From JKN:
Arguably, if a hashgacha gets a black eye, its name compromised publically for one reason or another, it will be faced with a dilemma. While the kosher consumer is generally quite ignorant, for as long as s/he hears nothing negative about the trusted kosher seal s/he relies upon, s/he can continue eating at a certain restaurant or buying a certain product without a tinge of concern. If neighbors and others rely upon it, then we simply rely upon “everyone eats there” and that is without a doubt the best supervision one can find.
Any supervising agency that is responsible for many stores and products will at one time or another fall victim to failure for it is not a perfect world and the unscrupulous people out there that lack Yiras Hashem (Fear of Heaven) will cut corners or simply defy a hashgacha’s regulations in the interest of making more money. Learning that a restaurant was caught engaged in a serious kashrus violation is what the hashgacha is about. The questions are (1) what was done to prevent this from occurring and (2) what is done once the forbidden practice came to the hashgacha’s attention.
Please, don’t insult with the “days ago when people were more pious everyone trusted everyone and this hashgacha business didn’t exist.”
Well my good friend, that was a very very long time ago and today’s mega kosher food industry dictates new realities. The history of kashrus in the United States is plagued with fraud, and hile you can deny this it is a fact of life. Not everyone sporting a yarmulke in Israel is honest and that is why Shulchan Aruch and the leading rabbis of the generation guide us as how to act. Kashrus is not an area of our observance that was intended to be left to self definition and one must learn and work towards defining one’s ‘Kashrus Comfort Zone’ to determine which hashgachas are commensurate with one religious lifestyle.
In the days when I used to lecture all too often I heard “all this kashrus is nothing but business and politics”. To this I respond “Anyone who believes there is not a measure of business and politics in the game is a fool and one who believes that is all there exists is even a bigger fool!”
That is my point. Yes, the hashgacha agencies in Eretz Yisrael are not what one might exactly call “transparent” and they can be as rude as your local Egged driver stuck in rush hour traffic, but at the end of the day, without them, where would be?
I can make a good argument for and against many of the realities that are part of today’s kashrus system, but for now, let’s at least agree to accept them for they are reality and we can look at changing the reality someday in the future.
I cannot stress enough the need for kosher consumer activism in Israel. The lack of understanding and willingness to question and challenge a hashgacha has bred the very system that many of us today look at with disdain. It is not too late to effect change, but doing so comes with a price – and it means you may not continue blindly sitting and eating in any and every place with a teudat kashrut.
I dare say that if you bought your weekly produce at a health food store paying a handsome fee per kilogram for organic produce – only to learn you were duped, learning you were buying regular produce and were overcharged you would do a quick about face and never set foot into the store again. Oddly, when it comes to kashrus, our souls and not pocketbooks, we do not seem to be a stringent and we are willing to permit bygones to be bygones. If you do not receive the level of kosher that was implied or expressly promised it seems to have less of an impact than the example with the organic veggies. While we demand a certificate of authenticity for many items that we buy to protect ourselves, we are willing to take the word of too many store owners and operators when it comes to kashrus, this despite the fact that rabbis in the know instruct us to do otherwise. Many of the people telling us “Don’t worry” are clueless to kashrus and Halacha.
For me, I can only reiterate that you must place all your hashkafic and political bias aside and begin getting educated towards becoming an empowered kosher consumer. I am pained to see how many people who appear outwardly religious buying and eating in places that do not even claim to have any kosher certification. Don’t let yourself off the hook so easily and believe that everything is about chumros (stringencies) for in too many cases, it is about simply being kosher or not – and if you think there is a lack of non-certified and non-kosher places in Jerusalem, you are sorely mistaken. There are at least four stores with Hebrew signs in the Machane Yehuda and Ben-Yehuda areas that sell pork products. There are many stores that are open Shabbos and sell and prepare non-kosher and kosher foods, including coffee shops. If you dare to ask “its only dairy – what can be wrong” then you are in desperate need of basic classes in Kashrus 101!
You should be nothing less than insulted when you are told “don’t worry, it’s badatz”. Can you please tell me what hashgacha that is? Do you have a clue? Do you care? If the answer to the last question is yes, then it is time to find a rabbi, shiurim and books on the topic of kashrus.
Rosh Hashanah is rapidly approaching and in addition to all the holiday delicacies that will line our table, we might want to also make that extra effort to make sure that our family and guest’s souls get no less of a holiday treat than their palate.
Yechiel Spira
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