Kashrut: Pausing to consider our spiritual selves

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to take a long-overdue vacation with my family in Walt Disney World.For our children, who had just spent the better part of a year dealing with the day-to-day challenges of living in Israel post-Oslo, and especially watching their father constantly in and out of the army reserves, Disney must have seemed like a fantasy world, and I was curious to see how they would respond to the educational challenges it would present.

At the end of our first fun-filled day, as we were making our way out of the park, and we passed through the shops and gift stores strategically situated at the exit. I am sure many a parent, anxious to get back to their hotel rooms after a long day on their feet, succumbs to their children’s desires for one last treat. My children were no different, and as we neared the park (and candy store) exit, they grabbed candy bars and lollipops off the easy-access racks, with eyes full of pleading for one last treat at the end of the day.

I noticed a girl behind the cash register smiling as she eyed the familiar sight of a parent debating whether to allow one last indulgence in order to avoid the battle of wills that would ensue if I had other ideas about my children’s desire to fund our local dentist.

However, glancing quickly at the various treats in my kids’ eager hands, it was quite obvious that none of the candies and treats had any seal of kashrut (thank G-d!), and I promptly told my children that the candies weren’t kosher, at which point they put all the candy back on the racks. I didn’t really think much of this little scene until I looked up and saw the shocked look on the face of the cashier.

“What did you just tell them?” she asked.

She was looking with particular disbelief at our then four-year-old Adi, who had immediately deposited her “horde” of sweets back into the rack.

“What do you mean?” I asked.