Rabbi Jonathan Tabachnikoff is a Reform Rabbi at the Temple Sinai of Glendale, California. He grew up in Miami, FL, as the son of a Reform Rabbi. He did his undergraduate work at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, and most recently graduated from the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, OH. He married a fellow classmate who is now also a Rabbi in Northridge, CA—Debbie Till. They were both ordained in June of 1998.
Shabbat Shalom*: Eating and drinking food play an important role in Judaism. Why?
Tabachnikoff: It seems that every Jewish holiday and event has special foods that are linked to them. The food complements the occasion and adds to the emotion and atmosphere in much the same way music and dancing and, at times, the lighting of a memorial candle might create the full feeling and experience of a Holocaust Remembrance week or Purim, which we both recently celebrated. On a happy occasion, we might have cookies or special cakes. For example, on our New Year, we have apples and honey; on other occasions, we go so far as to fast and refrain from eating anything at all. The contrast is significant—fasting versus having something sweet to add to our celebration. But there are many events where part of our tradition is not only to come to synagogue to worship as a community and to be a part of ritual celebrations, but also to have a festival meal. It is a celebration and a gathering where we sit at a table together and eat. It makes our celebration full, brings it home, literally, into our kitchens and our dining rooms, and makes it accessible for everyone.
Shabbat Shalom: How would you describe or define the Jewish philosophy of eating and drinking?
Tabachnikoff: I would say that there is a twofold or two-pronged approach to eating within Judaism. On the one hand, I think that it is taken very seriously because of all the traditions—some of them are more serious than others—but they are still passed down from generation to generation. For some people, these traditions are taken very seriously because in their home it was the law: “it has to be this way because it always has been, and because my mother was told by her mother that it had to be this way and my father told me, so it always is.” At the same time, it is not at all serious—it is a part of our celebration and our festivities. As a child, I remember that as the holidays approached, my mother would sit and make dough with us. We would sit in the kitchen and make triangle cookies for Purim and potato pancakes for Hanukkah. We had huge parties in our home, and I always remember that our house would smell like frying latkas for weeks because we would keep making them and making them endlessly. But in eight nights of parties, people would eat a great deal! In my home growing up, there was a certain smell that I associated with Shabbat. There was something different when I came home on Fridays from any other day of the week. I would walk into the house, and there was that smell—sometimes it would be chicken, sometimes it would be brisket, but it filled the entire house. On any other night we could have whatever, maybe takeout or maybe cooking, but Friday was always special, and that smell was the first reminder that I wasn’t coming home to watch television or to go out to play. But today I needed to do homework and do whatever else needed to be done, and then take a shower and get dressed because there was probably company coming, and then it would be Shabbat. So food played a significant role in informing my family and me that a holiday was approaching so that we would see it on the calendar and perhaps prepare for it and buy something or have clothes cleaned so that we would have something to wear. But also, one would go shopping for a meal and start cooking and preparing a meal and preparing yourself. I think that is part of “gastronomic Judaism.”
Shabbat Shalom: Is the food only related to health issues?
Tabachnikoff: The food is in no way related to health issues from the Jewish legal side. The laws were given in order for the Jews to follow them. The laws were not given, per se, in order for the Jews to be healthy. They were given as commandments. And those who are commanded must obey the commandments. And the rationale is that you obey because you are commanded by a commander. It is a sign of respect to obey those commandments. The issue of health is one in which I consult a physician or a dietitian to find out how I can eat more healthy foods in my diet while observing my dietary laws and needs. So I try to incorporate those two ideas together as best I can. But the health aspect of diet comes from physicians and dietitians. The Jewish legal command and commandments are totally separate when it comes to motivation. Linking the two is something that we have to struggle with, but linking the health aspects to the commander of the commandments is something that I think we need to be careful not to allow.
Shabbat Shalom: What are your religious practices in regard to food and drink? Could you justify or explain them?
Tabachnikoff: My wife and I keep a kosher home. We buy all of our meat and dairy products from kosher markets or kosher butchers. Our groceries come from regular grocery stores but are packaged, sealed, and labeled as being kosher. Sometimes it is a struggle to see something and think, “I wish that I could have that sauce because I know I love that sauce,” but it is not kosher, so I have to run around making phone calls, and the odds are that if there is nothing in the sauce that is prohibited, there is another company somewhere that makes another brand of that same product that is kosher. Sometimes it is a little extra work and a little extra running, but I am getting good at it.
Shabbat Shalom: Why are some animals clean and others unclean?
Tabachnikoff: It gets back to the same question that you asked before about health with regards to the commandments about what we eat and how we eat. It is an unfair question to pose in the same regard. God commanded laws. The laws dictate that we eat only certain kinds of animals with certain qualifications. For example, a land animal must have split hooves and must chew its cud. If it doesn’t meet these two requirements, then it cannot be kosher. If it does meet these requirements, it must be butchered according to Jewish law. There are different laws for seafood: they have to have fins and scales, and those fish can be killed and do not need a ritual slaughter. But any kind of land or sea animal that does not meet these criteria simply does not meet them and cannot be kosher. Some animals are specified as not being clean. But it is a command, and this is one of those cases where I think the answer is because God told us so, and I don’t think that any further rationale has any real weight behind it. But I also think that when it comes from such a high authority, it doesn’t need any more justification.
Shabbat Shalom: So it is a trust issue—that you trust God gave it for a reason?
Tabachnikoff: The reason almost doesn’t matter. If one holds God in ultimate authority and God says, “Do this,” one simply does. While one may be inclined to question and rationalize certain behaviors, I think that it is for our own benefit and a game that we play with ourselves. I don’t know that we have a clue why God would command this and not that. It becomes an issue when we figure out how to make something once thought unhealthy more healthy, then suddenly the rationale disappears and people are no longer inclined to obey the commandment. The example that often comes up is with the eating of pork—why would God command us not to eat pigs? Some would answer because God knew of the dangers of trichinosis. Now we know about trichinosis, and we know how to prevent it and eliminate those bacteria in the meat—we simply cook it to a certain temperature, and it is healthy, or at least no longer a threat. So if the rationale before was do not eat this because it could make you sick, and now we know how not to get sick, then rationally one should be allowed to eat that meat. That is the danger of trying to rationalize a divine commandment. If the commandments are for us to follow and the rationale is because God commanded them, then there is no concern that they can be undone. The commander commands, and we, who are commanded, interpret and follow in whatever way we deem right and correct.
Shabbat Shalom: Why not consume the blood?
Tabachnikoff: The rabbis had, I guess we could call them, superstitions perhaps—at least beliefs that the life or the soul of the animal was contained in its very blood. There have always been particular laws and priestly rights that pertain to how the blood of sacrifices and offerings is to be drained, how they are to be offered, or how they are to be disposed of. Because the blood was thought to have life power or properties, it was something that we were not to consume. Here again, I think that the emphasis should rightly be placed on the commanded part. We are commanded not to; therefore, we don’t. Here is more explanation about why it is not just that you are commanded; therefore, you don’t. I think it is spelled out a little bit more clearly, so because the blood is thought to have these life properties, we have certain practices to try to eliminate as much blood as possible from meat before we eat it. The blood is drained as part of ritual slaughter, and chicken and meat from kosher animals are then salted to extricate as much blood as possible so that as little as possible is consumed. It is still practiced today in Jewish butcher shops and in Jewish homes.
* This interview was conducted by Doug Hardt.
