Socrates was not Jewish, but given that he was “the great questioner,” he should have honorary status in my religion. A dinner over hot dogs at a kosher restaurant yesterday with a Chasidic Jewish person brought up more questions than answers, as is often the case. This individual not only has a deep knowledge of Jewish texts and laws, but can more than hold his own when discussing football, the stock market, and politics. Things took a turn towards the deeply philosophical last night when discussing issues concerning pork products.
Jews are forbidden from eating pork. This is black and white. What is gray is what happens when the issue does not involve eating the pig. For instance, what are the rules about even walking into a restaurant where pork products might be served? Some would argue that the person should not even be in the restaurant, lest they be seen. Others would be willing to sit their with their friends, but not eat anything. Still others would be willing to drink Coca Cola, which is universally known as kosher, but not eat any food. Yet still others would eat a salad, or some french fries, but not eat any meat, especially not pork. Arguments can be made that bacon grease could spill from the vat containing the pork onto the fries, or even spill near the soda dispenser where the sodas are kept.
I once saw a man wearing a yamulkah (Jewish skullcap) eating at McDonalds. I hesitantly approached hi and asked him very gingerly if he would be willing to remove his yamulkah while in the establishment. He immediately agreed to do so, and thankfully for me, his clear understanding of why I made the request prevented any awkwardness. If somebody sees him in this manner, they will assume that McDonalds is a kosher establishment, where religious Jews can eat. I thanked him, and told him that I left my skullcap in my car for this reason. Some would say I should have tried to persuade him not to eat there at all, but I did not feel approaching that line.
One major thing that separates Judaism from radical Islam is the notion that Jewish law only applies to Jews. If a Rabbi sees a non-Jewish individual eating bacon, there is no objection. There is no reason to try and convince the Christian to stop, because no laws are being violated. Unlike Sharia Law, Judaism stops at the Jewish religion’s edge.
Where things become incredibly murky is when the connection between the Jew and the hog is indirect. Is it inappropriate to have a stock portfolio that contains companies that deal in pork? Is a religious observant Jew required to divest his portfolio of stock in McDonalds and other companies that sell products that violate Jewish law? We routinely hear about divesting our mutual funds from companies that sponsor terrorism, but is human life at stake when Jewish law is threatened? I honestly do not know.
What about a Jewish person becoming a hog farmer? The individual is “trafficking” in pork, but is marketing, selling, and distributing hogs tantamount to eating them? If I sell a gun to a reputable person, who then in turn sells it to a criminal, am I liable? No. My sale was reputable. So if I sell my product to McDonalds, am I responsible if other Jews eat there? Am I contributing to violations?
The conversation with this Chasidic fellow reached its deepest point with an issue that is only recently becoming relevant…bomb sniffing pigs. Yes, Hogs are now being used by the Israeli military and police forced to root out terrorism and homicide bombers. The pigs seem to be equally if not more effective than bomb sniffing dogs. Initially the Israeli government resisted using pigs, until common sense won out. The pigs were not being eaten, but used to save Jewish lives.
So what happens if a Jewish individual sees that an excellent idea in terms of entrepreneurship would be to become a hog farmer. If he raises and sells them only to the Israeli Government solely for the purposes of sniffing bombs, with stipulations in the contract that they can only be eaten after being sold to non-Jewish businesses, is this acceptable? If the hog farmer has the Israeli Government as his main client, but also McDonalds as well, then what? Does the saving of lives overrule the consumption aspect?
Israel is a major front for fighting back in the War on Terror. Therefore, I believe that getting them as many pigs as possible should be encouraged. Yes, there is a risk that it could lead to more Jews consuming bacon, but perhaps that concern can be alleviated, and perhaps not. When a famous Rabbi was told to eat a pig in front of his congregation or be executed, he chose to death. When he was told he could press the pig against his lips and pretend to eat it, he again chose death. Sacrificing his own life was deemed more important than killing an entire religion.
Assimilation is not going away. It is a constant struggle. Sending tons and tons of creatures used to make bacon will only make things tougher on the large segment of the Jewish community that finds keeping kosher to be a tough accomplishment requiring intense discipline. It could cause more people not to keep kosher.
Having said that, winning the War on Terror must be paramount. I am more afraid of homicide bombers than bacon. Besides, if the pigs are used appropriately, they will be too valuable as terror warriors against homicide bombers to ever become bacon anyway. If it is acceptable to use them, it should be acceptable to grow them. It is becoming big business, and too lucrative to consider not doing just because of theological questions that are far from definitively against this practice.
eric