or custom slaughter services, and local farming or homesteading Facebook groups are often the best place to find them. For those interested in kosher or ritual slaughter specifically, we offer top-quality training options on our training page. Slaughtering your own animals takes work and isn’t for everyone. But for those with the ability and determination to learn, it can bring a deep sense of independence and connection to your food. Whatever path you choose, make sure you take the proper steps—so your next Thanksgiving doesn’t turn into a massacre.
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