THE KOSHER CONTINUUM

Many of us grew up an old Yiddish adage which went something like this—Shver tzu zain a Yid—it’s hard to be a Jew. Why is it so hard? Well, there are a lot of dos and don’ts, and on top of that, the general public—what shall I say?—hasn’t always liked us. But this viewpoint should not go unchallenged. So here goes: for those of us who live in North America today, living Jewishly has never been easier.

Take kashrut, for example. Let’s say a Jew’s diet fundamentally involves two broad parameters—no shell fish or pork and no mixtures of meat and dairy. In either case, observing these parameters cost neither time nor money. Some might say that it is a hardship to give up foods or combinations which they find so appealing, but let’s be real—if giving up a ham sandwich is your definition of hardship, then you should be thanking God for the hardships you have to endure in your life.

All right, you counter, maybe those aspects of Kashrut are easy, but that’s not all what kashrut is about. And yes, I would agree, but here’s the point. At some time in the evolution of Jewish thought, keeping kosher became like being pregnant—you either were or you weren’t. Let’s reject that either/or, all or nothing, black or white thinking. Perhaps you are a Jew who never touches pork. That’s great—you’re on the kosher continuum. Perhaps you are a Jew who would never mix meat and dairy—that’s great. You’re on the kosher continuum. Perhaps you are a Jew who never buys unkosher meats but you only have one set of dishes—that’s great. You’re on the kosher continuum. I reject the idea that in order to be kosher, one must do it all. I reject it precisely because there is no agreement in the Jewish community as to what “all” actually is. On the other hand, we do know what nothing looks like, and nothing is where I would hope no Jew would choose to be. Get onto the kosher continuum and then let’s talk about doing more.

Judaism, for too long, has been dominated by dogmatic thinking that has diminished Jews who are trying. Let’s free ourselves of that mode of thought and honor those who both try and strive for more. Kashrut is a beautiful system whereby God asks us to be mindful of what goes into our mouths, and by extension, how we view our place on earth. We are guests in God’s house and thus not all his creations are ours for the taking. We may take the life of one of God’s creatures but not in a painful or careless manner. Meat and dairy are, on some level, symbolic of death and life respectively, so we maintain a strict separation of these realms for a holy people must live fully and not permit death to overwhelm us. If you’re on the Kosher continuum, that’s great. But don’t get stuck doing the same thing year after year. Where nothing changes is the domain of death. Do more. Think more. Move deeper into the Kosher continuum. It’s easy to be a Jew because it’s all about you living fully, and living fully is what Kashrut moves us to embrace.