Rav Chaim Kanievsky was asked two interesting questions about the distribution of food to the needy. (source: Behadrei)

In one question he was asked if a tzedaka organization is required to distribute fine meats and sweets as per requests submitted by potential recipients.

Rav Kanievsky responded to this by saying that as long as it is something considered "regular" food it can/should be included in the distribution even though it is beyond what is normally given. 

I guess this means they would not distribute steaks and spare ribs, but a brisket would be considered reasonable.

In the second question Rav Kanievsky was asked about someone who applied to receive food form the tzedaka organization and set a specific hechsher as his standard. Upon receiving the meat with his preferred hechsher he announced that he longer eats that hechsher and only eats meat from a different hechsher - does he have to return the meat to the organization or can he keep it and give it to someone else (eg family member or friend) who does eat that hechsher?

To this Rav Kanievsky responded that he already acquired the meat and it is his and he can do with it what he wants and give it to whomever he wants.

On this question I think the question should have been followed up with more questions. I would then have asked if the organization is required to give this fellow more meat, this time with the hechsher he now requires or because they already gave him what was agreed upon they should not feel any obligation to give him again? I would also have asked if they can look at this recipient askance because of what he did and view it perhaps as a scam of sorts as a way to get someone else the meat they wanted because they are not recipients - and this might effect future distributions to this person.

Another thought is that from Rav Kanievsky's response it seems it is not inappropriate to make hechsherim demands from an organization distributing foods. This fellow seems to have the full right, as no comments about it seems to have been made, to demand a specific hechsher and can even change his mind and demand a different hechsher when he so pleases...

Interesting bidding war took place at a yeshiva minyan in Bet Shemesh over Yom Kippur.

In the yeshiva of Chachmei Yerusahlayim, led by Rabbi Potash, the bidding for one of the aliyot went as high as $30,000 (true? exaggerated? does it cast doubts on the entire story?), with the bid being offered by an alumnus from the yeshiva.

One of the students offered a counter-bid with a different currency - he offered to learn 1400 pages of gemara for the honor of getting that aliya.

Unsure what to do with the two bids being offered in different currencies, the gabbai turned to Rav Potash for a decision. Rav Potash decided the victor was the student offering to learn 1400 pages of gemara, referring to the passuk of "your words of torah are more valuable than gold and silver"...
source: Kikar

1. beautiful story. The rosh yeshiva set a nice example for his students

2. from what I hear, bidding from now on will only take place in pages of gemara and the yeshiva has basically ended its fundraising forever.

3. It is not really new, as many yeahivas and some shuls have been selling aliyas and honors on Simchas Torah for pages learned for a long time already. The chiddush here would be this was on Yom Kippur, not Simchas Torah, and that it was pages learned competing against money.

4. when they come fundraising, will baalebatim say they prefer to give 8 pages of gemara rather than a check for $180 (a rough calculation of the ration from 1400 pages to $30k)?

Kikar has a story about how Rav Shach used to have boys from the yeshiva build his sukka with him and often the boys who helped build the sukka would get engaged and married during that same year.

Rav Asher Deitsch, one of the rosh yeshivas of Ponevezh today, seems to have adopted the segula. Every year some boys help him build hsi sukka. Last year, it seems, two brother helped him build the sukka and during the year they both got engaged!

Now, this year, more boys have joined in the building of the sukka, including some of the older bachurim who have not had mazel in finding their zivvug until now, and even some boys from the Mir Yeshiva went to help to take advantage of the segula...

And that is how segulas are born..

Israel’s top tennis player quits mid-match for Yom Kippur

  -- Times of Israel

Thank you, Sandy Koufax. Errrr, Dudi Sela.

I must say, this is a far bigger kiddush hashem, and even just a bigger act of Jewishness, than that guy the other day who came to terms with his kid playing football on Yom Kippur...

There are some restaurants that have been at the forefront in the fight against the obligation to bear a kashrut certificate from the Rabbanut, or not kashrut certificate at all.... and then there are those that are just joining the fray, and might even be considered classic, old-time, places. There are those that bear no certificate, or maybe an "alternative" hechsher like Hashgacha Pratit, that does not [yet?] have mainstream recognition, and there are, now, restaurants that even bear the classic mehadrin  hechsherim that are choosing to forgo the Rabbanut hechsher.

Reportedly Halo Teiman in Jerusalem, and old-time place, has decided, in light of the recent fights and court decisions, that they can make do just fine with their hechsher from Harav Machfoud and no longer need to keep or renew their certification from the Rabbanut.

I suspect this is an indication the tipping point has been reached, or is close to being reached, and soon the entire thing will be behind us. Once the tipping point is reached, the Rabbanut monopoly is finished. Others will see Halo Teiman doing just fine and will move to save money on the redundant hechsher they have only because the law has required it, not because they actually need it.

love it!