OU KOSHER ISRAEL GUIDE- PART ONE

Every year, the OU in Israel publishes a booklet for newcomers in Israel. From first glance, it would appear that the target audience for the booklet consists of students who have come to study here. Last year the booklet was subtitled “THE WORLD’S LEADING KASHRUT.” This year, the booklet is somewhat more modestly subtitled “THE WORLD’S LEADING KASHRUT ORGANIZATION.” Much better!

In general, the booklet is well intentioned, but we do have some reservations about some of its contents.

On page eight, we read: “In kashrut, just like in all areas of halacha, there are many rabbinic disputes as to whether certain things are permissible. Gelatin from a non-kosher animal is a perfect example. In many instances, most opinions will agree about forbidding something, but there will still be a minority of rabbinic personalities who will disagree and allow it. In such cases there is someone to rely on. However, it is better and safer to try to accommodate the opinions that forbid a given product.”

Continuing on Page nine, speaking of the late Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Zolty, they state that the rabbi “… felt there were many instances where they were relying on opinions that were maikel (lenient) when most opinions were not.”
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Our reaction is this: It takes no guts to forbid something. You just say no. End of story. To be a maikil, is to have the guts to delve deeply into the issue and really see if there are issues and what they might mean. Just because a whole lot of rabbis say no, does not mean that the few rabbis who say yes are wrong.

Too much of what passes for rabbinic guidance in kashrut today is based on knee jerk reactions that often have almost no basis in normative halacha. To announce, ex cathedra as it were, that a maikil opinion is not desirable is to distort and mislead.