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Three weeks before Pesach the Brooklyn com­ The kashrus agency assured the public that steal munity received a real scare. Treifhotdogs were they would kosher the treif equipment and require mak bought and used in a Boro Park restaurant which of this store a full time mashgiach. Case closed! sure has a respected hoshgacha. Oris it? lism In minutes, the internet was ablaze. Blogs, ead sites, email newsletters, quickly they reported all Are we really going to forget this one, too? kinds of stories. When the smoke finally settled, lir::':( the kashrus agency certif'ying that establishment We've had Avenue J, in Flatbush (where non­ al' ,.. issued a letter describing just what had transpired. glatt meats were being sold as glatt), Monsey 15 The agency has no in-store mashgiach, but (where treif meat and chickens were being sold as they send a roving mashgiach about three times per glatt kosher) and now treifhotdogs were used in cer::; week to spot-check. Late at night, the reliable, Boro Park. Can we really walk away from this one, too. Shomer Shabbos owner left leaving his brother-in­ After the Avenue J fiasco, 63 rabbis met in res:; law, who had just arrived from Israel, to oversee Flatbush and accepted new standards for the strict the kitchen. A non-Jewish worker, noting that they control of meat. (See Kashrus May 2005, page 74) were out of hotdogs, drew money from the cash After the Monsey tragedy, many reiterated their register and sent another non-Jew across the street dedication to stricter standards of meat to 100% to buy some franks. guarantee kosher standards. The non-Jew entered a store where the restau­ And now this! (dC1 rant usually filled in with items when they ran sr~ Stiffer standards for meat were promised but low-potatoes and other innocuous products. This 1:l.:!)j they were not implemented, at least not fully nor time he had been told to go to the kosher store on by all. the block, but he did not. He purchased three h~ packages of treifhotdogs; two of the three packages But, you will argue, this case is different. were still intact when a customer discovered the There is no attempt to deceive here. There is no Iwsl error. smoking gun; just a non-Jew with bad directions.

36 KASHRUS Magazine • July 2009 • POB 204, Brooklyn, NY 11204 It could happen. Why all the fuss? Mistakes hap­ tion. He was asked to decide whether this meat pen every day. would be acceptable· to his kashrus agency. He No. No. No! This is not business as usual. This spent just 15 minutes in the store, not observing story points directly to two incontrovertible facts: any of what I had discovered. Quickly, he ap­ the store regularly sent out non-Jews with cash proved of the meat as a source for his restaurants to buy goods without checking on the foods and caterers and then was on to another kashms when brought in to the restaurant and secondly stop. I left the store with the opposite conclusion. that this establishment has no in-store mashgiach, One rav told me that you have to remain neither full time nor part time. for days in meat establishments to be sure that you pick up on the way things are run. And here, in To be fair, almost no eating establishment in just 15 minutes, these Brooklyn (as well as bak­ meats were approved for eries) have an on-site use indefinitely. mashgiach. That is a prob­ lem across Brooklyn After reading this in Flatbush, Boro Park, magazine for nearly 30 and Williamsburg. Some years, do readers need to establishments do have a see just why an in-store mashgiach, but, certainly mashgiach is necessary? I the majority do not. In­ certainly hope not. But, stead, a roving mashgiach as we all meet daily with makes the rounds, being others who have no idea sure to visit each estab­ of what is needed to pre­ lishment once (or more) serve kashrus, we will each week. highlight some reasons why· a mashgiach is abso­ Such a visit can do lutely necessary. But first little to monitor the over­ a story. all running of the store. It is just spot-checking, Kosher King and the with little likelihood that "OU" Standard certain weaknesses will ever be spotted. It could Many years ago, I was learning in Yeshivas take years for such a mashgiach to discover that a Ohr Hameir, located then in New Rochelle, NY at restaurant lets a non-Jew go out, with money from the time when Kosher King, the first kosher fast the cash register, to buy meat or other sensitive foods chain ("OU"-certified), opened a branch items (and then not even require that the kashrus of there. One day I was told that I would have to the item be verified by the mashgiach/shomer Shab­ wait a while as they had just opened, a good hour bas before being put into the oven). and a half after the official opening time. The man­ I recall watching the salting and treibo1ing ager was quite upset with the kosher certification. (deveining) of meat at one establishment I had They made him wait to open the doors until the spent about an hour and a half there. During that mashgaich arrived. Traveling from Brooklyn, he time, I spotted a number of weaknesses in their invariably hit his due share of traffic and was often system, and later verified that my concerns were late, to the great disappointment of the manager. halachicly valid ones. But, I took note, even then, how a mashgaich temidi While I was there a very famous rabbi and was unquestionably the only way to go. kashrus expert entered to observe the meat produc­ The "OU" demands a "mashgiach temidi - no

KASHRUS Magazine • July 2009 • www.kashrusmagazine.com 37 ------, --~----

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opening up, unless he's there" pol­ to preserve kashrus. Even if he may 0: icy across the board: for pizzerias, Put mash­ be paid by the owner, he feels his Tc meat and dairy restaurants -_. all gichim or frum allegiance is to the kashrus agency y: eateries, every day, no matter who and ultimately to the kosher con­ -""' owns the store. It's time for kashrus worl

It's a must! 1 Yes, a t:asI1rUS agency can ae-I Iway to preserve kashrus. A mashgi­ 5: mand tight standards and even ach will help a patron appreciate C'... train store personnel to follow them. The rabbi can what the establishment goes through to preserve ~h trust the store owner and, yes, he can try hard to kashrus. He will point out to the owner when more jJ keep the standards. But only a mashgiach, a person hands are needed, when non-Jewish staff chal­ ::"1 who is hired to preserve kashrus, can go the extra 1en?e the kosher aspect and will make recommen­ :~ mile that is needed and make all the difference. datIOns of how to upgrade. Likewise, he is the eyes li . and the ears of the hashgacha agency, making their Th~re was a rav and rebbt who also served as a program all the more effective. p-] caterer m the Queens area for many years, a man A Mashgiach Temidi is just a pipe dream­ :r. well-respec1ed for his character and for his kashrus. SI Once he told me, "I may be a rabbi and a rebbi in a it can't be done/ :Jj yeshiva, but, when I'm on a job, give me a good Rightfully, there is a question whether small j] strong mashgiach. No matter who you are, when it local stores can handle the cost of a mashgiach :r is business, your business and your profit, you start temidi. Indeed, one Brooklyn restaurant that was aJ to see things differently." certified by both the "OU" and a local Brooklyn si Only a mashgiach will watch the non-Jews and hashgacha was recently paying upwards of $90,000 a a year for their kosher certifications because they the Jews with that eye of gentle suspicion (kapdehu .J had double shifts with a mashgiach temidi all day .., v'chashdehu). He is assigned to oversee deliveries ~ and all night. and check ALL food products to ensure their kash­ 51 rus. He keeps an eye on the fires and the activities It is highly impractical to expect all establish­ of the non-Jews, their comings and goings. When ments to implement a mashgiach temidi. Of course, ..,3 he looks at lettuce, he is reminded of the guilt he if the kosher consumer would demand it, it would J might share if an insect is overlooked and eaten. become the new standard. But, there is still a big lJ He also can disregard the demands of the chef to range between $5,000 a year for a hashgacha with :i get "more lettuce for the salad, NOW." no mashgiach and that $90,000. ::.: Only a mashgiach can take pride that his job is How about a part time mashgiach (3 or 4 hours .. a day) with responsibility to see all products that come in. When a delivery comes and the mashgi­ "i To Advertise in ach is not there, it has to be left alone until the mashgiach comes on the next day and only then ; can "the breakdown" of the order be done, with 1 foodstuffs being inventoried. In case of emergency the hashgacha should someone else in to certify the ~~~J!§ breakdown of the order. Likewise, all sources of purchasing must be Call 1-718-336-8544 approved by the kashrus agency. There will be no .. 38 \ZA,SHRUS Magazine' Ju!y 2009 • POB 204. Brooklyn. NY 11204 The 112009 Kosher buying across the street with money from the cash register unless the mashgiach oversees it. For any violation, the hashgacha has to be completely over. And, the program laid out by the KlC (Kashrus Information Center of Flatbush) that kashntS Ii _____ ...Now __ ..... _ __ 1,L.,,: 004 ___ , agencies will not accept stores dropped by a kash­ rus agency unless they speak with the other agency Kosher Symbols & and they approve - must be implemented. Alternatively, it is time to look at getting our Organizations Worldwide stores to hire frum workers who will have to dou­ J52 pages ble as mashgichim, not just as "shomer Shabbos on the premises." The kashrus agencies need to train ISA MUST FOR these workers and deputize them, making certain that the owner will free them from their duties for • Every Jewish Home them to complete the mashgiach functions that the agency wants. • Every Synagogue Today we have unbelievably competent peo­ ple who are laid off. We have a program that Library trains chefs and food workers (The Center for Ko­ sher Culinary Arts-718-758-1339). The extra cost • Every Yeshiva/Day per hour for using a frum worker capable of han­ School dling a necessary food processing function is much less than the cost of any mashgiach for any Order an extra copy for yourself, amount of daily time. This can be a win-win-win situation for the consumer, the mashgiach and the a friend, your shul, etc. establishment. Of course this is in no way equal to Use our special bulk rates having a non-working mashgiach whose entire fo­ cus is kashntS, but it is also a far cry from the loose for study groups & situation now on the ground. memberships. If we have to hear of another (Brooklyn) fi­ asco, we will have only our own selves to blame. The Medrash Tanchuma relates how the princes ~- of the tribes (Nesiim) were upset that they had let 25 Back Issues @ $36 the Jewish people contribute to the Mishkan, sat­ .' . isfied that they would make up the difference in ~" what was needed. The people's contributions :". I: •• I: Q • I: • I: I: ••••• I: " • !II .. " ., • " \\ e " " " " " " " • " • " ... 1:: filled the need completely and the collection Mail to KASHRUS, Dept. KSG stopped without the princes having given any- POB 204, Brooklyn, NY 11204 e thing (other than the machtzis hasheke1) They were : Please send the following: Copies of the "2009 Kosher Supervision Guide" L punished, the Medrash says, by the Torah remov­ . __ ing one letter (a yud) from their name. • -_. Sets of 25 Recent Back Issues ® $36 t __ of "Vintage" Back Issues ® $36 '. The time to speak up is now. Contact the • I have enclosed ..._____.-~ payment. kashrus agency of your choice and let them know cc ._..~ exp._ how you suggest they guarantee that this time • Name there will be no repeat offence. KM .

·••••••••••••••••••••• $: •••••• $ •••••••••••••••.~

KASHRUS Magazine • July 2009 • www.kashrusmagazine.com 39