>>>>>>>>>>Yes I do - but I married into a family which were not very observant - Shabbos is very peaceful if you follow the spirit
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>But then it its necessary to earn a living and this is more important than pure observance - that's why orthodoxy is now in a minority
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>See what I wrote here: message #1420300
>>>>>>>>>Apparently even nowadays an orthodox way of living is a luxury?!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I think that non-orthodox way of living is more a matter of convenience than a necessity.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>That's an interesting difference in pov. As I understood from my father, only the more wealthy jews could afford:
>>>>>>>1) not working on sabbath
>>>>>>>2) eat only kosjer food
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Admitted, that was 80-90 years ago, here in Amsterdam. Times have changed. But it might still be the case. Perhaps not in your city, but in other places, yes.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I don't think it was a matter of social inequality. I cannot say for Amsterdam, but in schtetl environment Sabbat observation was quite universal. Naturally, our days, when 5-day workweek is very common and kosher food is available in supermarkets, it is even more difficult, in my opinion, to find income lines in this issue.
>>>>>
>>>>>Kosher food in supermarkets? Unknown to me. In the Netherlands you have to live in one of the few jewish neighboorhoods to get kosher food. I guess that's one of the main reasons why orthodox jews live together in a jewish neighboorhood.
>>>>
>>>>I didn't talk about Netherlands. My point was specifically to the proposition that observant behavior is available for rich people only.
>>>
>>>Jewish communities in your country are very small, so they don't have kosher supermarkets. It is different in NYC. I guess that Antverpen should have kosher grocery stores, (maybe supermarkets?) it's probably nearest example to your location.
>>>
>>>In the UK you can get prepacked Kosher food in supermarkets but not meat as a supermarket would very rarely have a Kashrut licence and therefore would not be able to handle unpacked food
>>
>>I understand, but a layman can still make distinction between beef and pork in regular store, eh?
>
>Yes you can the difference being that pork is never kosher whereas beef is if slaughtered under Kashrut
>
>I understand where you're coming from - not eating the things that Jews are not supposed to eat like pork and seafood is a good working compomise if you don't want to be strictly kosher

Thank you, for understanding my point. I would just add small nuance, make it even better to my personal taste. It is a working compromise if I want to be somewhat kosher, i.e. it is not the negative drive that I don't want to be strictly kosher.