Kosher Beef 01/31/2010
 
A co-worker expressed his disgust with Mehadrin (highly stringent) hechsherim (kosher certification) today.

"I just hate it that there are all these different hechshers," he said. "I can't stand it!"

Hmmm.... I'm always up for a good beef. Especially if it's kosher. (Groan!)

"Why does it bother you if people choose to eat other hechsherim?" I asked.

He told me it's divisive. It creates a holier-than-thou attitude. It belittles those who choose to eat other hechsherim, not recognized as valid by their more stringent counterparts.

It's always so interesting to me that it's the people who are less stringent who are so bothered by the people who are more stringent. Why do they care so much? Why is stringency a thorn in their side? And it only seems to happen in religious matters. If I'm enjoying a hot-fudge sundae and I see a woman stringently and ascetically ordering a fruit salad, do I fume? Does it bother me? Isn't she insulting me, calling my less-nutritious food choice lowly and base? Uh, not really. How about if I'm the type who lets my kids cross the street by themselves. Do I beef about those crazy parents who make their kids cross only with an adult?

Maybe the beef is about conscience. Maybe the beef is actually a defensive front for a tiny, prickling whisper, raising uncomfortable thoughts of...maybe....maybe....maybe I should do this too?

And maybe not. What do you think?
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Ess, Mein Kint 04/29/2009
 

I've been told my blog is too pareve, not enough controversy. Well, I'm not one to create controversy but thought-provoking is right up my alley. See if the following observation falls under the food for thought category.

Recently, we hosted a family for a meal--wonderful people with adorable kids. What's more, they ate! Most of the time, half the food I serve goes back into the fridge, but this time there was hardly a crumb left, and I had prepared a ton! Well, the kids eventually regrouped to play and the adults began to shmooze. Eventually, the men left to Shul (synagogue), and the woman and I began to do what women do best--clear the table :-)! (Feminists, relax, I was really and truly joking!) Now, when I clear the table it goes something like this:

Pick up plates. Scrape them off. Discard garbage in the trash. Put dishes and silverware in the sink.

Here's what my guest did:

Pick up plates. Eat the kids leftovers. No garbage to discard in the trash. Put dishes and silverware in the sink.

It struck me very forcefully and it made me sad. She must have been satiated; I think everyone at the table was, based on the amount of food consumed. There is something so...self-loathing about the action of eating the kids' leftovers, in my mind. The underlying message is, somehow, "I am the trash".

Don't get me wrong: I am very careful about preventing waste in all areas, not just food. But is consuming my children's half-eaten leftovers a sublime act of righteousness?

Or does it reinforce a damaging and tragic belief that lurks subconsciously, under layers and layers of half-eaten leftovers? What say you?

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