Henry Goldschmidt gives an interesting and complex analysis of difference among the Black and Jewish population of Crown Heights. He notes that—although these two distinct groups occupy the same geographical space and live in close proximity to one another—their social interactions are extremely limited.

In the third chapter of the book, one of his main focuses is to consider this social distance between Blacks and Jews in terms of the dietary restrictions strictly adhered to by the latter group. As many Lubavitchers expressed their reasoning behind their withdrawal from social interactions with neighbors, very often was the issue of maintaining kosher law at the center of the discussion. Like one Rabbi stated (when referring to a proposal by a Black individual to simply bring in kosher food whenever they would have Jews over for dinner), “We can’t use your ovens, we can’t use your dishes. It’s not just a question of buying certain food, it’s buying the food, preparing it in a certain way.”

And so, here Goldschmidt draws an important distinction between cultural cuisine and kosher cuisine, and why the terms are not interchangeable. Cultural foods take certain meaningful culinary ingredients—meaningful, in the sense that they are tied to historical roots and geographical traditions—and create a product that is materially distinct. The Jewishness of kosher foods is the result of a distinct process, and is not necessarily tied to the substance of the food itself. This view is supported by individuals of the Lubavitch community, who resent the perception of their daily life choices as being merely “cultural.” Believing themselves to be God’s chosen people, they view their day-to-day actions and decisions as being spiritually infused and directly mandated to them by God. Interpretively, part of being a strict follower of the laws of the Torah is the avoidance of “Gentile” acquaintance—something which stands in stark contrast to the efforts of Black social activists in Crown Heights.