Eating with the Hebrews or the Egyptians
01/02/2025 04:34:58 PM
Jan2
Was Joseph ever truly accepted in Egypt, despite saving the entire country? As we read the Torah portion this week, Joseph explicitly expresses concern that his family would not fit in in Egypt. He gives his brothers specific instructions as to what to say and how to describe themselves. It would seem that his concerns are overwrought. When Joseph reveals that the 11 visitors are in fact his family, Pharaoh and his courtiers are pleased, and Pharaoh greets them warmly and indeed assigns them territory. However, perhaps Joseph’s concerns are well-justified. Pharaoh, in fact, segregates Joseph’s family from the Egyptian public. Last week’s portion gave us more insight. When his brothers first arrived, he ate separately from them, but the Egyptians, despite regarding him as 2nd to Pharaoh, also would not dine with him. He found himself in neither category. Joseph fit in neither as a Hebrew nor an Egyptian.
As we read these passages, they provide a window into some of the challenges that our congregation faces in setting our kashrut policy.
I sometimes feel that our synagogue is like Joseph, unable to eat with either the Hebrews or the Egyptians. As an institution, we find ourselves caught between two worlds. We follow a set of practices that are often more rigorous than those of some of our fellow Conservative synagogues, so we cannot “eat with our brothers.” Meanwhile, as a matter of policy, the Atlanta Kashrut Commission (AKC) which is the arbiter of kashrut for much of the Orthodox community, will not accept the kashrut of our facility because its supervision is not under Orthodox auspices and-- in fact-- for some events, caterers will treat our kitchens as if they are non-kosher. In practice, the only other institution with which we have a ”food free trade” arrangement is Or V’Shalom, which also sits at the boundary between Conservative and Orthodox practice and follows a similar set of standards to our own.
One of the blessings and challenges of our diverse Atlanta community, and Jewish life in general, is that there are many different levels of observance, even among people and institutions that value kashrut. While the basics of kashrut are quite cut-and-dried, there are many variations and interpretations in implementation. So, for example, the traditional laws of kashrut (as still interpreted by most Orthodox institutions) place specific restrictions on both wine and cheese so that they must be manufactured under very strict parameters. Meanwhile, many Conservative synagogues follow more lenient opinions that allow for use of these products without a kosher symbol based on a general understanding of their common ingredients. There are several kosher symbols that are often accepted in Conservative congregations, but in the Orthodox world, only on a limited basis or not at all. Some institutions require the presence of a trained mashgiach at all times when their kitchen is open, while others feel that spot inspections will suffice. Even within the Orthodox world, there are disagreements about practice (for example, regarding whiskey aged in casks that previously contained wine).
Further clouding the issue, is that kashrut is not only about policy, but also about politics. Sometimes people will accept or reject a particular vendor because of their community affiliation irrespective of what actually happens in their kitchen. There have been cases when we have chosen not to use a particular vendor, even though they were allegedly under Orthodox supervision, because we had evidence that they were not following appropriate practices.
Of course, one cannot actually go and check up on every vendor or product, so it comes down to one’s opinion of the certifying rabbi, and specific information is rarely forthcoming. For example, I recently went to review the status of the “Tablet-K” hechsher, found on many cheeses, which is often not accepted in Orthodox circles, and some of the resources ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet-K) actually use our kashrut policy as a reference!
Conversely, we do actively want to support caterers that make the effort to be kosher certified, since they have made the additional effort provide a needed service to the community. If they are put out of business, then ultimately we have even fewer kosher options.
As we follow this path, there are advantages and disadvantages. One cannot put a price on being true to one’s values, and keeping kosher is an important mitzvah, but there are other benefits as well. Having a clear, rigorous standard means that more traditionally observant members of our own congregation, and the general community, can feel comfortable eating in our facility without hesitation. Indeed, many members of the Orthodox community trust us because we are transparent about our standards and consistent and rigorous in applying them.
On the other hand, holding to our standards means limiting choices, which may make for compromises in cost, quality, effort or variety. For example, we do allow outside caterers to use our facility in order to produce kosher events, but providing the appropriate level of mashgiach supervision adds a cost. It may be hard to find some items with acceptable kosher certification. I spend a fair amount of time tracking down the status of obscure kosher symbols and finding out whether we can trust a particular rabbi in some far-flung place like Peru or Greece. Potluck events are a great way to bring people together, but are not practical in a strictly kosher facility. Chain store pizza would be much cheaper and logistically simpler than the kosher options available. Doing the right thing is not always easy.
Our policy for events outside of the building is more nuanced. People understand that if they are eating in a restaurant or someone’s home, “Caveat Eater” must apply. There are a limited number of kosher options for dining out in metro Atlanta, and so we allow our affiliate groups (Young Adults, Boomers, etc.) to have events in venues that are not kosher certified, understanding that the menu choices may be very limited. I am very excited that we are participants in Shabbat Across Atlanta, later this month. It will be a tremendous blessing that hundreds of members of our community will share Shabbat dinner together, but we cannot even begin to assess the observance level of each host’s home, and part of our process will be working to accommodate different levels of observance.
We do what we can to maximize the options available to our community without compromising our values. So, for example, we will allow congregants to use caterers that are typically not kosher, if they are willing to work out of our kitchen, with our mashgiachim, using our utensils and our standards for ingredients. Recently, we decided to add Bagelicious to that list of caterers who can work out of our kitchen. What is different about this arrangement is that we are allowing Bagelicious to bring in bagels (and potentially challah and cookies) made in their facility under the supervision of Rabbi Dorsch of Congregation Etz Chaim.
As Rabbi Dorsch would explain, even though the Bagelicious kitchen itself is generally not kosher, their bagel production is in a separate area. The equipment they use to make bagels is only used for that purpose, only kosher ingredients are used, and he inspects the facility regularly to confirm that nothing has changed. I visited several times to confirm that their process, under his supervision, is as described and meets our standards as well. This is true despite the fact that in general Etz Chaim follows a more liberal Conservative standard and ingredients policy, so that items produced in the Etz Chaim kitchen, while kosher to their standard, would generally not be served out of B’nai Torah’s kitchen.
Our practice at B’nai Torah will continue to be that we follow policy, not politics, in trying to maximize the options available to our community without compromising our values. That means that from time to time we reassess our list of permitted vendors and kosher symbols, and it will grow (and shrink) as we gain new information about their production methods and reliability. It means that we may not always be in sync with what the AKC or our neighboring synagogues would do. There will be those who will be disappointed that their preferred ingredient or vendor cannot be used even though it is a staple at the synagogue down the street, and others who will-- (hopefully with respect)-- request a foil-wrapped meal instead. We may not always be able to eat with the Israelites or the Egyptians, but we can be confident that we are being true to ourselves.
Thu, May 1 2025 3 Iyyar 5785