Hotel breakfast (Illustration photo)
צילום: ג'ו קוט
Why is hotel breakfast cold?
Despite fact that Jewish law permits warming food on Shabbat, Jerusalem hotels only serve cold breakfasts on Shabbat. Head of religious council: could change rules, but no intention to do so
Itzik Avron, manager of Jerusalem's Crown Plaza Hotel, has managed hotels around Israel for years but was shocked to find that Jerusalem maintains different halachic (Jewish legal) standards from other cities in Israel that permit hotels to serve warm breakfast on Shabbat morning.
"I don't understand why Jerusalem rabbis can warm their breakfast up on a hot plate at home, but don't allow tourists in their city to enjoy the same privilege."
Avron has tried for months to fight the rule, set decades ago, by a Jerusalem rabbi concerned that hotel workers would violate Shabbat laws when heating up food, but has so far had no success.
"(We have had) more than a guests have complained, including observant ones," said Avron, "They are paying good money to stay here, and they should have the right to proper service, like they would anywhere else."
Avron has tried to enlist other hotels to his fight, but has so far been unsuccessful.
"They told it's a lost cause," he said. "But the fact remains that other hotel mangers, for their own reasons, are unwilling to get into a fight like this."
Several hotel managers in the capital refused comment.
Tourists pay price
Yonatan Harpaz, the head of the Jerusalem Hoteliers Association, agrees with Avron.
"The issue works against us in many areas with regard to attracting tourists to Jerusalem. At the end of the day, they are the ones who pay the price.
Harpaz said the issue has come up for discussion in meetings with religious council members, but nothing has come of these discussions.
"A year-and-a-half ago they promised to deal with the issue, and made the same promise again two months ago. They blamed Prime Minister (and Minister of Religion) Sharon, because he hasn't appointed a chief rabbi for Jerusalem.
"It's easy for the rabbis to give strict rulings, but you need a chief rabbi to be lenient. At the moment, we are being held hostage to the strict ones."
Council: No halachic problem
Rabbi Assaf Atzor, the head of the Jerusalem Religious Council and Jerusalem Chief Rabbinate, said there is "no halachic problem to heat up breakfast food on Shabbat morning, just like they (the hotels) do for lunch.
"But Jewish law is more than the letter of the law. There are also "fences" to protect the law. 40 years ago, the rabbis decided that people could mistakenly violate Shabbat laws by heating up breakfast foods on Shabbat, and so they decided to offer cold breakfast only on Shabbat."
"At the same time, because we are talking about a mainly procedural problem, the rules could be changed. Personally, even though I've got the power to do this, I am not prepared to change the rules. But in the coming months a new chief rabbi will take office in Jerusalem, and we will discuss the issue with him. Let him decide whether to change the rules or not.
Deputy Mayor Yigal Amadi told Ynet, "This is an issue that must be dealt with immediately, especially because we are not talking about a halachic problem. We go to great lengths to bring tourists to Jerusalem, and we can't have things like this happen.
"Soon, I will get involved in the matter, and I will do whatever it takes to resolve this issue," he said.
