Reply To: Hechsher – Just on the Food or on More?

To give a hechsher on a makom pritzus is highly inappropriate. the whole point of a hechsher is to say, “You can come here and eat sin-free”.

Jothar, is that really the purpose of a hechsher? Or is it to certify the food? To me, its about the food. Now granted, there are places that NO JEW should enter, but there are places that can be neutral (such as internet cafes – they aren’t inherently treif unless you hold that the entire internet is treif). Should they really not get a hechsher because someone could misuse it? Otherwise, no pizza store would get a hechsher.

See, I have a problem with confusing “Is the food kosher?” with other things. I think that makes hechsherim too political.

If I work late, why shouldn’t I be able to grab a bite? Just because some teenagers may hang out? That isn’t a food KASHRUT issue.

I wasn’t against the concept of R’ Weiss’s hechsher tzedek (I have no problem with a certification process that checks on who is employed and how they are treated), except that he was tying it to a food KASHRUT issue. That disturbs me.

GAW, the example with the tuna fish is a direct kashrut issue, so to me thats a whole seperate ball game.

When you get into enforcing other halachas for a hechsher, it becomes sticky. Have you ever walked into a food place where the staff was dress 100% tzanua? I personally have not (Brooklyn, Lakewood, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Monsey, Teaneck, Elizabeth, Passaic). So what laws do we set? Do we choose the absolute minimum according to ANY shita to have a dress code? Or, do we use a general “just not really revealing”? What about waitresses wearing pants? Or even serving men?

To me, it opens a plethora of questions and should be avoided.