I love bacon and pulled pork sandwiches. I love lobster bisque and New England clam chowder. And I love cheeseburgers – oh yes I do. There, I said it on a Jewish web site. I love treyf.
I’m a proud Jew and a supporter of all things delicious. I’m also here to say that it’s ok. In a culture such as ours that treasures food, it is a shande that so many morsels of yum are seemingly off limits.
Why am I ranting about this now? Firstly, I am sick and tired of the kosher racket. Rabbi Jason Miller’s HuffPost piece last week, “Ending Kosher Nostra: How to Bring Sanity to the Kosher Industry,” shed even more light into the industry of keeping kosher.
As mentioned in Rabbi Miller’s article, this ancient holy practice is filled with modern problems that completely turn me off to the concept. The kosher certification industry is wrought with corruption and backroom deals. And we all know about the kosher meat processors and their shady practices. I won’t even mention the blatant price gouging that goes hand-in-hand with kosher foods.
But like sheep to the slaughter (sorry, had to do it), most who do keep kosher just keep up the scam. They continue to overpay. They don’t ask questions. We’re Jews in America here, not Iran – it’s time to ask some questions. And it’s time for some of these extremely wealthy fellow MOTs to answer them.
Miller says, “we have become so far removed from the kosher laws of the Torah and Talmud that we focus less on why we keep kosher and more on how punctilious we can be, only to “out frum” the next person.” Whenever I hear that Hebrew National products aren’t “kosher enough,” I just want to go out and stuff my face with pork rinds.
What makes me sad is that so many people have such good intentions when deciding to keep kosher. I can appreciate honoring traditions and what was written thousands of years ago, but the abstractness of kosher is what boggles me. Obviously, some people are born to kosher parents and are essentially forced to follow suit. Others make their own decisions later in life. Some people keep kosher at home, but will enjoy a surf and turf dinner at the local Red Lobster. Some people claim to be kosher by ordering plain pizza from the same guy who handles the pepperoni. My very own old school/old world grandmother loved a good shrimp scampi from time to time. Rules are made to be broken I guess.
Much of modern Judaism is based on convenience. Many of us tend to observe when it doesn’t impede on our daily lives. And much of what we observe is based on Jewish guilt. Maybe if I keep kosher, I can get away with driving to synagogue. If I have a bris for my son, maybe G-d won’t care that I named him Christopher. I’m here to tell you not to feel guilty. You don’t have to sacrifice your taste buds any longer. You can still be a good Jew and have a flavorful steak that doesn’t resemble cardboard.
That brings me to the other reason I am writing this piece. I was recently made aware of a new restaurant in New York. Sadly, it’s in Williamsburg and wannabe hipsters are like kryponite to me, so I doubt I will visit any time soon. It’s called Traif and it’s owned by a nice Jewish boy who is tired of hiding his feelings for good food. I not only respect Chef Jason Marcus, but I admire him.
To those who keep kosher, all I ask is that you question where your food is coming from and the practices by which it is certified. If you can afford to pay double for certain items, don’t feel deprived of flavor, and truly enjoy eating plain pasta while I chow down on a lobster, well then, I applaud you.
For those of you in the middle, join me. Life is too short and treyf tastes too good.
Menu
Kosher doesn’t have to be bland. There are a lot of great-tasting kosher foods.
And if you have an issue with the kosher industry, you can still stick to the basics – no pork, no shellfish, and no dairy with meat – without spending any extra money. There are plenty of kosher choices in a regular supermarket.
I guess I should weigh in here (of course recognize that I’m speaking personally and not on behalf of TCJewfolk).
I eat treyf. I like shrimp – nay, I love shrimp. I had some of the most phenomenal scallops ever, last night, cooked by my fabulous fiance, and then (gasp!) crab too.
But I’m torn on whether I “embrace” and revel in my unkosher food-eating. I do feel the Jewish guilt about it. I can’t help it. And I still get hung up on eating other nonkosher foods (pork, etc). Although I can’t really explain why I don’t eat porkloins but do eat lobster.
I don’t think not eating kosher makes me a bad Jew, just like working on Shabbos doesn’t make me a bad Jew either. It makes me a Jew who makes choices. Now, whether I should be making different choices is an entirely different matter, and I know that I’m growing as a person and as a Jew each day, so I assume my choices about how I live my life secularly and spiritually with change over time. Maybe I’ll become kosher. Unlikely, but possible. However, I do thinkit’s important that the choices we make are deliberate. What do I want to eat? How do I want to pray? Where do I want to go to shul? And Why? So long as we live with conviction in how we are Jewish, and why we are Jewish, I’m comfortable with that. Jewish guilt, or no.
Whoa! Slow down. I disagree with a few things you seem to say as facts. I must state that I work for a Kosher food manufacturer. I think I have an inside view. I have not read Rabbi Jason Miller’s recent article yet. You quote it as truth.
“The kosher certification industry is wrought with corruption and backroom deals.” -I disagree.
“We all know about the kosher meat processors and their shady practices”. – I disagree
“I won’t even mention the blatant price gouging that goes hand-in-hand with kosher foods”- I disagree.
I believe that in Judaism there is a relationship between God and the Jewish people. I believe that God gave us the Torah. In the Torah there are rules on how a Jew should live. Kosher is one of the rules.
You seem to disagree. Your version of Judaism doesn’t hold those rules as binding.
I do agree that “Much of modern Judaism is based on convenience. Many of us tend to observe when it doesn’t impede on our daily lives.”
I do “question where my food is coming from and the practices by which it is certified.” Since I work in the industry, I probably do question it more than most people.
I can not afford to pay double for certain items but choose to purchase items that have been certified to meet kosher standards even if it means paying more or purchasing less.
I did not always keep kosher. I did love the taste of bacon. I did love going treyfe restaurants. I choose not to eat that anymore.
LETS NOT ARGUE.
It is not necessary to defend Treyfe by putting down kosher.
If you want to discuss why I disagree with those earlier statements point by point maybe we could sit down at Fishman’s and discuss it.
Don’t feel guiltly.
Edith – I’m not going to argue. Discuss, sure. Debate, absolutely.
If Rabbi Miller’s piece is not of any value, I could spend all day sending you or posting proof about the corruption in the kosher food industry. I could easily direct you to the Sholom Rubashkin court documents or maybe try to arrange an interview with him in prison.
Of course that’s just one case – one huge case. The purpose of Rabbi Miller’s piece and his work with Kosher Michigan is to try to change the culture of kosher. To say or to believe that there is nothing wrong is simply naive.
When I posted on here about the lack of a real Jewish deli, one comment struck accord and I will post it again here:
“The main problem in the Twin Cities is the wholesale cost of everything from the hot dogs to pastrami.
Our local kosher food distributor charges much more money here than other distributors charge elsewhere, and has done this for years.
When I was in the kosher meat business here, I paid more WHOLESALE for kosher chicken produced in Iowa than Jews paid RETAIL for that same chicken in LA, Denver, St. Louis and NYC.
When my partner told the distributor we would bring in chicken through a Chicago-based distributor, he threatened to drive us out of business by selling kosher chicken in supermarkets across the Twin Cities at a retail price that was less than any wholesale price we could get.
You don’t have a Jewish deli of note here largely because of how the wholesale kosher meat and kosher food industries behave.
Costco, Sam’s Club and Trader Joes have helped limit the extreme price gouging that was the norm in the 1980s and 90s, but the problem still remains.
Add to that problem the fact that Americans eat less red meat now than we did 40 years ago.
And don’t forget that today’s 25-year-old was not raised on deli. I haven’t seen hard statistics but I’d bet deli customers trend significantly older than average.
All of these things make running a deli a risky thing, even in NYC, and that’s why you see so few of them.”
More simply put, when I go into Trader Joe’s, the kosher chicken is considerably more expensive than the non-kosher chicken. It’s just a fact. Where is the money going? For the most part, it’s not more expensive because it’s a better product. A lot of that money was going into the pockets of Sholom Rubashkin and people like him. I know some people won’t like this, but many rabbis who we trust to certify our food are very wealthy too. Yes, it is a business – and a booming one.
As for my relationship with G-d, we’re actually pretty good. He knows that my version of Judaism includes lots of questions, but he doesn’t hold it against me.
From someone who used to revel in chorizo, fried calamari, and ceviche I can identify with your love of these forbidden foods (I once had a roommate whose grandma sent us a leg of cured pork from her village in Spain – it took us two months and many drunken nights to finish it). Your premise, that not following Torah law does not make you a bad Jew, in my opinion is dead on. I don’t believe in this concept of “a bad Jew.” Part of the reason we have so many Jews leaving the path of Torah is because as a people we have forgotten the difference between chumra (restrictions beyond the law) and halacha (the law).
The Torah exists as a pathway for the Jewish people to have a relationship with Hashem. This is not to say that he doesn’t provide other opportunities like nature walks, caring for others, etc. for those who do not follow Torah (we could prove these things are Torah too, but won’t go there now). As His chosen people there is a greater challenge and responsibility for the Jew live a Torah life so they can be of maximum service to the world.
As for kosher food, there is often confusion about it’s value. More than just something that was killed a certain way, kosher meat is infused with a degree of holiness because it was prepared in a way dictated by the Holy Torah. It serves as spiritual nourishment for the spirit of the Jew, which requires holy fuel to operate at it’s maximum potential, (similar to running a high performance race car on premium oil).
Your idea that the kosher industry is fraught with corruption, “back room deals,” and greed is not completely without merit, but I approach this fact the same way I approach people who ask me for money that look like “they don’t really need it” – it’s not up to me to judge. If there are rabbis who are shady about issuing kosher certification or jacking up the price of kosher meat, my responsibility as a Torah observant Jew is to continue eating kosher regardless of these practices. As you mention, perhaps there does need to be more consumer pressure on the various authorities to lower prices and protect against corrupt practices, but in my opinion the path to this result must be traveled while keeping kosher; a treife rebellion is not the answer for me.
I love keeping kosher. I like experimenting with coconut milk when I make curry chicken (instead of sour cream) and I love wishing the butcher at Lunds a “good shabbos” as I buy my kosher deli meat. I don’t sacrifice flavor by being kosher, in fact I feel all the more AWARE and CONSCIOUS about the delicious morsels I put into my mouth because I have to think about what’s in them before eating them.
Denying oneself the personal luxury of keeping kosher (and yes, with those prices, it is a luxury) because some kosher meat-packers are corrupt is just silly. Just because some politicians are corrupt, doesn’t mean I don’t vote, it just means I should go campaigning for the candidates who are ethical. By the same token, if you want kosher food that fits your values, work on the Magen Tzedek movement (http://magentzedek.org/). Think of how delicious THAT ethically-hekshered chicken will taste.
“As for my relationship with G-d, we’re actually pretty good. He knows that my version of Judaism includes lots of questions, but he doesn’t hold it against me.”
Might I suggest that your relationship with God may actually be better because you have lots of questions? It means you’re thinking about what you’re doing and trying to find meaning in that, rather than just blindly following rituals that are meaningless to you. Yasher koach.
The premise of “defending treyf” is disappointing. It reminds me of a reality show contestant craving for attention. Hey look at me! I want you to question your beliefs and dismiss them because treyf taste good to me.
Pig out all you want. I’m not interested.
Here’s an interesting Kashrut Ladder from a founder of Magen Tzedek:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1041/534296053_425e463c75_o.jpg
Not sure that my treyf reality show would get any ratings, but I’d certainly give it a whirl!
In it, I would continue to question practices that are extremely questionable – but only after we light the Shabbat candles, say our Shabbat blessings, and enjoy BBQ ribs from Rudolph’s (we had to improvise for the ribs, but the cornbread was a perfect substitute for challah).