Comments on: Fast Food Rebellion http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion Jews, Food, and Contemporary Issues Mon, 21 May 2012 04:07:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Rabbi Shmuel http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/comment-page-1#comment-11056 Rabbi Shmuel Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:08:40 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/#comment-11056 Avi - I spoke in shul today (it's was the 38th anniversary of my bar mitzva) about the "ben sorer". The gemara has some incredible observations. It is written in the name of Rav Huna that one can only be found liable for being a ben sorer if he buys meat and wine cheaply ("B'zol" a play on the word "zolel"). At first the statement seems innocuous but upon reflection the cheap meat and wine are oxymoronic as these arereally luxury items - so one of the underlying contrbuting factors to the ben sorer syndrome is artificially reducing prices to meet unreasonable demand (the so-called "high cost of low prices) and the shift of these costs to others or just plain out of sight - it was a timely dvar Torah for as the author of the Tanya once said "we have to live with the times" meaning that we look to the weekly Torah portion to truly understand the issues of our day. So in the month of Elul fingerpointing is warranted - fingerpointing at ourselves for creating such an unthinking climate again y'shar kochacha bro! Avi – I spoke in shul today (it’s was the 38th anniversary of my bar mitzva) about the “ben sorer”. The gemara has some incredible observations. It is written in the name of Rav Huna that one can only be found liable for being a ben sorer if he buys meat and wine cheaply (“B’zol” a play on the word “zolel”). At first the statement seems innocuous but upon reflection the cheap meat and wine are oxymoronic as these arereally luxury items – so one of the underlying contrbuting factors to the ben sorer syndrome is artificially reducing prices to meet unreasonable demand (the so-called “high cost of low prices) and the shift of these costs to others or just plain out of sight – it was a timely dvar Torah for as the author of the Tanya once said “we have to live with the times” meaning that we look to the weekly Torah portion to truly understand the issues of our day. So in the month of Elul fingerpointing is warranted – fingerpointing at ourselves for creating such an unthinking climate
again y’shar kochacha bro!

]]> By: JP http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/comment-page-1#comment-11027 JP Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:44:47 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/#comment-11027 While I appreciate the hypothetical situation, and agree that the taste and nutritional quality of Real food is drastically higher than fast and box food- I just want to question the conclusion here. "A child who has never been served a meal prepared by people who care for her may never understand how challenging it is to sustain a family with care and dignity." I'm worried there are pretty big assumptions about class here, and I'd love to hear Rabbi Feingold explain this a little more. If you live/are raised in a neighborhood without access to Fresh foods, are you inherently rebellious? (And, according to the hypothetical, glutinous and should be killed?) If your family (rich or poor) is pressed for time to cook for you, will you turn out inherently bad? Doubtful. But perhaps I've misunderstood. I'd love to hear other thoughts. While I appreciate the hypothetical situation, and agree that the taste and nutritional quality of Real food is drastically higher than fast and box food- I just want to question the conclusion here.

“A child who has never been served a meal prepared by people who care for her may never understand how challenging it is to sustain a family with care and dignity.”

I’m worried there are pretty big assumptions about class here, and I’d love to hear Rabbi Feingold explain this a little more.

If you live/are raised in a neighborhood without access to Fresh foods, are you inherently rebellious? (And, according to the hypothetical, glutinous and should be killed?) If your family (rich or poor) is pressed for time to cook for you, will you turn out inherently bad? Doubtful.

But perhaps I’ve misunderstood. I’d love to hear other thoughts.

]]> By: Debra Waldoks http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/comment-page-1#comment-11026 Debra Waldoks Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:24:41 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/#comment-11026 Thank you for this great dvar torah! Working parents always need dinnertime encouragement after a day of work. A lot of research supports "family dinners" as a way to deter rebellious activities. There is actually a lot written about "achillah gassah" or overeating in the Talmud. To quote from a Jewess blog post that I wrote: "There is a model in the Talmud of an inappropriate way of eating and it is termed achillah gassah. This refers to eating large quantities at a time, or being gluttonous. This type is eating is actually not even considered eating at all. If one ate in this manner on Yom Kippur, one is not punished since such behavior is actually considered affliction, and is in accordance with the commandment to afflict oneself on Yom Kippur (Yoma 80:B). The Talmud also discusses another type of achillah gassah. In this version, if eating is a requisite to fulfill a Biblical precept, and one ate in a achillah gassah manner, it is considered a technical fulfillment of the law, but is not considered in the spirit of the law (Nazir 23:A). To summarize this concept, the Tosafot clearly explains that there are two types of achillah gassah, two levels of overeating. The first level of overeating is when one does not have an appetite, but can still taste the food. The second level is when one eats until he is in pain." http://jewess.canonist.com/?p=512 Thank you for this great dvar torah! Working parents always need dinnertime encouragement after a day of work. A lot of research supports “family dinners” as a way to deter rebellious activities.

There is actually a lot written about “achillah gassah” or overeating in the Talmud.

To quote from a Jewess blog post that I wrote:
“There is a model in the Talmud of an inappropriate way of eating and it is termed achillah gassah. This refers to eating large quantities at a time, or being gluttonous. This type is eating is actually not even considered eating at all. If one ate in this manner on Yom Kippur, one is not punished since such behavior is actually considered affliction, and is in accordance with the commandment to afflict oneself on Yom Kippur (Yoma 80:B).

The Talmud also discusses another type of achillah gassah. In this version, if eating is a requisite to fulfill a Biblical precept, and one ate in a achillah gassah manner, it is considered a technical fulfillment of the law, but is not considered in the spirit of the law (Nazir 23:A).

To summarize this concept, the Tosafot clearly explains that there are two types of achillah gassah, two levels of overeating. The first level of overeating is when one does not have an appetite, but can still taste the food. The second level is when one eats until he is in pain.”

http://jewess.canonist.com/?p=512

]]> By: Leah Koenig http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/comment-page-1#comment-11025 Leah Koenig Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:47:43 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/#comment-11025 Here's the story Rabbi Shmuel mentioned about the 23,000 Big Macs. Life long indigestion, anyone? http://news.aol.com/article/man-says-hes-eaten-23000-big-macs/166242 Here’s the story Rabbi Shmuel mentioned about the 23,000 Big Macs. Life long indigestion, anyone?

http://news.aol.com/article/ma.....acs/166242

]]> By: Rabbi Shmuel http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/comment-page-1#comment-11024 Rabbi Shmuel Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:52:05 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/fast-food-rebellion/#comment-11024 Avi - again you hit it on the head (it's my ba mitzva parsha as well so I have a deeper nexus to it) but you highlight the tension between a system that wants to carry an ideal "on the books" but then makes it virtually impossible on a practical level to enforce by setting the bar and burden of proof so high. But you're spot on with the link between biblical gluttony and some of the fast food epidemics we have today (I saw on yahoo a guy ate 23,000 whoppers!) But I digree - shabbos is almost here and there are veggies to harvest from the garden - there'll be butternut squash soup, basil and tomatoes, Israeli cuke salad (and did I mention pesto?) have a good shabbos - eat well and eat slowly Avi – again you hit it on the head (it’s my ba mitzva parsha as well so I have a deeper nexus to it)

but you highlight the tension between a system that wants to carry an ideal “on the books” but then makes it virtually impossible on a practical level to enforce by setting the bar and burden of proof so high.

But you’re spot on with the link between biblical gluttony and some of the fast food epidemics we have today (I saw on yahoo a guy ate 23,000 whoppers!)

But I digree – shabbos is almost here and there are veggies to harvest from the garden – there’ll be butternut squash soup, basil and tomatoes, Israeli cuke salad (and did I mention pesto?) have a good shabbos – eat well and eat slowly

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