2 min read
I think kashrut is outdated. As someone who does not believe that the Torah came directly from God, but was written down by humans (men, let’s be clear) in accordance with their local and contemporary beliefs, I do not struggle with the idea that a set of religious laws, meaningful and valuable as they may have been and may still be, should change in order to reflect our own society and in doing so create the same impact for us.
Crucially, keeping kosher is no longer the complicated process it used to be – particularly if, like me, you live in North-west London.
Kosher meat can be delivered to your front door, most large supermarkets have a kosher section, and the range of food products available to us is wide enough that if kosher meat is unavailable we won’t go hungry. It wasn’t always this way, though – until very recently, the laws of kashrut had an overwhelming impact on what Jews could eat, when, where and how.
It governed businesses and social lives, and ensured that with every mouthful of food followers of the religion were thinking carefully about what was sustaining them.
I think that if we really want those laws to mean the same thing as they did for thousands of years, we need to find a dietary code that ensures a similar impact.
That’s one of the reasons why instead of keeping kosher, I’m a vegetarian. Partly it’s more convenient. I don’t have to explain complicated rules to people, get into circular conversations with waiters about the contents of dishes, or argue about the hypocritical implications of my life choices. I can’t be bothered for any of that.
In that sense, I’m what my mum calls ‘closet kosher’: simplifying my choices so that I can keep within the boundaries without having to make a big deal out of it.
It also works, for me, as a better framework. I can’t buy into a dietary code because cleanliness, or separation between communities, or just because the book says you should. None of those reasons seem good enough for me.
But protecting the environment, minimising food waste and refusing to support a meat industry which every year contributes an astonishing amount to global warming and global hunger are very good reasons, I think – and keeping kosher does not really provide the structure for change in these areas.
It means that with every meal I have to think about where my sustenance is coming from. Kosher sausages may be playing by the rules but these days the rules are just too easy – or maybe the game has just changed.
For our diets to have the same impact on our lives as it has had on the lives of Jews throughout history, I think we should all consider finding new sets of rules that challenge us.
Plus, Ottolenghi provides many spectacular meat-free recipes, so no one can complain that vegetarians don’t eat well…
Noa Gendler has just graduated from the University of Cambridge, where she studied English Literature. Before that she attended North London Collegiate School. She is a seasoned Limmudnik and is involved in Marom, the Masorti young adult community.She previously wrote for the JC's Student Views blog
