This is another one of those situations in which somebody said something provocative and I just wish they had given some more details and explanation..

The rav of Petach Tikva, Rav Micha Halevi, responded to those working against the Rabbanut kashrut division, in light of the proposed law to dismantle the Rabbanut kashrut, and took the position that the Rabbanut kashrut is extremely critical to kashrut in Eretz Yisrael, and without it, if we only had the various "Badatzim" to rely on, the Badatzim would be feeding us "neveilos and treifos". He said, "only the Rabbanut is what causes us to not have Neveilos and treifos in Israel".

Rav Halevi went on to speak about other aspects of kashrut as well, such as saying that if a mashgiach does not show up to a restaurant as frequently as he should be showing up, as has been found to happen and is one of the main complaints about the Rabbanut (and other hechshers), it is a problem that needs to be fixed, but it does not cause a problem in the hasgacha's reliability. The restaurant that was checked and has a hashgacha has a chazaka of being kosher and one can rely on that - even though the hechsher has to fix its problems and send the mashgichim when they are supposed to.

Rav Halevi also accused those rabbonim who spoke against the Rabbanut and claimed it is unreliable because some mashgichim don't show up as frequently as they are supposed to. He said they are incorrect and these rabbonim are ignorant in halacha and are speaking with an agenda.
source: Behadrei

oh, how I wish he would explain and reveal some of his secrets behind his statement that the badatzim would be feeding us neveilos and treifos, if not for the Rabbanut..

The claim is not new, about there being serious problems in the various Badatzim (including the Eida Hachareidis, despite its reputation), though I have never heard it expressed quite this way before.

The biggest problem, in my opinion, is the lack of transparency in the Badatzim. Nobody knows the standards by which they work, and nobody knows the processes employed to uncover, and fix, problems. We just trust them by reputation alone. The Rabbanut, being a public body, has a much higher level of transparency to the public. They say openly they rely on certain leniencies in order to be able to provide kashrut to the masses, but they are transparent about what they do.

It seems to me to be a bit extreme to claim the Badatzim would be feeding us neveilos and treifos, but I don't know what he knows. At worst he would be guilty of speaking the same motzi shem ra that he accuses others of speaking against the Rabbanut, but he claims to know what he is talking about...

According to a report, the tax authorities have started tracking the various rabbonim and private kashrut authorities. To their credit, the authorities say the various "badatzim" are all cooperating with them and giving them the information requested - information such as what companies they are supervising and payment details.

One comment I saw left me a bit perturbed.

The deputy director of the Tax Authority said "... we are going to use our intelligence services to check into their activities... we have hair-raising data in our hands about the expansive salaries being taken by some of the directors of the badatzim."
source: Behadrei

So what? These are businesses. The directors work hard to make their businesses successful and profitable. They don't deserve to earn a high salary? Does the tax authority say such things about bank directors, lawyers, hospital administrators, directors of the electric company, of Bezeq, etc etc etc? Only when the director of a Badatz earns a high salary is it "hair raising data"?

Just like anybody else is entitled to earn a good living for working hard, so Badatz directors are entitled to that just the same..

JKN has a post-Pesach kashrus update from the Badatz Eida Charedit. JKN only took this info from the Badatz guide, and therefore any comments I make are only directed toward the Badatz Eida guide and not toward JKN (unless explicitly stated otherwise).

I found a couple of points in the update comment-worthy.

Excerpts from the guide (not using the same numbering system as the original):

1. Soup powder contains some uncooked ingredients so it may not be added to heated items above ‘yad soledes bo’ on Shabbos. 
2. Rice packaged in a vacuum may be presumed insect free and does not require inspection. One wishing to be ‘mehudar’ (exceeding the required) may perform a superficial inspection however. 
3. There is no fear of aluminum pans having a coating of non kosher oil for as long as they exhibit the badatz logo. 
4. Regarding hard cheeses sold in chunks or sliced. If one buys from shopkeepers, one must make certain the knife used is exclusive for this product and that it is kosher and was toiveled. 

My comments per item:

1. this is an interesting point, something I did not know. Anyways, I thought it was all basically chemicals and uncooked stuff and not really dehydrated soup and would never have cooked it on Shabbos (if I would use it as all).
2. If it does not require any inspection, why is it called "mehudar" to inspect it anyway? and once one wants to be mehudar and inspect something that needs no inspection, why only a "superficial inspection" - why can't such a person do a full inspection to be even more mehudar?
3. what if the aluminum pans bear a different hechsher? I understand they only guarantee their own, but their language makes it sound like they are the only ones who are ok
4. hard cheeses cut by shopkeepers? why is the Badatz even talking about this? They always say they only guarantee sealed packages with their hechsher, and not once something has been opened. if a shopkeeper opens a package of Badatz cheese and cuts it, it is technically no longer certified by the Badatz. Why are they saying anything but that right now? And if they certify the entire cheese counter, shouldn't they be watching the shopkeeper and making sure he uses different knives?

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According to Rabbi Metzger, Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Rabbanut hechsher of chalak (a.k.a, for all intents and purposes, "glatt") meat does not fall short of the Badatz hecsher.

Do you think the Badat"z will agree to that statement? Does it matter? And why does he feel the need to compare his hecsher (as Chief Rabbi he is in charge of the Rabbanut hecsher) to the Badatz - he should just worry about making it as reliable and quality as he possibly can, and not try to make it into another of something else...

The Badatz has been advertising warnings against various activites in meron that have been prevalent in previous years.

the way up to the kever Rashbi in Meron has become something similar to a carnival. Companies have stands offering their products, politicians have stands, social groups have stands, booksellers, computer software companies, Chabad, Breslav and many other groups. They put up stands on the mountain leading up to Rashbi. They sell items, they have video screens showing films of whatever they are offering, etc.

the authorities have been able to make some changes in recent years; they have made some of the roads leading up to Rashbi to be "mehadrin" in which some of those activites cannot happen, separate buses, separate sides of street, rules about what can be displayed and what kind of food sold,, etc.

The Badatz has warned that this year they will not put up with the video screens or with stalls selling anything but sifrei kodesh.

Here is one sample of a warning from the Badatz:They threaten violence against those who do not heed the warning, and they blame the potential victim saying you have been warned so do not complain afterwards about any loss of money and damage incurred.

Anyway, there are reports of specific threats and knowledge, both by organizers and by police, of the identities of those who are planning on making trouble with violence and attempting to damage others property tonight in meron.

Lo and behold, the three names that have been talked about as those who will be there are oour friendly neighborhood hooligans from RBS B. They have become more violent than their counterparts in yerushalayim and they are the ones expected by the national police to be perpetrating, or at least attempting to, violence tonight in Meron.

A Guest Post by Anonymous Reader

The Badat"z has put out the following advertisement...

They are announcing the opening of a beis din under their auspices in Bet Shemesh this week. This is the first time they are opening an official beis din outside of their own "home town". They clearly see (Ramat) Bet Shemesh (B) as their future, as prices of housing in Jerusalem continues to climb and lack of available housing for young couples becomes more acute.

Arutz 7 conducted an interview with the head of the Badat"z Shmitta department. It is very interesting and I suggest anybody interested in shmitta issues should read it. I will give a rough English translation below for those who might have a problem with the original being in Hebrew.

The interview was conducted with Rav Meir Bergman, head of the Shmitta department of the Badatz Eidah Chareidis. The last thing the Eidah wants to do, he says, is to harm the Israeli farmers. Purchasing produce from Arabs is the least preferential of all the options.

Bergman differentiates between practical possibiities and halachic possibilities. He says, fro a halachic viewpoint the greatest preference is to purchase vegetables imported from abroad where there are no issues of shmitta and they have very little checking to do. All they would have to do with such produce is make sure no other produce got mixed in once the boat comes into the port. That is the easiest from all aspects.

The problem with that option is that it is not practical. the government does not let them import as it upsets the Israeli farmers, and "we have no interest in harming the Israeli farmers". Also the prices of imported vegetables is very high.

The next level of preference is attaining produce from the Arava region. The Arava region is part of Israel but has no halachic status of Israel regarding shmitta issues (my note: this issue is a can of worms and there are different opinions on this). From this region we do not deal with Arabs, it is all Jewish, there is little deceit and trickery going on so it is the best for us.

The problem with the Arava region is the produce is limited and does not grow all year round and not every type of vegetable is grown there.

That leads to the third level of preference, Rav Bergman says. Arab produce. This is the least preferable option for a few reasons. The whole issue of whether an Arab purchasing/owning land in Israel removing the kedusha of the land for shmitta is a machlokes. Aside from that, there are security concerns. Aside from that, it is difficult to supervise this produce due to their deceptions and trickeries (which sometimes force us to stop working with certain farmers after they are caught).

When asked how the Eidah can justify supporting farmers in Gaza (hostile to Israel; supporting terror), Rav Bergman responded that in a regular year 80 percent of Israel's produce comes from Gaza.

So in a regular year when you go to the supermarket and buy veggies, chances are very high that you are buying produce from Gaza. "You have to remember", Bergman says, "stopping imports from Gaza completely would be a terrible blow to the economy. It could be on a micro level importing hurts the Israeli farmers, but overall on a macro level it is good for the Israeli economy."

Bergman also responded to the claim that the Eidah causes security problems by importing veggies from these areas. He says they have no desire to cause security problems. Since a ban was declared on Gaza by Israel, there are no imports from there. They are not even pressuring Israel to allow them to import from there. The Eidah brings produce from Arabs in Judea and Samaria, from where most of Israel's produce is coming right now anyway. He repeats that we must remember that in a regular year the merchants prefer Arab produce as well because of the price.

During shmitta this is the lowest option in order of preference (but the most prevalently used).

Rav Bergman added that in stores that sell Eidah produce, everything is specifically marked (e.g. Arab produce, from abroad, Arava, etc.)so the buyer knows where things comes from and can choose what to buy.

Regarding OBD produce, he says the Eidah does not deal with OBD produce. It is too difficult to supervise this produce and most people do not know how to treat it properly and therefore it is not practical to deal with in large amounts.

Bergman concluded that there are problems with supply and there are chances that certain vegetables might have a shortage, such as beetroot, however the main vegetables are in supply. He also added that if you check, the prices of Eidah produce is only slightly higher than non-Eidah produce.

Yesterday I wrote about an interesting discussion written about in Mishpacha, a popular chareidi magazine/newspaper. There was a second article in this past weeks Mishpacha that was similarly enlightening.

The Mishpacha staff went to investigate the status of kosher and glatt kosher meat. They did this because of some recent problems that have come to light in the world of meat kashrut, including one recent event in Israel in which non-kosher meat was found being packaged with kosher meat.

They make some fascinating statements early in the report.

1. They say that the reason the regular Rabbanut hechsher is looked upon as a "b'dieved" hechsher is not because of the quality of the hechsher, but because they maintain two different levels of hechsher under the name Rabbanut (not including mehadrin). They run a hechsher for regular, non-glatt meat, and they also certify meat under the hechsher "chalak" which certifies glatt meat under the authority of the Rabbanut. The fact that the same organization runs two levels of kashrut under the same name, leaves it open (in poeple's minds) to problems.


2. They clearly state that the problems discussed in the article are just as likely to happen in any of the mehadrin and badat"z hechsherim. The only reason the article discusses solely the Rabbanut is because the Rabbanut is an organization with oversight. When problems arise, they are publicized. With the private hechshers, everything is kept as secret as possible and they do not publicize when they find problems. So the impression is created that they have fewer problems, if at all, which is not true. they just don't talk about their problems, while the Rabbanut does (or has to).


3. The private hechshers (a.k.a. non-Rabbanut - meaning all the various badatz and mehadrin hechshers) refuse to talk about these things. They would not answer questions about why they consider themselves as better hechshers, nor about what differentiates them from other hechshers.

That is, I call them fascinating because I have never seen a chareidi publication, or heard from a chareidi rav, any such statement before.

Here is an article in a serious chareidi publication explaining the positions of the Rabbanut. Not only do they not make any claims that chareidi hechsher organizations are any better at the business, but they clearly say the "best" chareidi hechsherim are plagued by the exact same problems, with the additional feature of their ability to cover it all up and keep it secret.

Not only that, but the article goes into the various systems and methods the Rabbanut has put into place, and changes they will keep making in order to meet the demands and deal with the problems that will crop up in the future.

So why are we, the frum public, the chareidi public, the chardal public, the ultra dati leumi public, whatever other group you consider yourself part of, so beholden to the "better" hechsherim? Why do we only eat Badat"z or She'airis? Why do we only eat Rubin or Landau? Do we really know that these hechsherim are better than the Rabbanut?

The Rabbanut at least comes clean and tells us what the problems are and what they do to correct them. According to the article in Mishpacha, the "better" hechsherim refuse to respond to such queries. Are they really better or are we victims of manipulations and PR and good marketing? Do we really believe, with no basis, that they are better or is there something to it? Do we just not want to be caught eating from a "lesser" hechsher because it will ruin our childrens shidduchim and acceptance into certain schools and social groups?

I do not have the answers. I do not know that they are better or not. I do know that one of the most serious, and definitely the most popular, chareidi publication just published a serious article that pretty much forces one to ask these questions.

I understand if one wishes to be machmir on himself (an Ashkenazi - for a Sefardi Jew this is basic law, not a chumrah), and only eat glatt meat. It is also fine by me, and is perfectly kosher in my mind, if one (again, an Ashkenazi Jew) follows the Rama rather than the chumrah of the Mechaber, and chooses to eat non-glatt meat as well.



There were recently some very interesting posts by Am Kshe Oref and DovBear on the topic of how society has come to totally reject eating non-glatt meat and how difficult it is for someone who wants to eat non-glatt (to cut down on costs for example). At least in Israel one has the choice - the Rabbanut offers a hechsher that includes non-glatt meat. However in the US it seems it has become difficult to find non-glatt meat. The chumrah of glatt has been imposed on society to the exception of the Rama.



But let's say that is not you. Let's say you choose to be machmir and eat only glatt meat. Ask yourself this - how do you know the "better" hechsherim are really better? Why do you only rely on some and consider others b'dieved kosher at best?

I am sure there must be some differences, at least in the non-meat category. Maybe how often a mashgiach shows up. Maybe whether or not they use bug-free produce, sifting the flour and rice, maybe other things. I don't know, but at least regarding the meat situation the picture just got fuddled...