By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

Recently, a sharp-eyed frum reader witnessed something quite bizarre.  It was a kosher bagel store with a prominently displayed kashrus certificate that was doing a brisk business over Pesach. The store, known as Bagel Boss, located at 263 First Avenue in Manhattan, also displayed a prominent Mezuzah on the doorpost.

Um, Uh-Oh.

So what’s the story?

THE EXPLANATION

A call to the Rav HaMachshir who signed the Kashrus certificate produced the following explanation:

The Rabbi explained that, last year, during the height of COVID, he had received an interesting call.  Apparently, Beth Israel Hospital was undergoing construction, and they did not have cafeteria facilities available for their staff and the construction workers.  The hospital made a request that, in light of the situation, was there some way that could be figured out that the bagel store be kept open?

The Rabbi felt that in order to accommodate the hospital’s request he would make a full sale of the business to a gentile.  It seems that the Rabbi felt that there were cheshbonos and elements of Chillul Hashem in not accommodating the request.  He further explained that a full and legal sale was done, no different than the sale done to the national supermarket chains with Jewish ownership.  The Rabbi did the same sale again for this year.

THE PROBLEM

The problem was that the sign that indicated the hechsher was, in fact, not taken down from the store front. Furthermore, there was no signage indicating that such a sale had taken place.

There is an issue in halacha called “Maris Ayin” – where a situation appears to be a violation of Halacha (see Shulchan Aruch OC 243:2).  This is particularly problematic when a business is specifically identified as under Jewish ownership.  For example, it is forbidden to rent out a bathhouse to a gentile if it had previous Jewish ownership. This is called, “shaim Yisroel nikrah alav – the name of Jewish ownership is still upon it.”

THE SIGN IS REMOVED

The Rabbi, having been contacted by the sharp-eyed and alert observer, instructed that the sign be removed immediately.

EVEN IF THE SIGNAGE IS REMOVED

Even if the sign was removed, however, it may be that this is still not halachically sufficient to remove the identification of previous Jewish ownership.

Dayan Yitzchok Weiss zt”l (1902-1989) in a responsum (Minchas Yitzchok Vol. VII #11) discusses the steps necessary to remove Jewish identity when the Jew rents out his business to a gentile.  He writes that the Jew’s name must be removed from the signage. He also writes that the store should be closed for a month and that the Jewish owner should attend a shul that he was unable to attend previously on account of his work.  Dayan Weiss writes that this would publicize the fact that the business is no longer under Jewish ownership.

Dayan Weiss further writes that it is very important to examine the issue deeply so as to ensure that a catastrophe not occur or at least that people will not take further liberties in halacha.  Rav Elyashiv zt”l (1910-2012) as well also provided guidance (see Kovetz Teshuvos Vol. III #37) as to how to remove the label of previous Jewish ownership.  The issue is also applicable to Shabbos and the aforementioned responsa deal with partnership arrangements between Jews and gentiles.

When it is uncommon for crop-sharing to occur then, generally speaking, there is no problem of Maris Ayin. When crop-sharing or a similar arrangement is not generally done, then there is a problem of Maris Ayin.  It is not common for a crop-sharing arrangement to exist in regard to bathhouses, but it is common when dealing with land.

THE NEW LETTER

In order to address some of the issues discussed above, the Rabbi who provides the supervision issued a new letter explaining the fact that a full legal sale was performed and the reason why an exception to the general practice of not selling a business over Pesach was made here.  The letter has been posted at the store front and the hechsher certificate has been removed.

Perhaps in modern times, the informing of the sale to a gentile can also be accomplished by posting the information on a website.

[Please note that this halachic discussion is not to be viewed as advocating the sale of businesses over Passover that remain open or the underlying Kashrus of any establishment discussed in this article by the newspaper, website or author.]

A GENERAL HISTORY OF BETH ISRAEL HOSPITAL

It is interesting to note that Beth Israel Hospital was originally started in 1890 by a group of forty orthodox Jews in the lower east side of Manhattan. These Jews were incensed that the area hospitals would not treat their fellow lantzman because they had not resided in New York for an entire year.  They resolved to remedy the problem.

It initially opened as a dispensary at 206 Broadway in 1891, serving immigrant Jews who were living in the tenement slums of the Lower East Side. Four years later, the hospital moved to Jefferson and Cherry Street.  Eventually, it purchased neighboring hospital Manhattan General and was renamed Beth Israel Medical Center.  In November 2013, Beth Israel Medical Center was changed to Mount Sinai Beth Israel as a part of a merger with Mount Sinai to form Mount Sinai Health System.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

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