Raised in a Conservative Jewish home with Orthodox grandparents, I was fortunate to grow up with two perspectives on many religious topics.
Hebrew studies for my bar mitzvah were done after public school and continued into Hebrew high school. As I got older, I studied with an Orthodox Rabbi on the Torah and its laws.
Because of this, I must take issue with the op-ed written in the Florida Jewish Journal titled “Keeping kosher in South Florida” by Michael Isaacson.
According to Isaacson, Orthodox laws refined in the early 1800s remain unchanged today. He goes on to criticize a deli in Boca Raton that is kosher and employs a mashgiach, but stays open on their busiest day for many of their Jewish and non-Jewish clientele.
A good number of Orthodox synagogues will start services at 6/6:30 a.m. on the Sabbath and end at 8:30 a.m. so that the members can open their shops on their busiest day of the week.
Modern Judaism should complement your life, not throw a noose over it.
I belong to the largest conservative shul in Florida. We have members that lean toward Orthodoxy and those who stand in the middle. Many agree that we must move forward with religion to encompass our ever-changing modern world.
Most of the congregants I know who keep kosher, will go out to a restaurant, and to the Boca deli.
Isaacson also wrote about the rule of selling your business to a gentile before Shabbos and buying it back. This is another ridiculous statement that has its idea rooted in antiquity and has no place in modern Judaism.
He then goes on to say that a woman asked what she should do with her pet that does not have pesadik food. She was informed that she should sell her pet to a gentile and then buy it back after Passover or that the pet could stay in the garage since it is technically not in the house. The kosher laws were written for human beings and in no way do they apply to any pet that lives in the home.
While I do agree that kosher food should not be sold at such steep prices, the idea that Glatt foods are better is nonsense. It’s only another way for a market to get more profits. In my early career in the food business, I saw Kosher and Glatt chicken being processed. It’s all the same.
Fresh Passover products should be brought into a market, replacing the current product on the shelves. I have seen reputable vendors come into a market and place KLP stickers on many products.
Isaacson writes, “if you are concerned, as I am, that our synagogues and temples are growing emptier by the year and that too many shuls are merging with each other to stay open for worship, then you must challenge religious shenanigans perpetrated in the name of shallow piety or financial greed.” I disagree. Synagogues have to modernize and adhere to changing beliefs.
Young Jews do not want to accept ideology that does not pertain to modern times. Some Shuls are stuck in a time warp and their old philosophy is the cause for their smaller congregations. The shul that I belong to has a great young rabbi who is attracting new members with exciting programs. Let’s embrace new programs that will attract our young to want to participate and enjoy our ancient culture.
Marvin V. Schulman lives in Boca Raton and is an active member of the local Jewish community. He was the CEO/President and owner of The Star Silk & Woolen Co., a textile and dry goods company, before his retirement in 2018.
