Summer 2009

Q: May one enter a non‐kosher restaurant to get a drink of water, use the restroom or attend a business luncheon?  If a person does enter such an establishment, may he eat kosher items such as whole fruit?  May one buy a cup of coffee at a non‐kosher facility, such as a highway rest stop or Starbucks?

A:  There are a number of activities that, although not inherently wrong, are forbidden by Chazal.  This is because it may appear as if he is performing a seemingly different act that is halachically forbidden. For example, a person whose clothes got wet on Shabbos should not hang them out to dry as it will appear to the onlooker as if he washed them on Shabbos.1 Even though the viewer should be ‘don lekaf zechus’ and judge him favorably, in reality not every person is so charitable in this […]