Kesher Talk

The. Thread. That. Refused. To. Die. I keep checking back with a sick fascination, and it keeps growing, which is partly my fault, since I keep posting. I was actually #500 (which is partial redress for all the concert tickets I never won because I wasn't the fifth caller). More than you ever wanted to know about kashrut, brit, lgf flirting protocol, and Jewish theology of the afterlife. Someone wished for me that I should also be #613. I don't think so - I'm on a dial-up connection.

UPDATE: The. Thread. That. Ate. LGF. Bwwwaaahaaaa. It went to 620 comments and then crashed Charles' server. I was not #613 - The thread had rolled too far down the home page for me to care anymore. But Charles was happy to give us more rope, so we are still at it - 122 comments as of very late Wednesday night. The topic is still kosher food. Mostly. I'm trolling for hits like I usually do.

I think this thread is still alive because kashrut is a symbol for the tension between loyalty to ancient tribal customs and assimilation into global pop culture. This is not a problem to be solved, but a dialectic to be lived. It is very uncomfortable for people with great need for certainty and clear boundaries. It is also uncomfortable for people who dislike any assertion of boundaries or eternal verities. We are all acutely aware of this dialectic right now because Islamism is jamming the needle against one side of the meter and in everyone else's face about it, so we welcome a chance to air our anxieties about how much distinction and difference we can stand.

posted by Judith @ 12/10/2002 01:57:02 AM