Gang Colors and Religious Insignia 3--The Sign of the Pig

The other day I had an invitation to eat at The Iberian Pig. Now this gave me pause. For Reform Jews, the degree of kashrut followed is a matter of conscience, but even prior to the last three years I was thinking about not eating pork, ever since reading Annie Proulx's That Old Ace in the Hole. That book brought home the terrible stinking grossness of hog farming. Being down wind of one was intolerable, people were ill, and the water table was being contaminated. Can you get free-range pigs?

In medieval Spain and Portugal, with the Inquisition breathing down their necks, Jews had to pass as Christians and do such things as keep lard on the boil on their porches--or display hams in their windows at Easter (and, of course, eat them). The Inquisition (short for "The Holy Inquisition Against Depraved Heresy") was supposed to concern itself only with rooting out Christian heresy. But since Jews were being forced to convert on pain of death, they would continue to practice Judaism secretly. "Pig" paired with "Iberian" brings that history to mind in a way that the local barbecue pit does not.

I don't think for a minute that this local Decatur restaurateur has any notion of the Inquisition. Nevertheless I felt out of place under the sign of the pig. I don't want to flaunt who I am. I just don't want to be anywhere that I have to pretend I'm not me or possibly celebrate the heritage of the Inquisition.

Going to church with Dennis does not present me with that same problem. I participate as I can; everyone knows very well that I'm a Jew. I have participated in the monthly lunches--not a problem. But the spring barbecue on the front lawn under the pig-mascot sign? Not for me!

An invitation from loved ones is a horse of another color--not something to discard lightly. But The Iberian Pig won't be my choice for a return visit.

By the way, according to Geraldine Brooks in People of the Book, church and crown were not too picky about who came under the purview of the Inquisition. The military campaign to drive the Muslims out of the peninsula had been very expensive. So much the better when someone, whether converso or Christian, could be charged and convicted of heresy. The unfortunate individual's property would be confiscated and go toward refilling the crown's coffers.

Addendum, Sept. 10, 2010
I think some Christians are beginning to "get" this pig thing. The news this past week as been about the Gainesville, Florida, preacher who was planning to burn the Qur'an and throw in some pork for good measure. It has become an international incident. Apparently this is also the time of the year when some churches hold pig roasts. (Shades of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths?) A friend was going on and on about all the "Pigs on Fire" church cook-outs he was planning to attend, when someone lightly commented she wasn't too thrilled with his term "ecclesiastical barbecue" right now.

When it was just us Jews, Christians did not have to experience confrontation by a pluralistic world. They have us so outnumbered that they can avoid that confrontation--just say it doesn't mean anything, and by the way, why are you so over-sensitive, get over it. Muslims--a different story.