Posted by Alan T.
This question came about during this year's (July 2008) Unity Shabbaton when Marilin Lipman and Rabbi David Paskin asked me if I think I'm keeping Kosher when eating in a non-Kosher restaurant. Evidently, they had a wager on my response, and to Rabbi David's surprise, my answer was "Yes, absolutely."
This is a challenge that many of us Kosher keeping non-Orthodox Jews face in modern times (and some Orthodox friends as well). As I see it, there are gradations of Kashrut. Some people keep Kosher at home, but not outside the home. And, many others, myself included, will eat dairy or vegetarian or selected fish items in non-Kosher restaurants. Others, of course, will only eat in Kosher restaurants. And still others will eat cold items, such as salads or fruit, in non-Kosher restaurants.
I realize that, to some people, I am simply not maintaining Kashrut. And that's fine. But to me, I am consciously making a decision not to eat non-Kosher meat outside the home and to ask about certain foods which may be questionable (onion soup, for example, which almost always has a beef or chicken stock).
If Kashrut is about intention and a set of values, as I believe it is, then I always have proper food consumption according to Jewish law at the forefront of my mind. As I've told my kids on many occasions, keeping Kosher is a tangible way for me to express my Jewishness. That I choose to eat veggie in non-Kosher restaurants or have only one dish-washer in my kitchen in no way diminishes the fact that I truly believe I am a Kosher-abiding Jew. I am eager to hear what you have to say. Let the discourse begin!
