Do I have to worry about "Maris Ayin" if my kashrut standards are different than the majority of a community?

Question

Let's say I like to eat at "Deliware" (I borrowed this name from a place in Port Jervis, NY). The place is kosher with a reliable hechsher.

I visit the town, and I know nothing about the community's hechsher standards. I'm wearing my yarmulka, go in and eat there. A frum person sees me go in and walk out with a bag and says, "I didn't think this place was kosher!" I say, "Of course it is. See the certificate from the OU?" And he says, "Oh that doesn't mean anything. It's not under the Va'ad, and any place not under the Va'ad is not kosher, in this community."

Did I commit a violation of marit ayin, here, as I knew nothing about people's preferences?

Let's say Deliware was in my own neighborhood, and I know that people don't trust any place not under the Va'ad, but I know, in fact that because it's under the OU, the hechser is reliable. I even called the OU to verify that the hechsher of Deliware is valid. Is it still maris ayin because my kashrut standards are not the same as the community's?

Answer 1

No. You do not have to worry about Marit Ayin.

Marit Ayin is when a Jew does something technically permitted, but may cause someone to reason that a different activity is permitted, when in fact, it is forbidden. The classic example of this is hanging wet laundry to dry on shabbat. (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 146b)

Technically, if you washed clothes on Friday, you aren't doing a melacha by hanging the wet clothes to dry on shabbat. However, the gemara teaches us that it's a problem of marit ayin, because other people might see you hanging wet clothes on shabbat, and assume that washing clothes on shabbat is allowed, when in fact, it is not.

In your case, you're not causing anyone else to break halacha. Assuming the restaurant is kosher, but just not under the local vaad, you're eating kosher food. Anyone else who sees someone with a kipah walk in , and deduces that the food is kosher, will also go in and eat only kosher food there.

Now: you may have a problem of "Do not separate yourself from the community" (Avot, 2:4), but eating at a kosher restaurant certainly isn't marit ayin.