BEER Ch. 3 You're Jewish, Right?

[Dave Monroe]

   "'Got another one for you here, you're Jewish, right?'" (BE, Ch. 3, p. 24)


"Kashruth fraud"

Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, כַּשְׁרוּת) is the set of Jewish
dietary laws. Food that may be consumed according to halakha (Jewish
law) is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of
the Hebrew term kashér (כָּשֵׁר), meaning "fit" (in this context, fit
for consumption).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut

Historically, the statutes of some states in the USA attempted to
define kosher, and make it a felony to sell a product which was called
kosher if, in general, it was not processed in accordance with the
Jewish religion. However, challenges were made to such laws on the
basis that they appear to be establishment of a religious practice by
the states in question, which would constitute a violation of the
constitutional rule that there should be no law respecting an
establishment of religion. Although earlier courts upheld some of
these laws, courts have since determined that the laws would establish
religious practice, and therefore struck the laws down; opponents of
this decision had attempted to argue that kashrut was simply a set of
standards for food preparation, and therefore there would be no
difference between labelling something as kashrut and labelling it as
low sodium, high-fiber, pasteurised, calcium-enriched, or contains no
cholesterol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_laws_regarding_Kashrut


"a goon sqaud of fake mashgichim"

A Mashgiach (Hebrew: משגיח‎, pl. משגיחים, mashgichim, lit.
"Supervisor") is a Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher
establishment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashgiach


"jive-ass hechshers"

4. jive, jiver, jive mother-fucker, jive-ass mother-fucker, jamf (oral
evidence only for the last three)...jamf is an abbreviation of
jive-ass mother-fucker and is said to have originated with Charlie
Parker;

http://www.thomaspynchon.com/gravitys-rainbow/extra/jamf.html

A hechsher (Hebrew: הכשר‎ [ˈheχʃeʁ] "kosher approval"; plural:
hechsherim) is a Rabbinical Product certification, qualifying items
(usually foods) that conform to the requirements of Halakha (Jewish
law).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hechsher


"'Try Meyer Lansky—no wait, he's dead.'"

Meyer Lansky (born Meyer Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15,
1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a major organized crime
figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was
instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in
the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_Lansky
http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_3#Page_24


"shaygetz-dating issues"

Shegetz (שייגעץ or in Hebrew שֵׁיְגֶּץ; alternative Romanizations
incl. shaygetz, sheigetz, shaigetz, sheygets; plural שגאצים shkotzim,
shgatzim) is a Yiddish word that has entered English to refer to a
non-Jewish boy or young man. Although shegetz, like its feminine
counterpart shiksa, comes from the Hebrew sheketz ("detestable,"
"abomination", "loathed", "blemish") and literally translates as
"rascal", "scoundrel" or "varmint", - its pejorative connotations
range from negligible to severe, depending on the context.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shegetz


"a truth universally acknowledged"

First sentence of Pride and Prejudice: "It is a truth universally
acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must
be in want of a wife."

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/ppv1n01.html
http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_3#Page_24
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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l