A happy, and kosher, simcha
THE AJN featured a discussion last week about the catering arrangements at functions for organisations related to Israel or the Jewish community.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, such functions are not always kosher catered -— a matter which, from the perspective of the rabbinate and the observant community, clearly requires redress.
Not raised in those discussions, however, is another issue. And that is the increasing number of private smachot that are not kosher catered. Even where participants seeking kosher food are given a kosher option, in the same manner as those who want only vegetarian food, the fact that such smachot marking lifecycle events are often not kosher needs to be on the communal agenda.
After all, if a bar or bat mitzvah function is intended to mark the entry of a young person into the  world of mitzvot, what purpose does it serve if the event itself is in breach of a fundamental tenet of Judaism?
Aside from involving others in a breach of halachah, including perhaps classmates whose parents did not realise the lack of kashrut at the function they allowed their children to attend, a non-kosher function hardly serves as an introduction to the world of Torah-based living, which after all is what Judaism, and bar and bat mitzvah, is about.
But, you may ask, what is kosher? Is a hechsher of a kashrut authority and the cost of a mashgiach really required? What is wrong with kosher style? Vegetarian? Seafood only, especially if it involves only kosher fish?
I would add that in instances where such options are adopted, there is often a feeling that perhaps one has at least made some concession to Jewish religious requirements.
Indeed, while clearly halachically insufficient, even from a halachic perspective, any move towards compliance rather than flagrant and total disregard of kashrut norms should not be discounted.
The reality, however, is that there is so much more to kashrut than excluding non-kosher meat or not mixing meat and milk.
Admittedly, many may not be concerned with what they see as minutiae. But an item containing only the kosher ingredients listed on its label may have its status compromised by being manufactured on a machine also used to prepare non-kosher products.
In the current era of a global economy where manufactured, often imported, products dominate the food market, only a properly supervised kashrut system and caterer can ensure absolute kashrut.
Additionally, many may not realise the lack of compliance with kashrut rules of what passes as “vegetarian” and that serving only kosher seafood is certainly no guarantee of kashrut. What else were the same dishes used for on other occasions? Here is not the place for details of these concerns, but there are many books and websites to which one might refer.
So if the community is concerned about such matters, what could be done?
The Orthodox Australian rabbinate adopted, in principle, a policy that a rabbi does not officiate where non-kosher food is served.
That policy could help in regard to weddings if, as tends to be the case, in Israel, the chuppah takes place at the reception venue. But in Australia this is so often not the case. And in regard to other smachot, such as bar and bat mitzvah, while a ceremony may take place in shul, the party is totally separate from the religious ceremony.
Additionally, gone are the days when one expected the rabbi to be the emcee at a reception, even to the extent of delaying mixed dancing out of respect. In reality, the chairing of a reception is a purpose for which a rabbi is not really required, but unfortunately, with this change of fashion, rabbinic standards of kashrut have also been allowed to lapse.
Is there a solution? Not a simple one. Cost reduction would undoubtedly help. Expense is so often heard as the excuse for not using a kosher caterer. So would a unified system of kashrut negate the sometimes heard answer that even it were kosher, some would still say it is not, so why should I bother?
But probably the only real solution — and it is not immediate — is education and continued reinforcement of what is or is not appropriate. And therein lies the challenge to the contemporary ¬≠rabbinate.
May we all attend many smachot -— and may they all be kosher.
Yossi Aron is The AJN’s religious affairs editor