Sechora - Retaining Business

QUESTION: I own a store and most of my customers are not Jewish. I feel compelled to sell certain non-kosher products because otherwise many of my customers will stop coming to my store. Is this permitted?

ANSWER: The Aruch Hashulchan (YD 117:27) was asked a similar question regarding Jewish owned stores that also sold non-kosher fish. The main business of the store was kosher foods. However, many of the non-Jewish customers would stop patronizing the store unless they also sold a certain popular non-kosher fish. The Aruch Hashulchan writes that the rationale to permit this is that the non-kosher items make up only a small fraction of the sales and they are only being sold to enable the rest of the business. He compares this to a hunter who happens to catch non-kosher animals. The hunter is permitted to sell the non-kosher animals, since this is not his primary business. However, some poskim differentiate between a hunter and a storeowner. The hunter does not even intend to catch the non-kosher animals, while the storeowner intends to buy and sell the non-kosher products. Still, the Aruch Hashulchan writes that there is a basis to be lenient, if he cannot operate the store otherwise.

____________________________________________________

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.