[Avodah] schechtworthy

[Jacob Farkas]

> Jacob Farkas wrote:
> 
>  > I can't disagree more with Shehitah though. The number of chickens
>  > that are slaughtered per minute does not afford the Shoheit the
>  > opportunity to treat each individual Shehitah as thoroughly as in the 
>  > past. Fewer tasks and responsibilities are performed by the modern
>  > Shoheit, and his ne'emanus alone does not suffice for the community 
> to > eat from his Shehitah. (He is most often anonymous). Rather it is 
> the > reputation of the certifying agency that is trusted.
> 
> That just shifts the responsibility for picking shochtim, and ensuring
> that they are yirei shomayim, from each community to the certifiers.
> They have to keep an eye on the behaviour of their shochtim.

I agree with this point. It would be fair to note that the certifiers 
can arbitrarily decide what criteria they have in order to vouch for 
their team of Shohetim.

By arbitrarily, I mean lequla or lehumra. Your next point clearly 
illustrates a case of lehumra.

> 
> Recently a web site posted a letter from R Weissmandl to Rubashkin
> when they were negotiating for him to take over as lead machshir, and
> he goes into great detail about the contract that must be signed with
> each shochet regulating his personal behaviour and that of his whole
> family.  For instance, he demands that shochtim not have any kind of
> internet connection in their homes (television man d'char sh'meih!),
> they must be seen regularly learning in the beis hamedrash, not just
> at home, etc.
> 
> In some matters he specifically acknowledges the difference between
> community standards.  For instance, a shochet's wife must cover her hair
> to the standards that are accepted in their community.  (He also goes
> into the mandatory rest periods for shochtim - they are to work 40
> minutes on and 40 minutes off, with a break room provided where they
> can rest, snack, and restore themselves for the next 40 minute shift.)
> 
> This is all necessary precisely because, as you say, the consumer
> doesn't know the shochtim, or who shechted which piece of meat, and
> can't form his own judgment about the shochet's reliability.  In
> smaller communities that is possible.  For instance my father will
> only eat meat from one specific shochet whom he knows personally;
> he doesn't need any contract and he doesn't need to specify niggling
> details, because he can see for himself what sort of person he is.
> If the shochet deviates in some way from community norms, my father
> can judge for himself whether this speaks of some character flaw or
> can be safely ignored.  With a huge operation such as Rubashkin, Alle,
> etc., that sort of thing is just not possible to arrange, so we must
> rely on the certifiers, who must have written rules and go into all
> these details.

Once again, they are at liberty to choose what is in their best 
interests, that being the interest in not compromising the integrity of 
their Hashgahah.


>  > I didn't say the Shoheit can be an avaryan, but I did suggest that it 
>  > is fair to consider that his role is diminished and perhaps so should 
>  > his prerequisites. His job is at stake if he doesn't follow
>  > guidelines, and his actions on the floor are not without other
>  > supervision, he is nolonger 100% bein adam lamaqom.
> 
> How will the mashgiach on the floor know if the shochet felt the knife
> catch against something, or if he hesitated or pressed too hard, etc?
> Only he can ever know this, and it would be so easy to keep his mouth
> shut and just let it go.  Admitting that he made a mistake and wasted
> an animal is always going to be difficult, and the only thing we can
> ever rely on is his own yiras shomayim.

Technically, the rules of Eid Ehad actually apply, even though the 
Shoheit has lots to lose. Tosefos in Gittin 2b mentions clearly that a 
Shoheit is ne'eman even though meat is otherwise Ishazeiq Isurra because 
Beyado Lesaqno at some point in time (prior to his slaughtering).

Trustworthiness and a person's Yiras Shamayim can play a role in whether 
to choose to accept the technical Metzius (his testimony that the 
Shehitah was Kosher) or to ignore it (because you don't trust him, or 
don't trust that he cares enough not to mislead others in matters of 
Kashrus).

So long as the decision to trust or not trust the oft-anonymous Shoheit 
is the problem of the certifiers, it is only fair that they get to write 
their own, although arbitrary, rules.

--Jacob Farkas