Kosher Kitchens and Calls to Prayer

I’ve always heard of Kosher but I began to realize this was going to mean more than just “no pork.” During our 5 hour layover at JFK airport in New York, I began to see person after person and families of Hasidic (orthodox) Jews. They were obvious because the men were all dressed in black suits, black hats, and some had long beards along with long, curled side-locks. The women looked fairly ordinary but were all wearing skirts, long sleeves and tights. I even marveled at a little boy who couldn’t have been more than 4, dressed in his green striped rugby pajamas for the long flight ahead, complete with his kipa (skull cap) and tzitzit (the ritual fringes decorating the prayer shawl that Hasidic men and boys wear, often under the coats or, in this case, their pajamas!). I could see that if these Hasidic Jews were as serious about their Kosher food as they were about their clothes, this was going to mean a lot more than just giving up bacon on our trip…and I was right.

Arriving at Neal and Ruby’s condo, the first thing I noticed was the kitchen drawers and cabinets marked “Dairy” or “Meat.” This was a Kosher kitchen which meant separate utensils, plates, pots and pans were to be used for meat and dairy. Even the separate sides of the sink were to be used to wash meat and dairy dishes, etc., separately. Meat and dairy were also to be kept on separate shelves of the refrigerator. So, we had to be careful which shelf we put our leftover pizza from lunch on!

At the same time I’m trying to process all the Kosher rules, I hear one of 5 daily calls to prayer from the loudspeakers of the nearby minarets (tall towers) of several mosques.
How strange, I thought…Jews and Muslims living side by side equally passionate about their traditions yet worlds apart in their theology….today’s tour of Jerusalem magnified this reality and gave a window into the history of the turmoil these two people groups experience now and have experienced for thousands of years.

Shalom,
Lisa