Source: Chicago Sun-Times
On September 22, 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "adherence to kosher dietary laws, thought by some to be dying out in America 50 years ago, appears stronger than ever. In recent years, the ritual is being followed not only among Orthodox Jews, but across Judaism's other branches. Kosher popularity...has been cresting in recent years, according to author Samuel Freedman, who notes the return to religious traditions in his book Jew vs. Jew: The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry (Simon & Schuster, $26).'I definitely believe more Jews are keeping kosher than in the past,' said Rabbi Michael Siegel, leader of the Conservative Anshe Emet Synagogue and president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis. 'There's a greater interest in authentic approaches to religious life. In the Jewish world, (observing) Shabbat (the Sabbath) and kashrut (kosher laws) are primary places to begin.' Orthodox Rabbi Yaakov Einsenbach of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, one of several groups that certifies kosher, agreed that 'the trend is more toward the more traditional.'"