eating and drinking on the street is against the Torah

greenfire

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 11:56 am

http://www.latimes.com/world/m......html

according to this article about a new coffee shop in bnei brak "eating and drinking on the street is against the Torah" based upon “There is a Talmudic saying: He who eats food at market is like a dog,”

I personally prefer to take the time to sit and eat breakfast & dinner at a table ... but that is not always possible.

In the quick paced life we live is this even doable ?

Does comparing eating in the street to a dog automatically make it halacha?

FranticFrummie

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 12:06 pm

I asked DH. He says it's not halacha per se, it just doesn't "look nice". It's not something that a ben or bas melech does. He puts it in the same category of things like running for the bus or yelling hello at someone you recognize across the street. It's undignified.

If you can't imagine the Queen of England doing it, then you shouldn't be doing it either (in public, that is. I'm sure the Queen picks her nose, we just don't need to know about it.)

DH will sit in a sidewalk cafe, but he won't walk down the street with food or drink in his hand.

yo'ma

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 1:23 pm

I understand where they're coming from, eating and drinking on the run, but I don't know anything about halacha. We're supposed to make a bracha and enjoy our food. It's not there only to sustain us, it's also there to give us pleasure otherwise all the food would taste the same. How can we enjoy it when we're not even paying attention to it because we're running to do the next thing on our list, so to speak.

studying_torah

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 1:26 pm

Princess Kate does a lot of things the queen doesn't do (not wear stockings, wears jeans etc). So once she becomes queen things might change.
I don't think this is halacha, maybe a sensitivity issue

greenfire

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 2:07 pm

I've heard it in shiurim as well ... reading this just triggers the query again

I chew gum - do I look like a cow - maybe - but humans chew

sometimes one has to take food on the go - sustenance comes first

how can one eat ice cream if we wait till we get home it will be melted

penguin

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 2:12 pm

Quote:

how can one eat ice cream if we wait till we get home it will be melted

You can sit down in the store (usually) and eat it.

5*Mom

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 2:23 pm

DH just learned this with the kids. It's not as simplistic as it is often made out to be. One shouldn't eat a meal while walking around outdoors. Snacks are okay, but it's preferable that this not be your regular thing.

Volunteer

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 2:29 pm

I think the root of the issue is what is considered socially accepted, and what is considered being a slob.

I happen to recall one incident in the gemara where a few rabbis were walking home from work and one of the pulled a piece of bread out of hi s pocket and ate it as they walked. When his colleagues asked him why he didn't wash his hands he answered that according to his opinion washing isn't necessary for a quick snack. Apparently, eating bread on the road wasn't considered slovenly. So you can't say that eating outside is categorically prohibited.

Maybe it depends on what you eat, how you eat, where you eat. Like many matters of etiquette, it depends on the culture and context.

gp2.0

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 2:33 pm

studying_torah wrote:

Princess Kate does a lot of things the queen doesn't do (not wear stockings, wears jeans etc). So once she becomes queen things might change.
I don't think this is halacha, maybe a sensitivity issue

I don't think Princess Kate will ever be "queen of England" she'll be "queen consort of the King of England" or something to that effect.

I agree that looking to the queen of England as an example has little to do with royalty and more to do with the fact that she's almost 90 years old.

gp2.0

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 2:42 pm

sequoia wrote:

No, Kate will be Queen. Camilla will be Princess Consort or something (supposedly).

Who knows. Kate was supposedly going to be a duchess and not a princess. Guess it's just a matter of the queen signing a document one way or the other.

Eating and drinking while on the go is one of the little pleasures I take in rebellion against my educational years when we were warned not to do it on pain of eternal damnation.

nyer1

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 2:51 pm

my rav said there is a big difference between sipping a coffee or a soda while walking, or noshing from a little baggie in your purse, as opposed to consuming a BURGER while you're walking...

myself

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 4:18 pm

nyer1 wrote:

...there is a big difference between sipping a coffee or a soda while walking, or noshing from a little baggie in your purse, as opposed to consuming a BURGER while you're walking...

This. Halacha aside, it looks very unbecoming.

JoyInTheMorning

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 4:26 pm

It's more becoming to eat from a little baggie in your pocket? Like a three-year-old with a bag of Cheerios?

I think I'd do a double take if I saw someone take a Cheerio or Oreo or apple slice out of a ziplock bag and eat it while walking on the street, but I wouldn't think twice if I saw someone walked down the street eating a folded-over slice of pizza.

Because the latter is what people today do, but not the former.

myself

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 4:28 pm

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

IMVHO they're all unbecoming.

greenfire

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 4:42 pm

personally I think people look more unbecoming when they grab food at a kiddush or buffet or party ... and they are indoors

amother

Black

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 4:58 pm

I also think talking on your phone in public is akin to eating in public. Except for a quick call home (are we out of onions?) your conversations ought to be done in private. But I guess today it's almost impossible to find anyone who appreciates that sensitivity.

It's a "let it all hang out" generation, and that's unfortunate.

amother

Royalblue

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 5:04 pm

I learned this gemara in school, and it's not so simple. It's not a halacha exactly, but it is a code of behavior. There are many who read it as something dictated by minhag hamakom, so in this era of fast food and eating on the go, it's a socially acceptable practice. However, even with that interpretation, it would still be important to keep things refined. It's not difficult to sip a coffee and eat a donut politely on the go, a messy burrito is a different story and is probably best consumed properly at a table.

greenfire

Mon, Jan 25 2016, 5:05 pm

amother wrote:

Totally agree with you. People have gone mad with the phone use in public. There are so few scruples left with regard to manners. No more thank yous. Too busy in phone land to be a mentsch.