I have some things to say in response to some comments that were made regarding my “Kosher” Food Story. Since it is kind of branching into a new topic (and since I can, because this is my blog) I will just post them here (gets more exposure than comment #19).

To sum up: some readers have the opinion that because certain kashrut practices were “okay” for our parents, they should be okay for us. For example, Nathan said:

Your parent’s generation of Observant Jews (a much better term, IMHO) happily purchased bread from the local (unsupervised) baker, milk from the local (unsupervised) dairy/store, etc. They also generally used one oven and one sink, chas v’shalom. The vast majority of Observant Jews in Europe manage to eat just fine with very few certified restaurants and hekhshered food by using a published guidebook and their own judgment…

It’s always my preference and suggestion to patronize a kosher restaurant if one is available, is clean, and offers good food at (almost) reasonable prices. However, there is a certain historical reality that is being ignored by those who believe that observant Jews only eat food with formal supervision; when meat is not involved, people have managed for thousands of years to “survive” eating from non-Jewish food sources. Some of those people may have been your parents and grandparents.

And Big E said:

As Nathan so correctly pointed out, our parents’ generation understood how to live a religiously observant life while successfully dealing with many of the barriers to living such an existence. We younger observant Jews have built proverbial walls, look down upon anyone who isn’t Jewish or “religious” enough, and then throw a conniption (or post a demeaning blog entry) if our needs aren’t met. “Stop the madness” indeed…

Why was it okay, as Nathan pointed out, for our parents, many of whom are/were more observant than us, to buy a non-hechshered loaf of bread, but it’s not okay for us? Why are we so much more quick to judge another Jew’s practices? Why is there so much peer pressure in our communities?

I do not exactly agree. Here is what I think:

Every time and place is different. Halacha is designed to have the potential for both leniency and stringency in every situation, based on what is needed. Many factors are used to decide what is needed, and many years of training on halacha and giving psak before an individual can be qualified to determine when certain leniencies and stringencies apply. But just because a leniency applied a number of years ago does not mean that it should apply today.

One to two generations ago in America, many Jewish communities did not have access to kosher bakeries at all, or they had access to kosher bakeries that may have been opened on Shabbat, etc. In order that the observant Jews have some bread to eat, rabbinic authorities in some of those communities may have issued lenient halachic decisions allowing Jews to buy and eat bread from these bakeries under certain circumstances. At the time, this was the halachic decision that was needed. But should that apply today? Every community in America now has access to kosher bread (even if it is not from a local bakery, every community now has access to bread made under the supervision of reputable organizations like the OU, Star K and Chof K. Under the circumstances today, do the leniences of 50 years ago make sense at all? I do not think so (though you should ask your local posek if you have more questions about your specific situation).

Likewise with other types of food – what may have been acceptable without a hechsher 30 years ago is no longer acceptable today. In many cases, this is because the ingredients change, or because new ingredients are added. 30 years ago, it may have sufficed to look at the ingredient list – what you see was what you got. Today, when you look at the ingredients for nearly every product on the market, you see “articial flavors” and “natural flavors”. What do these terms mean? I cite the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Part 101.22 (txt or pdf – bold print is from me):

The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.

That is right, something can be labeled as containing “natural flavors”, while still containing pig fat and octopus oil. It is impossible to know nowadays without extremely close supervision.

By “ignoring” precendents “set” by our parents and grandparents, and by Jews living in Europe for hundreds of years, we are not saying anything about their practices – their practices were determined by the halachic authorities of their time and place to be suitable for their time and place. Instead, we are accepting the reality of our current situation and attempting to live all parts of our lives in a way consistent with halacha. (Note: I am not saying that peer pressure does not exist and that some people take their stringencies too far – I am merely addressing the points made by the two posters above, comparing our practices today with the practices from one generation ago).