The Pleasure Principle

In an article on parshas Pinchas that I read, an explanation was given about the Baal Peor idol and how it was worshipped.  It said that every constructive physical act is pleasurable.  Physical acts have a purpose, such as eating to sustain life.  In order to ensure that man does these important things, they come along with pleasure.

Pleasure just for its own sake is a corruption.  If we do something just for pleasure alone, it is devoid of anything good or holy.

In reading this, I was reminded of the frum world's obsession with food as seen in kosher food magazines, numerous cookbooks, articles about surgery for obesity, etc. It is claimed that the preoccupation with food is a good thing: here but I'm not convinced.  The shockingly crass ads I've posted about have not convinced me that the eating is l'sheim shomayim or just plain neutral.

I'm not claiming to eat every mouthful for the sake of heaven, and yet, pride in being a foodie, the eagerness to have yet another culinary experience, the weird combinations of ingredients for the sake of something new, is just too much.

Decorating Tips

In between trying or making the latest food craze, I thought it would be helpful to share with you "decorating tips from the pros" as published in a frum publication.  These tips are provided by frum decorators.

You need to know what is trendy and what is out of date - wallpaper is trendy (depending on the room and how it's used) and sconces and moldings are out of date

You need to know which colors are in and which are out.

Carpets are out, wooden floors are in.

I hope you held on to your area rugs because they were out, but now they're "making a comeback."

White bathroom fixtures are trendy.

Square spotlights are trendy now.

Don't use a bedroom or living set where everything is the same.  Mix and match pieces of furniture.  Each piece should look handpicked and make a statement.

Since the saying goes, "sarcasm doesn't work on the web," let me assure you that I this advice is nonsensical.  It's simply a way to keep people decorating and redecorating, and the winners are the interior decorators, those who sell furniture, those who sell flooring, painters, those who sell household accessories.  And yet, this is presented to frum readers in all seriousness.  For shame!

How to Acquire New Taavos

The following is from a foodie's* article in Ami:

Fifteen years ago, as a restaurant owner, she wanted to introduce sushi to her clientele.  "I love sushi and so will everyone else. I just have to teach them."

Why do frum people need to be taught new taavos?

"Fifteen years ago, my restaurant was the first to bring sushi to Lakewood, with the calculated idea of luring in the 'men who lunch' crowd."

That's something to be proud of - being the first to bring a new maichel to a frum neighborhood? And to entice people with it?

"We created a must-try situation with our mixed traditional and innovative sushi menu."

Must-try?

"The kosher world is slightly lagging in the food trend race, typically being three years behind the nonkosher world."

We are lagging - failing to keep up and that's a bad thing?

"Yet, we are catching up and even influencing trends!"

That's a good thing?

"It is my job to identify food trends and seek out what the people of today want to eat tomorrow."

This is a job? For a nice frum woman? And she's not embarrassed to say so?

And this passes in a frum magazine as a normal way to talk about food.

* A foodie, someone with an ardent interest in food, is not someone we would associate with an ardent love for Torah and mitzvos.

Brownie Bar Ad

"Take one for the road! Wherever the craving hits, treat yourself to our delicious snacks and taste the quality in every bite."

Whenever the craving hits? Vos far a lashon iz dos?! (What kind of language is that?)

And people have been noticing and commenting about the grubbe, full page, steak ads with close-ups of slabs of raw meat.  And the close-ups of scoops of ice cream, cones and bars.

For that matter, I have been noticing my adverse reaction to many close-ups of food, whether it's an article about an event or simcha online or a recipe.  There is something about these photos that I find unappealing, maybe not even for religious reasons.  After all, in real life we do not look at food in that magnified way.  Maybe more distance between us and the food is necessary in more ways than one.

"Food Glorious Food"

It's just what we need (sarcasm), another upscale store which will work hard to entice frum people to upgrade their gashmius.

Some quotes from their promotion:

"The sandwich bar itself is a new concept; high-end sandwiches have thus far been available exclusively at upscale restaurants." (High-end sandwiches - live and learn)

"Artisanal bread was something we took very seriously; it's something really lacking for the kosher consumer.  We want to be able to provide that experience." (G-d bless him, we were so lacking without it)

"Made to order specialty Italian coffees, too, had yet to be available in the kosher market." (How did we manage?)

"New offerings in general are a big concept." (because yesterday's offerings are boring)

"A big element [at this store] is education.  There's so much depth to food - different cuisines, different techniques - there's always more to learn and we're excited to offer those flavors, those tastes, those lessons." (Would that be before or after I learn the daf/the parsha ...?)

Shameless Indeed

As a follow-up to this post: here about inappropriate advertising in the frum world - I wrote a publication asking them whether their rabbinical board approved of an ad for ice cream that is for "pleasure seekers."

I asked:

How could this possibly be directed to your readership who are mevakshei Hashem, not mevakshei pleasure?

I ask that seriously. 

The wording of the ad is antithetical to our values.

 

Then I noticed a different ad, this one for a  sort of dessert/snack that combines bread sticks and chocolate.  The ad describes it as "The Cravers Combo" and promotes it as "shamelessly indulgent." No comment. 

Not Quite Kosher Indulgence

An ad in a frum magazine:

GOT CRAVINGS?
chocolate + caramel

and it showed a bag of chocolates.

I translate this ad into:

GOT TAAVOS? Indulge in chocolate

***

In the same magazine an ad for a liquor store says:

Expanding your palate with select international wines

I translate this ad into:

Don't have enough taavos? Let us help you expand your repertoire.

***
I suspect that one of the reasons we say on Yom Kippur:

al cheit she'chatanu lifanecha b'maachal u'v'mishteh - for the sin that we sinned before You with eating and drinking, is because we indulged our cravings and expanded our palates and G-d wasn't in the picture.

How Many Products Do We Need?

I often read about the thousands of kosher products now available and how the kosher market is huge and is still growing, by leaps and bounds.  That's all fine and good.  It's helpful to Jews who live all over the US (and other countries) to have numerous kosher products available to them at their supermarket. 

What bothers me is where I think the kashrus field has gotten out of hand.  I read about mashgichim who travel to distant countries, leaving wife and children behind for long periods of time.  For example, a mashgiach who makes a trip to China, who has to fly to a remote area where the factory is located.  The factory produces the chemical sustance that stabilizes pareve ice cream, and another substance that stimulates the taste buds in an amazing way so pareve ice cream can taste better than dairy.  If all goes well, the ice cream company will be able to improve the taste, smell and quality of their ice creams.  The cost? The husband away from his family, without a minyan, without any Jewish amenities, without a proper Shabbos if he has to stay away that long.  And for what? For enhanced pareve ice cream.

Have you noticed the aisles full of kosher chips and kosher cookies and crackers? Do we need more kosher snacks? More sauces? More cereals? While we read articles about obesity and eating disorders in our frum publications, we turn the pages and see advertisements for more food products!

I saw a Chanuka ad in a frum magazine which said:

2011 Doughnut Collection
It's Natural to Lose Control

I was singularly unimpressed by this grubbe marketing idea.  But I digress.  Back to kashrus. If the kashrus agencies could explain why it is vital for ordinary products to be supervised by mashgichim living or visiting remote places, I would back down.  But I suspect that too many of the kashrus supervisors' visits could be cut out and those products wouldn't be missed.

Marketing to Frum Customers

I was mailed a schedule of cooking classes offered by a frum establishment.  Here are some lines taken from their descriptions of the classes.  The bold is mine.

1) "Impress everyone with your creativity ... "[Is that a goal I ought to have?]

2) "Learn to decorate cupcakes in all the newest styles for your next simcha." [I must be really out of it.  I didn't know that there were styles in cupcakes.]

3) "If cookies are what you crave, you will want to join ... "[Sounds rather "grub" to me.  Doesn't seem to belong in the same Judaism as Dovid Ha'Melech's "Achas sho'alti .." - One thing I ask of Hashem ... to sit in the house of Hashem all the days of my life]

They also offered mishloach manos packages for sale and said:

4) "Leave it up to us and you'll look great!" [hmmm, I'd like the recipients of my shalach manos to enjoy it but no, my goal wasn't to look great.]

Then there was this:

5) "This Pesach you won't have to miss out on your favorite dessert ..." [Are there people who suffer for eight days because of a certain chometzdik dessert they miss?]

And in reference to the classes for children:

6) "Sundays will never have to be boring again." [Does the concept of boredom exist in Torah? Probably right next to wherever the Torah talks about fun :)]