E. A. Al Maleh, in his introduction to Moroccan Jewish Cookery by Viviane Moryoussef, says, “The Jewish cuisine expresses the freedom to be Jewish in an Islamic land. Moreover every one here knows that Muslim or Jewish holidays have always featured exchanges between the two communities.... It is a long tradition of hospitality, conviviality, respect, and mutual tolerance.” The Jews and Muslims share many dishes, and at first glance, the recipes in this book don’t appear any different from similar Arabic or North African recipes. What makes them Jewish are that they follow the laws of kashrut, the dietary laws that govern the kosher kitchen. The story persists that the dietary laws came about as a health measure to prevent the Jews from eating foods that were unclean and possibly disease ridden. Observing the laws may have had a fortunate outcome, such as the avoidance of trichinosis by not eating pork, but this was not the primary rationale. Kashrut is a ritual observance that leads to ethical behavior. The rabbis of the Talmudic period were content to refer to the words of the Bible when explaining the dietary laws; holiness is the only reason given for the adherence to the kosher laws. The rabbis believed that the secret of Jewish survival was separatism. By not mingling with others, Judaism would be preserved. The laws of the Bible were to be obeyed, not questioned. The twelfth-century philosopher Maimonides, in seeking a rationale for the dietary laws, surmised that they “train us to master our appetites, to accustom us to restrain our desires, and to avoid considering the pleasure of eating and drinking as the goal of man’s existence.” Those of us enamored of the world of food and wine might find it hard to accept that eating and drinking are not our raison d’être. For those hyper-creative souls who believe in total permissiveness in the kitchen, following the kosher laws might feel like a culinary straightjacket, but that’s a contemporary culinary point of view. In fact, following the kosher laws brought about great creativity in observant Jewish cooks; they joyfully embraced the opportunity to prepare wonderful food using local ingredients, to adhere to traditional and well-loved recipes, and to stay within kosher boundaries.
