Thursday, February 22, 2007

Hebrew National and the World of Hashgacha

For those of you, kind readers, (of whom there are none) I apologize for having been away so long. I might actually try to keep up on things here, but we'll see. Every once in a while, I take a look at the blogoshphere, and wonder 1) How is that the entire world feels compelled to post religiously, and 2) Once you have started, does blogging become a responsibility?
Today, i spent some time on two issues: One was the hashgacha known as Triangle K, (http://www.trianglek.org/) and the other was whether or not one is required to salt Liver when they are kashering it, or whether broiling is enough.(http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-beef-liver.htm) I know these are esoteric issues, but they are what concerned me today.
The Triangle K issue is interesting indeed. I used to work in the kosher meat business on the production end, and am one of the few people who actually understand what Glatt Kosher is, and what actually happens to make Kosher meat kosher, and how Hashgacha works, since I also spent some of my youth working for Kashrut organizations. At the end of the day, it is clear that no one trusts the Triangle K, but no one has a reason for not trusting them. They all point to the fact that the Ralbags, who head the organization, are very pious indeed, and can point to no specific instance that would indicate that they, or by extension, their agency is not trustworthy. It leaves me in a quandary. No one eats it, but no one has a good reason not to. I once had a Rov who said that if there is no evidence to the contrary, and you know that the Rabbi is observant, you WERE NOT PERMITTED to question his supervision. I guess that does not hold true for the masses. So as for me, until one of you (invisible) people tell me otherwise, i will say that we can eat Hebrew National. (but of course not me..... see below)
As for liver, you will be happy to know that broiling does suffice, but there are those that salt the liver as well. Love that phrase "there are those that......" It allows for diverse opinions that have little basis in reality. (and hence..."we apparently don't eat Hebrew National")

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