Uncharacteristically, there was quite a line at the fish counter at Whole Foods. While waiting, I tried to make small talk with the person in front of me, and asked what she was planning to order. “Shrimp,” she said. I told her that I was waiting to order Norwegian salmon, and mentioned that I could never eat shrimp.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not kosher.”
“Oh, kosher. I heard of it, but I don’t know anything about it. Why can’t you eat shrimp?”
“It’s one of the forbidden species. There are certain types of food that aren’t kosher.”
“I love shrimp. I can’t imagine anyone not eating shrimp. What could be wrong with eating shrimp?”
“There’s nothing wrong with shrimp. It’s just forbidden, if you’re Jewish.”
“It doesn’t seem to make sense. What difference is there between one food and another?”
“There really isn’t a difference. Actually, kosher isn’t supposed to ‘make sense.’ Some of the laws of Judaism do make sense. For example, not to commit murder. It’s rational. But other laws don’t have a reason.”
“So why would you follow them?”
“Spiritual discipline. I can’t tell you that it makes a difference to G-d whether I eat shrimp or not, but it makes a difference to me.”
“Now that really doesn’t make sense!”
“It makes a difference to me because G-d commanded it, whatever His reasons might be. When G-d commands something, it creates a frame. When I keep kosher I step into the frame. It’s a holy frame. You have to do it to get it.”
“I don’t get it.”
“There’s no reason you should. We don’t believe others have to live like us to be good people. But — I don’t want to be presumptuous, we don’t even know each other — the chances are that you also do things that don’t make sense. You fly on airplanes, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course. What’s that got to do with it?”
“To fly is purely an act of faith. There are thousands, probably tens of thousands, of pieces that have to work for any plane to fly safely. You can’t know if they’re all working right. You’re relying on the systems in place and the integrity of the maintenance people and the government regulations. It’s pure faith. And that’s not even taking into account that you assume the pilots are healthy and rested. But you fly. You probably don’t give it a second thought. You have faith you’ll be safe.”
“That’s true. I never thought of it that way.”
“So, I have faith that if G-d commanded Jews not to eat certain foods, He had a reason. He doesn’t give a reason, but He does give the results: a feeling of holiness.”
“Now you’ve really lost me. What is ‘holiness’? Maybe I should apologize, but it sounds like mumbo jumbo.”
“I think you know this too. You know holiness. It’s based on distinctions, certain things you can eat and certain things you can’t — and I’m certain there’s certain things you would never do.”
“Absolutely true. I have my code.”
“Kosher is a Divine code. By staying on one side of the line, I have holiness. I can’t imagine my life having integrity without it.
“But my code is different. It’s right and wrong. That’s different.”
“It is different. But it still sets you apart from certain things. You feel much better, even purer, I would guess, when you don’t violate your code, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, the kosher code also gives a special feeling, because it comes from G-d. It’s a way of coming close to G-d, which is what holiness is.”
“I think I’m going to stick with my shrimp.”
“No problem. Judaism is for Jews. We’re not looking for converts, though we don’t reject them, either.”
“I don’t know how many places we’ve each lost in line by now — but thanks for the conversation. I learned something, although I’m definitely sticking with my shrimp.”
“I appreciate your willingness to listen.”
“I won’t feel any guilt when I savor my shrimp. But I will think about why not everybody does.”
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