Here's a complex question put very simply: is kosher wine prejudicial? Argue both sides.
Do you buy the argument--put forth by Laude and Postrel--that Israeli wine-making and -buying "should be seen as an expression of Zionism"? ("Wine: Our Symbol of Joy," Sacred Table, pg. 341. In what way(s) is it and in what way(s) is it not a legitimate claim?
Why all the fuss about wine but not about liquor? What's at stake in the kashrut of libations anyway?
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It is ON!
Welch's for Pesah? " Welch's Teams With Manischewitz in Battle Over Kosher Grape Juice " (NPR, 10/10/17)
2 comments:
“Rabbi Dorff points out that many Jews who otherwise observe the laws of kashrut drink rabbinically uncertified wine, illustrating that, regardless of the halakhic status of non-kosher wine, the prohibition has fallen into disuse. He argues that this fact should simply be recognized and allowed to be.”
I think this week’s readings crossed the line for me. It seems to me like a great waste of time to spin halakhah this way and that in pursuit of primarily suggesting that you are so much better than everyone else. So yes, I find the basic notions of kosher wine to go too far with regards to creating a prejudice. The gentiles are not idolaters and the less stringently observant Jews are not heretics. We should be able to drink wine, kosher or non-kosher, in pursuit of the pleasure it provides as suggested by Jewish tradition. I’m with Rabbi Dorff on this one – sometimes it makes the most sense to move on.
And speaking of spinning halakhah around, I may never think about liquor in quite the same way again after reading the Star-K certification. I spend lots of time thinking about the additives in my food but not my cocktails. I really don’t want to think about fish swim bladders (and especially if they are kosher or not) when I’m having a beer. And really, does it matter that much?
I don't think I will ever be able to buy Kosher wine again, because it seems so highly prejudicial. It's not really designed for anyone's handling or consumption except the strictly Orthodox. Whenever invited to a Shabbat dinner, I always bring wine and go out of my way to make a decent kosher selection. Now that I am more educated on the reasons and the process of making kosher wine, I think I am inclined to go out of my way not to buy it. As I was reading the article, I was thinking about what my non-Jewish friends and family would have to say about kosher wine and I now realize that it is a purchase that I wouldn't want to try and justify. I see why it might have been forbidden in ancient times, but those reasons are not applicable in modern day.
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