The Other Side of the Story - A Fan Of The Jews
Feeding You A Whopper
My oldest brother, Todros (yes, a rare name indeed!) runs a boys' summer camp in the UK. This past year he went on his annual search to find a school or college that would rent him their premises, and his search took him from Manchester as far as Ireland.At one point my brother and his assistant realized they hadn't eaten for 13 hours. They had had the foresight to bring with them two pre-packed, double-wrapped, kosher airline meals. Just then they drove past a small countryside MacDonald's restaurant. They pulled over, went in and asked the employee if he would heat up their meals, and that they would willingly pay for this service. The employee obliged kindly and refused any payment. He recommended they take a breath of fresh air while they waited.
Five minutes later they were invited to enjoy their meal. MacDonald's had graciously laid a table for them on their verandah with MacDonald's personalized tablecloth, place mats, cups, cutlery and napkins (all paper), with their ready-warmed meals sitting unopened on their plates. Needless to say, they thoroughly enjoyed their meals.
Now, had a fellow Orthodox Jew just happened to pass through this tucked-away location and seen them dining, I wonder what would have gone through his mind?
OHRNET'S NOTE: While we are commanded to judge favorably, we must also try to act in a way that is above suspicion, as the verse states: Be innocent in the eyes of G-d and Man - It's not always enough to do what's right; it should also look right to human observers. Our Sages therefore forbade certain acts which cast suspicion on the doer. Some Halachic authorities forbid entering a non-kosher restaurant for this reason.
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