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כשרות
KASHRUT
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ובא וראה מה שכתב הרמב"ם ז"ל, וזה תוכן דבריו בקיצור על פי חכמת הטבע, כי מכל מיני מאכל ומשקה נעשה דם, ומהדם יורד אל הכבד, ומהכבד עולה הברירות אל הלב, ומהלב יורד המובחר והדק אל המוח, ושם שורה השכל וחיות של האדם. ומי ששומר עצמו ממאכלות המותרות והאסור והטמא, נעשו דמיו צלולין וטהורין, ויש לו לב טהור, והמוח והחיות שלו נעשה חיות טהורות להשיג אמיתית החיות שהיא אלקות של כל העולמות המחי' את כולם. ומי ששומר עצמו יותר, ומקדש את אכילתו עפ"י דרכי ד' ותורתו, נעשה מזה בנין אב, והוא השכל לכל רמ"ח איבריו ומתקדשים ומתטהרים. וכן להיפוך ח"ו, נעשה בנין אב שכל עקור ומעופש בדעות זרות, וחיות שלו נעשה בחינת מת, והוא אבי אבות הטומאה וכו', ורמ"ח איבריו נטמאים וטמא טמא יקרא לכל דבר, ונעלם ממנו אמיתת החיות שהיא אלקות של כל העולמות, ונטמא ונופל לדיעות זרות ואלהים אחרים, הם אלילים אלמים מתים וזבחי מתים יקראו להם. לכן התנאים ואמוראים ובעלי המדות וחכמי המשנה הם שמרו נפשן שלא יתגאלו בפת בג הזקן וביין משתיו, ולכן האירו שכלם והי' שורה עליהם רוח הקודש, לפרש כל מאמר סתום בדת התורה הקדושה, כי שרתה עליהם כח אלקי, אשר הוא ואורייתא כולא חד ואור נשמתם ג"כ הוא חוט המשולש אשר לא ינתק לעולם ולעולמי עולמים. אבל אנשים הללו בודאי טמאים ונטמאו דמם, ומשם לבם ומוח שלהם נטמטם במאכלות האסורות והטמאות, ולכך החיות שלהם נוטה למינות ואפיקורסות, ולא יכלו לקבל מתיקות נופת צוף דברי מאמרינו הבנוים עפ"י שכל אלקי עולם ומלך עליון. והואיל והעיזו פניהם ויצאו לחוץ, פתאום יבוא עליהם הכורת, וכרות יכרתו אותם וכל אשר להם. וכך עלתה להם, כי לא היו ימים מועטים עד אשר בא עליהם מלך גדול והרג אותם וביזז כל אשר להם, עכת"ד. היוצא לנו מהנ"ל: שכל איש אשר רגליו עמדו על הר סיני, ואשר בוער בקרבו עדיין ניצוץ של יראת שמים, יפריש עצמו ובני ביתו מאכילת בשר בהמה אשר כל כשרותו אינו אלא סילוף וזיוף, וסמיית עיניים, כאשר הרבנים הצדיקים צועקים מרה. |
בעזרת השם יתברך שאלה??? האם יש נאמנות להעיד, שהבשר וכו' כשר? רבנים ומשגיחים הנותנים הכשרים ומקבלים מאות ומליוני דולרים לשנה, וחלק מהם שותפים במסחר האם הם נאמנים על פי התורה? תשובה! 1 כל הנוטל שכר להעיד, עדותו בטל, כמו הנוטל שכר לדון, ואינן צריכים הכרזה [שעדותו בטלה], אלא הדין והעדות בטל מעצמו. (רמ"א חושן משפט סימן ל"ד סעיף י"ח). 2 כל שעבר עבירה שחייבים עליה מלקות... לא שנה אם עבר לתיאבון ... פסול לעדות. (שולחן ערוך חושן משפט סימן ל"ד סעיף ה'). 3 היתה העבירה שעבר מדרבנן, פסול מדרבנן, הג"ה, ויש אומרים בדבר מדבריהם, בענין שעבר משום חימוד ממון. (שולחן ערוך ורמ"א שם סעיף ז'). 4 כמו שעבר עבירה משום ממון, יעבור נמי להעיד שקר בשביל ממון, או הנאה שיהיה לו. (סמ"ע חושן משפט סימן ל"ד סעיף ו'). 5 החשוד לדבר אחד, אינו חשוד לדברים אחרים, אבל כל מה שצריך לאותו דבר, חשוד גם עליו, כגון, מי שהיה חשוד למכור חלב במקום שומן, והיה מרגיל הנערים לבוא לקנות ממנו באגוזים שהיה נותן להם, קונסים אותו שלא ימכור אפילו אגוזים. (שולחן ערוך יורה דעה הלכות מאכלי עכו"ם סימן קי"ט סעיף ד'). 6 החשוד על הדבר, אינו נאמן עליו אפילו בשבועה. (שולחן ערוך יורה דעה הלכות מאכלי עכו"ם סימן קי"ט סעיף ד'). 7 המוכר דברים האסורים, מעבירים אותו ומשמתים (מנדים) אותו. (שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן קי"ט סעיף ט"ו). לפי הנ"ל כמעט כל הרבנים היום מקבלים הון תועפות בעד ההכשר שנותנים ובפרט על הבשר, ואין לך אפילו עד אחד כשר שיהיה נאמן ושתוכל לסמוך עליו, ואיך הלומדים צועקים עד אחד נאמן באיסורין, ואין צריך לדרוש ולחקור אחריו, דע לך שאפילו הלכה זו מוטעת היא בידך, ואם למדת לא פרשו לך, דהלכה פסוקה (ברמ"א יורה דעה סימן קכ"ז סעיף ג'), דכל היכא דאתחזק איסורא כגון טבל, או חתיכת בשר שאינה מנוקרת, אין העד נאמן עליו להתירו, אלא אם כן בידו לתקנו, ובשחיטות הגדולות לא רק שאין בידו של בעל המכשיר לתקנו, כי לא יניחוהו, אלא הוא שותף של בעל המסחר שחז"ל[1] אמרו עליו הכשר שבטבחים שותפו של עמלק, ובין כך ובין כך ויצא העגל הזה. ובני ישראל הכשרים אוכלים ומתפטמים באיסורי נבילות וטריפות חלב ודם רח"ל על סמך של הרע-בנים שהם לא רק שותפם של עמלק אלא הם העמלקים לבד, [ראה המראה מקומות בהערות]. והשם יתברך יזכנו להיות חלקי ממזכי הרבים, ואולי אבנה גם אנכי ממנה, ואליכם אישים אקרא להגות בהלכות אלו ולפרסמם בכל העולם כי הם יסודי הדת, ולא הוספתי משלי כלום, והם רק דברי השולחן ערוך הראשונים כמלאכים ותורה יבקשו מפיהם, ודברים היוצאים מלבות קדושים, יכנסו בלבות בני ישראל גזע תרשישים, אמן.
1 [1] ) מסכת קידושין דף פב/א: טוב שברופאים לגיהנם והכשר שבטבחים שותפו של עמלק. 2 מסכת סופרים פרק חמשה עשר: טוב שברופאים לגיהנם והכשר שבטבחים שותפו של עמלק. 3 תלמוד ירושלמי מסכת קדושין דף מז/ב: טוב שברופאים לגיהנם כשר שבטבחים שותפו של עמלק. 4 תוספות יום טוב על מסכת קידושין פרק ד משנה יד: טוב שבטבחים. ספיקי טרפות באות לידו וחס על ממונו ומאכילן. עד כאן לשון רש"י. ושותפו של עמלק לא ניחא. דמה ענין עמלק למאכיל טרפות. ולכן נראה לפרש טוב שבטבחים הוא אכזרי ומזגו רע. והוא שותפו של עמלק האכזרי שזינב כל הנחשלים. ולא היה אומה ולשון שנזדווגו בישראל אחר שיצאו ממצרים והנסים שנעשו להם. כי אם עמלק ראשונה. וזה מורה על אכזריות לבבו שלא שם אל לבו הנסים והנפלאות שנעשו לישראל והמכות של מצרים במצרים ועל הים אלא אכזריותו וזדונו הכריעו לכך כמו שכתוב (דברים כ"ה) ולא ירא אלקים. 5 המאירי על מסכת קידושין דף פ/ב: טוב שברופאים לגיהינם מפני שכמה פעמים שופך דמים מפני היאוש ושאינו משתדל כראוי במלאכת רפואתו או שאינו יודע לפעמים סבת החולי ודרך רפואתו ועושה עצמו בקי. כשר שבטבחים שותפו של עמלק פירשו גדולי הרבנים שמאכילים ספק טריפות מצד חסותם על ממונם ואיני יודע מה דמיון מזו לעמלק אלא שמפרשים בדבריהם מאליפז שנטל כלממונו ליעקב ונמצא שכלם חומדי ממון, ועיקר הדברים לדעתי שהוא חשוד על הסירוס והוא מעשה המיוחד לעמלק כמו שאמרו בהגדה שהיה מסרס ומשליך ערלותיהם כלפי מעלה לבזות מצות מילה. וזהו ענין ויזנב בך, וזהו לדעתי אמרו הנחשלים אחריך מלשון ביעי חשילאתא, עכ"ל. 6 תוספות הרא"ש על מסכת קידושין דף פב/א: שותפו של עמלק - במדרש דריש, עמלק עם לק שהיה להוט אחר ישראל ככלב אחר הנבילה להכי מדמי ליה לטבח שחס על בהמותיו להכשיר נבלות. 7 תוספות יום טוב על מסכת קידושין פרק ד משנה יד: טוב שברופאים לגיהנם. אינו ירא מן החולי ומאכלו מאכל בריאים ואינו משבר לבו למקום ופעמים שהורג נפשות, ויש בידו לרפאות העני ואינו מרפא. טוב שבטבחים. ספיקי טרפות באות לידו וחס על ממונו ומאכילן. עד כאן לשון רש"י. ושותפו של עמלק לא ניחא. דמה ענין עמלק למאכיל טרפות. ולכן נראה לפרש טוב שבטבחים הוא אכזרי ומזגו רע. והוא שותפו של עמלק האכזרי שזינב כל הנחשלים. ולא היה אומה ולשון שנזדווגו בישראל אחר שיצאו ממצרים והנסים שנעשו להם. כי אם עמלק ראשונה. וזה מורה על אכזריות לבבו שלא שם אל לבו הנסים והנפלאות שנעשו לישראל והמכות של מצרים במצרים ועל הים אלא אכזריותו וזדונו הכריעו לכך כמ"ש (דברים כ"ה) ולא ירא אלקים. |
THE IMPORTANCE OF KASHRUT OBSERVANCE AND THE SEVERITY OF THE PUNISHMENT FOR TRANSGRESSING THE LAWS SET FORTH IN THE TORAH AND THROUGH OUR RABBIS O.B.M.
Whosoever eats forbidden foods… 1) Is judged as a despised person since Hashem loathes him in this world and the world to come. (Zohar‑part 111, 41.) 2) Defiles his soul (ibid) (Reishis Chochma) 3) Will suffer much since all of a man's suffering in this world is because he was not scrupulous in the observance of kashrut. (ibid, 42) 4) Attaches his soul to the forces of impurity and a spirit of defilement rests upon him. (Ibid) 5) Leaves the sphere of holiness and enters a sphere of impurity. (ibid, 42) 6) Woe unto him and woe unto his soul. He has not attached himself to those of the eternal life. (ibid, 41)
IT IS AS IF HE WORSHIPS IDOLS 7) Is as though he has a worshipped idols G-d forbid. (ibid,) 8) Has no part of the G-d of Israel (ibid, 41) 9) Will have his face take on the appearance of a wild animal. (Zohar part 11, 125) 10) Is as though his soul has left him and he remains a living corpse and is considered evil. (Chasam Sofer Parshas Shmini) 11) Has entered within him thoughts of atheism and heresy. (Rambam) 12) Unintentionally defiles his soul; with intent – his soul becomes like that of a lizard. (Or Hachayim Shmini)
HE PROLONGS THE EXILE 13) Prolongs the coming of the Mashiach, (Bris Mateh Moshe) 14) Does not belong to Hashem (Rashi on the verse A Holy Nation") 15) Forces his soul to become subservient to the body and its physical environs. (Sefas Emes, Parshes Shmini) 36) even though he merely is lenient in something which requires stringency, defiles his soul and is unable to comprehend the ideas of the Torah. (Meor Veshemesh) 16) Will see his children turn to evil ways. (Igre D pirke 126)
HE WILL COMMIT OTHER SEVERE SINS 17) Will commit other severe sins and will fall prey to the evils of the gentile world. (Divrei Yoel Parshas Shmini). 18) Even rabinically forbidden foods, brings one to further sins (Kav Hayashor, Avot D'rabeinu Noson chap. 15) 19) Creates an impurity in his heart and soul (Mesilat Yesharim) 20) Feeds his body with prohibited objects. Eventually his body will become filled with all types of impurity. (Nidchai Israel chap. 29) 21) Will have impurity become another limb on his body. (Reishis Chochmo Shar Hakedusho chap. 17)
HE CAN NEVER BE PURIFIED AND DESTROYS 22) Can never be purified and destroys his share of this world and the world to come. (Yesh S'char pg. 42) 23) Because of minimal impurity one can be brought to the depths of Gehinomm. (Arugath Habosem) 24) Most apikorsim (heretics) have become so due to eating neveilos and treifos. (Chasam Sofer Kdoshim) 25) Because of unsuitable shochtim, Jews are unable to earn a livelihood. (Likutei Moharan)
ENTIRE JEWISH COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN LOST THROUGH THIS SIN 26) There is no sin so severe as forbidden foods, since entire Jewish communities were lost and turned to evil ways because of eating treifos and neveilos. (Divrei Chayim‑Yoreh Deah) 27) Will find it impossible to pray with the proper devotion and intention (Or Haganuz ‑ Parshas Toldos)
THOSE WHO STUMBLE THROUGH FORBIDDEN FOODS BECOME INSOLENT PEOPLE AND ARE THOSE WHO DON’T FEAR G-D 28) The majority of insolent people in every generation, failing in yiras shomayim (fear of Hashem) and non‑acceptance of rebuke come about by eating forbidden foods. (Pri Chadash ‑Yoreh Deah 81) 29) Will become a heretic and evil. (Shulchan hatohor quoting the Ari z.l) 30) Is held captive by his own impurity and is thus unable to ascend to holiness. He is unable to separate himself from his impurity until he is buried in the grave or through consistent penitence and fasting. (Sefer Tfila Lemoshe, chap. 68) 31) Even unknowingly, needs to repent for the wrong he has done. (Sifrei Chasidim in the name of the holy Baal Shem Tov) |
The prohibition of the foods that the Torah prohibited is not due to the harm they cause one’s health, for the nations eat all those things deemed disgusting for us, and they are, nevertheless, strong and untiring. The G-dly Torah did not come to cure the bodies of men and to seek their health but to seek the health of the soul and to cure its illnesses. The Torah prohibited certain foods because they contaminate and sully the pure soul and create in the person’s nature an obstruction and deterioration of his desires, whence they create an evil nature in a person, from which the spirit of contamination originates, the spirit that contaminates the thoughts and deeds and drives out the spirit of purity and sanctity. concerning this spirit, King David begged, “And Your Holy Spirit remove not from me (Ps. 51).” And he said, “A pure heart create in me, O L-rd, and a proper spirit renew in my midst.” Therefore, G-d said, “Do not contaminate your souls..,and do not become unclean through them.” For this was the matter of the obstruction and the uncleanness. The reason for its prohibition is that nature of the body be balanced and that from its foods will eminate pure blood, not contaminated thick and coarse blood. (Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel, Shemini). |
העונש בחיבוט הקבר
אחר מותו בא הממונה על חיבור הקבר ומכה על בטנו בשרביטו של ברזל ואש, עד שכריסו נבקעת כתב בספר אור צדיקים (פרק י"ט), וזה לשון קדשו: דע כי מי שלא היה מדקדק במאכלים בעולם הזה ולא היה נזהר להבחין בין איסור להיתר, ואפילו אינו איסור מפורש בתורה אלא מחכמינו ז"ל. עונשו שלאחר מותו בא הממונה על חיבור הקבר ומכה על בטנו בשרביטו של ברזל ואש, עד שכריסו נבקעת ויוצא פרשנדא, ואז מהפכין אותו על פניו ומכים אותו, ואומרים לו בלע מה שהוצאת, השם ישמרינו ויצילנו מדין הקשה הזה ומדכוותיה, ובפרט באיסור בשר בחלב שהוא עון חמור, עד כאן לשונו. |
(BAMIDBAR 11: 1-4)
1 And when the people (Always the people [HA AM] refers to the Erev
Rav) complained, it displeased Hashem; and Hashem heard it; and his anger
was kindled; and the fire of Hashem burnt among them, and consumed those
who were in the outlying parts of the camp.
Tikkune Zohar Tikkun 19 THE EREV RAV ASKED FOR MEAT AND IT WAS GIVEN TO THEM [AND NOWADAYS THEY STILL CONTROL THE MEAT] And the EREV RAV asked for meat and it was given to them. And what is written? “And the meat was still between their teeth before being torn and the fury of G-d” (Bamidbar 11,33)…And the secret of this meat is “For he is also flesh” [SHAGAM HU BASSAR] (Bereshit 6:3). And this secret was left in the hands of the wise of heart…And this BASSAR [meat] in reverse is SHEBER [Broken] And on this it is written: “SHEVER RAAVON BATECHEM” [The broken famine of your houses] (Bereshit 42:19). If they are deserving then the meat is holy as it is written “MI BESSARI ECHEZE ELOKA” But if they don’t guard that BASSAR [meat] the sign of the Brit, then it will change for them to SHEBER. Tikkune Zohar Tikkun 19 |
THE RABBANIM OF THE EREV THE MISGUIDANCE OF THE KOSHER MARKETPLACE ARTICLE APPEARED ON THE JEWISH PRESS
Glatt Kosher? Dear Editor, Mr. Eli Sacks’ letter concerning “Glatt-Kosher’’ published in your Aug. 6th edition caught my eye. Having practiced ‘‘Sh’chita Ubdika’’ several years, I feel I have some knowledge — as well as questions — in this matter and would like to express my opinion. An animal slaughtered kosher requires “B’dikas Hore’oh” — inspection of the lungs. If this inspection turns up a “sircha’ — an adhesion — the entire animal is taref. The Ra’moh, whose decisions we usually accept in matters of Halacha, is lenient in this case. He permits the practice of “Mi’uch U’mishmush” — rubbing gently the ‘sircha’ between the ringers of the “bodek” and if this process removes the “sircha” the animal is kosher (Ramoh, Yore Deah, 39:13). Those who refuse to accept this lenient view of the Ramoh or question whether the ‘bodek’’ was gentle enough in the handling of the ‘‘sircha” insist that their meat be from an animal with “glatt’’ — (smooth, in Yiddish) lungs with no “sircha” at all and are willing to pay the price. So much for the basic halacha: May I now ask several questions. based upon practical experience: 1) Beef cattle without a “sircha’ is very rare. At times, as little as 0- 5% are really ‘‘glatt. ‘Where does all the beef sold in New York as “Glatt-Kosher’ come from? 2) The Ramoh (ibid) specifically excludes calves and lambs from his lenient decision concerning ‘‘Mi’uch U’mishmush,’’ Consequently, a calf or a lamb which has a ‘sircha” is treif even according to the Ramoh. What, then, is ‘‘Glatt-Kosher” veal or lamb? 3) Poultry requires no inspection of the lungs. In fact! the lungs of all poultry is adherent to the ribs. What, then! is “Glatt Kosher” chicken or duck? I have been asking these and similar questions for the last 45 years and, to date, heard no satisfactory answer. Isn’t it time that the authorities in charge of Kashruth listen to them seriously and begin mending fences? Most respectfully, Rabbi Joseph Goldberg Brooklyn. N.Y |
The whole matter of death in this world came about because of the sin of eating something that was forbidden, the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge As it is written (Bereshit 2:17): “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”. As a direct result of it, death was brought onto the world to all men for all generations. The Ramban
There is no sin so severe as forbidden foods, since entire Jewish communities were lost and turned to evil ways because of eating treifos and neveilos. (Divrei Chayim‑Yoreh Deah)
THE EREV RAV ASKED FOR MEAT AND IT WAS GIVEN TO THEM [AND NOWADAYS THEY STILL CONTROL THE MEAT] And the EREV RAV asked for meat and it was given to them. And what is written? “And the meat was still between their teeth before being torn and the fury of G-d” (Bamidbar 11,33)…And the secret of this meat is “For he is also flesh” [SHAGAM HU BASSAR] (Bereshit 6:3). And this secret was left in the hands of the wise of heart…And this BASSAR [meat] in reverse is SHEBER [Broken] And on this it is written: “SHEVER RAAVON BATECHEM” [The broken famine of your houses] (Bereshit 42:19). If they are deserving then the meat is holy as it is written “MI BESSARI ECHEZE ELOKA” But if they don’t guard that BASSAR [meat] the sign of the Brit, then it will change for them to SHEBER. Tikkune Zohar Tikkun 19
THE EREV RAV MADE THE GOLDEN CALF AND
THEIR FLESH When they did the golden calf, Moshe thought that it was the Jews who had done it… Then Hashem told him “Go down for your people have corrupted” Immediately he descended and saw the calf who had the image of a donkey and a bull. And he asked the donkey: Who made you? And it said the EREV RAV made me, for their flesh is the flesh of donkeys. The bull said the same thing… Tikkune Zohar, 142a
THE SERPENT IS THE FORBIDDEN FAT WHICH IS FORBIDDEN TO THE JEWS The thin intestine this is the healthy serpent, the serpent AKALATON, that the Tzaddikim are destined to eat. And there is an impure fat [Chelev], which is the serpent and which is forbidden to eat the holy Jews, for about it, it is written (Bereshit 3: 14): “Cursed are you more than all cattle” Tikkune Zohar, 140b |
Unfortunately, now the breach in the observance of kashruth has become much more widespread than in years gone by. In years gone by, every Jew, even the unlearned ones, kept a very close watch over the food that entered their homes, since all foods were prepared at home. No one would dare purchase commercially prepared foods and rely on hechsherim and lenient rulings of all sorts. Ask your parents or grandparents who lived in Europe before the Holocaust, and they will tell you how scrupulous they were with the sanctity of foods in the European communities that have since been destroyed, that no one, not even the most unlearned, would eat or give his family to eat foods prepared outside his home, without his supervision over their preparation from beginning to end. Now, however, there are many who permit all kinds of products according to the most lenient rulings in halachah, and the most observant purchase all sorts of commercially produced foods, even those manufactured by non‑Jews, as long as there is some kind of hechsher stamped on the container. It is irrelevant whose hechsher it is, as long as it says, "kosher" in Hebrew letters. As will be explained in this book, many of the hechsherim are given by rabbis who have no idea of the intricacies of food manufacturing. Consequently, they inadvertently permit many products containing non‑kosher ingredients. People should, therefore, avoid using all kinds of commercial products. |
The saintly Chofetz Chaim writes in his book, Machaneh Israel, that a Jewish soldier once asked him what he should choose. He was given the choice to be in a division under a fine commander, who allows the soldiers to slaughter and eat kosher meat, but there he would have to work on the Shabbat, or to be in another division where he would not be able to eat kosher food, but he would not be coerced to work on the Shabbat. He asked what he should do. The Chofetz Chaim told him to go to the division where he would be forced to work on the Shabbat and added the following reason: Even though Shabbat is a capital offense, when he comes home, he would be able to observe many Shabbossim. If he eats neveilos and trefos, however, "the damage to his soul will remain permanently," [..And he will end up not eating Kosher and not observing Shabbat] |
Prohibited Foods Contaminate a Person’s Soul The prohibition of the foods that the Torah prohibited is not due to the harm they cause one’s health, for the nations eat all those things deemed disgusting for us, and they are, nevertheless, strong and untiring. The G-dly Torah did not come to cure the bodies of men and to seek their health but to seek the health of the soul and to cure its illnesses. The Torah prohibited certain foods because they contaminate and sully the pure soul and create in the person’s nature an obstruction and deterioration of his desires, whence they create an evil nature in a person, from which the spirit of contamination originates, the spirit that contaminates the thoughts and deeds and drives out the spirit of purity and sanctity. concerning this spirit, King David begged, “And Your Holy Spirit remove not from me (Ps. 51).” And he said, “A pure heart create in me, O L-rd, and a proper spirit renew in my midst.” Therefore, G-d said, “Do not contaminate your souls..,and do not become unclean through them.” For this was the matter of the obstruction and the uncleanness. The reason for its prohibition is that nature of the body be balanced and that from its foods will eminate pure blood, not contaminated thick and coarse blood. (Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel, Shemini). |
THE PERSON SUFFERS WHETHER HE The Zohar Ha Kaddosh (Shemini 41b) states: Come and see. Everyone who eats of those forbidden foods, cleaves to the forces of evil and thereby contaminates himself and his soul, resulting, an unclean spirit to rest upon him, displaying, thereby he has no part in the Most High G-d ... and if he departs from this world in that condition, all those that adhere to the forces of uncleanness cling to him, contaminate, and judge him as a person who despised his Master, he is despised in this world and despised in the World to Come ... Woe is to them! Woe is to their souls for they will not cling to the bundle of eternal life, for they have become contaminated ... All of a person's toil is for his mouth. All judgment, all one suffers and all vengeance wrought upon him, is all on account of his mouth, because he did not watch it and thereby, contaminated himself. A person should quake when he reads the words of the Zohar concerning the immeasurable damage a person wreaks upon his soul by eating forbidden foods. For in doing so, he grasps and clings to the evil forces resulting in unclean spirits to cleave unto him, thereby demonstrating he has no part in the G‑d of Israel, G‑d forbid! Therefore, one must be particularly suspect from eating foods of dubious kashrus, surely not definitely non‑kosher foods. In this matter, the Zohar Ha Kaddosh continues (42a): Rabbi Yitzchak said: Whoever becomes contaminated through these foods is like one practicing idolatry, which is an abomination to the L‑rd, as the Torah writes: You shall not eat any abomination. Whosoever practices idolatry departs from the side of life, departs from the Holy domain, and enters the evil one; as does also one who contaminates himself with these foods depart from the side of life, depart from the Holy domain, and enter an evil one, and not only that, but he becomes contaminated both in this world and in the World to Come. |
בתורה הקדושה כתוב: ואנשי קודש תהיון לי, (שמות כ"ב). על המילים ואנשי קודש תהיון לי אומר רשי הקדוש: אם אתם קדושים ופרושים מנבילות וטריפות הרי אתם שלי, ואם לאו אתם של נבוכדנצר וחבריו, הפשט הוא כך: הקדוש ברוך הוא אומר כשהיהודים יהיו קדושים, והם לא יאכלו נבילות וטריפות, אז הם יהיו שלי, וכשהם יאכלו נבילות וטריפות הם לא יהיו שלי, ועל המלים לכלב תשליכון אותו אומר רש"י: "שהכלב נכבד ממנו, הכוונה שכמישהו אוכל טריפות הוא יותר גרוע מכלב" |
In the holy book, M'lo Haomer (Shemini) we read that if one eats unclean species or forbidden foods, not only does he not raise up the "sparks" but he contaminates himself with them since they are from the "evil side," and his soul descends to the "husks." Therefore, Scripture states: It is unclean to you. Not only are they not capable of rising, but also he will contaminate himself with them. Also, in Tefillah LeMoshe (ch. 68): Whoever eats forbidden foods is bound to the uncleanness, and he cannot ascend to the holiness. It is impossible for him to separate himself from the loathsomeness of the uncleanness except through fasts and penitence or through chibut hakever known otherwise as beating in the grave. Who needs it. Also, in Or Tzaddikim, ch. 19: Be thou advised… Whoever was not exact in his observance of dietary laws in this world and was not careful to differentiate between that prohibited and that permitted, even if it was not prohibited by the Torah but by the Rabbis, his punishment is, that after his death, the angel in charge of the beating of the grave comes and hits him on his stomach with his bar of iron and fire, until his stomach splits and the ordure spills out. They then turn him over his face to strike him.. They say to him, "Swallow what you gave out” May G‑d guard and save us from this harsh judgment or the like! And especially is this true of the sin of mingling meat and milk, which is a serious offense, and the Zohar states: Whoever eats that food which is joined together at one time or at one meal, for forty days a roasted kid in its skin appears ... and if he begets a son in these forty days, they give him a soul from the 'evil side,' that we do not need. |
THE MOST UPRIGHT BUTCHER IS A
PARTNER "The most upright butcher is a partner of Amalek." Rashi explains that many cases of questionable kashrut come to his hand, and in trying to save money, declares them kosher, and ‑ sell them as such. We can see to what extent the Rabbis evaluate the pitfalls resulting from the butchers, that they did not hesitate to use the sharpest epithet when referring to them. The expression, "partner of Amalek," is, by far, the sharpest epithet used in the Talmud. One's hair can stand on end when one thinks about how far this matter extends. For a question of doubtful kashrut the Rabbis called him such a name, and not only a usual butcher, but "the most upright butcher " so that no one can be confident in himself and say that since he appointed a reliable butcher, no pitfalls can result from him, and it is accepted that a Torah scholar does not allow any pitfall to result from his doings, especially if the butcher is really learned, since the Rabbis say that a Torah scholar will commit a minor infraction in order to prevent an ignorant person from committing a major infraction. |
READ ALL ABOUT THE BIGGEST MEAT SLAUGHTERER IN THE WORLD "RUBASHKIN"
PDF FILE
REGARDING BET YOSEF MEAT ATTENTION SEPHARDIC PEOPLE An important note for all sephardic people: All meat that is not Beit Yosef is considered TAREF for Sefaradim, if a sephardic person eats regular Kosher meat, he is eating Taref, G-d forbid, If a sephardic person eats Glatt Kosher meat, he may be also eating TAREF because even if the meat is called Glatt Kosher, some adhesions in the lungs (UP TO 3 VERY SMALL ADHESIONS, SEE SIMLA CHADASHA IM PERUSH MATE ASHER PAGE 436) are allowed in a Glatt Kosher animal for Ashkenazim. And for Sephardim, not even one adhesion is allowed BE CAREFUL WITH BET YOSEF MEAT FROM THE SEFARDIC BET DIN AS THIS MEAT IS SLAUGHTERED BY RUBASHKIN AND IT IS MOST LIKELY NOT BET YOSEF ANYWAY AND NOT KOSHER FOR SEFARADIM (AND PROBABLY NOT EVEN KOSHER FOR ASHKENAZIM EITHER) |
NOTE VERY SIMILAR LOGOS
EATING FORBIDDEN FOODS IS WORSE THAN OTHER SINS
We learn in the holy book entitled Likutei Amarim, known popularly by the name, Tanya (chs. 6 and 7) and authored by the holy Rav Schneur Zalman of Liadi: We learn in the holy Zohar at the end of parshas Shemini, that an unclean spirit rests on forbidden foods. Consequently, whoever eats them contaminates his soul and body, resulting in the unclean spirit to rest up on him. Moreover, he demonstrates that he has no part in the G‑d of Israel and the sanctity of Israel. He brings upon himself confusion of the mind. Additionally, it is known from Tosafos (Shabbos 12b, Chulin 5b) that eating forbidden foods is worse than infracting other prohibitions. This is what King Solomon refers in (Ecclesiastes 6:7): All of a person's toil is for his mouth. The Zohar explains this to mean that all the toil and punishments a person suffers after his death, in Gehinnom, are because he contaminated his soul during his lifetime by eating forbidden foods, such as dead animals not slaughtered properly, and trefos. Also the soul will not be fulfilled. Its punishment will never be completed. It is also written in Proverbs (21:23): Whoever watches his mouth and his tongue, watches his soul from troubles. Do not read, "From troubles (mitzaros)," but "From tzaraas." (ibid, Tazria; Tanchuma, Metzora). Now, if you ask, don't we see many people who stumble upon this sin and are not punished with Tzaraas, the Sefer Reishis Chochmah (Shaar Hakedushah ch. 13) answers that the Tzaraas is established in the soul, and when the soul ascends to heaven every night, all the holy creatures stay away from it and announce that it is unclean, as the Torah states: And he shall call, "Unclean, unclean!" This is true even after its departure from this world, if he did not repent. (Shaar Bath Rabbim). |
RABBINICAL OPINION PERTAINING
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מרן בעל תולדות יעקב יוסף בפ' נשא מערמת הס"מ שלא לפתות כל יחיד, רק מעמיד שוחטים בכל מקום מסיטרא דילי' ועל ידי זה הכל ברשותו עתה התחכם היצר הרע שלא יצטרך לילך ולפתות וללכוד ברשתו כל יחיד ויחיד, רק יחיד אשר רבים נכשלים בו, והוא שמעמיד שוחט בעיר מסיטרא דילי' המאכיל טריפות לרבים וכולם נלכדו ברשתו |
THE CITY OF CRAKOW
FOR MANY YEARS JEWISH HOUSEHOLDS WERE SUPPLIED WITH NON KOSHER MEAT. A TRAGIC STORY WHICH HAPPENED IN THE TIME OF THE TZADDIK RABBI NATTAN NOTA SHAPIRO ZTK'L AUTHOR OF THE MEGALE AMUKOT THIS STORY WAS PRINTED IN NEWSPAPERS AND BOOKS MORE THAN 300 YEARS AGO |
בעיר
קארקא
במשך שנים רבות פיטמו את המטבח היהודי בבשר טריפה ונבילה, סיפור מזעזע שאירע בעיר קראקא, בזמן כהונתו של הצדיק הקדוש רבי נתן נטע שפירא זצ"ל, בעל מחבר מגלה עמוקות |
CONTRACT WITH THE RABBI or STORE OWNER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE KASHRUT OF FOODS ESPECIALLY MEATS AND CHAMETZ FREE PRODUCTS DURING PASSOVER Dear Rabbi ___________ OR Mr_______________: --Being that the punishment for eating Non Kosher foods is very grave, especially the punishment for eating forbidden fats which carries the penalty of Karet, and also the consumption of Chametz in Passover which also carries the penalty of Karet --Being that the Zohar ha Kaddosh Shemini 41b says: Come and see: Everyone who eats of those forbidden foods, cleaves to the forces of evil and thereby contaminates himself and his soul, resulting in an unclean spirit to rest upon him, displaying, thereby he has no part in the Most High G-d ... and if he departs from this world in that condition, all those that adhere to the forces of uncleanness cling to him, contaminate, and judge him as a person who despised his Master, despised in this world and despised in the World to Come ... Woe is to them! Woe is to their souls for they will not cling to the bundle of eternal life, for they have become contaminated ... All of a person's toil is for his mouth. All judgment, all one suffers and all vengeance wrought upon him, is all on account of his mouth, because he did not watch it and thereby, contaminated himself…(Shemini 42a): Rabbi Yitzchak said: Whoever becomes contaminated through these foods is like one practicing idolatry, which is an abomination to the L‑rd, as the Torah writes: You shall not eat any abomination. Whosoever practices idolatry departs from the side of life, departs from the Holy domain, and enters the evil one; as does also one who contaminates himself with these foods depart from the side of life, depart from the Holy domain, and enter an evil one, and not only that, but he becomes contaminated both in this world and in the World to Come --There is no sin so severe as forbidden foods, since entire Jewish communities were lost and turned to evil ways because of eating treifos and neveilos. (Divrei Chayim‑Yoreh Deah) See also: Chasam Sofer Parshas Shmini, Or Hachayim Shmini, Bris Mateh Moshe, Nidchai Israel chap. 29, Reishis Chochmo Shar Hakedusho chap. 17, (Kiddushin 82a), Tzafnath Paneach and Degel Machanay Ephraim (Parshath Ekev), Shne Luchot Ha Brit, Chullin 93b, Pele Yoetz, taref, Yoreh Deah, end of ch. 116, Pri Chadash to Yoreh Deah, ch. 81, MIDRASH VAYIKRA 1:1, BACH (Orach Chayim, Siman 670): We therefore request from you that you take all responsibility for the possible punishments that we may incur in case the foods under your supervision are not Kosher. We are sure you are willing to take responsibility for the possible punishment from Hashem since you have signed the certificate that claims that the place we patronize or the products we are consuming specifically________________ are kosher. Therefore in case of meats or Chametz free products in Pesach, you assume responsibility for the punishment of Karet we may incur, G-d forbid if these products contain forbidden fats or if they claim they are Chametz free and nevertheless contain Chametz and are consumed during Pesach. Regarding meats by signing this contract you accept responsibility for the fact that the animal was slaughtered and checked 100% in accordance with the laws of Shechitah which would make the animal Glatt Kosher as the stamp which you have signed claims. We hope that Hashem gives you strength to continue your most difficult and demanding labor and that you will do your duty in a faithful manner in accordance to the Holy Torah and the Sages of Israel Rabbi _________________ Date: Witnesses: _________________ and _____________________________ |
בספר דרך הנשר מובא מהצדיק הקדוש רבי נתן אדלער, שעיקר עיכוב ביאת המשיח שאינו בא הוא בגלל השחיטה שמאכילים את עם ישראל בנבילות וטריפות ואם יתקנו זאת יבא תיכף ומיד ממש, ואעתיק מה שכתוב ממקצת מספר "האבי"ב" (ראשי תיבות א'חינו ב'ני י'שראל ב'גולה) כתב, מהנוגע לדעת בדורנו וז"ל: ר' נתן אדלר ותלמידו ר' משה סופר מפ"ב (פראנקפוט דמיין) מקובלים בנסתר, ר' נתן אדלער רצה לפסול השוחטים דפפד"מ, ולהכניע חותם הסטרא אחרא ששורה על שוחטים פסולים בסוד על חרבך תחי' וגו' ואלמלא השיג כל רצונו בא משיח, אך הסמ"ם מ"ם העמיד עליו רודפים קצבים והוצרך לברוח מפ"ב. [וזה היה סוד ירידת הבעל שם טוב הקדוש לעלמא הדין ורמז על זה ב"זע"ם" תצעד ארץ, ראשי תיבות ז'ביחה ע'ירובין מ'קוואות] |
רבי חיים הלבערשטאם מצאנז זי"ע בעל "דברי חיים"
ידוע שעל ידי שוחטים הקלים שהאכילו בשר פיגול, יצאו מן הדת לערך ג' וחצי מיליאן יהודים רח"ל, כמבואר בשאלות ותשובות דברי חיים (יו"ד חלק א' סי' ז') שאין עבירה כמאכלות אסורות שמטמטם הלב הישראלי, ובעוונותינו הרבים ראינו דעל ידי זה יצאו מן הדת כמה קהילות בארץ לוע"ז שאכלו ונתפטמו בנבילות וטריפות על ידי השובי"ם הקלים, וגברו עליהם דעות זרות עד שנאבדו מן הקהל. (עיי"ש דבריו החוצבים להבות אש |
WARNING OF THE CHAFETZ CHAYIM
ZT’L
How
much will an individual regret, when with a mere admonition, he could
have extricated himself from all these punishments. Let him not be
misled by the fact that others will share the punishment with him
considering that he is not the only one in the city to have transgressed
thereby finding false comfort. As an analogy: In the event a person is a
co-signer on a note encumbering a debt of millions of dollars,
regardless the number of additional co-signers, when the debt becomes
due, even if required to reimburse only a small fraction thereof, it
could amount to a sizable sum, which will be quite painful to pay.
Similarly, since today the ingestion and partaking of prohibited foods has become unfortunately widespread when the time for reckoning arrives, it will amount to many thousands of olive sized pieces of prohibited foods. Consequently, those capable of arousing the populace in their vicinity to observe kashrus strictly and thereby prevent untold thousands of Jews who were lax from eating non-kosher, will surely be considered the most guilty. Our sages admonish (Tana D'vei Eliyahu): Anyone able to protest and refrains to do so; Anyone able to elicit repentance and does not do so, all blood spilled will be credited to his negligence and held against him... |
רבי יעקב דוד רידב"ז זי"ע
|
רבי אהרן רוקח מבעלזא זי"ע
כל כוחו של הרשע הגרמני ימ"ש בא על ידי שאכלו מאכלות אסורות שהיו שוחטים קלים ומזה נולד עמלק הגרמני, והיה במדה כנגד מדה מפני שלא השחיזו הסכינים כדבעי השחיז את החרב של הבעל דבר שהוא שר של עמלק ועל ידי זה היה בכוחו לשחוט מיליוני יהודים רח"ל (ספר דרשות הגר"ש שווייצער שליט"א) |
רבי יואל טייטלבוים מסאטמאר זי"ע
רבינו הקדוש מסאטמאר זי"ע היה מרגלא בפומי' דברי הים של שלמה (ב"ק פ"ד ס"ט) והשלה"ק (מסכת שבועות): דתורתינו הוא תורת אמת ואסור לשנות אפילו אות אחת מדברי התורה"ק, וחייב למסור עצמו על זה, והאומר על פטור חייב או על חייב פטור הוה ככופר בתורת משה דמה לי דיבור אחד ומה לי כל התורה. (ועיין ויואל משה (מ"א אות ע"ו) שדיבור של כפירה באות אחת בתוה"ק יש לו דין יהרג ואל יעבור, וראה שו"ת דברי יואל (סימן צ"ז) דהחיוב להגיד האמת במסירת נפש ממש |
. 1 רוב אפיקורסות רח"ל מתנוצץ באדם על ידי אכילת נבילות וטריפות, (תורת משה פרשת קדושים). 2. מאכלות אסורות פוגם אפילו בשוגג, אלא שיתשנה הפגם דבמזיד תעשה נפשו שקץ, ובשוגג תטמטם נפשו ונטמאת (אור החיים הקדוש פרשת שמיני). 3. אם אתם קדושים ופרושים משקוצי נבילות וטריפות הרי אתם שלי, ואם לאו אינכם שלי (רש"י משפטים ל'). 4. אין עבירה גדולה כל כך כמאכלות אסורות שמזה יצאו מדינות שלימות לתרבות רעה (שו"ת דברי חיים סימן ז'). 5. כל מה שסובל האדם בעולם הזה הוא מפני שלא נזהר במאכלות אסורות (זוהר הקדוש ח"ג דף מ"ב). 6. יוצא מרשות הקדושה ונכנס לרשות הסטרא אחרא (זוהר הקדוש ח"ג דף מ"ב). 7. אוי להם ואי לנפשם כי לא יתדבקו בצרור החיים כלל ודנין אותו לאחר מיתתו כאדם מגועל, כי הקב"ה גועלו בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא (זוהר הקדוש ח"ג דף מ"א). 8. מדבק נפשו בסטארא אחרא וגועל נפשו ורוחו, ורוח הטומאה שורה עליו (זוהר הקדוש ח"ג דף מ"ב). 9. נעשה פני חיה רעה (זוהר הקדוש ח"ב דף קכ"ה). 10. נכנס בו מחשבת כפירה ומינות (רמב"ם). 11. הבנים יוצאים לתרבות רעה ח"ו (אגרא דפרקא אות קכ"ו). 12. מכניס טומאה בלבו ובנפשו של אדם (מסילת ישרים) 13. למה משיח לא בא בשנת הכת"ר? – תשובה! עבור שוחטים קלים, (דרך הנשר, שמרו משפט). 14. כל האוכל מאכלות אסורות מעכב ביאת משיח צדקינו - מי החריב את ביתינו אשר עדיין לא נבנה בימינו, והשכינה בגלות עדיין בעונינו? - מדוע לא בא בן ישי גם תמול גם היום ? עבור שוחטים שמאכילים נבילות וטריפות (ברית מטה משה על הגדה של פסח). 15. אין לו טהרה עולמית ומאבד חלק עולם הזה ועולם הבא (יש שכר עמוד מ"ב). 16. נעשה מין ורשע (האריז"ל). 17. מליון יהודים נהרגו בשנת ת"ח עבור שוחטים קלים (קב הישר פרק קב). 18. שלשה וחצי מיליון יהודים יצאו מן הדת בגרמניה עבור שוחטים קלים (שו"ת דברי חיים). 19. הבעל שם טוב בא לעולם לתקן השחיטה (ברכת אברהם). 20. מחזה מחרידה ומזעזע: השוחט אינו שוחט עוף או במה, רק שוחט את עצמו. 21. אכילת נבילות וטריפות חמור יותר מחילול שבת קודש (חפץ חיים). 22. מובא בספר שפת אמת (והובא גם בספר שער בת רבים פרשת בא) דפעם אחת בא לפני זקיני הרה"ק בעל אוהב ישראל מאפטא זי"ע איש אחד שהי' לו בן שנתפקר ורצה להמיר דתו רח"ל, וביקש מהרב לעזור לו להפוך לבו לטוב, והשיב לו הרב אם אתה יודע שלא אכל חמץ בפסח מעת שנתפקר אז אפשר להושיעו, ואם לאו לאו. ואמר שזהו סמיכות ב' כתובים בפרשת כי תשא, אלהי מסכה לא תעשה לך את חג המצות תשמור, עכתו"ד ודפח"ח. ומצאתי סמוכין לדבריו הקדושים בזהר (ח"ב קפב.) על פסוק הנ"ל "אלהי מסכה לא תעשה לך, את חג המצות תשמור", אלהי מסכה לא תעשה לך וכתיב בתריה את חג המצות תשמור, מאי האי לגבי האי, אלא הכי אוקמוה מאן דאכיל חמץ בפסח (כאילו עביד כוכבים ומזלות למפלח לגרמיה דהא רזא הכי הוא דחמץ בפסח) כמאן דפלח לכוכבים ומזלות איהו, ע"כ. 23. וכתב בספר חסד לאברהם להרה"ק מראדאמסק זי"ע (לפסח, ד"ה ואלה) על פסוק אלהי מסכה לא תעשה לך, את חג המצות תשמור שבעת ימים תאכל מצות, כי אכילת המצה בשבעת הימים היא שמירה לכל השנה מחטא עבודה זרה, ע"כ. והחתם סופר זצ"ל כתב בתורת משה (קדושים) דרוב אפיקורסות רח"ל בא על ידי אכילת נבילות וטריפות. ובספר שלחה"ט מביא בשם האר"י הק' דכל האוכל מאכלות אסורות נעשה מין ורשע רח"ל. 24. רואים אנו מכל זה ג"כ דהמכשול במאכלות אסורות מביא את האדם לידי מינות ועבודה זרה רח"ל, והוא כדברי זקיני הרה"ק מאפטא זי"ע שאמר לאיש ההוא שאם לא אכל בנו חמץ בפסח אפשר להושיעו, כי בזה תלוי כל ענין חטא עבודה זרה, דאם אכל חמץ בפסח ח"ו אין לו הזכות ואפשריות לינצל מחטא עבודה זרה, מה שאין כן אם ניצול מאיסור חמץ. 25. התיקון להחטא של הכשלת אלפי יהודים בנבילות וטריפות - על ידי הרב הקדוש בעל "מגלה עמוקות" הגאון הקדוש המקובל רבי נתן נטע שפּירא זצוק"ל אב"ד קראקא - מאורע מסעיר שהתרחש בתקופת הגאון הצדיק ר' נתן נטע שפירא זצ"ל בעל "מגלה עמוקות" זצ"ל |
Kol Hashechita: - FACTS AND FINDING REGARDING THE PRESENT SITUATION OF RITUAL SLAUGHTER - By Rabbi Sholom Yehuda Gross, the head of the Rabbinical Court of Holmin, Shlita
תלחץ כאן
הסרט
האיך ששוחטים במשחטה של רובאשקין
אם אתה חושב להאמין למוכרי הקלף שהם צדיקים, ולמה שלא יקנו את הקלף מהערבים מעזה, וממקומות האחרים, אם יכולים לקנות בעד שליש מהמחיר, ולא צריכים להכניס את ידיהם ואת רגליהם אפילו על קצה המזלג, (ובפרט בעבודה קשה מאוד כמו עשיית הקלף, [ראה להלן את התמונות של עשיית הקלף]), ועוד לא מספיק לכם מה שהעיתונים ורבנים צדיקים מגלים לכם מה שהולך עם הקלף, אז תקרא כאן מה שהולך עם השוחטים שהם תחת הרבנים הצדיקים הגדולים שאתה סומך עליהם, ואף על פי כן הולכים כל הדברים האלו, ותבין קצת את שאפשר לסמוך על מוכרי הקלף שעושים מיליוני דולרים:
HA'ARETZ Magazine
September 25, 1998
[Material Deleted that was not related to kosher slaughter]
By Yossi Bar-Moha
It's 5 AM. on Monday, August 24, 1998, in the Paso Carasco neighborhood of Montevideo Uruguay. Yehuda Tsanani, 43, an Israeli from Rehasim, a religious village near Haifa is crossing the still-dark street near the Carasco meat factory. Tsanani is on his way back to the two-story building where the team of shohatim (ritual slaughterers) resides. He has just finished a shift of few hours at the plant, supervising the washing of meat that three days ago was on steers sauntering in the meadow. Cut into sections, the meat will soon be packed in cartons for shipment to lsrael.
The heavyset, bearded Tsanani, ..., has been in the Uruguayan capital for three months now with a team of slaughterers and inspectors....
Even at 5 A.M. Tsanani's mind is racing.... Before entering his room - he shares the accommodations with the meat crew, comprised of Israelis and Jews from neighboring Argentina - he wakes up the others. Their workday will begin at 5:45A.M. The head of the group, Rabbi Hanoch Hershkovitz from Bnei Brak, hustles the men; one of them is his ... son Avraham, ....
At 5:30A.M. the team sets out for the factory. The procession is led by Rabbi Hershkovitz and his son, followed by slaughterers Yitzhak Mizrahi and Avraham Eisenberg, two more inspectors and an internal examiner - all from Argentina. Trailing after them are Elimelech Partik, from Bnei Brak, who is an external examiner - he checks the lung after it has been removed from the animal -and Menachem Tubol, ...from Even Yehuda, near Netanya, who until two years ago worked as an inspector for the Chief Rabbinate on slaughter teams sent abroad by the Rabbinate....
Tubol is here as the agent of importer David Bordovich, who works in collaboration with the Hoger Mazon food company. His role is to supervise the slaughter, ensure that the meat is fat-free, and ascertain that the importer's labels are properly attached to the finished product. At the entrance to the factory, which is considered one of the largest and most technologically advanced slaughterhouses in Uruguay, the group is joined by another shohet, Binyamin Katashvili, an ... Orthodox Jew from the town of Kiryat Malachi, on the road to Ashkelon. Katashvili is not staying with the others. He has arrived for work from the center of Montevideo where he resides....
As the men enter the factory, Carmen, who runs the store room, hands them a loos fitting white uniform, a white plastic coat, a fiberglass helmet and boots. From inside you can already hear the deep lowing of hundreds of steers that have been transported here in trucks and herded into a large pen behind the factory....
The three slaughterers - Mizrahi, Eisenberg and Katashvili - station themselves in the slaughter cell located on the ground floor. They are joined by Hershkovitz Jr. On the floor above are the internal exaininer and the inspectors, their principal task being to stamp the meat when the time comes. For this they use a long metal rod on one end of which is embossed a large seal, which is dipped into purple ink and then used to stamp the meat. Next to them, on an elevated chair, sits Partik, the external examiner - the innards get to him hanging from hooks via a conveyor belt.
The bulk of the physical work is done by about 20 local workers. Outside, the steers are forced into a long, narrow path between two steel fences, where they are lined up one after the other. The two first bulls are shoved through a raised door into separate large steel containers, each known as a "Box." Once the animal is inside, the steel door descends, but not all the way to the floor: a narrow slit is left at the bottom. Next, air pressure is released from below, pushing up one side of the floor, tipping the steer onto his side, his feet sticking out of the silt.
Stunned by this totally unexpected development, he begins to bellow, his feet thrashing about, desperately seeking a foothold. One of the local workers grabs a back leg of the bull and lashes it to an iron chain. The door is raised again and the bull is yanked violently upward by the chain attached to his back leg. The animal is now dangling in the air its immense weight held by one foot, its head down, A second worker locks the head into a crescent-shaped device that has been grafted onto a long iron rod. The slaughters advance. Eisenberg and Katashvili, holding well-honed, ... knives about half a meter long, each approach a steer. The kill is dazzlingly swift, a second or two, one cut forward and another backward across the bull's neck. It is done.
Immediately the two animals, their bodies jerking convulsively, are lifted upward with the iron chain, unleashing a torrent or blood. Wasting no time, the slaughterers and the workers turn to the ... Box, where the next two steers are already waiting. ... Their bellowing intensifies.
The slaughterers are back in the slaughter cell, where hot water runs constantly from two pipes. They wash the blood from the blades and run a well-manicured fingernail on their right hand along the blade to make sure that it has not become flawed during the act of slaughter. The halakha (Jewish religious law) stipulates that if such a flaw is discovered, the steer is considered a nevela [carrion, not-kosher]... and to eat it is a [forbidden] .... By the time Eisenberg and Katashvili had finished examining their knives, the work of a few seconds, Hershkovitz Jr. and Mizrahi had already slaughtered two more steers. The first team steps up to dispatch steers number five and six, and the precess continues.
In the meantime, the slaughtered animals, by now dangling from large hooks, are pulled up to the second floor, where workers attach them to a gigantic machine. A quick cut loosens a flap of skin, which is inserted into the machine and pulled by two rollers until the animal is completely skinless. The conveyor belt then moves the steer along to the internal examiner. He sticks his hand into the innards to examine physically if the lung is attached by "adhesions" to the ribs. An animal in which no adhesions are found is called "smooth" and its meat is considered kosher lemehadrim (strictly kosher).
If the adhesions contain secretions that have hardened and become stuck to the extremities of the steer's ribs, making them difficult to detach, the intenaal examiner so informs the next stage of the team. He passes on the information by making a large "X" over the representation of the lung on a drawing that has been provided for the purpose. The external examiner, in this case Partik, will thus know that the animal is trefa - found to be afflicted with a probably fatal organic disease and hence foridden, for consumption by halakha.
If the adhesion is soft, or if only, a few soft adhesions are found, the internal examiner conveys this information by showing the place(s) of the adhesion(s) by means of one or more small circles on the drawing. After the innards have been removed from the steer's body, the drawing, together with the animal's actual lungs, come to the external examiner. It is Partik's job to examine adhesions and to decide whether they were caused as a result of a puncture in the lung (in which case the meat is trefa), or whether they are only hardened secretions that have emanated from one of the walls of the lung (in which case the meat is kosher, but, lemehadrin).
Here is how the examination is conducted: One of the workers fits the base of the lung onto an air-hose. The pressure is turned on, filling the lung with air and inflating it. The Jewish external examiner uses his hands to examine the adhesion, or adhesions, after which the lung is thrown onto the tray of the conveyor belt where the steer's innards have be placed. Situated next to the external examiner is a bulletin board with the number of each steer that has been slaughtered, with a small square next to the number; if the steer has been declared trefa due to adhesion problems, this is duly marked with ink in the square.
It is all done with astonishing speed. Neither Partik nor Hershkovitz, the crew chief who took over for Partik as external examiner has time to examine the folds and the other parts of the lung before placing them on the conveyor belt. By this method, more than 100 steers are slaughtered within an hour, 50 per Box, 27 seconds on average for each. ....
Has the slaughter been performed according to the strict letter of halakha? For slaughter to be considered kosher, both the windpipe and the gullet have to be [severed]... No one in the crew checks to see that this has been done. ...In case a flaw is discovered in the knife, an authorized honer of knives is supposed to be present [at the instruction of the Chief Rabbinate], and only he is allowed to correct the impediment. But in Hershkovitz/s crew there was neither an examiner nor a honer of knives. Each slaughterer inspected his own knife and if necessary he sharpened it on a grinding stone.
The halakha warns that the person examining the knife must be calm and collected, and that his hand must not be "heavy" so that he will be able to find any possible flaw in the blade. The pace of the work in Uruguay left no time for a calm and collected inspection: The crew had to keep up a steady rate of slaughter in order to meet the importer's demands.
....
Because of the shortage of working hands, a local inspector, a Chabad [shochet}...named Alberto, was recruited to help out. He supervised the process of koshering the innards - the heart, the brain, the tongue (the remaining sections were sent for koshering to a meat plant in San Jose, about an hour and a half away). The other inspectors were engaged in marking the meat. The ... locals ... pick up the meat and they pour salt on the innards, after they have been washed in water, in order to kosher them.
Tubol, who is my guide in the meat factory, assures me that "this is an advanced plant, compared with others where kosher slaughter is done." Above us as we walk, blood drips from the slaughtered steers, staining our plastic overcoats. The floor is slippery with viscous fluids in various stages of clotting. As we returned to the ground floor, one of the steers managed to slip out of the chain around his leg as the door was raised, got to his feet and began to rampage around the room. Everyone ran for his life; the slaughterers, horrified, locked themselves in their cell. Only two brave workers tried to subdue the raging animal. Fortunately for them, he slipped on the bloody floor and fell to the ground. Immediately he was forced back into the Box and tied to the chain again. "That happens a few times a day," said a nervous Tubol, who had run with me to get safely behind the iron bars. Workers are often injured when a steer breaks loose, he said.
....
At the end of three hours of work the crew had slaughtered 300 head of cattle, of which 34 were disqualified due to adhesions of the lung; ... A trefa rate of only 15 percent is very satisfactory for the importer, and Hershkovitz and his crew claim that that is their average disqualification ratio.
....
At 8:45 A.M., as the shift ends, the crewmen go back to their room, examine the knives once again, and place them a long tube, which they close tightly. They then wash the bloodstains from their hands and face, wash their upper bodies and get ready for the shaharit (morning) prayer. ....
....
Three times the size of Israel, Uruguay has half the population, about three million. ... Cattle raising is a major export industry. About half a million head of cattle are slaughtered every year in dozens of meat plants, nine of which also work for Israeli importers. Most of them employ teams of the Chief Rabbinate, though three have teams that are authorized to provide kosher meat for Haredi groups: one for Rabbi Shach's Lithuanian community; a second for the "Eda Haredit" (known as "Badatz" koshering); and the third, sent by "Atara-Beit Yosef," the kashiut organization set up by the Shas (Sephardi Torah Guardians) party five years ago and headed by Rabbi Avraham Yosef, the son of Shas's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
The Atara crew operates in a meat processing factory located in Las Piedras, about an hour's drive from Montevideo. There I met with Moshe Dahan, a Haredi from Ashdod, who was the deputy chief. But things were more secretive here. Dahan refused to take me inside without the say-so of the crew chief, Avraham Suderi, who was just then supervising the slaughter process. Afterward Suderi told Dahan to get that journalist off the premises immediately.
....
Until about eight years ago, the Eda Haredit refused to recognize the meat that was brought from abroad with only the kosher certificate of the Chief RAbbinate. The result was that this ...Orthodox Jerusalem-based community was forced to buy fresh meat slaughtered locally in Israel by Haredim .... To meet the demands of Haredi consumers - and supply them with frozen meat at far lower prices - the heads of the Haredi koshering group negotiated agreements with a number of meat importers.
.... The Haredi public consumes only meat that is defined as "smooth" (when the animals' lung has no adhesions or secretions). Haredim are also more meticulous about exam the slaughter-knife for possible flaws. A Haredi crew has between 12 and 14 members, as opposed to 10 or 11 on Chief Rabbinate crews.
Still, the personnel tend to be a mixed bag: even the crews of the Haredi communities go abroad only after getting the approval of the Chief Rabbinate, and 90 percent of their members are registered with the Chief Rabbinate and have worked with that institution at some point. "There is no difference between the slaughter carried out by a Rabbinate crew and that of a Haredi crew," ....
....
What's more, Haredi kashrut groups usually work simultaneously in the service of the Chief Rabbinate. When they find a lung without adhesions, they label the meat "smooth" and earmark it for Haredis. Animals having lungs with a few adhesions, or with secretions but definitely without a puncture, are given a Chief Rabbinate kosher label and also imported to Israel. The result is that Haredi groups approve 30 to 35 percent of the animals they slaughter as "Kosher for the Chief Rabbinate."
The crews of the Chief Rabbinate find a similar ratio of "smooth" meat, but they are authorized to grant only a regular kosher seal, not the mehadrin type, even though half a year eariler, or a month down the line, these same people could be part of a Haredi crew. ....
....
Israelis consume about 80,000 tons of meat a year, and 50,000 tons of it is imported from South America, Europe, and China. Only about 10 percent of that quantity is defined as "smooth" meat and labeled mehadrin. ....
....
It is commonly thought that most of the kosher meat imported into Israel originates in Argentina, but in fact the land of the pampas is only in fourth place. First is Uruguay (with nine meat factories for kosher slaughter) followed by Ireland (six) and Brazil (four). Other countries to which Israeli slaughter crews are sent are Paraguay and China (two plants each), and Holland (one plant).
Meat is slaughtered and koshered for Israel in two plants in Argentina. One of them operates all year round in the service of the "Neve-Tzion" kosher label, given by Rabbi Shlomo Mahfud, from Bnei Brak. Many Haredim, particularly those of Yemenite extraction, consider meat with his label to be "ultra-medadrin." The permanent crew chief is Avraham Anatbi, a resident of Argentina, whose brother, Daniel Anatbi, the directory of the Rabbinate Department in the Religious Affairs Ministry, was the bureau chief of Rabbit Ovadia Yosef when he served as Sephardi chief rabbi. Most of the crew members are Argentineans; there are only four Israelis, who reside in an apartment in the Paso neighborhood of Buenos Aires. ....
A few weeks ago, Rabbi Mahfud himself arrived in Argentina with two more slaughterers from Israel in order to, as it were, beef up the crew and increase the rate of slaughter from 400 to 600 head of cattle a day to meet the demand for the Jewish holidays. ....
Meat with a Malifud kosher label is much in demand....
The slaughter in the meat-processing factory of Avraham Anatbi in Buenos Aires is done in complete secrecy. When I asked to meet with Anatbi, I was told to wait outside the factory. The crew members, whose workday began at 6 A.M., emerged at 10:15A.M., having slaughtered 400 head of cattle in four hours. Anatbi was not among them. "Meat factories with Haredi kosher labels operate like the Dimona reactor," I was told by a veteran slaughterer of the Chief Rabbinate, who has also worked for Haredi crews. ....
....
For the past six months, Rabbi Bakshi-Doron has been in charge of ritual slaughter and kashrut for the Chief Rabbinate. In the five preceding years Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau held the position, but half a year ago they rotated their responsibilities (as they had agreed to do before being elected), with Lau in charge of the Rabbinical High Court for the next five years. ....
....
.... The directives of the Chief Rabbinate forbid the slaughter of more than 300 head of cattle in a day if there are only three slaughterers, but the crew chief ignores this and gives in to the pressure of the importer, who wants a higher output. ....
....
Kashrut problems also crop up in Israeli ports of entry. The Customs Authority does not allow a representative of the Rabbinate to be present when the meat is unloaded from the ships. In some cases, problems are discovered only at the exit gate of the port. Because of loading errors, cases have occurred in which cartons of non-kosher meat, bound for other countries, arrived in Israel. The mistakes were discovered only when the quantity of meat that arrived in the Israeli port was matched against the stated quantity that was supposed to have been shipped, and even then only when the story was leaked to the Chief Rabbinate. In other instances, the Rabbinate confirms, non-kosher meat was brought into Israel.
There are such cases. And we discover it when the merchandise arrives at the meat-processing plant in Israel," says director-general Shreiber. The problem perturbs Rabbi Glucksherg: "I am afraid that we do not get hold of the cartons of trefa meat that enter the country, and then the unclean meat gets to people who eat only kosher meat."
A few months ago a shipment of dozens of tons of meat from South America was discovered to be ritually unclean, due to traces of abdominal fat (helev) and sinew that were discovered in the animal's rear section. The entire shipment was therefore sold to Arabs. "It happens sometimes," Rabbi Glucksberg concedes.
Koshering the rear part of an animal requires the addition of a specialist to the crew. Many importers prefer to save the time (the act of nikur, as it is called, slows down the pace of kosher slaughter) and the expense involved. By agreement with the meat-processing plants abroad, only the animals' forward parts and innards are sent to Israel, with the plants left to market the rear sections as they wish. Only if there is a demand for rear sections are importers forced to send the specialist.
Another problem that vexes the Rabbinate is how well the meat is frozen en route to Israel. Meat that has not undergone the full koshering process before being shipped has to be maintained at a temperature that does not rise above minus 16 degrees Centigrade. The Rabbinate has no way to check the level of freezing during the transport of the meat to the ship, while it is being loaded or in the ocean crossing. "We have a problem," Rabbi Raful admits. "The level of freezing is examined only in the plant and when the meat arrives in Israel. What happened along the way is difficult for us to know."
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