02/09/2014
The Neighborhood Grocery Store
When I was a child, there was only one grocery store in our neighborhood. It looked as though no changes had been made to it for eons. The floor was always dirty, the wooden shelves appeared to be collapsing, and in order to open the large glass refrigerator in which the dairy produce was stored, one had to forcefully pull large steal handles which did not always yield to the wishes of the clients.
The products in the store weren’t very fresh, and it seemed that the expiry dates stamped by the manufacturers on the packaging was a mere recommendation to the store owner. If by chance, one of the buyers did not notice the date and tried to return the product and get a refund, he was doomed to fail. “You bought it – that’s it” the owner would roughly shout at him.
Indeed, the owner, a large bearded man, was an irritable, impatient person, and even if someone deigned to ask him a question, he would not always bother to answer. His attitude towards women was even worse, and he enjoyed making sexist comments and joking at their expense.
However, as aforesaid, it was the only grocery store within walking distance, and we all bit the bullet, complained and whined, but continued shopping there. Today, years later, in a miraculous and almost super-natural manner, this grocery store continues to stand, almost nothing in it has changed (although air c
onditioning was recently installed in it).
But in addition to this ancient grocery store, a nice minimarket, which closes only at ten, opened in the area, a branch of one of the supermarket chains, which performs home delivery and includes a members’ club, a small convenience store open 24/7, a gourmet (albeit expensive) deli and a fruit and vegetable stall.
Surprisingly, a good many people still continue shopping at that same neighborhood grocery store – women and men alike, and yes, also continue complaining and whining about it at any opportunity.
And the moral?
The Rabbinate and the Rabbinical Courts, of course. If once upon a time there wasn’t a real alternative to Jewish religious marriage, today there are multiple and various possibilities to institutionalize a relationship without passing through the substandard grocery store: a couple’s union, a private civil ceremony in Israel, a civil wedding abroad, common law contracts or a life partnership agreement, and even an orthodox, conservative or reform wedding not involving the state’s clerics (although some of these alternatives may still necessitate a ‘get’ divorce decree in the case of a separation or divorce) and more.
So, those who still wish to buy noxious merchandise in the ancient grocery store – have it your way. But still, one request: stop complaining!
