Israeli social media accounts on Monday warned of a serious breach in halacha after videos were found online of Arabs of packaging hadassim sealed with a mehudar hechsher.
One of the Arabs workers apparently videoed his friends at work and posted the videos on his TikTok account. The first video was posted about ten days ago, with another eight videos posted since then.
“It’s usually written on the package that ‘Avreichim, Yiryei Shamayim’ sorted the hadasim and we rely on the hechsher,” one outraged Avreich told B’Chadrei Chareidim. “Now I realize that I could have been using hadassim with a questionable hechsher every year – this is customer deceit.”
A B’Chadrei Chareidim reporter spoke to poskim who said that although non-Jews can package hadassim, there’s no opinion that non-Jews can cut and sort the hadassim and decide what’s kosher or not. In one of the videos, an Arab can be seen picking hadassim from a bin and placing them in plastic packaging. In another video, the Arabs are seen trimming and examining the hadassim.
One Israeli social media user posted one of the videos, which plays raucous Arab music in the background as the Arabs sort the hadassim, on Twitter and sardonically wrote: “Sorted by avreichim Yiryei Shamayim, Talmudei Chachamim, according to all the chumros and intricacies of halacha.”
הדסים מהודרים בהשגחת נתן העזתי pic.twitter.com/iIt3Gw0bEt
— מוטי וינשטוק (@Moty_w) August 29, 2021
Following the report, the Arab’s boss apparently warned him to remove the videos as a before and after picture of his TikTok account shows the missing “hadassim” videos.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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25 Responses
Saddening news story! Can we now no longer trust hechsheirim? It certainly makes one feel queasy about the trust. Remember, these packages will carry the hechsher as described by Yiray Shamayim etc.
I”ll be the first to acknowledge that I’m clueless as to what the lovely photos of the horse have to do with hadasim or packaged arba minim labled for mehadrim.
Which hechst? We have a right to know.
Which hechsher? We have a right to know.
What? You really expected talmidai chachomim to sit and do this work? What? Like bain hasdarim? It’s menial labor, and cheap unskilled laborers need to be the ones to do tis work, and it’s not a problem in halacha. These people get paid to do it right, and hadassim get randomely checked to make sure that their doing their job properly. The fact is that this system has proven pretty reliable.
This is beyond ridiculous. Check it yourself! I assume you would check it anyways regardless when you open it to set up your agad. Are they seriously worried it doesn’t have a ‘hechsher?’ I buy the most mehudar hadasim because it provides the convenience and assurance that someone checked it and attests that it’s mehadrin. That doesn’t mean he made it mehadrin, and I will anyways check it myself before use.
Of course non jews shouldn’t be sorting it, but really big whoop!
This is like making sure your water has a hechsher
If this is indeed a breach of halacha, to the point that the aravos are pasul, will the company that employed these people admit the same? If not, then perhaps one should look for Hadassim from another country?
This article is based on a dangerous misconception. The writing on arba minim packaging is not a “hechsher” that allows you to make a brocho on it without even looking at it or showing it to a Rov. That is impossible by the nature of arba minim. It is marketing content making claims about the quality of the merchandise, nothing more.
What a non story. Who says that this place promised on its packaging that it was sorted by Jews? Most hadasim don’t say that. Other than false advertising (for which there is no proof), what has anyone done wrong?
Which hechsher? If I can’t know this, what is the point of telling me?
“A B’Chadrei Chareidim reporter spoke to poskim who said that although non-Jews can package hadassim, there’s no opinion that non-Jews can cut and sort the hadassim and decide what’s kosher or not.”
I’m sorry – but this is wrong. The Gemara in Sukah says that R’ Huna told Hadasim sellers who bought Hadasim from Goyim to DAVKA have the Goyim cut the Hadasim.
Furthermore, it is not difficult to spot Shilush or even various Dargos thereof. I am sure that Arabs would do a great job – and cheaply! Savings for Bnei Torah! And since they would be fired for slipping, I am not sure why they cannot be relied upon, esp. with random inspections.
Obviously. the issue with absolute Sheker in advertising is inexcusable.
And as far as the outraged Avreich is concerned, I personally find it equally inexcusable for any “Ben Torah” not to inspect his own Hadasim.
For all those not in the know, hadasim are a very labour intensive product. each stalk has many berries growing on it and they need to be cut off. it is very laborious. to keep costs low, this work is given to arab workers who charge much less then an avreich or even un unskilled jewish worker.
once the hadasim are trimmed and sorted based on looks and length they are then sorted by jews. the packing into sleeves are also done by cheap labour to keep the costs down.
Now you know
I have never seen a package of 3 haddasim, regardless of how many Alephs are printed on the package, with 3 actually good kosher hadassim. At a minimum, in order to have three good haddasim you need to be at least two packages and sometimes three. It doesn’t matter whether it has 3 or 4 alephs, you’ll never find a package with 3 good haddasim. The hechsherim are all worthless.
@ gadolhatorah- I”ll be the first to acknowledge that I’m clueless as to what the lovely photos of the horse have to do with hadasim or packaged arba minim labled for mehadrim.”
What a call!
Also, that music is really freaking me out.
This is a serious problem.
I open my hadasim plastic bag right before Yom Tov and the hadasim aren’t mishulash.
It happens more often than not. The Chazon Ish mishulash is not mishulash for the shiur expected.
If a talmid chacham will be doing the checking, it wouldn’t pass.
I prefer to go through the tedious task of sorting through a bucket of hadasim and check them myself, than have hadasim prepackaged, especially with this false advertising. Just remember you are paying $1 for a twig. I think we should expect more.
Anyone who does not check his haddasim deserve what they get
“Just remember you are paying $1 for a twig. I think we should expect more…”
How much time do you commit to examining the chicken you use to shlug kaporos? And how much are you paying per pound for someone else peform this inspection for you?
What you pay for is what you get.
For those interested I have put together the lyrics to the music down below:
Maharedna suker zeya kol hamodeh radraneya anuyad, anuyad
Ma bahaya suker zeya kol hamodeh radraneya anuyad, anuyad
Abnaduva didismadeh zihiya al pul livla, eh anuyad, ahnuyad
And how does this differ from a heimishe restaurant or bagel store? Who do you think checks the lettuce and other vegetables? That’s right. Pedro the mashgiach. Don’t be a gullible consumer. Ask ask ask. Ask the only guy in the store with a “kippa”, the guy manning the register. Ask him who checks the vegetables for tolaim. The expired Teudah on the storefront window is meaningless.
“Breach In Halacha”
Can someone specify which “halacha”?
This is not shechita or a kitchen.
As for all these Hechsherim are worth for, is the simple fact, that haddasim have been sorted out between the non-meshulashim and meshulash. I.e. to the best of their ability.
Most are not even accurate.
Rather, it’s up to —
YOU the buyer!
ALWAYS double-check a day or two before YT. It’s an open story to all. It’s either meshulash or not. I don’t care who checked it.
BTW- from all those “mehudar” אאא הכשרים. .. the ones with the least mis.. are somehow the Rabanut.
Years ago, there were NO packaged Hadasim , you had to go thru an entire bundle of loose Hadasim.
Do not believe everything you read. And do not believe your hadassim are mehudar, hechsher or not.
Sensationalist clickbait headline. This should not be the standard. Who issues the kashrus certifications on the headlines? I need to stop relying on this hechsher for future headlines.
“It’s usually written on the package that ‘Avreichim, Yiryei Shamayim’ sorted the hadasim
I have NEVER seen such a claim made on any brand of hadassim. Never. If by some chance there is one brand that makes such a claim, then what makes anyone think the video is of that brand?
There is absolutely no requirement that the workers sorting and checking the hadassim be Jewish, let alone “avreichim yirei shomayim”. What next? Will you be shocked to learn that the workers who salt your meat are Guatemalans? Or that your schach mats were made by Chinamen? That is the reality, and there is no halachic problem with it.
I worked in field 2 years ago. This information is totally misleading. The reason for that is that more then 60 percent of Hadasim are not good. Since you are dealing with 100 of thousands of Hadasim. We train workers to get rid of the ones that are definitely not good. Then all the ones that are to be checked go to another area where there is a group of 20 to 30 Talmidai Chachamim from what ever hechsher is ordering them. They sort out the ones that they get. To what ever level it is deemed. Then after that it goes into a packing room where you further have local labor packing them. This irresponsible reporting with out verifying the process will give people the wrong idea of what expenses and overhead it takes to run such a plant. Let alone what it takes to cut the Hadasim keep them refrigerated etc. If you would have only תלמידי חכמים deal with cutting sorting etc. The cost per set of Hadasim would be around $500 or more.