S. PAUL, Minn. — Mark G. Yudof, the fourteenth president of the University of Minnesota, has received unanimous praise for his first year at the helm of one of the largest public universities in America. His kitchen, meanwhile, has won him rabbinic applause for its high kashrut standards and the example it sets.

Arriving here together with his wife, Judy, twenty months ago to take charge of an educational institution with an annual budget of more than $1.5 billion and a student body of 49,000, academic excellence was undoubtedly foremost on President Yudof's mind. Still, while preparing his inaugural address, he and his family were concerned with another longtime commitment — to a kosher home.

Shortly after her family arrived in the Twin Cities, Mrs. Yudof contacted Rabbi Gershon Grossbaum, Associate Director of Upper Midwest Merkos-Lubavitch, to discuss the task of koshering the private family kitchen at the official presidential residence on Mississippi River Boulevard. Rabbi Grossbaum and Mrs. Yudof worked for two days to disassemble and thoroughly clean and make kosher all kitchen appliances and every nook and cranny inside the kitchen of the 75 year-old mansion.

TORAH AND THE ART OF KITCHEN PURIFICATION
The koshering process for a kitchen includes lots of boiling water amid glowing red flames. The methods are set forth by the sages of the Talmud based on biblical prescription. During the elaborate process, the president came by several times "to see what was happening," said Rabbi Grossbaum. And Mrs. Yudof, the rabbi said, was "obviously very involved."

But all this was not new to the Yudofs.

Back in Texas, where Mark Yudof served ten years as the Dean of the School of Law and later as Provost and Executive Vice President of the University of Texas at Austin, Judy had decided to maintain a kosher kitchen.

"I kept a kosher kitchen for a number of years when we were in Texas," said Judy Yudof, who is a national officer of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. "It has become a very important and natural component of our private life."

It was Mrs. Yudof's concern for the next generation of Jews that inspired her to keep kosher. "How could we expect Jewish commitment from our young people if we don't set an example?" Yudof explained.

And how did Yudof's decision affect her children?

Judy Yudof said that her daughter, Samara, was very annoyed at first because of the changes that were imposed around the house. "But later she was proud that all her friends would be able to eat meals in our house."

The Yudofs' son, Seth, came home from college to discover the kitchen was entirely different. His reaction was positive and he commented, "Mom, I expected you to do this years ago."

Kashrut - Hebrew for "kosher-ness," the Jewish dietary tradition (the word "kosher" itself means fit, in this instance fit for eating) - embraces the wide range of practices that Jews have been commanded to observe since biblical times. Many of the Jewish dietary laws come directly from the biblical text, while others are derived by exegesis in the Talmud.

Statistics show that since 1976, when the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory began his worldwide campaign to encourage Jews to observe the kosher dietary laws, kashrut observance has risen dramatically. Today food manufacturers and retailers are tripping over each other to cater to the vast kosher market. Kosher food has become a multi-billion dollar industry, available in supermarkets all over the world. And many a high profile figure has encouraged others by example to adhere to the kosher dietary laws.

TEACHING BY EXAMPLE
In the case of the Yudofs, Rabbi Grossbaum of the Twin Cities Lubavitch House noted, "the message sent by this special family is very clear: Keeping kosher is something that can be done today, in the modern world, no matter the path of life one chooses."

Said Judy Yudof, "When we were interviewed [for the position of president], I made no secret about the fact" that the family maintained a kosher home.

The message is doubly important for students, Grossbaum added. "It is crucial that young Jews see a success story whose example proves that we need not compromise our religious principles to achieve success."

Mrs. Yudof agreed. "When my husband and I addressed Jewish high school students at the Minneapolis Jewish Community Center, we told them that they should never apologize for being Jewish and maintaining their beliefs. They should be proud of their Jewish identity."