Defender Of The Faith

For many devout Jewish people, food is a serious matter. Kosher laws do not permit easy consumption of food, and throughout the short story, food plays an key role in the lives of the Jewish characters. For example, the three Jewish trainees worry about the non-kosher food served at the military base that is their temporary home. The rabbi offers the Jewish trainees advice to enable them to cope with the non-kosher food, and when the trainees enjoy their weekend away from Camp Crowder, they do so under the pretense of a family Seder, or Passover meal.

Food for many, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, is a link to family and to a general sense of belonging. As Marx points out to Captain Barrett, Jewish families are generally very close, so between the kosher laws and the absence of family, food could become a stressful issue for the three young men. Even though Grossbart’s dishonesty casts a shadow over the genuine needs of Halpern, for the three Jewish trainees, who are all very early in their adulthood, food is likely to be meaningful.

Mickey Halpern, the most devout of the three trainees, rather unexpectedly is the most willing to cope with the difficult circumstances around the food served at Camp Crowder. Only he is able to take the rabbi’s advice to heart, which enables him to consume the non-kosher food he is offered without complaint. Fishbein and Grossbart, on the other hand, appear less rigid about their adherence to kosher laws, except when it somehow benefits them to be more concerned than normal.