Keeping kosher or not keeping NJ kosher in contemporary Denmark
Johan Fischer
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30752/nj.77168
Abstract • The Hebrew termkosher means ‘fit’ or ‘proper’ and it traditionally signifies foods that conform to Jewish dietary law (kashrut). This article explores how kosher is understood, practised and contested in contemporary Denmark. In recent years, the rules regulating kosher consumption have been supplemented by elaborate rules concerning globalised mass production, which have had an impact on the way people handle questions of kashrut. During the same period, global markets for kosher have proliferated; this article explores the everyday kosher consumption among Jews in Denmark in the light of these transformations. Everyday kosher consumption among a minority group such as Jews in Denmark is not well understood, and I argue that globalised forms of regula- tion increasingly condition this type of consumption. Even though Denmark is a small and relatively secular country and Jews comprise only about 7,000 individuals, kosher production and regulation have national economic significance. Methodologically, I build on ethnographic data from contemporary Denmark, that is, participant observation and interviews.
Introduction been dominant in the global kosher market since the 1990s. The research question here is This article explores the everyday kosher con- how do Jews in Denmark practise everyday kosher sumption among Jews in Denmark in the consumption in light of increasingly globalised context of the globalised mass production forms of regulation? This article forms part of and regulation of kosher products that have a larger research project that compares kosher taken place over the last couple of decades or and halal (in Arabic literally ‘lawful’ or ‘permit- so. Kosher consumption of Jews in Denmark ted’ in Islam) in Denmark and the UK. is not well understood, and I argue that glo- The methodology of this study is based on balised forms of kosher regulation impact participant observation and interviews under- the way people handle kashrut. I understand taken in 2015–16 with religious organisations/ globalised forms of kosher regulation in rela- schools, companies/shops/restaurants and tion to the way in which five transnational most importantly with Jewish middle-class kosher certification agencies – Orthodox consumers. This included fieldwork in eight Union (OU), OK Kosher Certification Jewish households (five of which have been (OK), Kosher Certification and Supervision included here) in and around Copenhagen. (KOF-K), Star-K (Kosher Certification) and These were selected to obtain a good represent- Chicago Rabbinical Council (CRC) – have ative spread within the middle-class segment
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Nordisk46 judaistik • ScandinavianNordisk Jewish judaistik Studies • |Scandinavian Vol. 30, No. 2Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No.46 2 in terms of age, gender and social differentia- and species of animals. Thus, kosher signifies tion more broadly. My research strategy and the classification of permissible and prohibited methodologies allowed me to explore how foodstuffs with a special focus on meat. kosher is understood, practised and contested The term kosher is also widely used to desig- by producers, traders, regulators and consumers nate the ‘rabbinic properness’ of food production, in contemporary Denmark. regulation and consumption (Ivry 2010: 662). In Following this introduction, modern kosher globalised and industrialised mass production of principles and practices are discussed. Then the food and food ingredients, considerable effort paper engages with theories about transna- goes into avoiding any cross-contamination tional governmentality and food practices that or mixing kosher and non-kosher ingredients help explain how the Big Five and smaller (Fischer 2018). As we shall see, standardisa- certifiers govern global kosher regulation and tion plays an important role in these processes. the impact this has on Jewish food practices. Even though global kosher production has The second part of the paper is ethnographic; been regulated since the 1990s, the need for it is introduced by a historical discussion of Jewish oversight or ‘handling’ remains essential kosher in Denmark. The next section explores and inspections by rabbis show that principles kosher practices among the Jews of Denmark. and practices only become compatible dur- The conclusion ties the findings of the article ing inspections. In kashrut, contamination, together and reflects on the emergence of mil- transport and traceability (for a product to be lennial kosher capitalism. kosher all ingredients must also be traceable as What is kosher? kosher throughout the supply chain) have been important issues that require supervision. In Kosher law is ultimately the application of a the everyday lives of fastidious Jews, it is also system of religious precepts and beliefs that important to have separate sets of utensils for govern the types of foods that people of the milk and meat. At Passover or Pesach, a major Jewish faith eat. This system is based on a Jewish festival that commemorates the exodus number of verses found in the Bible, rabbinic from Egypt, special rules apply, as we shall see biblical exegesis, ordinances as presented in in the ethnographic section below. the Talmud (the written record of the oral law From the 1990s onwards the Big Five kosher as redacted in the sixth to seventh centuries), certification agencies have largely dominated and the writings and decisions of later rabbinic the global kosher market. Important issues in authorities. Kashrut is integral to Jewish reli- the literature on kosher concern how regula- gious law (halacha) and includes a number of tion in the form of certification, legislation prohibitions such as a ban on pork, the mixing and inspections was tightened as a response to of milk and meat and a prescribed method of increased consumer awareness among Jewish slaughter. Meat only qualifies as kosher if the groups on a global scale. The proliferation of animal is slaughtered using appropriate shechita kosher production meant that it was no longer methods as interpreted through rabbinic com- exclusively Jews who were in charge of pro- mentaries and customary practices. It is central duction and this strengthened the need for to this process that the blood is drained as fully regulation by trustworthy certifying bodies. as possible. Most Jews only consider meat from Standardised practices unstunned animals to be kosher. Moreover, fish must have fins and scales. Central concepts in Busch (2000) argues that standards are part of kosher laws are related to acceptable plants the moral economy of the modern world that
Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 47 set norms for behaviour and create uniformity. other areas – for example, ‘health’ and ‘spir- This point is important for the emergence and ituality’. Moreover, food practices condition expansion of global and moral kosher markets. and are themselves conditioned by the learn- The concept of transnational governmentality ing of new tastes, handbooks and manuals (Ferguson and Gupta 2002) elucidates how on eating and cultural intermediaries, as well new practices of government and new forms as controversies in popular judgements and of ‘grassroots’ politics are being established on justification. In contemporary secular Europe a global scale. Examples include new strate- significant religious observance coexists with gies of discipline and regulation, exemplified a proliferation of well-advertised specialised by kosher regulation and standards, but also diets, that is, it is a feature of the modern transnational alliances forged by activists and world that many options associated with grassroots organisations and the proliferation religious conviction, health concerns, politi- of voluntary organisations supported by com- cal commitment and aesthetic consideration plex networks of international and transna- coexist and overlap. tional funding and personnel. The outsourcing In this sense kosher consumption encom- of the functions of the state to NGOs and pass issues such as ‘nutrition’ and ‘spiritual- other ostensibly non-state agencies is a key ity’ (Coveney 2000). For modern consumers, feature, not only of the operation of national ‘nutrition’ functions as both a scientific and a states, but also of an emerging system of spiritual/ethical discipline. It serves this dual transnational governmentality. These political function by providing a range of scientific entities are integral parts of a transnational knowledge about food and the body as ‘spir- apparatus of governmentality. It is necessary itual’ disciplines: spiritual here not only means to treat state and non-state governmentality theological, but also refers to the means by within a common frame and as an ethno- which individuals are required to construct graphic problem. themselves with a ‘correct’ concern for the Warde (2016) observes that agribusiness, ‘proper’ way of behaving in relation to eating. sustained economic growth, multinational Food practices are subject to direction, coordi- companies and ever greater international nation and regulation by different (secular/reli- trade have not only transformed the economic gious) stakeholders and texts that are dedicated foundations of Western diets, but also created to describing and prescribing proper eating possibilities of eating in much more varied practices. Contemporary and historical social ways. In short, food systems experience the environments, institutions and organisations effects of globalisation, which is essential in thus condition compound eating practices in understanding contemporary kosher practices. Denmark. Drawing on practice-theoretical approaches, Kosher in context Warde sees eating as a type of cultural con- sumption inseparable from aesthetics and eve- The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of ryday life. Most importantly, perhaps, I am Denmark is the dominant church/religion in inspired by the term ‘compound practice’ that the country, but even so Denmark is charac captures the complexity of eating in the inter- terised by religious diversity. Arguably the sections between different levels of the social room for accommodating religious diversity scale. Compound practices are shaped by the in Denmark is premised on a particular con- sharing of practices among family members, figuration of secularity dominated by the state- for example, and are subject to ‘pressures’ from supported Evangelical-Lutheran church. Most
48 Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 important, however, is the widely held and Messiah. Rabbi Yitzi and Rochel Loewenthal strongly embedded popular perception that the are Chabad emissaries in Copenhagen. public sphere is strictly secular, while Denmark Chabad arranges Torah study sessions as well stands out as being highly secular and highly as Kabbalah and kosher cooking classes and non-secular at the same time, that is, state and Yitzi expounds the importance of a particular church are tightly intertwined (Nielsen 2014). consciousness of one’s connection with the Ethnic Danes are less likely to favour an active divine (Buckser 2003; 2005). accommodation of religious diversity because The majority of sources on Judaism in they consider themselves to be highly secular Denmark are Danish and they focus on the – they consider religion to be a private mat- earlier history of Danish Jews and their migra- ter that should not be explicitly or publicly tion to Denmark (Bamberger 1983; Blum 1973; accommodated beyond the legal right to prac- Blüdnikov 1986; Jørgensen 1984). Very little tise one’s religion (Nielsen 2014). In effect, this is written about keeping kosher in Denmark means that issues relating to Judaism and Islam and there are virtually no academic sources on such as religious slaughter or circumcision are the significant transformation of the kosher hotly debated topics. While halal has a strong market within the last couple of decades or public presence in urban public spaces such as so. The standard work on modern Judaism and the neighbourhood Nørrebro in Copenhagen kosher in Denmark is Andrew Buckser’s After this is not the case with kosher. In general, the Rescue: Jewish Identity and Community in pork and shellfish are integrated parts of the Denmark (2003; see also Buckser 1999; 2005). diet among ethnic Danes. The Jewish community of Denmark is charac Jewish migration to Denmark started in the terised by institutional integrity as the com- 1700s and today there are about 7,000 Jews in munity has a long history of integration in Denmark (Ahlin et al. 2012: 410). The main- the country and the synagogue in central stream Jewish organisation in Denmark is Det Copenhagen is a natural gathering point. Jødiske Samfund (The Jewish Community) that However, fragmentation among its members maintains a synagogue in central Copenhagen. is also visible, that is, disagreement about The Jewish Community has about 2,400 mem- boundaries of the community, ritual practice bers and a chief rabbi (Borup and Fibiger 2015: and operation of Jewish institutions or kosher 57) and it is the central organisation involved practice (Buckser 2003). The religious authority in kosher supervision in Denmark. of rabbis in Copenhagen is now challenged by Orthodox Judaism is by no means extinct global influences (Buckser 2003: 53) and it is in Denmark and since 1996 Chabad, an ortho- in this context that kosher understanding and dox Jewish Hasidic movement, has been estab- practice should be seen. For example, kosher lished in Copenhagen. Chabad is a Hasidic certification by the Big Five competes with revival movement based in Brooklyn with a that of the Danish rabbinate. focus on the study of religious texts as well Buckser (2003: 21–51) identifies six periods as an emotional experience of the divine. The in the history of Danish Jewry. Early settlement organisation sponsors an international network (1673–1784); reforms (1784–1814) transforming of religious centres to promote religious obser- Danish Jews into regular citizens; integration, vance among Jews. Chabad is often considered assimilation and Eastern European immigra- highly controversial within Judaism because tion (1814–1901); and immigration, opposition of the claim of some of its adherents that the and schism (1900–40) embodied tensions late rebbe Menahem Schneersohn was the between conservative and liberal factions and
Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 49 the continued inflow of Eastern European chief rabbi from 1996 to 2014. Kosher products migrants. Occupation, exile and return (1940– at Copenhagen Kosher (Figure 1) carried his 5) was a critical period in the history of the seal of approval. Lexner studied to become a Danish Jews. Under the Nazi occupation of rabbi as well as a shochet, that is, a qualified Denmark, the protection, rescue and return Jewish slaughterer. In addition to his kosher of Jews changed their role in Danish society supervision duties in his capacity as chief rabbi, and culture. The Danish government refused to Lexner also helped design kosher kitchens and take measures against Jews and in 1943 Danish performed kosher authorisations in private resistance to the occupation turned increas- homes – he was the main authority on kosher ingly violent and the relationship between in Denmark. For twenty years Rabbi Lexner Danish and German authorities deteriorated. worked as a shochet in Denmark. As a chief That year the government resigned and plans rabbi, he was solely responsible for ‘national’ for a roundup and deportation of Danish Jews kosher certification in Denmark under the aus- started, but the Jews were warned and found pices of the Jewish Community in Denmark. refuge in Danish homes and institutions before Lexner was involved in making a kosher most of the Jews list for Jews in were ferried to Denmark: a neutral Sweden guide to kosher in fishing boats. living for every- Over 95 per cent day consump- of Danish Jews tion. The present survived and rabbi, Melchior this cemented (see below), their rela- developed this tionship with list further; it Danish society. can be found The period on the website after the res- of the Jewish cue, 1945–2000, Fig. 1. Copenhagen Kosher Community was dominated in Denmark by a polarisation between liberal and con- (
50 Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 Rabbi Lexner explains that his involve- carries out inspections and checks the ‘kosher- ment was not about ‘big business’ and profits ness’ of ingredients and the validity of certifi- alone. Instead, for example, he advised com- cates. In the filing cabinet in Rabbi Melchior’s panies on how to acquire OU certification, office there are many files on companies he is and checked papers on trucks from abroad responsible for supervising. Normally, he sends to ensure traceability. The Big Five, the big- members of the congregation to do supervision gest kosher certifiers globally, have gradually tasks in these companies – especially when a increased their influencevis-à-vis local or new company wants to be certified: a com- national forms of certification, such as that of pany may start manufacturing a new product the Danish rabbinate, for example. Some com- or change its ingredients. Generally, certified panies in Denmark that export kosher products companies receive one yearly visit form Danish are fine with national certification, whereas rabbinic representatives. others turn to Circle K and other Big Five When discussing changes in supervision certifiers that they believe can give them an processes since Rabbi Melchior took over from edge in the global market. Lexner recalls that Bent Lexner, he explains that such processes for a long time Israel only accepted national are increasingly being formalised: today, a con- forms of certification by a chief rabbi, but that tract is drawn up whereas previously super- has changed and today the Big Five are more vision was mainly based on oral agreements; widely accepted. this creates ‘increased transparency’ locally as Rabbi Jair Melchior is in his thirties; he well as internationally. Rabbi Melchior also became the chief rabbi in 2014, taking over supervises Copenhagen Kosher; because most from Bent Lexner. Regarding kashrut, his products are imported and thus carry recog- responsibilities include, firstly, informing and nised kosher logos this is uncomplicated. More updating the congregation on what they can effort goes into supervising the in-shop manu- and cannot eat – especially in a globalised facturing of sausages with raw materials such world when many different opinions, rabbini- as spices that are not certified, for example. It cal and otherwise, circulate. More specifically, is complicated and expensive to find kosher Rabbi Melchior’s role is to create a national certified spices, so this type of ingredient calls Danish opinion or ruling on the ‘kosherness’ for a rabbinical opinion. of products consumed by Jews in Denmark Rabbi Melchior uses several sources of amidst other opinions from Big Five rabbis knowledge when checking products and and other discourses found on the internet. ingredients: the internet as well as rabbinical Being a relatively small country with a limited contacts with London Beth Din, the rabbi number of Jews actually necessitates thorough nate of Israel and the chief rabbi in Berlin. As and systematic rabbinical supervision because a global player, OU supervises and certifies kosher products are hard to come by: this over 500,000 products, and Rabbi Melchior means that many Jewish consumers will buy recognises that many companies prefer this their products in ordinary shops or over the kind of global and costly supervision – com- internet; this warrants rabbinical supervision paring the cost of supervision/certification and opinions. by the Danish rabbinate and OU, the latter Secondly, Rabbi Melchior’s work focuses seems around four to five times as expensive. on supervision and certification of Danish Moreover, there is also a ‘political’ aspect to products exported to major markets such as the relationship between supervision by the Israel, the US or the UK. In this respect he Danish rabbinate and global forms represented
Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 51 by the Big Five. The difference between the context that the empirical data below should Danish rabbinate and Chabad supervision is be seen. Even if the market for kosher products that Chabad does supervision for Circle K and has shrunk over the years as the number of Jews not independently. has declined, the above discussion shows that In the eyes of Rabbi Loewenthal and Denmark is fully integrated into the global Chabad, keeping kashrut is a religious obli- market for kosher that has developed from the gation for religious Jews, even in a ‘secular’ 1990s onwards. For example, the world’s largest Danish context where religious observance is producer of enzymes, Novozymes, is based in declining. He explains that today in Denmark Denmark and the company is certified by the people make their own standards and that they leading global kosher certifier, the Orthodox are not so strict. Thus, not only does kosher Union. Kosher biotechnical production is have ‘a rougher time’ in secular Denmark, but subject to elaborate rules that have warranted the only kosher shop, Copenhagen Kosher, has regulation over the last two decades (Fischer limited opening hours and the products are 2018). Thus, kosher regulation in Denmark is more expensive; keeping kosher thus requires not only about local consumption, but also more effort physically, mentally and financially about exports to global markets, in which the in comparison to the UK or US, for example. Big Five play important roles. Previously even ‘cultural Jews’ tended to keep Keeping kosher or not keeping kosher? kosher, Rabbi Loewenthal argues. Rabbi Loewenthal is involved in the cer- In this section I explore how Jewish con- tification of several foodstuffs manufactured sumers in Denmark understand and practise in Denmark that are exported to the inter- kosher consumption in their everyday lives. national markets, mainly Israel and the US. Dietary practices provide a common sym- While science is important for testing products bolic system through which the increasingly for pork DNA, for instance, he argues that heterogeneous notions of Jewish identity in laboratory testing alone is often insufficient: Denmark can be expressed and one way to ‘kosherness’ hinges on a combination of fac- reinforce one’s Jewish identity is by keeping tors – proper integration of religious laws with kosher (Buckser 1999). Similar studies exist modern food science, technologies at the cut- for Canada (Diamond 2002) and Brazil (Klein ting edge of food science and applying and 2012) and it is this literature that this study adapting ancient rules to a modern situation. feeds into. As in these studies, my Jewish Questions like what’s a freeze drier and how does informants are urban middle-class individu- it work? and when does equipment need kosher als who are socially mobile: well-educated and ising? are essential in order to understand the relatively affluent. This focus on social class is ways in which products are manufactured and important because within this group inform- the information companies provide themselves. ants try to balance piety and health concerns In Denmark, kosher slaughter was banned and at the same time these Jews can afford in 2014 because stunning the animal before the high prices in Copenhagen Kosher, for slaughter was now required by law. This deci- example. I do not claim that my ethnography sion follows previous debates in Denmark and informants are representative of the entire about religious slaughter and the marking of Jewish community in Denmark; my inform- slaughtered meat, and it stirred up deep contro- ants were selected to obtain a good represent- versy among Jewish and Muslim groups both ative spread within the urban, middle-class within the country and beyond. It is in this social group in terms of age, gender and social
52 Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 differentiation more broadly. This empirical studying the Kabbalah ( Jewish spirituality and data below are organised so that I start out cosmology). After six months she realised that by discussing consumers who are very obser- these studies are meaningless without physical vant about kosher and then gradually I move practice. Keeping kosher in the Danish context towards more non-observant or relaxed con- was reinforced by a stress on Jewish culture, sumers at the other end of the spectrum. religion and consciousness. Yitzi Loewenthal, Naomi is a woman in her mid-fifties who the Chabad rabbi, helped Naomi set up her lives with her husband near Copenhagen. She kosher kitchens (located on separate floors in has a son and a daughter, and she is currently her house): one is for milk cooking and the self-employed. Naomi grew up in Israel and other for meat. These two kitchens also have moved to Denmark in the early 1980s when separate sets of utensils. More generally, Naomi she married her first husband. Naomi recalls consults her son or the internet if she is in that as a child her grandmother would stress doubt about products and ingredients. that a contaminated teaspoon should be bur- Naomi explains that in her every- ied in the garden in order to kosherise it. She day shopping for food in Denmark certain believes that the material world, including food skills are essential. Most of all she looks for and drink, is symbolic in that it represents proper kosher logos such as that of Circle something bigger and more spiritual. She is K on chocolate as well as other avail- a vegetarian and this fact makes her everyday able products. Moreover, there is a list of food consumption in Denmark easier. Naomi approved products and ingredients issued thus says a blessing before consuming food and by the Jewish Community in Denmark. In drink, acknowledging that these practices are addition to this list, which Naomi does not just as much about spirituality as they are about always agree with, she uses apps and Google everyday nutrition, and a thanking prayer after to find specific products and ingredients on consuming a certain amount of food or drink. other lists around the world. Again, being a With specific reference to kosher, Naomi con- vegetarian makes this process easier. There siders herself orthodox and fastidious, but not are few kosher logos to be found in shops ‘extreme’, arguing that she accepts many types in Denmark so Naomi looks for e-numbers of kosher logos and that this would not be (codes for permitted substances within the the case for ultra-orthodox individuals and EU) that can tell her about the acceptability groups. Most of all, Naomi recognises kosher of products. She explains that in Judaism certification by Badatz (a major Jewish rab- insects are considered to be even more prob- binical court). lematic than pork. Hence, E120 (a colour- At the age of twelve, Naomi started to ing agent called carmine extracted from an identify with her grandmother’s family and to insect sitting on cactus in Mexico that adds keep kosher stringently. This posed a challenge a ruby-red colour to drinks, for example) is for her mother, who ‘expressed love and affec- completely unacceptable. Occasionally, she tion through food’. The family purchased glass will go to the Kosher Delicatessen & Deli in plates with hard and impenetrable surfaces, Copenhagen to buy things like chewing gum and which, according to some, may be used and Mentos, but also to support the business. for both meat and dairy products. She kept the She refers to the dogma bishul akum (food kosher rules to the best of her ability, waiting cooked by a non-Jew) when arguing that in six hours after eating meat before consum- general observant Jews are not allowed to ing dairy products. Five years ago, she started consume food prepared by non-Jews. Because
Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 53 wine and grape juice have a ritual status in and also at supermarkets, where they look Judaism she is careful when buying it and does carefully at labels. Niels feels that it is helpful so either in Copenhagen Kosher or at the web- that proper labels are statutory in Denmark site
54 Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 they rely on the judgement of the rabbi of the one washing-up brush for milk, one for meat Jewish Community as well as experiences of and one for Parve (neither milk nor meat). other Jews in Denmark. All brushes should have nylon brushes and They feel that it would be convenient to not bristles of animal origin. Similarly, hand have more kosher availability in Denmark – for soap without any animal ingredients is used. example frozen foods at the nearby supermar- At Passover, kosher toothpaste is brought ket. Even if halal products are widely available home from the US or Israel when visiting in nearby shops these in no way present an children because this toothpaste is not avail- alternative to kosher: Niels argues that gener- able in Denmark. However, when we discuss ally ‘the kosher slaughter is halal, but not the the necessity of San Pellegrino Soda being other way around’. kosher Niels and Hanne agree that this is not Both Niels and Hanne think that keeping really necessary. They speculate that if living kosher is met with understanding in Denmark in the UK, for example, they would probably – for example, when Hanne is meeting up with accept and thus buy a wider variety of kosher her old schoolmates the menu is sent to her products – also because prices are generally beforehand and she is always offered fish. In lower in the UK. They are familiar with the their workplaces kosher dietary requirements UK kosher market because Niels’s sister lives are also taken into consideration. Going out to there. restaurants is far more complex and when they The couple point out that very small quan- do go out to eat, they usually have boiled fish, tities of unknown substances are generally seen as Niels explains: ‘We would not accept barbe- to be acceptable; but Niels also states that when cued fish because you never know what’s been it comes to medication gelatine is not essen- on the grill before’. However, they do accept tial. When we discuss the limited nature of the eating utensils when they go out to eat, the kosher market in Denmark compared to and Hanne explains that if they did not ‘they huge and growing global market, Niels is quite could never go out’. In their kosher kitchen knowledgeable, as he once conducted kosher there are five sets of utensils: one for guests; a supervision for one of the major Danish multi pair of sets for milk and meat respectively and national companies. an identical pair for Passover. Jokingly, Niels Rosa is a woman in her forties who works explains that installing two dishwashers was in a private company. She has a non-Jewish confusing to the plumber. husband and two children who attend the When discussing whether keeping kosher Jewish school. Rosa moved to Denmark is healthier the couple make the case that they seventeen years ago from Eastern Europe keep kosher out of belief and not because of and describes herself as a ‘convenience Jew’, health concerns. However, they feel that kosher that is, in the eyes of Rosa ‘kosher is an indi- may actually be healthier and that this point vidual and flexible choice’ mainly focused on has been backed up by scientific evidence pork avoidance. Having children at school recently. Niels says: ‘I’m not sure whether this increased the family’s focus on ‘kosher life’. is based on facts or not [. . .] At sports com- Her son takes kosher seriously and strictly petitions in hot climates athletes do not eat avoids pork, and for this reason Rosa stopped molluscs such as snails or shrimps to avoid the eating shrimp and mussels herself – she knew danger of food poisoning.’ this was important for her son and she respects With regard to the relationship between his preferences. However, ritual slaughter and food and non-food products, the couple has the question of stunning is not important to
Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 55 the family. Thus, Rosa to a large extent experi- and halal and the family also accepts halal ences ‘kosher living’, and the fact that this is sweets if they can find them. This flexibility expensive in Denmark, through her children. also means that she does not really think that Moreover, because of their special preferences being a Jewish consumer in Denmark requires the children will bring their own food, includ- particular skills. ing meat, to Carolineskolen, a Jewish school at More generally, Rosa explains that the the outskirts of Copenhagen, that only offers majority of the Jewish community has been a vegetarian diet. ‘assimilated’. If Jews in Denmark send their Rosa recalls a conversation with a Jewish children to the Jewish school, she argues, friend that puts her own kosher priorities into you are part of that community even if you perspective: the friend told her that her son do not go to the synagogue or the Chabad wanted to taste pork and that she was strongly house. Rosa once attended a kosher cook- opposed to this. However, being a ‘conveni- ing class at the Chabad house, which she ence Jew’ Rosa did not impose her views and found really interesting. The course, taught by fully accepts that everybody should follow Rochel Loewenthal, gave her an insight into their own path without dogmatism: choosing the ‘kosher lives’ of others and refamiliarised ‘super-orthodox kosher living’ can only apply her with Jewish dishes such as chicken soup. to oneself; others must find their own way. In Even though Chabad represents dogmatic and Denmark she states that most Jews are flexible, ultra-orthodox Hasidism for Rosa, taking the while a smaller group prefers ‘kosher for ever’, cooking class made sense. which can be a complex choice in the Danish If the family wants to buy specific kosher context: kosher is expensive, hard to come by products such as wine gums that are not avail- and kitchens and fridges are not designed for able in ordinary shops, the brand Goody Good kosher, for example. When her son’s strict Stuff can be bought at 7–11; for products that friend visits their home, food is served on are unavailable in Denmark they use
56 Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 think kosher enzyme certification is signi feels that too many groups within Judaism ficant as all ingredients must comply with take kosher to extremes. Orthodox rabbis kosher rules, and the same goes for non-food reinforce dated traditions to claim author- products such as leather that may come from ity in a way that was never intended. Kosher pigs. enzymes are an example of this in Rafi’s eyes. Rafi is a man in his thirties who has lived in Religious orthodoxy and over-interpretation Denmark for thirteen years and now works in infuse the market and regulation of kosher IT. He moved to Denmark from Israel, where rather than common sense. To Rafi, what he met his non-Jewish Danish wife in a kib- makes sense in Judaism is a form of cultural butz. Rafi explains that he is not very fastidi- heritage created over generations; kosher ous about kosher as he grew up in a secular rules may have made sense historically when family. Traditionally, Rafi’s family would be there were no fridges, but not today they flexible about their religion and they would go seem dated and unnecessary. to the synagogue, light candles and avoid work When we discuss whether kosher is at religious festivals, but accept watching TV healthier or not Rafi argues that many Danes during the weekend, for example. Rafi’s family regularly eat pork so that it must be limited keeps kosher and when his mother visits the how harmful to health pork actually is. In the family in Denmark Rafi is more focused on eyes of Rafi, it makes sense that kosher is regu- kosher and goes to the delicatessen or serves lated to avoid horsemeat or sick animals, and fish/vegetarian dishes. kosher may therefore be considered healthier. When Rafi was a teenager, he would Conversely, he does not consider the separa- eat cheeseburgers, but to this day ‘When tion of milk and meat healthier and the same I see a colleague of mine eat a burger with goes for avoiding shellfish, but he would not a glass of milk it seems strange. I can eat a eat shrimp in Israel in August. cheeseburger, but drinking milk and eat- The family mostly goes about their every- ing meat is strange.’ Thus, even if Rafi sees day shopping in supermarkets and although himself as a flexible Jew the overt mix- they live close to the delicatessen Rafi only ing of milk and meat that is so common goes there when his mother or observant Jews in Denmark is unfamiliar. With regard to are visiting: personally, Rafi prefers meat that meat the family prefers beef, but occasion- is fresh and not frozen and expensive, as is the ally pork is also eaten. The situation in case in the delicatessen. In the case of oranges Denmark is radically different from Israel: and avocados Rafi would buy those produced when Rafi was in the army everything was in Israel to support local produce, but he does kosher, an approach to kosher that he sees as not support kohser in the same way. dogmatic and representative of unwelcome The family does not have a kosher kitchen; orthodoxy. As a teenager he started break- this becomes particularly problematic when ing kosher rules, for example eating cheese- celebrating children’s birthdays and when burgers, to rebel against his father. Rafi’s own Orthodox guests visit, for example. Rafi children ‘eat what they are served’, but at the stresses that this is an occasion when he makes Jewish school they keep kosher. His daugh- sure that all guests are treated well and that ter wanted to keep kosher at home after a visiting children do not have to bring their couple of years at school, but regretted this own food. Thus, he would go to Chabad to decision when realising that she then could bake kosher rolls, only use kosher butter and not have spaghetti carbonara. In general, Rafi serve everything on paper plates. For these
Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 57 occasions the family have also bought sweets to the delicatessen to make sure he can cater for in bulk when visiting relatives in Israel to bring the more Orthodox guests. Another challenge back to Denmark. Rafi’s family is flexible about is when socialising with Orthodox friends or going out to restaurants and at work he has no family in Israel that focus on the separation of problems eating the food that is served at the milk and meat and pork avoidance. canteen. The family also accepts halal meat and Hagai’s family basically eats ‘anything’, but products more generally whereas they think avoids pork because of animal cruelty. They are organic products are too expensive. far more focused on buying organic and whole- Hagai was born in Israel, grew up in a some products. Another aspect of the family’s Kibbutz and has now lived with his Danish food preferences is to cook typical Danish wife and three children in Denmark for six dishes such as pork meatballs (frikadeller) as years. Now in his thirties, he was educated as well as falafel, humus and tahini that represent a cook and is currently pursuing further studies Israeli and Middle Eastern cuisine. To Hagai it in Copenhagen. Although Hagai sees himself is important that his children learn about these as ‘ultra-secular’ like his parents, and kosher two food cultures. He explains that he does has ‘absolutely no significance’ in the family’s not believe that kosher is healthier in any way, everyday life, his children attend the Jewish but that kosher has a different taste because it school in Copenhagen. Overall, however, he is salted and dried. He believes that there are sees kosher as a kind of unwanted political many similarities between kosher and halal and ideology that should not be allowed to dictate the family has no problem buying halal meat. everyday practice, not least because it repre- Regarding meat, the main principle is the taste sents state and religious power, economic gain and quality on the one hand and making sure and manipulation. Hagai’s background is influ- that no animal cruelty is involved in producing enced by his secular upbringing in Israel and the meat on the other. when attending a secular school, he looked for Discussion non-kosher foods and pork to protest. In the Israeli army everybody must fit in, so every It soon becomes clear that all these middle- thing is kosher to cater for ultra-orthodox class consumers are acutely aware that they groups, and the same goes for hospitals and are living in a world where kosher markets are schools. It was this system Hagai rebelled globalising. Even the most ‘secular’ of these against. These institutions are under rabbinate consumers must relate to and negotiate larger supervision and kosher logos are ubiquitous issues – kosher as formative of distinctions and thus controlled by authorities that Hagai between individuals and groups in everyday challenges. Most of Hagai’s friends are like- life; the specific national and local contexts minded, but he does have some friends who are that frame their lives and ‘kosher globalisa- more Orthodox. In his children’s school several tion’, including how transnational govern- of the other children are far more fastidious mentality frames their everyday choices and about kosher, which can be challenging. Some how they must practise more self-discipline in Jewish families in Denmark keep kosher at deciding what is and is not acceptable. There home while being flexible in public, but others is limited and shrinking kosher availability are also observant in public – celebrating a in Denmark. Meat remains at the centre of child’s birthday, for example, is an event where kosher understanding and practice. While kosher becomes important in order to accom- there are differences in levels of observance, modate all guests. In this instance, Hagai goes all Orthodox informants argue that stunning
58 Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 animals before slaughter is unacceptable. In they bring meat back from these countries by the Danish context the Jewish population is themselves, their children or friends. Because small and shrinking; this is also reflected in the kosher market is so limited in Denmark the market. More specifically, the small size all informants go to ordinary stores for their of the Jewish community and the fact that everyday shopping; for the Orthodox group there is only one kosher shop in the entire this entails in-depth knowledge of e-numbers, country frames the everyday understanding for example. Several informants explain that and practice of kosher in Denmark: kosher they are often surprised to see that suddenly a meat is hard to come by and expensive. That product they have been buying over many years said, all informants are acutely aware that the may now contain a new, questionable and often global market for kosher is huge and expand- unwanted ingredient. While some inform- ing on the one hand and on the other that ants argue that keeping kosher is healthier, certification by the Big Five is a global and for example avoiding blood and separating lucrative business. This is good news for the milk and meat, it is again clear that judge- more Orthodox groups, who value increased ment about what to do in a given context can regulation, while more relaxed groups find this be extremely complex. Hanne and Niels make excessive and unnecessary. this point well, stating that if they did not use Among the most Orthodox informants, the utensils provided in eating establishments kosher is conditioned by using a mikve or set- in Denmark they would probably never go ting up a kosher kitchen. Conversely, more out. Thus, kosher knowledge not only defines secular informants either describe themselves Jewish group identity in Denmark, but also as ‘convenience Jews’ or being ideologically family and everyday life through compound against kosher as an expression of a dogmatic practice: even the most ‘secular’ or flexible of and capitalist, and thus unwanted, form of reli- my informants are well aware that kosher is gion. However, more relaxed Jews also send economically important in production, trade, their children to the Jewish school, where regulation and, most importantly, as everyday vegetarian kosher food is served, and many practice among Orthodox Jews. explain that to a large extent kosher is only Very few of my informants were aware about only their own preferences and those that enzyme production has undergone kosher of their family. Several informants who are supervision and certification in recent decades; either relaxed about or explicitly critical of that said, the majority thought it was a good kosher explain that at children’s birthdays, for idea. However, this supports the argument that example, they go to the kosher shop or consult modern forms of transnational governmen- Chabad in order to make sure that children tality tend to take on a life of their own: the from more Orthodox families feel welcome. relationship and cooperation between produc- Many informants rely on a kosher list pub- ers, sellers and certifiers is intensifying to an lished by the Jewish Community in Denmark, extent such that most consumers are unaware covering acceptable foods, while others consult of these trends and processes. The availabil- Chabad or look up products/ingredients on ity of a wide range of new kinds of foods has the internet. Quite a number of the children exploded in Denmark over the last couple of from more Orthodox families have moved to decades and arguably it will become more Israel, the US or the UK – and much of the difficult for kosher consumers to know what meat imported into Denmark comes from to eat where, even though it is easier to find the UK. Several informants also explain that information than it once was on how to judge
Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 59 what is and is not acceptable. I have shown transformed in line with changes in politi- that while some Jewish groups are fastidious cal power and socio-economic organisation. about their everyday kosher consumption The empirical material highlights the ways in this is by no means the case among all Jews which ‘food piety’ is practised in everyday life. in Denmark. Fastidiousness has reinforced Celebrations, religious festivals and eating out regulation of global kosher production and are now more complex for kosher and halal regulation and kosher certification and logos consumers for a whole range of reasons, with are extremely important in the everyday lives strategies and forward planning thus becoming of many Jewish groups in Europe. However, more important in a minority religious context. many Jewish consumers in Denmark together Considered alongside the increasing complex- with local Jewish organisations feel that the ity of food production that has emerged in Big Five kosher certifiers have become global, recent decades, it is clear that kosher consum- commercial and powerful to such an extent ers in contemporary Western societies often that their certification of thousands of com- have problems knowing what and where to panies and products has taken on a life of its eat, and that they often require more elaborate own that is detached from the everyday lives forms of justification and self-discipline when of Jewish consumers. deciding what is and is not acceptable. Kosher Even if meat is still subjected to the most consumption thus remains central to debates stringent religious requirements, e-numbers about what religion is or ought to be for Jews are also a concern to some individuals, who in Denmark. for the most part put a lot of effort into their everyday shopping practices. Some of the Johan Fischer is observant Jewish informants are focused on Associate Pro non-food products in specific ritual contexts fessor in the – kosher toothpaste is only of importance Department of during Passover, while toothbrushes and dish Social Sciences and Business, brushes should have nylon and not animal bris- Roskilde tles. Many observant Jews put a lot of effort University, into maintaining this ritual separation – even Denmark. His in small Copenhagen kitchens. In Denmark work focuses on modern religion more generally the limited availability of and markets. He is the author of Proper kosher products makes these issues more sig- Islamic Consumption: Shopping among nificant in terms of everyday practice. Some the Malays in Modern Malaysia (NIAS Press, informants are convinced that kosher is not 2008), The Halal Frontier: Muslim Consumers only ‘spiritually’ but also ‘physically’ healthier in a Globalized Market (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), Islam, Standards, and Technoscience: for a range of reasons. In general, they also In Global Halal Zones (Routledge, 2015), Halal possess a basic knowledge of the food taboo of Matters: Islam, Politics and Markets in Global the other, that is, Jews tend to know that halal Perspective (Routledge, 2015), Religion, is mainly related to ritual slaughter, as well as Regulation, Consumption: Globalising Kosher and Halal Markets (Manchester University to pork and alcohol avoidance. Press, 2018), Kosher and Halal Business Contemporary food preference and Compliance (Routledge, 2018), Muslim Piety avoidance also reflect changing social rela- as Economy: Markets, Meaning and Morality tions between individuals and groups over in Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2019) as well time, demonstrating how cultural tastes are as articles in journals and edited volumes.
60 Nordisk judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies | Vol. 30, No. 2 References
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