KASHRUS POLITICS

A secular court in Ashdod (Israel) ordered the town’s chief rabbi (Yosef Sheinin) to issue a kosher certificate to a business owned by a woman who was born Jewish but became a Jew for Jesus Needless to say, the reaction around the world has been a loud schrei gevald! Apparently this ruling signals the end of kashruth as we know it, not to mention football, hot dogs, apple pie, hummus and ice-cafe.

A group of rabbis signed a notice that said (in part): “…We hereby declare, ‘I can not go beyond the word of Hashem, to do more or less. All kashrus (sic) matters are administered in accordance with halacha.'”

O- would that it were so! Just think:

We would be able to buy liquid derivatives (ie, oils) of kitniyot. In fact, the list of kitniyot which was meant to be a closed list would have to go back to its original limits.

We would be able to buy cakes for Pesach that are gebrokts (and would, therefore, actually taste good!).

The DE designation would cease to exist.

Invisible bugs would not interfere with kosher food. Otherwise put: if we can’t see it, it isn’t there. Just think, that would be in accord with the Shulchan Aruch!

Vaadim would no longer be able to trade in lashon harah about other groups’ supervision. In fact, three weeks before Pesach, no vaad would be able to cast unworthy aspersions on certain, clearly kosher products.

The certificate of kashruth of any given place would only cover the food and not the behavior of the people who choose to hold hands, dance, or even, gasp, kiss in the back of the room!

Owners would no longer be allowed to be their own mashgichiach.
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Just think, kashruth would leave the worlds of politics, daas toirah, personal opinion, etc, behind. We would see a return to the Shulchan Aruch as our guide to what is kosher and what is not. No more chumra of the week crowd. Just a return to true halachic values.

We could go on, but we think you get the point.