Eating Out

Today my group went out to lunch to celebrate the retirement of one of the guys. Non-kosher style. I was trying to figure out whether to go. I asked my boss if he was going, and he said of course, and I should go to. I guess he didn't pick up on the Halachic question. A religious Jew is forbidden from entering a non-Jewish restaurant because of Maaris Ayin, or Misleading other Jews. The logic goes that people would see the religious Jew going into the restaurant and assume that it is OK for Jews to eat there, thereby possibly causing another Jew to sin. So I wanted to steer clear of this lunch. But now I was not only up against the rest of my group, but my boss as well, who was either unaware of the problem, or thought it was more important for both of us to go.

In the end I didn't go. I didn't discuss it with my boss; I just told my co-workers I wouldn't be able to make it, and explained the dilemma. They understood. I just hope my boss doesn't feel that I'm more frum than him.