Category Archives: Kashrut

Distorting The Jewish Dietary Laws

Moshe Zev posts to Marc B. Shapiro: I would love to see more about how kashrus has been distorted today in America. We have been taught to believe that nothing is kosher unless it has a certification. Yet it is … Continue reading

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Should You Only Trust A Vaad?

A "vaad" is a council of rabbis, like the RCC, the dominant Jewish law court in California. Marc B. Shapiro blogs: Experience has shown that a rabbi who is financially corrupt can easily win back his reputation (and in some … Continue reading

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Refusing To Eat In Other People’s Homes

Rabbi Gil Student writes: "There is a practice among some to refrain from eating at the home of others on Passover (what I believe some call "mishing"). While it is difficult to pin down a label of permissible or forbidden … Continue reading

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The Non-Jews and the Israeli Jews

A kashurt inspector I know worked at a food establishment owned by non-Jews. They were completely respectful of the laws of kashrut. He worked at a food establishment run by Orthodox Israelis who were constantly trying to do end-runs around … Continue reading

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Which Breads Are Kosher?

From a comment to Hirhurim: Bread: One should refrain from using packed bread from supermarkets which mostly contains a non-kosher emulsifier E-471 in order to keep the freshness of the bread. Some of the bread should be checked from dairy … Continue reading

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Kosher Investments

Skeptical writes to Hirhurim: "I was impressed that R. Belsky indicated that there would not be a problem eating bagels from an establishment that is not under kosher supervision (since bagels are made on designated equipment). Is this a widespread … Continue reading

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Absolute Civet Comes From A Dark Place

According to Rabbi Eidlitz’s book, "Is It Kosher?", Absolute Civet is secreted from a receptacle between the anus and the genitals of cats. Sounds yummy to me. I wonder how this miraculous flavoring material was discovered? According to this Oregon … Continue reading

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Pico-Robertson’s Ethics Commission Sharpens Its Focus

Here’s the original plan. I haven’t seen anyone sporting these ethics certifications. Now the rabbis are struggling with auditing. If businesses want to do stuff off the books, the rabbis won’t be able to audit that. How will they find … Continue reading

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Pat’s Kosher Restaurant

Joe emails: As promised, a Pat’s review. Pat’s gets a five star rating, but it should not take itself too seriously, for its competitors among kosher restaurants reminds me of the good old fashioned christians and lions battles in the … Continue reading

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Pico Kosher Deli – Four Stars Out Of Five

Joe emails: The best way to tell how good a Kosher restaurant is to count how many non-Orthodox patrons it has. Orthodox people do not know good food and think that anything they do not have to clean up their … Continue reading

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