For the Love of All That is Holy: Reform Judaism’s Food Initiative

Those who know me know I love food.  I am one of those who “live to eat” rather than “eat to live.”  But, my love for food goes beyond my passion to eat.  For me, eating (and I mean eating a meal) is a social experience that involves the way the food is served as well as prepared.  It includes the company and the conversation around the table and how the table is prepared before the food ever arrives. This is why our monthly Shabbat meals before the service are so important to me.

Why do I share this with you now? Because, having just celebrated Sukkot and in anticipation of November, food is on my mind. I love this time of year.  The apples are so fresh.  The root vegetables are ready for picking, the wheat and grain, in all their fullness, sway in the fall breeze and the smell of the turned soil fills my senses. My mouth waters in anticipation of Thanksgiving, and being surrounded by family and friends, sharing laughs, good conversation and most of all an amazingly gorgeous and glorious meal.

Yes! Food is on my mind, and, as such, my thoughts also take me back to Rabbi Yaffie’s (President of the Union of Reform Judaism) sermon at the biennial in Toronto two years ago. In the first part of that sermon he called on the movement to initiate standards of Reform Kashrut.

You might think this is not an issue for Reform Jews.  After all, didn’t Reform Judaism abandon the laws of kashrut decades ago?  Isn’t Reform Judaism predicated on prophetic law and not rabbinic law?  I can hear some of you saying: “Where’s the Reform Judaism I grew up with and love?”  And, I can appreciate where that question comes from.  However, Reform Judaism has never stopped evolving.  And, given how all indicators tell us that we are going to have to double our food production by the year 2050 in order to keep up with anticipated population growth, there is good reason to give this initiative serious consideration.

So, what is Reform Koshrut?  Perhaps, the best way to start answering that question is by stating what it is not.  It is not a move to embrace rabbinical (halachic) guidelines, per say.  It is, however, based on contemporary ethical and environmental concerns.  To quote Rabbi Yaffie:

·      Let’s make use of eco-friendly cleaning supplies and avoid plastic and paper plates.

·      Let’s make a Jewish decision to reduce significantly the amount of red meat that we eat. There are urgent and compelling reasons to do so. This is not a call for vegetarianism, or for asceticism. Judaism is not an ascetic tradition. …But meat consumption in North America has doubled in the last fifty years, and we can easily make do with far less red meat than we currently eat. And we must. The meat industry today generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change throughout the world.

·      Let’s find a way to eat that is right for the farm workers, right for the planet, right for our bodies and right for our souls. Let’s find a way, as Reform Jews, to elevate every bite that we place in our mouths and make it a taste of the divine.

This month I’m going to be exploring this issue in my Adult Ed. class on Saturday November 11 at morning at 10:00.  To introduce the subject I’ll be showing the documentary: “Divine Food: 100 Years in the Kosher Delicatessen Trade.  Afterward, we will look at rabbinic and contemporary Jewish text that will help us unpack the complexities and the relevance of this issue.  I sincerely hope you will join us.