AND THEY BRAG ABOUT THIS???

We received an email from a deli that is looking to promote internet sales. The store is owned by Jews and is open on Shabbat. In addition, cooking is done on Shabbat, too.

We do give them credit for honesty of a sort, however. Read what they say about themselves:

Any business in NYS that sells kosher is monitered by the NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets. What does that mean? It means that you must file with them and they come by every now and then to see if you have represented yourself in an honest manner. NY State’s kosher law is consumer driven, so the Department checks to see that each business upholds the standards they claim for themselves and to make sure that no consumer fraud is taking place. Are they a reputable source of hashgacha? No way!

The store goes on to claim: “…caters to the conservative and reform Jewish movements, and all those who crave “New York, Kosher-style” food. Rabbis from the Conservative movement dine at our restaurant with great frequency, and we are approved and certified to cater events at Conservative synagogues all over the New York metropolitan area.”

Who approved them for the Conservative movement? Do they actually have something that says they are approved for Conservative shuls?

And what kind of Orthodox rabbis certifies a business owned by Jews that is open on Shabbat and cooks on Shabbat? The answer to that is simple:
Rabbi Isaiah Hertzberg of Teaneck. His one man operation (there was a time when calls to his “agency” were picked up in his kitchen at home) supervises other Jewish owned businesses open on Shabbat. His certificate states that the store is regularly inspected by a mashgiach. Hmm, clearly not a mashgiach temidi. If there were one, it would say so.

Finally, it is clear to us that this store accepts a lower standard of kashruth. The question is why? Why not take standards that will allow a broader base of Jews to eat there? The fact that they trumpet that Conservative rabbis eat there frequently, is a strange thing to brag about.

So, why do we tell you all this? Simple- kashrut today is a strange thing. As in all things, caveat emptor!