I'm not the sort of person that you would describe as super sensitive about this sort of thing.
Which is why, when I find myself having a viscerally negative feeling, I wonder what others must be feeling.
I open this up to discussion from you.
Does the above website offend you?
Why or why not?
9 comments:
I'm utterly confused. Do you want the vendor to stay in business? Do you want him to lose what might be a good portion of his business?
Is the website exclusively marketed to the frum community? A seforim site offering Christmas specials is ludicrous. Yet B&H offers "holiday specials" with Christmas pictures such as wreaths and trees as a motif. Is that offensive??
Interesting question, Anonymous.
How far can a frum business go in order to stay open?
That is the question being posed here.
Perhaps the problem is with calling Oh Nuts a frum business. Yes, it may be owned by frum people. Yes, all its products are under hashgochah. But does that make it a "frum" business? It sells items that are used by Jews and others alike--nuts and candies aren't "frum" items. The stores are in neighborhoods that have large concentrations of people who are both frum and not frum or not Jewish. During non-holiday times its customers are not just frum people, so why should "holiday" times be excepted?
Perhaps the question to be asked should be can a store like Oh Nuts make a profit and stay in business if it does not appeal to all those in the geographic area where it is located? This question is particularly relevant when you note that none of the merchandise sold by Oh Nuts is in the "necessity" category but is strictly in the "treats" area.
I'd have far more trouble with a strictly kosher butcher shop or kosher caterer that suddenly started advertising "Xmas dinner specials."
Using a Halloween marketing theme is not a violation of halacha.
I understand where you are coming from; it's distasteful (pun intended). However, I don't think it's evil. I would think a frum business would be a bit more concerned and sensitive to their Judaism before their profits. Heightened sensitivities are very important...Especially considering the origins of the holiday and how Jews were always treated in Christian Europe around such occasions.
I guess they figure that the people who would care about it would not heaven forbid go online.
Does Oh, Nuts bill itself as a frum business? If so, then the marketing is out of line. OTOH, if it doesn't bill itself as a frum business but just happens to be owned by frum people who market to the general population, then it's fair for them to use marketing tools that will appeal to the population at large. I don't think frum people are obligated to sell only merchandise that will be appropriate for frum customers.
OTOH they didn't have to be quite so blatant. I could have lived without the jack-o-lantern, and the following line from the website doesn't sit well with me, either: "Our Halloween Candy are kosher as well all our Nuts, Candy, Chocolates and all other items are kosher under rabbinical supervision."
I wouldn't criticize Oh, Nuts for selling candy corn and sugar pumpkins, but was it really necessary to announce that all "Halloween candy" is under rabbinical supervision? Couldn't they have simply stated that ALL their products are under rabbinical supervision? And was it really necessary for them to inform us of when Halloween takes place? Anyone who cares already knows.
I can't wait to see what they do for December.
I'd love to see this:
After a Taanis like today, enjoy some Shaini Basra Candy
Most consumers in this country either celebrate or know about Halloween. There are plenty of businesses that cater to frum people only - they are unknown to non-frum and non-Jewish customers, think Williamsburg and Boro Park - patronize those if you are offended.
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