You Can’t Make Me Eat Kosher!
The home I grew up in New Jersey was kept kosher. We even had multiple sets of dishes, in order to keep the dairy food away from the meat.
That is not to say that we never ate non-kosher food. On the contrary! We ate out a lot and adored Chinese (a Jewish tradition!), Italian, Stewart’s, McDonald’s, and lots of other stuff.
Yesterday I publicly expressed my love of lobster. I felt a bit funny, as shellfish are not considered kosher. In fact, I never tasted lobster until I arrived in Boston for college in the mid- 1970s. After trying lobster, I ate scallops, clams, oysters, pork and ham.
Let’s just say I’m no longer kosher and haven’t eaten kosher since I was a kid.
Tell me, what was once a big part of YOUR life that is no longer? Is there something you’ve given up or changed? Are you a lapsed Catholic? A newly hatched Buddhist?
July 12th, 2007 at 11:24 am
Interesting how some traditions/prohibitions live on, despite no longer being part of one’s religious outlook. I still eat fish on many a Friday, even though that hasn’t been part of the proscribed Catholic ritual for quite a few years now.
I remember going to a Jewish friend’s house when I was a teen and being given a lovely sandwich; perhaps roast beef. When I was asked what I’d like to drink with it, I said, “Milk, please.”
(I drank milk with every meal. My grandfather, as you may recall, was a milkman.)
My friend got this horrible look on her face and she sort of peeked into the living room, where her parents were watching TV. She poured me a glass, but seemed very worried. I asked her what the problem was and she explained that her parents liked to keep kosher. I ate the sandwich and drank the milk, but I didn’t know if her parents would go ballistic if they saw me, so I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I otherwise might have.
July 12th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Suldog: I grew up in a very Catholic town. Fish on a Friday is such a strong tradition there! Your story about having the sandwich and milk at your friend’s house reminds me of a similar story I have. I was visiting a neighbor and she served me a roast beef sandwich on white bread, and the bread was BUTTERED! I was completely grossed out by it. I could barely eat that darned sandwich, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I tried! That’s how strong my kosher conditioning was.
July 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I think the closest I come to this is that I used to hate pickles and mustard, and now I love them. My grandparents used to let me eat jam off of the spoon, but thats a whole other story about my thighs…
July 12th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Hmm, a big part of my life…not so much. I did used to go to church when I was young (parents raised me Protestant but my dad was originally Jewish, and we weren’t very religious about any of our religions). Now I’m an official heathen agnostic and don’t attend church, a situation that has been the case for years although I did used to at least make it to church on Easter and Christmas. About 5 years ago we stopped even doing that.
By the way, I nominated you for a Rockin’ Girl Blogger award on my site!
July 12th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Can I have an opposite issue? When I move up to Boston to live with my boyfriend, it will be a big change for me because he is Orthodox, and fasts strictly for Easter, Christman, and about 9 million other things through the year. Now I think fasting is kind of silly, but I know I’ll probably have to start doing it to a certain extent just so we aren’t cooking 2 different meals all the time. And it isn’t just meat! They don’t even eat cheese! This is going to suck.
July 12th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Oh, Taylor. You’ve gotten yourself into a real pickle. He’s Orthodox, like Greek Orthodox? Russian Orthodox? Anyway, it sounds tough. It’s like dating a vegan. Very, very difficult. No cheese? What’s with that?
July 12th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Good story…Ive had Jewish friends and none of them were willing to keep kosher once they got out from under their family’s thumb..Sounds like a lot of hassle.
But I have had some Jewish cooking and it’s mighty tasty!
I do recall our school served fish on Friday for the Catholics, which was ok,cause I like fish.
My mother made us go to church (Methodist) growing up. I found it boring as watching grass grow and when I got old enough to stand up to her,I stopped going to church.
I’m an atheist,always was,always will be.
I’m sure my mother was disappointed both her kids were atheists, as she worked real hard to make us into Christians, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
July 12th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Friday was swordfish dinner..I HATED swordfish, then it was fish stix and somehow I got lentils. I LOVE lentils. Now i can’t eat anything good because of health issues, but I still wouldn’t eat swordfish.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I was once fairly strongly evangelical. I don’t know what I am now? Agnostic? Atheist? I just don’t know.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
WC: It is a hassle keeping kosher. It pretty much boxes you out of ever trying some really interesting international cuisine.
Rosemary: Swordfish and then fish sticks then lentils. What a progression.
Anvil: To move from evangelical to agnostic or atheist. You sound like a very passionate person.
July 13th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Since we are on the Catholic thing, I was raised Catholic but left because I didn’t like the religion in so many ways. Anyway, I started to go to a Congregational Church. I mentioned to the minister that I was a former Catholic and he said that was OK, so is he and so is she, and so on to half the people in the room.
On another note, a past tradition on Christmas Eve, my mother is Lithuanian and on Christmas Eve we had a traditional meal with Fish, Cabbage Soup and some vegetables. We stopped doing that when my parents moved to Florida.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Sounds like a lot of hassle.
Only if it isn’t meaningful to you.
July 14th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Jack: Absolutely.
July 14th, 2007 at 10:43 am
I call myself a renegade Catholic — have been that way for years! Growing up in a Catholic-Methodist household will do that. I still fast on Friday — I like fish and it’s good for you so it isn’t a problem. But sometimes I forget. lol The good Lord, I’m sure , can check my curriculum vitae and find better reasons to send me to Purgatory than a hot dog on Friday
Did you ever hear George Carlin’s “I used to Be an Irish Catholic” from his Class Clown album? It’s a classic I identify with.
July 14th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Kay, I forget. Is eating fish on Friday considered ‘fasting’? Never heard that Carlin routine.