Jewish Dietary Law Research Paper

David J. Marti
Dr. Carl
Religion 230
15 July 2010
Jewish Dietary Laws and the Rise of the Delicatessen in America In the Jewish culture, observing dietary laws has always meant living within boundaries. A great deal of self-discipline is required, and each person or household has to decide how stringently to apply the rules--or which set of rules to follow. This often means adapting to the standards of the community in which you or your guests live. One constant has always been the local delicatessen (aka deli). A place where the members of the Diaspora could feel a sense of inclusion while outside of their homes and not have to worry about breaking the laws of Kashrus. Talmudic law was interpreted differently among medieval communities,
However, even today, most Jews have developed their own traditions within their communities. Some wait four hours after eating chicken, five hours after meat. Some start counting the wait time after saying blessings, some start counting as soon as they've swallowed the last bite of meat. This depends on the branch of Judaism and the individual’s level of observancy. (Joselit) With dairy foods, the wait time between dairy and meat is minimal. This is based on [the Talmudic tractate] Chullin 105a, where it says, "How long must one wait between cheese and flesh? And he replied, Nothing at all." (Dresner, Seigel, and Polloock ) Still, you should eat something like bread to effectively wipe your mouth of any milky taste, and you should rinse your mouth and wash your hands. The delicatessen, is a treasured temple of scuffed formica, sawdust floors, and nose ticking garlic aroma. (Sax) The deli’s once, (like the shtetl like neighborhoods they existed in), numbered in the thousands, today there are scarcely a hundred of the true traditional classics. They remain scattered around the Diaspora standing as reminders where we came from and where we as Jews, are
It says to me that they only make a few things, but they make them well. No Rueben on the menu? This is a good thing. It tells me that the owner is proud of his meat and doesn’t believe it is warranted to muddle its deliciousness with cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ruebens and other smorgasbord-type sandwiches with different combinations of meat, cheese, toppings, and condiments. Shoot, even put some French fries in there if you like – delicious! But if I am fortunate enough to find myself lunching in a quality deli, I always order one of two things – either a pile of smoked meat or a pile of corned beef, sliced thick and sandwiched between two slices of plain rye bread (no caraway seeds). (Sax) This is what the deli is and was meant to