Kashrus in home establishments | How do you know if you're really eating Kosher? - Halacha Headlines
02/09/23 - SHIUR 407

Kashrus in home establishments | How do you know if you’re really eating Kosher?

If you make products at home and sell them, do you need a Hechsher?
Why is it different than eating at someone else’s house that you don’t need a Hechsher?
Is this Hechsher different than a Hechsher on a food establishment?
How can you do spot checks in a person’s private home?
There are hundreds of Hechsherim – How do you know what you really can rely on?
What standards does a Kashrus need to have to really rely on them?

30 Comments

Avi Burg

I enjoyed your most recent episode quite a bit. Over Covid, I started a new hobby making American deli meats here in EY. Friends and family started asking me to make for them, and I sold to friends and family, until I heard that there was an issue with Vaad Haraba Aratsos.
I asked my local posek in EY (a major mechaber sofray hallacha) if I could continue. The bigger issue he shared, is that in EY there is a law that you cannot sell food as kosher without a rabbanut. This creates a common standard.

The same could be said for many communities, mostly out of town. For example, until a few years ago nearly Rabbanim in the 5 Towns only recognized that the Vaad as the sole local kashrus certifying agency. In this case, restaurants in these areas under any other hashgacha were considered not acceptable.

In these communities and in EY, we run into competing standards. On the one hand, you cannot get a formal hashgacha on a home business. On the other hand, you cannot use an alternative hashgacha.
I asked my posek where we draw the line, and his guidance was as follows. Someone who is a muchzak bkashrus and runs a business out of their kitchen, you trust them and can buy. Someone who makes it s real business with a separate kitchen, needs a hashgacha. This is very much in line with your thinking.
The same occurred in Moshav Matisyahu. Someone opened a twice weekly restaurant in their backyard. Rabbi Leff wouldn’t give a formal teudah because they didn’t have a rabbanut. But when called, he told people they are muchzak bkashrus.
This is the standard in our kehilla (this posek isn’t the Rav) as well. Anyone in our frum community can bring in homemade food for a kiddush, and the hosts are responsible for any foods brought in by friends and family. But anything from a store requires a mehadrin hashgacha (with a rabbanut as well).
Have a great shabbos.

Rafi Goldmeier

Shalom U’Vracha

Fabulous episode on kashrus in home kitchens. I do know rabbonim who support the position that once money is involved people can no longer be trusted as an eid neeman, and I know others that do not take that position. The whole topic is interesting. I would just say I found the interviewee a bit disingenuous when he took the position against the
home cook saying what if she makes a mistake and nobody is there to supervise, etc. yet when you asked about the hechshers that have made mistakes he took the position that even the best hechshers aren’t perfect and make mistakes. So only hechshers can make mistakes and still be relied on but housewives cant be relied in because they might make a
mistake?

יאכלו ענוים וישבעו

Rephael Max

You asked a question numerous times on the program how to know which certification to rely on 20 years ago I remember in Brooklyn there was an organization called kic I think reb fievel Cohen a”h was very involved. It was funded from the community not from the kosher establishments and they would go in and look into the various restaurants speak to their certification and check for themselves they would prepare an internal confidential report that they would share with the local rabbonim which would enable each rov to be able to answer individually their constituents about the various establishments what leniences if any they were relying on and presuming there was a relationship between the rabbi and his congregant the rabbi would know for that particular person if he should recommend yes or noI don’t know if they still do this but it may be something that could work in the larger Jewish cities unlike in the small out of town communities where everybody knows the information about the few local establishments

 

Chesky Kain

Hi. Great episode this week. But can you also please discuss why we eat at all chabbad houses . They are all running profitable business les out of their home/shul how are they different from home businesses?

Kashrus at Chabad Restaurants

There’s a fundamental difference between a restaurant (or even a home business) and a Chabad food service. And that is whether money is the motivating factor.Most food establishments in a Jewish Kehillah open to earn a Parnosso. Whereas with Shluchim if a Parnosso was the goal, moving to Tokyo to sell Shnitzel to Israeli backpackers would not be a first choice.

They open their food service with the intention of assisting the Avodas Hashem of yidden in a place with few options.

Obviously, I’m no Rov, but this basic Svoro seems like an obvious consideration. If Avodas Hashem is their goal, then confirming the highest kashrus standards is critical to their goal.

Much Hatzlocha!
Dovid Grossbaum
Indianapolis

 

Load More...
loading...

Shiur 365 Riddle

Load More...
loading...

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Rabbi Shloima Perl, Rabbi Beirach Steinfeld
Kashrus in home establishments | How do you know if you’re really eating Kosher?
Downloads :
Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Rabbi Shloima Perl, Rabbi Beirach Steinfeld
Kashrus in home establishments | How do you know if you’re really eating Kosher?
Downloads :
Contact