Market Flunks Kosher 101
The scene described below was witnessed last weekend by Marvin Petal of California, while shopping at a local gourmet food emporium:
The market has a little booth with a microwave and hotplate tucked in a rear corner of the shop. From this booth, an employee dispenses free samples of various delicacies to shoppers, hoping to promote sales of featured products. Yesterday the featured product was Hebrew National frankfurters. The woman in the booth kept a constant stream of announcements going, letting everyone know that what she was offering was “Hebrew National hot dogs.” To all within earshot, she kept announcing, “Hebrew National hot dogs.”
A middle-aged woman edged up to the booth and inquired: “Does it contain pork? I can’t eat pork.” The employee in the booth answered: “I don’t know. I’ll ask.” She shouted to another employee, who was out of sight in the storeroom behind the booth, “Does the Hebrew National contain any pork?”
The voice of the unseen person in the storeroom said: “I don’t know. Look at the label.”
Pause.
The dispenser of the morsel read the label. She turned to the shopper: “Nope. No pork.” The middle-aged lady gingerly accepted the morsel. “Thank you.”
She popped a bite in her mouth and turned to her friend, who was waiting a few steps away. “Nope, no pork.”
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