My Sixth Sense
Kosher, Shabbat, and Kosher for Passover Style
By Menachem Lubinsky... The reopening of the Second Avenue Deli at a new location was greeted with a great deal of fanfare and considerable comment about its kashrus status because the restaurant is open on Shabbos. But in a few weeks Jews will be faced by another important kashrus issue. Advertising will begin by outfits like Baldacci's using such words as tzimmes, kugel and Matzoh balls to promote kosher for Passover menus. There is likely to be a disclaimer on the bottom of the ad that the food is not kosher. Several restaurants will host a Passover Seder that is not kosher. If this sounds like an oxymoron, the entrepreneurs claim that they are merely promoting kosher style and not kosher certified foods. But the question remains whether the use of kosher style in today's world of kosher consciousness is not in itself misleading. True that the customers of these foods might not be candidates for kosher standards in Boro Park and Williamsburg, but they still have some expectation of a kosher experience that is kosher even if they don't ask. A 'don't ask – don't tell' policy just doesn't work with kashrus nowadays because to many people kosher means fit and proper and certainly when associated with such a meaningful Jewish holiday that celebrates Jewish independence from Egyptian bondage. According to the 2001-2002 National Jewish Population Study, more than two-thirds of American Jews celebrate at least one Seder. Jews who celebrate little else on the Jewish calendar somehow come out of the woodwork to celebrate Passover. For many, it is the one time of the year that they shop the kosher aisles, which explains why 40% of annual kosher sales takes place around Passover. If this is indeed the one time of the year that even unaffiliated Jews behave Jewishly, why should entrepreneurs promote non-kosher items under the guise of Yiddish names that make it sound as if the fare is kosher. Could it be that a time of year that marks the Jewish quest for freedom should also be the time of year when money hungry entrepreneurs perpetrate mass fraud against unsuspecting consumers?