LETTERS from page 6
Kashrut Interpretation
The meat was kosher, but standards can vary.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer
A
s with any new concept,
Quality Kosher Catering's
Dec. 1 certification by a
national kashrut supervisory
agency sparked queries — in this case,
specific to the use of meat products.
The catering business is the first to
leave the Southfield-based Vaad
Harabonim (Council of Orthodox
Rabbis of Greater Detroit), which pro-
vides supervision for the metro area,
and sign on with Star K Kosher
Certification, a Baltimore-based service
with international clients.
Although
b
both supervising
agencies main-
rain that they
follow strict
kashrut stan-
dards in the
monitoring and
certifvinab of
retail and
wholesale out-
lets, they each
adhere to indi-
vidual policies,
which, in some
cases, differ.
"Everything else has degrees and
standards — like when we purchase a
car or a house — but we should also
bring this into Jewish law, and into
keeping kosher.
Such interpretations left Paul Kohn,
owner the Southfield-based Quality
Kosher Catering, with several thousand
dollars worth of lamb racks that had
been approved by the Vaad, but could
no longer be used once his certification
changed to Star K.
"It's not that it wasn't acceptable, it
just didn't follow the same standards
we have," says Rabbi Shmuel
Heinemann, New Jersey-based kashrut
administrator for Star K.
"
" Halachah
(Jewish law)
comes to us in
word descrip-
tions, not in
pictures," Rabbi
Joseph Krupnik,
Vaad kashrut director, says.
So when the process of removing
blood from meat is described simply as
placing it on an incline board and salt-
ing the meat to allow the blood to
draw off, there is room for varying
interpretations.
"We are not told how much salt to
use or on what incline to place the
board," Rabbi Kr
' upnik says. "Both are
necessary, there's no question. Some
may see that the blood runs off and is
not static on the table, and that would
be good. Others may feel they need a
more extreme incline or more salt.
That's their option, but both pieces of
meat would be considered kosher."
Rabbi Krupnik says, "The biggest
problem with the public with regard CO
kashrut is that it is hard to understand
that there are different levels of stan-
dards.
12/14
2001
12
•
Kosher standards can vary
In fact, Star K considers the vessels
Kohn used to cook the meat to be
kosher and allow him to continue
using them.
"This meat is kosher — 100 per-
cent," Kohn says. "I'm a practicing
Orthodox Jew and this is meat that I
would — and did use — in my own
home.
At first, fearing financial loss from
being unable ro use the meat, Kohn
says he sold much of it "to Jewish peo-
ple who know kashrut.
It boils down to rules, created by
each agency, within the same guidelines
of keeping kosher. "He did not use
anything that was non-kosher," says
Rabbi Krupnik. "We just have different
ways of following kashrut laws."
"
"
After World War I, England was
given Palestine mandate land gover-
norship, accepting responsibility for
the establishment of the Jewish home-
land. Unowned vacant lands remained
mandate governed lands. England
vio-
b
lated the mandate unilaterally and
lated
gave almost 75 percent of the mandat-
ed lands to the sheik of Mecca and
Medina, Abdullah Husein, to create
the kingdom of Transjordan. Within
the 25 percent of mandate lands, there
remained state-owned lands, not pri-
vately owned.
In 1948, Transjordan invaded and
occupied Judea, Samaria and east
Jerusalem, with vacant land becoming
Transjordan owned. The State of Israel
was established and, as a state, became
the owner of Israel's state lands.
In 1967, Israel defeated Jorckn,
becoming the owner of state lands in
Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem. In
establishing new settlements in the lib-
erated
erated lands, Israel could do so on the
state-owned vacant lands.
During the Gulf War, many times I
saw planes passing over Tel Aviv, head-
ing to Ben-Gurion Airport, bringing
in Jewish refugees from the former
USSR and Ethopia. Israel requested
loan guarantees from the United Stares
to help provide for the increasing
number of refugees.
n
- Secretary of State
James Baker, in angry, undiplomatic
words, would not approve the guaran-
tees because Israel had constructed ille-
gal settlements. Even today, the U.S.
policy position is that the settlements
are illegal and are the main problem in
the "peace process" negotiations.
Mr. Netanyahu should have includ-
ed in - his history presentation state-
ments that Israel can legally construct
settlements on any and all state and
not privately owned lands, whether
inside or outside the so-called pre-
1967 green-line borders.
Dr. Wilbert Simkovitz
Clawson
Don't Forget
Israel's Security
Editor;- note: An editing mistake
changed the meaning of this letter as it
appeared on Nov. 30. The mistake has
been corrected here.
I commend you for your editorial
position vis-a-vis the United Jewish
Communities' convoluted, spineless
rationale in squelching the initiative
for a solidarity rally in support of.
Israel ("Sirring Down And Standing
Up," Nov. 16, page 35).
The perpetrators of the Sept. 11
murderous assault against America and
its way of life have been indoctrinated
by the same genocidal fanatics that
Israel has had to contend with almost
since inception.
The UJC's "explanation" that expres-
sions in support of Israel are somehow
"untimely," in the aftermath of Sept.
11 belies the federated umbrella orga-
nization's dedication to the concept of
"Israel Now and Forever."
While I find your editorial's reason-
ing logical and compelling, I wonder
why you found it pertinent — unin-
tentionally, I am sure — to blunt its
impact by referring to the kabbalistic
concept of "repairing the world." Your
editorialist seems to be fixated on the
concept of tikkun olam, which, in the
literature of kabbalistic mysticism,
does not mean''repairing the world;"
it refers rather to a lamentable "dishar-
mony in the process of Jewish redemp-
tion.
In a lighter vein, it seems that Jewish
interests may be better served by
repairing or protecting our beleaguered
State of Israel than by a pretentious
and unsolicited attempt to "repair the
world." President George W. Bush has
taught us = or so it seems — that it
rakes a coalition to repair the world in
which Israel is merely an "awkward
guest.
Ezekiel Leiken
Southfield
Story Subjects
Extend Thanks
On behalf of the entire band, we want
to thank you for the wonderful article
in Arts & Entertainment about
47UMA ("Star Power," Nov. 30, page
79).
Support of the local community- is
especially meaningful.
Mike Friedman
Gail Baker
Berkley
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