Q&A: One-Time Koshering of a Hall Known to Be Non-Kosher
One-Time Koshering of a Hall Known to Be Non-Kosher
Question
I was invited to a wedding in one of the country’s luxury halls that advertises that it is non-kosher all year round. After checking with the people who invited me, it turned out that they rented the venue and made sure to bring kosher catering, as well as kosher plates and cutlery. Is there any problem with going to this wedding? Is there an issue here of "do not place a stumbling block," since people will see religious Jews entering this hall and think it is kosher? Or of strengthening the hands of transgressors?
Answer
I don’t think there is any prohibition here. No one is going to go to the hall on some other occasion just because he saw you entering this time. If he doesn’t notice the supervision, then he’ll go even without you; and if he does notice it, then he won’t go even with you. Maybe there is something here in terms of appearance to onlookers, but it is hard to formulate a new prohibition on that basis.
Strengthening the hands of transgressors, if there is such a concern here, applies to the person who rented the hall, not to you. But for various reasons, nowadays people are not careful about shopping in a store that is open on the Sabbath, or riding a bus that operates on the Sabbath, and the like.
If this were an event run by the hall itself, maybe I wouldn’t go. But if it is an event of a friend or relative and you want to show closeness to him, then there is no objection to going.