I have a job interview tomorrow. In Jerusalem, about 1 hour away from where I live.
The guy wants me to meet him at a coffee place called Aroma. This is a Starbucks type chain in Israel. Out of all the Aroma branches in Jerusalem, he picks the one that is not kosher.
I keep kosher. One of the nice things about being in Israel is not having to worry about it so much. I mean, in Jerusalem, there are kosher places everywhere. The meeting is very near Hebrew University; I would call the guy and ask if there was somewhere else we could meet (someplace kosher), but I don’t know the area well enough. For all I know this is the only place there!
This is actually a good sign. It means that your prospective employer is tolerant of all faiths and therefore of much more. I mean, how do you know that your interviewer isn’t Christian? Or Muslim? Or Hindu?
And I totally grok that, but is the prohibition against going there, or just you personally eating meat and dairy that hasn’t been seperated? Have a muffin or something. Or is this more about the not eating food that may have been prepared by idolaters?
This is Israel - as I mentioned in another post a few seconds ago, lunch in Israel is a very big deal. I would not be surprised in the least if he offered to buy me lunch. Many businesses here either pay for lunch every day for their employees, or give them discount tickets to area eateries.
Suppose I’m visiting Israel (or for that matter, Afghanistan, Jordan, or Morocco), and I get a real hankering for some BBQ’d pork ribs. How hard would I have to look for a place that would serve that to me?
Does this mean it’s not kosher to eat like a ham and cheese sandwich? Honest, serious question. I honestly thought kosher was only in regards to meat and how the animal was slaughtered.
It’s because a kitchen that serves both and isn’t overseen by a Rabbi could be using the same dishes for milk and meat, or for other non-kosher things. There’s no guarantee things aren’t getting mixed up in the back.
It has nothing to do with who is making or serving it.
Tel Aviv has many eateries that serve pork, shellfish, etc. Pork in Israel is called basar lavan, which literally means “white meat.” It’s not that hard to find outside of Jerusalem, unfortunately.
Why is it bad that it’s not hard to find? Wouldn’t it be a good thing that there is a market for clearly labeled pork? If it was difficult to find, wouldn’t there be a greater danger of dishonest restaurants sneaking it into food without telling anybody? Better to have it out in the open, so people can avoid it.
Ham is not kosher, even if it’s in delicious sammich form. Pork is bad.
Kosher laws cover not only animal slaughter, but what types of animals you may eat (pork, shellfish, and other things are forbidden) how they are to be prepared (there must be separate sets of cookware and plates for meat and dairy products) and how it is served (meat and dairy products must be strictly separated.)
It is extremely complicated and ridiculous, and only the truly devout manage to put up with it.
Doesn’t bother me any. What’s worse is when the interviewer’s cell phone rings during the interview, he answers, and it’s his wife or mother. Then he proceeds to have a 10 minute conversation with her before continuing with the interview. I don’t recall that ever happening in the states, but things here are much less formal. I have not worn a tie for close to two years!
Does this mean it’s not kosher to eat like a ham and cheese sandwich? Honest, serious question. I honestly thought kosher was only in regards to meat and how the animal was slaughtered.