OUR COMMENTS ON YESTERDAY’S ARTICLE FROM KOSHER TODAY

First off, let’s begin by saying we are not a Conservative rabbi. We have no ties to the Conservative movement. The issue is not that a Conservative (or Orthodox or Orthoxative, or Recon…..) rabbi wants to overturn Georgia’s kosher laws, it is that those laws are (probably) unconstitutional. The State may not act as a posek of Jewish law.

Here is our take on the article that ran in Kosher Today:

“Successful challenges against laws protecting kosher consumers have in the words of kosher experts left the growing base of kosher consumers extremely vulnerable.” ********** Nice, but unsubstantiated. And not true, by the way. Consumers in NY and NJ have but to read the clearly displayed Kashruth information posted prominently on the wall of an establishment to see if the place meets their personal standards or not.

Kashrus agencies say that they have been forced to spend significant amounts of money to protect their symbols from fraud. ********** This has NOTHING to do with the present situation and has been the case for a very long time. In every issue of Kashrus Magazine they list dozens of items fraudulently marked or items mis-marked.

“These concerns are not shared by a Georgian Conservative rabbi and the ACLU who filed suit against the State for defining kosher as meeting “orthodox Hebrew religious rules and requirements.” (which is unconstitutional as KT clearly knows) Rabbi Shalom Lewis claims he cannot fulfill his rabbinical duties “because his theological interpretation of the state’s kosher laws differs from that of Orthodox Judaism.” He said he “violates state law” when he approves some foods as kosher that are not kosher under Orthodox definitions.”************* Can you say “genaivat hadaat” boys and girls? How misleading is this?? We may not like Rabbi Lewis’s interpretations of Jewish law and we not agree with what he calls kosher, but he is correct that the State may not define it, either.

The laws have been on the books since 1980.********** Yeah? And? Does that give an unconstitutional law correctness? New York’s laws had been on the books for a long time, too, but once challenged, they were found to be unconstitutional. The author is obfuscating here.

“According to kashrus officials, incidents of unauthorized use of kashrus symbols has increased by nearly 30% in the last two years, even in New York where new kosher laws merely require food establishments to publicize the affiliation and background of their certification in what is commonly known as “disclosure.”
***********Totally irrelevant! The use of unauthorized symbols has nothing to do with anything. It is a problem now, it was a problem then, and it will still be a problem tomorrow. Why? Because some people like to cheat.

“One kashrus official told KosherToday that “tougher laws clearly defining kosher are necessary to protect kosher consumers and that does not preclude a Conservative rabbi from establishing his own definition in his congregation if it is accepted. “************* We have dealt with this kind of stuff before. What is a kashrus official? Are there kashrus amateurs, too? Who ever this so called official is, he really is on the mark. We may indeed need stricter kosher laws, but those laws must be constitutional.

“The official pointed to the Commack LI butchers that successfully challenged the New York State laws, “who, believe me, did not increase their business after they torpedoed the laws protecting people who eat kosher everyday.”
*********** Then again, that was never the point, was it???? Plus, to say that Comack butchers “torpedoed the laws protecting people who eat kosher every day,” is to tell a lie of immense proportions. Shame on this so called Kashrus official. Perhaps he should lose his official kashrus license for being a kofer in public.

We have no truck with the butcher store in Comack and their level of kashrus. That is why we do not shop there. But they were correct in their assertion. And that is the bottom line, boys and girls. We are saddened and disappointed by the article in Kosher Today. It is misleading, less than honest and it obfuscates some essential truths.

STAY TUNED FOR A SHOCKING EXPOSE ABOUT WHY THE STATE (ANY STATE) CAN NOT BE A POSEK OF JEWISH LAW.