The Veteran Restaurateur: '50 Years I Sold Non-Kosher Food, Now I've Decided to Change'

At the end of the COVID-19 period, when patrons of the 'Masadag' restaurant located on the Bat Galim beach promenade in Haifa wanted to return to dine, they were in for a complete shock. The restaurant, once known for its fresh fish offerings, alongside non-kosher dishes like seafood and shrimp, began proudly displaying a kashrut certificate. The menu underwent a fundamental change, and on Shabbat, when the restaurant used to be filled with customers, it simply closed its doors.

'I Don't Want to Argue with Hashem'

'People thought we went crazy,' says Erez Shitrit, who has managed the restaurant for decades. 'Our restaurant has been around for more than fifty years. I inherited it from my father, Musa – Moshe, a well-known figure in Haifa. Everyone knew him and his restaurant, and since my army service ended, I've been a part of the business,' he says. 'We had customers from all over Haifa, and our restaurant was always considered famous. No one thought the day would come when we'd become kosher.' He pauses a moment, then adds honestly, 'To tell the truth, even I couldn't have imagined something like this happening.'

So what really happened?

'I've had tough times - about a year ago, I suffered from stomach pains, and when I went for tests at Rambam, they found I had aggressive cancer. Since then, I've undergone twelve chemotherapy treatments. I'm not very old; life is still ahead of me, and this disease caught me completely off guard. Suddenly it was hard to get up and walk, I barely managed to move, felt extremely tired, and had many side effects. Interestingly, while most cancer patients have it in the colon, mine was in the small intestine, which is very rare.'

Erez mentions that although he never considered himself religious, 'we are believers, sons of believers,' he emphasizes, 'and I understood that perhaps there was a message from above. Hashem wants me to make some life changes – so the first thing I decided along with my brother, my partner in the business, was to start putting on tefillin regularly, every day. Then I made another decision – to make our restaurant kosher.'

He acknowledges that the decision was by no means simple from every perspective. 'To close our restaurant on Shabbat, that ostensibly means a huge financial loss,' he stresses, 'as it's considered the top restaurant in the area, and on Shabbat we were always crowded with customers. The biggest revenue came at the weekends, and it's like giving up approximately 200,000 shekels a month. Also, the cost of raw materials increased significantly.'

The menu changes were not easy at all. 'We had to part with concepts like "shrimp" and "seafood." We practically declared a ban on them, removing them from the menu. The decision wasn't mine alone,' he stresses, 'my brother, my partner, was with me all the way. We acted out of an understanding that we don't want to "mess" with Hashem. On the contrary, we want to show that we've had a change of heart and changed our ways. More than that – my illness strengthened our faith, and we felt we didn't want to lead our customers astray, refusing to take on that responsibility.'

'Believing and Trusting'

Erez recalls the day they went to the Rabbinate in Haifa. 'I must note that the rabbis were really shocked because they know our restaurant and how far from kosher it had been all these years. We never contemplated making it kosher; it wasn't even a topic for discussion. But they gave us the strongest support, and since we received our kashrut certificate, we have a supervisor present at all times. The rabbis also come by occasionally for inspections, and so far everything is fine, and we maintain everything at a very high standard.'

So you've really changed your way of life...

'True, it was an enormous change for us. It's not easy, but we're at peace with ourselves. My brother and I both agreed it was the right decision. Our whole approach to life turned around.'

And what do the customers say?

'It's been four months since we received kashrut certification, and we've heard various reactions. Some see the menu and are disappointed there's no longer the dishes they wanted and loved, while others are very supportive of us, and we now have the religious community coming in droves, which is very moving. Many people from all over Haifa, who until now never set foot here, are suddenly coming because they find that it's kosher, and we're very happy to serve them. It doesn't cover the high costs since the income has significantly dropped, but we trust Hashem to help us both in health and livelihood.'

And we must ask – how do you feel today?

'I finished the treatment series. I'm still weak, like anyone after a course of chemotherapy, but hoping for the best. With Hashem's help, I'll have follow-up tests in a few months, and I believe Hashem will see my efforts to get closer to Him and grant me full health.'