Former IDF Chief Rabbi and Rosh Yeshivat Itamar Rabbi Avichai Ronsky feels the private badatz hashgachos in Israel “compromise the national strength of the State of Israel”. Using his Facebook page to get his message out, Rabbi Ronsky explains that “at the bris milah of Nesanel held in the home of Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook the food served was kosher, not badatz, but regular Rabbanut kosher.
“To the best of my understanding, the rav acted this way for he understood that with the return of Am Yisrael and the renewed settlement the central state institutions had to be strengthened, and this included the Chief Rabbinate.
“The badatzim and the other distinctions including non-partnership in the privilege of defending our country severely harm our national strength” he added.
Rabbi Ronsky was making a reference to what was heard last week from “a Gadol B’Torah as he said ‘in the IDF they are eating treif’. So it must be known that in the army the food is as mehudar that I am aware of so [talmidei] chachamim, be cautious with your words” he concluded.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
Utterly false. I have heard from several people that served in the army that there was basar v’chalav and bug issues in the army kitchens.
If he thinks Rabbanut is “Kosher” he should check it out. For example one Shochet is busy smoking while he shects, how often he checks his knife shouldn’t be asked either. There is a mashgiach who got the job for extra cash and tried paying for a course to get the certificate. After being put against the wall he admitted he knows nothing about kashrus, additionally his job gives him about 5 mins per store to check them. Can you really check in that time. One Mashgiach who took over one day for a Rabbanut Mashgiach said at the end of the day now he knows Rabbanut is “Glatt Treif”. Go and speak to the people in the field, the good hechsherim could and do also have problems but the Rabbanut is not to be relied on unless you really know what is happening. There are one or two places where this is the case but the vast majority are NOT ok.
You don’t have to believe me but I could forward you to people who do know what is going on, this is their job and they live it, a sticker or a seal does not make it Kosher.
A Rebbi of mine once said, if you don’t trust the guy behind the counter to safeguard your two year old, don’t trust him either with what goes in your mouth. Unless there is a very decent hechsher which you could trust. However people should not be trusting with what goes in their mouth unless they would trust them with other things also.
in the perfect world what the Badatzim do should be viewed like the top elite commando unit protecting out country
IF YOU REALLY WANT KOSHER “WHO YOU GONNA TO CALL”
“shvachemayses”- THATS’S ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
“shvachemayses”- THATS’S ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
In my youth (about 30 years ago) I was assigned to kasher an IDF kitchen for pesach with very few guidelines and no supervision.
I hate to think of what I did with the little knowledge I had then…
Is that the picture from Goldie’s wedding when you stayed bu us?
What’s he suggesting is that private hecksherim should be banned. This is just another front in the war against the hareidim being waged by the Religious Zionists.
I worked in the army and saw much serious violations of kashrus. I doubt if there has been any change since they do not have a masgiach tmidi who has a lock for the kitchen and without it, every one who wants can gain entrance and at some point does!
Your headline is misleading. The Rosh Yeshiva and former Chief Rabbi of the IDF, Rabbi Ronsky, was not “defending” IDF kashrus. He was simply stating that to his personal knowledge the food in the army is mehudar. It is my guess that he knows a lot more about both halacha and the state of IDF kashrus than any of the gedolei haposkim who have contributed their comments here. He may just even know more than the “several people” #1 has “heard” from.
What a great opportunity for the charedim who are drafted to correct an allegedly bad situation. Let them all be put in charge of kashrut for army kitchens. What better way to help their fellow Yidden?
BTW it was Ben Gurion who insisted that all IDF kitchens be kosher.
He doesn’t necessarily know more or less, he just accepts the idea that in order to have a state, they need to accept a lower level of kashrus. Now, you and I may know that that’s absurd, but it’s a common statement from them. He knows that goyim and non-religious are in charge of the kitchen (I once heard a DL give a shiur trying to justify goyim lighting the fire and doing all the cooking–it was scarey).
Quote – “Rabbi Ronsky explains that “at the bris milah of Nesanel held in the home of Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook the food served was kosher, not badatz, but regular Rabbanut kosher.”
I don’t understand, what does a story about using Rabbanut have to do with the Kashrus standards in the IDF? Did Rav Kook live at an Army base?
All it says is that Rav Kook, zt”l would eat Rabbanut. Big deal! I know people greater than him who ate Rabbanut. So what! Like I said, there are other things besides who’s kashrus is used that can render a kitchen treif. The fact is that 1) the standards of Kashrus in the IDF do not meet the standards that the Chareidi community demand. 2) From many sources the Kashrus of the IDF is at best “questionable”. This I have heard directly from IDF Rav Hamachshirim.
Moose613 : Ben Gurion never insisted on anything. He signed a deal in order to get the hareidim on board for the declaring independence (and war), since he was seriously concerned that his “labor zionist” homeland would end up as an American trust territory. He never took any steps to enforce kashrut on the army and its implementation depends on the presence/absence of support by whomever is on the seen. Officers who do not support kashrut are regularly appointed and promoted. — And the zionists have made it clear that in halacha they object to non-zionist interpretations of halacha, which they mock as meaningless humrahs.
The answer is simple increase the level of kashrut in the IDF to meet higher standards. A great another place to put alot of those haredim everyone wants to “draft”. If you invite 12 people over for shabbos and one has a Humrah you dont follow the choices are clear.
1. Make separate accommodations for them (not always possible)
2. adopt the humrah or
3. ask them not to come.
Since the latter was the status quo and the status quo no longer works only choice one and two is left. In an ironic way mass bringing of Haredim into the ranks of the IDF and National Service has a chance of creating a great Kiddish Hashem.