Keeping Kosher

If the Sollisches don’t want to keep kosher anymore, that’s OK with me (“Life Without Pepperoni,” by Jim Sollisch, Metropolis, Jan. 4). Meat, however, becomes kosher not because it “has been prayed over by a rabbi” but because of meticulous attention to the painless slaughter of the animal, the removal of blood, inspection for diseased organs and protection from contamination. When Sollisch states, “Trust me, there’s no list of rules” in the Torah, he ignores Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, among other instructions.

Moreover, when he mocks what he perceives as a primitive religious order and extols his more enlightened gastronomic freedom, he perpetuates the classic medieval misinterpretation of Judaism. Yes, keeping kosher is a complex religious dispensation, not a casual menu choice, and it appears that Sollisch didn’t really understand what he was getting into. But rather than blame others (does advocating honoring religious obligations make his rabbi “Napoleonic”?), he might be more tolerant of those who find the kosher life both relevant and edifying.

Rabbi Dan Shevitz

Congregation Mishkon Tephilo

Venice