THE KIND OF KOSHER NEWS WE LIKE

  Category: General Topics

This week, Kosher Today carried a great story about the growth of kosher homes.

For your pleasure (and ours, too, for we love to keep reading the article), we reprint the article here………….

More Jews Setting Up Kosher Homes

(New York) It has become an almost weekly feature in many of the nation?s Jewish newspapers, stories about Jewish families setting up kosher kitchens. Retailers throughout the country say they see a significant rise in the number of Jewish consumers who go kosher. Chabad centers throughout the nation are increasingly being called upon to kosher kitchens. Contractors report adding sinks in many kitchens to provide for the separation of meat and dairy. Although there are no studies or surveys to provide specific numbers, there is growing anecdotal evidence that many Jewish families are making their homes kosher. Anna, a mother of 4, who lives in Milwaukee, says that going kosher for her was ?a way to reconnect with my grandmother, for whom kosher was so important.? A Conservative Jew, she says that while being serious about keeping a kosher home, she doesn?t think that she ?will become more religious otherwise.? Others see kosher as a right of passage to a more intense Jewish lifestyle. Various studies suggest that some 15% – 20% of America?s 5.3 million Jews keep kosher in one form or another. The number rises dramatically on the eve of Passover and the high holy days. Rabbis say that the choice of keeping a kosher home often translates to more observance as well. ?Once they have a kosher home, they begin thinking about the Sabbath and the blessings over food,? said one rabbi who koshers homes on Long Island. For retailers it is welcome news to know that the ranks of loyal kosher consumers are growing, this time from an unlikely source. While kosher has largely been associated with the Orthodox, both the Conservative and Reform movements have sought to increase the observance of kosher with some success. There appears to be more effort to institutionalize kosher in organized Jewish life and even the most secular Jewish groups are now taking steps to cater their events kosher.
***************
This is the kind of news we salute!