Nearly all rabbonim in Chicago have issued a message to their community to only engage in and purchase food from home businesses with reputable kosher supervision.
This proclamation follows the lead of an earlier Kol Koreh signed by the leading poskim in North America outlying similar guidelines.
What is unique about the Chicago Kol Koreh is the willingness to work with any home business owner to financially help with guidelines that a Rav Hamachshir might require to meet his standards.
One common example is to help build a separate area or entrance where proper supervision can be conducted.
The Chicago rabbonim have also committed to not allow any products that are being sold without proper hashgacha into their shuls. It their hope that other communities will follow this initiative, and in doing so, will increase the level of kashrus standards worldwide.
{Matzav.com}
Wow! I never realized stuff can be coming in without a hechsher ! How will the shuls implement this ?
The רבנים in Lakewood, NJ should if they haven’t already issue the same proclamation.
Does this also include homes where people sell challah or other baked goods? I don’t see this as a problem if those that do this are trustworthy people. Years ago before hechsherim became the norm, people relied on their rabbi. Now it has became politicized IMHO.
You are certainly correct that people relied on their Rabbi and that was certainly a perfect “Hechcher” even without an LLC or 5O1C.
The source that they cite states that it is a problem to sell things commercially without supervision to the public. The halachos are complex so obviously ask an LOR about Challah specifically , but at least from what I’ve seen, a lot of food like meat, fish etc. is being sold to the public where I live with no supervision.
Its exactly that. Rabbanim explained why trustworthy people selling homebaked goods from their personal kitchens need hashgacha, Its not about politics chas ve shalom. The sheer number of trustworthy Rabbanim on that letter tells you that its about Torah and not chas ve shalom anything else -Please read the letter.
Is this letter allowed to be posted on the treiffeh internet?
MIG, yes, that’s *exactly* what this is about. There’s one business here in Chicago that makes beautiful chocolates from her home and has a rov who gives a personal hashgocha to it.
Agav, the whole m’kor for this is supposed to be a takana from the Vaad Arba Aratzos, however you will be hard pressed to find it. The most you will find is a quote from the VAA that anyone who comes in to sell cheese should have a letter from his Rav that he is a Ne’eman
I never knew that there were so many rabbis in Chicago.
Time for you to get out of your little vinkil of New Jersey and realize that there’s a nice big Jewish population across the fruited plain.
“Heimish” used to be the best hechsher.
As a mashgiach for the past ten years I can attest to this need. Many people are not knowledgeable in the area of kashrus. There was one fellow that was making boards for a while. One of his ingredients was Worcestershire sauce. The one he used contained fish. Another was using the same knife for fish and meat. He cut onions with both. How about the guy who bought a sause with a hechsher from Israel with the words bedatz when it was a reform hechsher! The above issues were fixed after getting a hechsher. Just for the record there are hasgachos that charge like 250 a month to certify. There is a good reason why the takana of Hashgocha was out in to place.