March 19, 2013 | 1:24 pm Posted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz I
recall my experiences as a teenager working waiting tables in
various restaurants. There was a high-paced energy that was
difficult to maintain, but the greatest challenge was constantly
being hungry while serving others food. Today, many have it much
worse than anything I experienced, because they work long shifts
with no breaks at all to eat. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (42:14)
ruled that we must ensure that the food server also eats from
the food being served. The Biur Halachah (169:1) went further,
arguing that this rule requires the cook to be fed as well. The
Gemara on which these rulings are based (Ketubot 61a) actually
went even further than these legal authorities, stating that one
must give food to anyone who can smell the food being prepared
or served. We have not lived up to these just rulings. One-fifth
of all Americans work in the food sector, from planting and
harvesting crops to selling food directly to consumers in fast-
food estab