Reflecting on Judaism

I have been mulling over our recent conversation during which you made some very serious points which merit careful thought.  You challenged me on my use of the adjective “Ultra-Orthodox" and suggested that the term could be considered derogatory; that there was no such thing as “Ultra-Orthodox" and asked which of the mitsvot the so-called “Ultra-Orthodox" should give up.  Upon reflection, I suggest that the term “Ultra-Orthodox" is an appropriate one; I certainly did not intend to denigrate anyone by its use; there is no question that anyone need give up performance of any mitsvah if he wishes to be Orthodox rather than “Ultra-Orthodox".  The dictionaries to which I have referred generally agree that: -
“Ultra means extreme, uncompromising opinions in politics & religion".
“Orthodox implies the holding of right and accepted views, approved, accepted and not theoretical or heterodox, retention of traditional observances".
Since you mentioned that kashrut is among the more important of the mitzvot, I will use this aspect to try to explain my use of the expression “Ultra".  There are, incidentally, probably more Mitzvot concerning the proper treatment of man by man. 

Milk
Our Bet Din ruled many years ago that milk produced in the UK and sold through the major suppliers conforms to our dietary laws.  The majority of Orthodox Jews use it. Many drink only supervised milk.  By reference to the above definitions, this can be described as Ultra. 

Meat
The United Synagogue has its own Shechitah supervised by our Bet Din.  The majority of London’s Orthodox Jews eat it.  A minority eat only Glatt.  This too can be described as Ultra.  Worse!  some will eat Glatt but only supervised by the Rabbinic Authority to which they owe allegiance.  The Rabbi of the synagogue to which I belong in Netanya describes this as Sinat Chinam; the causeless hatred of one group of Jews by another. 

Cheese
Many years ago, when I was young, Dayan Abramsky, Ab Bet Din, accepted that ordinary English Cheeses were acceptable. I believe I know his reasoning.   If you refer back to the days before artificial rennet, rennet for Kosher Cheese was derived from a kosher animal and mixed with milk to produce hard cheese.  But we must not deliberately mix meat and milk. The explanation is that, since rennet has changed its character it was no longer considered meat. Therefore, it could be used in cheese making. If such rennet was not considered meat, then all rennet was deemed not to be meat and, therefore, Cheddar cheese for example, was considered acceptable.  How much more acceptable then is cheese made with vegetable rennet.  I understand that some people may wish to use only kosher cheese, but to describe vegetarian cheese as unacceptable is ultra. 

Bread
Rabbis of the Yeshiva which I attended in my youth, on a Sunday morning, used to buy their bread from a non-Jewish baker whose ingredients and baking utensils they had checked out.  They did this because they feared that a Jewish baker might have begun the preparation of his bread on Shabbat.  Indeed, the use of bread from non-Jewish bakers is explicitly permitted in Shulchan Aruch.  There are some today who say that such bread is forbidden. Such people are Ultra. 

Gelatine
Some 30/40 years ago, Dayan Grossnas, of the London Bet Din, researched the production of gelatine and pronounced that, even this type of food, does not conflict with our dietary laws. His findings were never published but his decision shows how much leeway there can be.  Why are lenient interpretations so rare?  Rabbi friends suggest that it is, perhaps, a case of “one upmanship", or people believing that they should strive to attain a higher level of observance in order to achieve a closer communion with God, or some wishing to build a higher fence around the law.   Such people should remember the sayings of two of our Talmudic sages: Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba and Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel.  The first said, “Do not build the fence taller than the object it is intended to protect lest it topple over and destroy the freshly planted shoots."   He also said, “Do not add to God’s words lest he prove you a liar."  The second said, “Not everyone who wishes to assume a persona of Godliness is at liberty to do so."  A more recent leading Rabbi said, “They fear the Kitsur Shulhan Aruch more than they fear God."

During my stays in vegetarian guesthouses and hotels over many years, I have met many Ministers, both Rabbis and Reverends, who were brought up in the English or German tradition.  In the 1930s/40s there was a well-known vegetarian restaurant known as “Shearns" in Tottenham Court Road, which was patronised by countless numbers of Orthodox Jews including Rabbonim whose integrity and religious knowledge cannot be doubted.  We all patronise such establishments only because we wish to observe the Jewish dietary laws.  These establishments have been scrutinised and have been found not wanting.  If they are acceptable to such Orthodox persons, then those who describe staying at such establishments as unacceptable, can be considered Ultra.  It is currently fashionable to denigrate the knowledge, commitment and sometimes the integrity of such religious leaders but I suspect that they had a better understanding of “how tall to build the fence."

It is sometimes suggested that food which is marked “suitable for vegetarians" is questionable because it is unsupervised.  Today, with strict consumer protection, it is highly unlikely that “Hovis", “Cadburys" or “Marks & Spencer" would offer their food as being “suitable for vegetarians" if it were not so.  Such firms employ hundreds, if not thousands, of employees and would be instantly “shopped" if they were found to be misrepresenting the truth.   Indeed, often identical foods are sold in Israel but with a Hechsher.  I recall being taught that, if reliable establishments stated that their food conformed to our dietary laws, then we were permitted  to accept their word, unless we had reason to doubt their integrity. 

And how often have kosher butchers been found selling non-Kosher meat even though they are under supervision?  There have been a number of major scandals both in the UK and in Israel when “highly respected" suppliers of kosher meat were found to be in breach.  Human nature being what it is, I have no doubt that there are elements throughout our community who would act in breach if they thought that they could get away with it.  It is not a new phenomenon. 

Please understand that I accept and recognise that all persons are entitled to do precisely as they wish, but to my mind, Ultra is divisive.  It hinders social intercourse; the less knowledgeable amongst “Ultras" erect barriers between themselves and the community and I feel that we would be best served if ordinary  kashrut standards were accepted by all.  It is also arguable whether we may add to Torah laws but those who do so should not then complain on being described as Ultra.

I started out by trying to show that, in the field that you nominated, namely food, it is possible for an Ultra-Orthodox to be plain Orthodox without giving up any Torah.  Inevitably, my reasoning went on to show just how wide a range of food there is which does not conflict with our dietary laws.  I realise that my reasoning will not satisfy everyone in all of its aspects.  For example, I personally will not eat say, yoghurt, if it contains gelatine, even though I know that Dayan Grossnas found that it is acceptable and does not conflict with our dietary laws.  I also realise that some may interpret my reasoning as an excuse to start on the slippery slope of eating non-Kosher food.  I doubt it! 

The underlying principle should be that one should check out Standards and Integrity and not rely upon just ‘hope’.  Just as meat sold by supervised Kosher butchers occasionally turns out to be non-Kosher, so food which is marketed as “suitable for vegetarians" might occasionally be a misrepresentation.  But that’s life and we live in an imperfect world within which we must do our best. 

I believe that, if our Rabbis were to clarify the perimeters of kashrut then many people who, for various reasons, must eat out because of say, their livelihoods, and eat food mistakenly believing it to be inoffensive, would revert to eating cold food such as fruit, salads, smoked salmon, cheese etc., if the position were explained.

May 1998