WHY THE STATE MAY NOT BE A POSEK

A number of years ago, we heard from a rabbi who was involved in hashgacha. An honest man, he was caught up in a large problem with the Kosher Law Enforcement Agency of New York State.

The issue was tongue.

The mashgiach had a certificate in Nikur (deveining) that he earned in Jerusalem. The certificate was signed by many rabbis including the late Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rav Soltis.

A State inspector entered the store and looked at the meat case. He removed all the tongues and took them to the back of the store and opened each package to check to see how they had been deveined.

In Israel, in those days, they only clipped the end of the tongue. This rabbi had, however, been taught to remove the two blood veins- one runs on each side of the tongue along the top edge, in addition to clipping the end. The State inspector impounded the meat and charged the store owner with attempting to sell improperly deveined meat.

The rabbi demurred and objected. The inspector told him that the State of NY (very important words as it turned out) required that the center vein that runs down the middle of the tongue be removed as well.

There are not a lot of men who do nikur who can remove that vein without destroying the tongue and rendering it unfit for sale. On top of that, there is no halacha that requires it. SOME people have a minhag to remove it. All of a sudden, the State of NY had become a posek. The store owner was told that he had to remove the center vein, because that was a “requirement of NY State law.”

The store owner fought with the KLE for so long, and the meat was kept in quarantine for so long, that it could not be sold. The store owner ultimately took the loss, but the battle with the KLE went on and on.

Finally it took the personal involvement of the NYS Attorney General to stop the foolishness. The State may not make halacha. A rabbi who is licensed in nikur has the right to decide what is right and not right. Consumers who disagree may shop elsewhere.

Those who would decry the battle against unconstitutional kosher laws may be looking to protect their heretofore protected turf. They certainly have a vested interest, and it is not us- no matter how pious they sound.