The frum newspapers are always full of advertisements for frum vacation packages, also known as "chufshat mehadrin". They go all sorts of places, from taking over hotels in Eilat, Tiberias, Safed, and even locations outside of the country such as in Turkey, Italy, Switzerland and other places. They advertise that they "kasher" the hotel and make it mehadrin for the duration of the vacation package.

That all might be coming to an end.

The Rabbinic Committee for Vacation Atmosphere (what don't they have a rabbinic committee for??) has decided to put an end to such vacation packages billing themselves as mehadrin. They have gone to Rav Wosner and presented before him the facts of a vacation package billing itself as mehadrin claiming to have created a mehadrin vacation for women in Eilat. They have shown Rav Wosner that there is nothign mehadrin about the vacation except perhaps the food.

The hotel is not taken over completely by the group, but there are other guests there as well, in there immodest attire. In addition, there are televisions in the rooms. Along with other problems such as people's behavior in the area and being outside where the atmosphere is far from mehadrin.

Based on their testimony, Rav Wosner has decided to publish a letter saying that these packages should not be considered mehadrin and people should avoid them.

The issue discussed was specifically the mehadrin vacation package in Eilat, but perhaps it applies in general to the mehadrin packages ion other locations as well. I don't see why it should be any different. All the cities and hotels have pubs and discos in the areas of the hotels, they all have swimming pools and attractions, and they all have international guests doing what they want and like to do.

Should a package vacation be called mehadrin if one has the ability to see televisions and immodestly clad people in the area, and have access to inappropriate places? If one goes to a restaurant that has a mehadrin, near his or her own house, what guarantee is there that immodest people wont come into the same restaurant to have a meal? There are discos and pubs and movie theaters not far from most mehadrin restaurants.

So if people are trusted to live their lives not going to inappropriate places (as deemed by whoever sets mehadrin standards) because they want to live bny mehadrin standards, and mehadrin is basically providing supervision on the food alone and not onlifestyle, so why should a vacation be any different? Why should they do more than provide mehadrin food and allow those people who wish to live by mehadrin standards (whatever they are) police themselves? Someone who does not want to watch tv will not. If their lifestyle does not include bar-hopping, they won't go to the bars nearby.

Why must the mehadrin hechsher take all that into account on vacation but not in real life?