November 9, 2007--Fanaticism XCVI: Kosher Phones
It’s the 21st century and even the ultra-orthodoxy need to find ways to reconcile their beliefs with the urgings of the contemporary world.
Take cell phones for example. Most allow easy access to the Internet and all the fleshpots there that await. And then there is the world of 900 numbers that connect one, at stiff fees, to dating services, phone sex, and porn. So, if your followers want or need cell phones but still aspire to lead strict religious lives, there is a technological solution—offer them kosher cell phones that have built-in devices that do not allow users to connect to those forbidden places.
Just as rabbis supervise and then approve as kosher the preparation of certain foods, in the Hassidic sections of Israel, and I suspect in the US as well, they are koshering these kinds of phones for the faithful. To show how accommodating and flexible they are, these phones can even be used on Saturdays, though one could claim this is against the Sabbath prohibitions that do not allow on that day the most-observant to do anything resembling work, which includes using things powered by electricity.
But, as with other forms of transgression, there’s a price to pay: whereas it costs less than 2 cents a minute to call other kosher cell phones on all days but Saturday, on Shabbos it will cost you $2.44 per minute. To quote one user, “You pay less if you play by the rules.” (See NY Times article linked below.)
There are about 800,000 ultra-orthodox in Israel, and if you think this thriving trade in kosher cell phones is an indication of the market potential of the most-fervent, you are correct. There are huge opportunities in the marketing of all sorts of kosher things—even clothing where the rabbis forbid any garments that combine wool with silk and encourage wearing underwear that has fringes. Don’t ask. For children, one can find Hassidic versions of Barbie and Ken dolls. The Moshie Doll (I made up the name) has long side curls, or peyos, and if you squeeze him he recites prayers.
These strictures and accommodations even pertain to pizza. An Israeli branch of a New Jersey pizza parlor, American Pizza, opened a restaurant in one of the ultra-orthodox communities, thinking newly-arriving American Hassids would have a yen for a taste of home. And they were right. The business thrived. The pizza was kosher but they ran into trouble over the image on their neon sign and take-out pizza box. As in NJ, their logo was the Statue of Liberty. American Pizza, get it? What better symbol of America could there be than the Statue? But there was a problem and it literally caused a riot—protestors, with a perverse sense of humor, not only broke their windows but also threw hot olive oil and tomatoes at the restaurant. And so they went out of business even though it had been very popular.
The problem was with the notion of “Liberty.” In Hebrew, liberty or chofesh means pure freedom. This notion of such unrestraint is forbidden. Hassidim do not belief in chofesh--they believe they are not free but rather servants of God.
But good entrepreneurs that they are, the American Pizza folks opened a new place just across the street from the orthodox enclave and are once again doing well. They are even serving many who are willing to cross that dividing line. They did, though, change their logo—rather than the Statue of (Pure) Liberty, their pizza boxes are now emblazoned with an image of the Twin Towers.
Take cell phones for example. Most allow easy access to the Internet and all the fleshpots there that await. And then there is the world of 900 numbers that connect one, at stiff fees, to dating services, phone sex, and porn. So, if your followers want or need cell phones but still aspire to lead strict religious lives, there is a technological solution—offer them kosher cell phones that have built-in devices that do not allow users to connect to those forbidden places.
Just as rabbis supervise and then approve as kosher the preparation of certain foods, in the Hassidic sections of Israel, and I suspect in the US as well, they are koshering these kinds of phones for the faithful. To show how accommodating and flexible they are, these phones can even be used on Saturdays, though one could claim this is against the Sabbath prohibitions that do not allow on that day the most-observant to do anything resembling work, which includes using things powered by electricity.
But, as with other forms of transgression, there’s a price to pay: whereas it costs less than 2 cents a minute to call other kosher cell phones on all days but Saturday, on Shabbos it will cost you $2.44 per minute. To quote one user, “You pay less if you play by the rules.” (See NY Times article linked below.)
There are about 800,000 ultra-orthodox in Israel, and if you think this thriving trade in kosher cell phones is an indication of the market potential of the most-fervent, you are correct. There are huge opportunities in the marketing of all sorts of kosher things—even clothing where the rabbis forbid any garments that combine wool with silk and encourage wearing underwear that has fringes. Don’t ask. For children, one can find Hassidic versions of Barbie and Ken dolls. The Moshie Doll (I made up the name) has long side curls, or peyos, and if you squeeze him he recites prayers.
These strictures and accommodations even pertain to pizza. An Israeli branch of a New Jersey pizza parlor, American Pizza, opened a restaurant in one of the ultra-orthodox communities, thinking newly-arriving American Hassids would have a yen for a taste of home. And they were right. The business thrived. The pizza was kosher but they ran into trouble over the image on their neon sign and take-out pizza box. As in NJ, their logo was the Statue of Liberty. American Pizza, get it? What better symbol of America could there be than the Statue? But there was a problem and it literally caused a riot—protestors, with a perverse sense of humor, not only broke their windows but also threw hot olive oil and tomatoes at the restaurant. And so they went out of business even though it had been very popular.
The problem was with the notion of “Liberty.” In Hebrew, liberty or chofesh means pure freedom. This notion of such unrestraint is forbidden. Hassidim do not belief in chofesh--they believe they are not free but rather servants of God.
But good entrepreneurs that they are, the American Pizza folks opened a new place just across the street from the orthodox enclave and are once again doing well. They are even serving many who are willing to cross that dividing line. They did, though, change their logo—rather than the Statue of (Pure) Liberty, their pizza boxes are now emblazoned with an image of the Twin Towers.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
10:47 AM
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