Photo from here

Part of my previous career involved working as a mashgiach for an “out-of-town” vaad ha’kashrus.  I logged many hours and late night checking and counting dishes and silverware.  I spent a good deal of time speaking with many caterers and learned a few things about the business.

Whenever you work with a caterer or a banquet hall and there are fees for “dish rental” involved, it’s the industry rule that the price for the dishes factors in the fact that there will be some breakage involved and subsequent replacement of the items.  Every caterer know that a dish, glass, or fork won’t make it back to it’s proper home at the end of the event.  The cost to the client for dish rental reflects the replacement of said items.

As we inch closer to Tisha B’Av it’s easy to forget that Hashem has factored in the breakage of the two most sacred buildings ever constructed and allows us each opportunities and avenues to replace what was lost.