Hechsher – Just on the Food or on More?

Clearly, Manhattan places have to be treated differently than local places. It depends on expected clientele and what the community is willing to accept. Clearly, the Eidah Chareidis will demand much more from its clients than a 5 towns or Queens vaad will. No vaad in America will demand that no waitresses be used. But Ooomis, should a rabbi give a hechsher to a lounge which specializes in histaklus ba’arayos even if no laws are being broken? I’m sure you would agree in this case. Vaads do have to pick and choose battles carefully.

As an aside, I did a lot of snooping and nosing around on the Streit’s issue, shmoozing with a bunch of knowledgeable kashrus insiders. It had nothing to do with politics, although it got portrayed that way by the press. It was definitely a pr debacle though.

But Ooomis, should a rabbi give a hechsher to a lounge which specializes in histaklus ba’arayos even if no laws are being broken? I’m sure you would agree in this case. Vaads do have to pick and choose battles carefully.

Jothar, a rabbi does not have to give a hechsher on any lounge at all (though I wonder why it is the palce of choice for Yeshivah shidduch dates – I personally would not want my kids to hang out there watching people drinking booze, smok=king, and doing G0d knows what with people to whom they are not married). In fact, were I a rov, I would strongly discourage people from going to such places. But if the food and drink are kosher, they are kosher. It’s not like “a little bit pregnant.” It is or it is not.

When a store in my neighborhood lost the vaad hechsher (another PR nightmare), the food was all kosher, but not under the Vaad. Our rov chose his words very carefully, because he is a member of the Vaad, but he clearly was uncomfortable with their actions in basically calling the store unkosher. His words, “It is strongly recommended that you do not patronize this store until the situation is resolved.” He did not even say that HE recommended it. I did not shop there again until the inyan was resolved, but I did so only out of respect for my Rov, not because I had a chashash on the kashrus. In fact the store had taken on a mashgiach temidi who was totally reliable and respected in the field. But until the Vaad said OK, my rov could not say OK, so I followed his p’sak.

I do believe completely that a rov has the achrayus to make such decisions for his kehillah. But I do not like when decisions are based on non-halachic reasoning, because of personal hashkafos, biases, or (worse) monetary considerations.

oomis, Please explain to me and the rest of the CR what it means “a little bit pregnant”. I always thought you either are pregnant or aren’t pregnant.

Thanks,

YW Moderator-39

oomis, Please explain to me and the rest of the CR what it means “a little bit pregnant”. I always thought you either are pregnant or aren’t pregnant.

Dear Mod 39,

The point I was making is that there is no such thing as “a little bit pregnant.” A woman either is or is not pregnant, just as you say. And an item with a reliable hechsher cannot be “a little bit kosher.” It either is or is not kosher, and if the hechsher is reliable, no one has a right to say it is not, just because they have a difference of hashkafic opinion with the proprietor (as long as the proprietor is a shomer Shabbos himself).