  
|
Disposable Chopsticks, and Chopsticks "Etiket"
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
|
|
A Jewish man and a Chinese man were once conversing. The Jewish man commented about what wise people the Chinese are. "Yes," said the Chinese man, "as a matter of fact, our culture is over four thousand years old. But you know that you Jews are very wise people, too."
"Oh, yes," the Jew responded smugly, "our culture is over five thousand years old."
The Chinese man was incredulous. "That's impossible. Where did your people eat for a thousand years?" (Source; Impact! 230 Short Stories with an Immediate Message" by Dovid Kaplan)
A Rabbi was walking home from the Temple and saw one of his good friends, a pious and learned man who could usually beat the Rabbi in an argument. The Rabbi started walking faster so that he could catch up to his friend, when he was horrified to see his friend go into a non- kosher Chinese restaurant.
Standing at the door, he observed his friend talking to a waiter and gesturing at a menu. A short time later, the waiter reappeared carrying a platter full of spare ribs, shrimp in lobster sauce, crab Rangoon and other treif that the Rabbi could not bear to think about.
As his friend picked up the chopsticks and began to eat this food, the Rabbi burst into the restaurant and reapproached his friend, for he could take it no longer.
"Morris, what is this you are doing? I saw you come into this restaurant, order this filth and now you are eating it in violation of everything we are taught about the dietary laws and with an apparent enjoyment that does not befit your pious reputation!"
Morris replied, "Rabbi, did you see me enter this restaurant?" (Rabbi nods yes). "Did you see me order this meal?" (again he nods yes) "And did you see me eat it? (nods yes)
"Then, Rabbi, I don't see the problem here. The entire thing was done under Rabbinical supervision."
In the late '40s and early '50s, there were no kosher Chinese restaurants with names like Eden Wok, Chai Peking, and Jerusalem Peking. Let's face it; Jewish people love to eat Chinese food.
Sunday night, my family dined at the Far Rockaway Palace Chinese Restaurant on Central Avenue in Far Rockaway, New York. The prices were "bilik" (inexpensive). Chicken Chow Mein, single portion, cost $.60; for two, $1.10. Shrimp Chow Mein, single portion, $.75. Lobster Chow Mein for three, $2.75. No Pu Pu Platters, like those served at the Golden Chopsticks Restaurant today.
We were handed chopsticks, but preferred eating with a "gopl" (fork). We had difficulty handling those two humble splints of wood, eight to 10 inches long, and discarded after a meal. There were no "forkchops." ( Forkchops have a knife and fork on the opposite end for Westerners who can't manage the sticks.
Today, many "heimishe" diners carry a personal set of chopsticks; they "vashn" (wash) them after each meal and carry them in a little cloth bag.
Today, guests are told to be mindful of chopstick "etiket" (etiquette):
. Guests should never drop their chopsticks because it signals bad luck.
. Never pass food from your chopsticks to someone else's, since this is a funeral ("levaye") custom.
. Chopsticks should never be placed straight up in a bowl of rice. This is another mourning custom.
. Resting the chopsticks to the side of the plate or on the small wooden rests is always acceptable.
. Grabbing your food with a chopstick is consdered poor etiquette.
. Do not beat your bowls while eating. This behavior is associated with beggars.
. Stabbing your food with a chopstick is considered poor etiquette.
. Don't use your chopsticks to point at somebody.
. Don't wave your chopsticks when talking.
. Don't lick or suck the ends of chopsticks.
. If the chopsticks fall off your plate and hits the floor, ask for another pair.
Today there is a campaign, an environmental movement, to stop using disposable chopsticks. China produces and discards billions of chopsticks annually, cutting down millions of trees in the process. And billions of pairs are exported to Japan, South Korea and other countries. At the current rate of timber use, environmentalists say that China will consume its remaining forests in about a decade.
An Osaka-based restaurant chain operator, Marche Corp., switched to PLASTIC chopsticks, which can be reused some 130 times. U2's Bono is helping Greenpeace China launch a Bring Your Own Chopstick (B.Y.O.C.) campaign. In China, a country where food safety scares are common, many Chinese think disposables are more sanitary than restaurant chopsticks that may not be washed thoroughly. "Gezunthayt iz beser vi krankhayt." (Health is better than illness.)
_________________________________________
With reference to using chopsticks,
Marjorie Wolfe's motor skills need some
serious refining. The last Jewish Fortune
Cookie that she received said, "You will
meet a real mensch - Tall, dark, and calls
his mother every day."
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M |
| N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z |
| Yiddish
Stuff Jewish Humor Schmooze News More Majorie Wolfe |
Principle Jewish Stories All Things Jewish Jewish Communities of the World |
