Kosher Flavored Crab Chips YUM!!!!!!

Keeping Kosher and Maris Ayin: What is the Issue with Maris Ayin?

This picture raises an interesting question in halacha (Jewish law) known as ‘Maris Ayin.’ The concept of maris ayin is that we can be doing something permissible according to Torah and halacha, but to the onlooker, we may be doing something wrong.

For example going into a McDonald’s to use the toilet is fine but someone may see us and think we are going into McDonald’s to eat and conclude that it’s okay to eat there.  Today because going into a McDonald’s and similar non-kosher restaurants to use the toilet is a common practice, Rabbis have ruled that there is no problem with maris ayin. However, sitting down at the table to drink a soda there would cause a problem.

In recent years there has been an explosion of fake dairy and fake meat products. You can now make a sandwich with fake meat and fake cheese that looks like the real thing.

When these products first came out it was a serious issue of maris ayin, but today it’s common practice to eat these; for example to have pareve (non-dairy) ice cream after a Shabbat meat meal. We no longer worry about this being maris ayin. It is still a good idea to bring the ice cream container and put it on the table so people can see that the ice cream is not dairy.

According to halacha it would be fine to drink fish blood, but because people would see us and may think we are drinking animal blood, it is forbidden to drink the fish blood. But say you lived in an Eskimo village where it was common practice to drink fish blood, or comes a time when drinking fish blood is a daily health ritual performed by everyone, it is possible to say that it would become permissible to drink the fish blood.

Kosher Crab Flavoured Chips for Sale

The key question in maris ayin is what will someone think? With this bag of chips, at a distance someone could see the large image of the lobster but not the little kosher symbol. If I were eating these chips, I’d either put them into a new bag or eat them from the existing bag with the picture facing me. This way I don’t need to worry that people may think Crab Flavored chips are kosher, because this could lead someone to buying a brand in the future which is not kosher.

Wine plays a big role in Judaism… it features prominently in Jewish festivals from the weekly Shabbat celebration to wedding ceremonies and, of course, the rowdy Purim parties.  One of my favorite wines is called Malbec and the most delicious Malbec wines in the world come from Mendoza, Argentina.  So during my time in Argentina, I took a trip to Mendoza to ride horses, go white water rafting, and, of course, to check out the wineries!

Anybody who’s been to a wine store has seen that there are many more non-kosher wines than kosher wines.  However, if you look into your foreign kosher wines (basically any of those not produced in Israel), you’ll find that those same wineries are producing non-kosher wines also.  How is this possible?  Most wineries will do a “run” of kosher wines once a year.  When those bottles are ready, they’re sent to the distributor who stores them for sales throughout the year.  This saves wineries a lot of money because since only Sabbath-observant Jews can handle the grapes and wine in order for the wine to be kosher. In places like Mendoza, where the small Jewish population is reform only, this means they have to import employees specially.

It happened that when I went to Mendoza there were still snow flurries, so it wasn’t exactly wine-making season.  When I did the rounds of the wineries, none of them had kosher wines on hand and so I wasn’t able to taste-test any.  Which makes me want to ask the next question: Why is it so important for wine to be kosher?

The laws regarding kosher wines are in place to prevent Jews from deriving any benefit from idolatry. Wines are often used in religious ceremonies for idol-worshiping religions and often a blessing is made over them or they are made for this purpose specifically.  I used to think this sounded ridiculous because, looking at the secular American society around me, I couldn’t imagine anyone using wine for idol worship.  But when I went to Mendoza, I noticed a giant life-sized statue of an idol sitting among the barrels in one winery.  And in another place, I saw lots of painting of non-Jewish dieties on the casks of wine themselves.  So next time you’re thinking of drinking a non-Kosher wine, please keep this in mind!

My first visit to the Kosher McDonald's in Buenos Aires, Argentina was immediately after Shabbos on my first Saturday night in the country. It wasn't opened yet, but it opened soon after!

Buenos Aires, Argentina – a city famous for so many things: tango, beef, gauchos, Paris style, and, of course, the Kosher McDonald’s.

What? Did you say ‘Kosher McDonald’s?!’

Yes, yes I did.  I spent 6 months living in Argentina – all of them directly across the street from the famous Abasto Mall, which houses the only kosher McDonald’s outside of Israel.

It’s such an interesting and unusual find that it’s mentioned in the food section of all the major Argentina guidebooks, including those that almost never think to cover the kosher traveler (which is basically all of them!).

Because I lived pretty much across the street, the Abasto was one of my favorite hangouts.  There was always something interesting going on there, whether it was a gigantic in-mall playground or the ‘Bodies’ exhibit on tour.  Plus, with its two kosher restaurants (next to the meaty McDonald’s was a cute little dairy restaurant), it was a great place to meet up with friends to just munch, hang out, and watch the world go by.

And watch the world go by we did!  In fact, it seemed like just about everyone in the world went by that kosher McDonald’s.  Even if they weren’t coming to eat from it, they were coming by to take photos of it, just to prove it exists.  People who have never been to Israel (and thus never seen the even more exciting kosher McDonald’s express in the main Jerusalem bus station) are fascinated to find their first kosher Micky D’s.

The kashrus certificate that proves you aren't dreaming - the McDonald's in Buenos Aires, Argentina really IS kosher!

I never actually ate in the Kosher McDonald’s… I gave up fast food 10 years ago after reading “Fast Food Nation.”  But many, many of my friends did eat there, and the verdict was that it was pretty good!  Of course, the flavors are slightly different, imbued with an Argentinean flair, but that famous Argentinean beef does those burgers good.  No overly processed factory-farmed beef here!  In Buenos Aires, the legendary gauchos of the pampas are the ones responsible for the cows, who feed on the endless grassy plains.

Next time you’re in Argentina, it’s worth a visit to the Kosher McDonald’s in the Abasto Mall (Abasto has its own metro stop, so it’s easy to reach).  But don’t limit yourself.  Buenos Aires has a wealth of kosher places, from pizza joints famous in Jewish communities across the southern cone to the cutest little sandwich and empanada shop Wafflemania to bakeries selling the famous Argentinean alfajores, chocolate-covered cookies filled with sticky-sweet dulce de leche.  For the kosher traveler, Argentina is a culinary delight!

Rabbi Ben surprised me with a trip to Fiji to celebrate our anniversary!  Of course the Traveling Rabbi would think of the gift of travel – and I am definitely not complaining! It is beautiful here!

So far we haven’t found any Jews, although I have heard that there are a handful of people of Jewish descent living in the capital city of Suva, which we have not visited.

We spent Shabbat on the island of Mana in the Manaluca Islands group.  These photos show the beautiful Shabbat candles I lit, with some Fijian flair.  Even our candles look like they’re in paradise!

To prepare for Shabbat, we brought some small challah rolls with us from the plane and I went fishing on Thursday and caught us some fresh local fish.  For lunch on Saturday we just had some eggs that were boiled on Friday afternoon, some salad, and some bread.  It was simple, but we were able to sit and watch the calm waves of the Pacific Ocean lap at the shore as we ate, which made everything so beautiful!

It was truly a very special Shabbat!

Wild turkeys visited our friends' backyard, leading to the question: Is turkey kosher?

This week, Rabbi Ben and I went to visit one of his friends in New Jersey.  I was sitting in the living room, working on my laptop, when I heard his friend’s mom outside, talking to her grandson.  “Look at the wild turkeys!” she was saying. Wild turkeys?

Yes, wild turkeys! I grabbed my camera and took a few photos.  We weren’t sure what they were doing in the middle of a suburban development, but they sure were pretty.  And we were all amazed at how tame they seemed to be.  They weren’t afraid of us at all and let us get almost close enough to touch them!  Of course, someone had to suggest that we catch them and eat them.  Fortunately, nobody around was certified as a shochet (ritual kosher butcher), so the wild turkeys went free.

But wait – is turkey even kosher?

This week’s parsha includes a long list of birds we’re not allowed to eat.  According to one translation, these include: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the buzzard, the kite, all kinds of hawks, all kinds of ravens, the dark desert owl, the kestrel, the gull, all kinds of sparrow hawks, the little owl, the long eared owl, barn and screech owls, the nigh prowler, the gier eagle, the fish owl, the stork, all kinds of herons, the hoopoe, and the bat.  We learn from the Torah and from the sages that we don’t eat birds that feed off carrion, nor do we eat carnivorous birds (including those that eat fish).  We also learn that kosher birds must “have an extra toe or a crop or a gizzard that can be peeled by hand.”

The turkey certainly does seem to meet all the requirements set forth in the Torah for being a kosher bird.  However, in Judaism, we also have a concept that if we don’t have a tradition of eating something, it’s not kosher for us.  That’s why certain Jews living in Africa still have a tradition of eating locusts, but most of us couldn’t try them. (I’m so disappointed!)  Up until the European discovery of the Americas, there were no Jews in North America and, therefore, no tradition of eating turkey. So what did they do when they got here and discovered turkey, a bird with all the signs but none of the tradition?

A wild turkey foraging for food. Turkeys have all the signs of being a kosher bird.

When the Jews first came to North America, they were divided into two camps vis-a-vis the turkey.  Half the Jews took to their new home well and accepted the turkey as kosher as part of their adjustment.  The other half insisted that because there was no tradition of eating turkey, it’s not kosher.  So, where does that leave us today?

Today, turkey is considered to be a kosher bird.  Jews in North America have been eating turkey now for over 250 years, which is more than enough time to establish a tradition of eating it.  And although a few Eastern European Jews might still cling to their great-great-great grandfathers’ traditions of it not being kosher, turkey has become an incredibly popular Jewish food overall.  In fact, Israelis eat more turkey per person each year than Americans do!

So go ahead and enjoy some turkey this Shabbos! SHABBAT SHALOM!

Continued from Part 1 of “Being a Jewish Vegetarian doesn’t have to be Boring!”

We’ve been spending a lot of times lately at farms… at Eden Village Camp and farm in New York, at Farmer Ben and Lisa’s farm in Virginia, and at Kayam Farms in Maryland last weekend.  All of these farms are vegetarian: They’re not slaughtering any animals.  So what on earth will we do with all those extra vegetables?! Here are some more ideas…

Salads don't have to be boring! This one incorporates kale, apples, white beans, and pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Yum!

Ok, the options we explored in Part One are yummy, but you’re still wishing you had meat.  Fortunately, you can get a similar taste and texture through the use of textured vegetable protein, or TVP.  Or you can use a soy alternative, like the popular Morningstar Farms products.  I find that I get the most realistic result by using the “beef” crumbles for things like tacos or spaghetti sauce.  However, I am not a big fan of using too much processed soy, so I’ve discovered that I can get a meaty color, texture, and flavor in my cholent by adding lots of brown and red lentils, plus some fun spices like cumin and coriander.  I’ve even had meat-eating friends tell me they couldn’t believe there wasn’t meat in my cholent, and walk away convinced I was lying when I told them that not only is my cholent vegan, but it’s fat-free, too!

Of course, you should also try to put some really healthy foods, like salads, into your kosher vegetarian diet, but you should be doing that anyway, vegetarian or not!  For greens, try adding some like kale, Swiss chard, mustard greens, or broccoli rabe.  You’ll find each one has a totally different flavor and texture, and you may be really pleasantly surprised!  You’ll see that salads don’t need to be boring at all – in fact, check here for 101 yummy and different salad recipe ideas.  Just remember to check everything really well for bugs because they definitely aren’t kosher or vegetarian!

As a kosher vegetarian, joining a CSA program is a great way to experiment with and try new foods. In mine, I tried delicata squash for the first time and cooked it by making a rosemary, sage, and apple cider vinegar glaze.

One final idea for avoiding slipping into boredom with a kosher vegetarian diet is to sign up for a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, program.  These are offered all over the US and Canada, although they sometimes go by different names. Each program is unique, but the basic gist of it is that you purchase a “share” in a farm.  It’s as if the farmer divides up his land into 100 equal parts and you get your 1/100 of whatever the farm produces that week.  I did one of these programs in Florida and ended up with lots of interesting vegetables.  I became a delicata squash expert when I got a bunch of them and decided to cook each differently and I learned how to use butternut squash in soups, salads, kugels, and as a standalone dish. I had my first experiences with mustard greens and okra.  Not only are you supporting the local economy, but you are eating fresher food, too!

So even if you’re not planning to be a kosher vegetarian full time, you might want to try it out just for fun… and if you’re a world traveler, you should try it out now so that when you’re jet-setting around the world, you’ll have plenty of creative ideas for what to eat!

Here are some more blog posts you may find interesting:

Why would a Jewish and kosher world traveler become vegetarian?

Why do Jews become vegetarians?

What does the Bible say about vegetarianism?