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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
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- Bernard Haykel: A Life Between the Text and the Gun
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- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
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* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
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* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
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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
Posted in Kashrut, Marc B. Shapiro
Tagged jewish dietary laws, Marc B. Shapiro, meat product, moshe, rabbi hirsch, rabbi joseph, rabbi moses, rosh yeshiva, zev
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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
Posted in Kashrut, Marc B. Shapiro
Tagged american orthodoxy, elizabeth new jersey, financial corruption, Marc B. Shapiro, religious jews, vaad
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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
Posted in Hirhurim, Kashrut
Tagged gil student, kashrus, kosher standards, pesach, shomer shabbos
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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
Posted in Kashrut, Orthodoxy
Tagged food establishment, israeli jews, israelis, laws of kashrut
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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
Posted in Kashrut
Tagged baguette bread, dairy bread, dairy ingredients, e 471, emulsifier, kosher ingredients
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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
Posted in Kashrut
Tagged belsky, food particles, hot food, kosher supervision, plastic coverings, sturdy material, taam, vapor pressure
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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
Posted in Kashrut
Tagged chewing gum, civet, civet cats, fixative, flavorings, gelatin desserts, genitals, quot, rabbi eidlitz, receptacle
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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
Posted in Ethics, Kashrut
Tagged business ethics, ethics commission, government investigation, overtime hours, way business works
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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
Posted in Kashrut
Tagged corn beef, deli sandwiches, kosher deli, lashon hara, lunch crowd, steak entrees
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