[Avodah] schechtworthy

[Jacob Farkas]

> R' Saul Newman quoted a newsletter which wrote:
>  > A /shochet/ that watches television is violating Biblical
>  > prohibitions. While this casts aspersions on his
>  > trustworthiness, he should not be removed. He must be first
>  > warned to cease from such behaviour (Shevet Halevi YD 2).
> 
> R' Jacob Farkas questioned the above:
>  > I was curious whether it is fair to apply the standards of
>  > yesteryear to the modern day Shoheit. The role of a Shoheit
>  > today has (in most cases) been drastically reduced, given
>  > that he is usually part of a larger operation that has a
>  > league of Kosher overseers who decide matters of policy,
>  > procedure, and more particularly, decide the Kashrus of any
>  > specific animal in question. ... To compare him to an
>  > old-school Shoheit (e.g. one-man operation), whose ne'emanus
>  > and often whose pesaq about the meat was enough for the
>  > community, is unfair.
>

R' Akiva Miller:

> RJF seems to be understanding the newsletter as saying that a shochet 
> who watches television has
> questionable trustworthiness, and therefore it is problematic to rely on 
> whatever paskening he might be doing.

Quoting from the newsletter:
"...While this casts aspersions on his trustworthiness, he should not be
removed."

> 
> That's not what I presumed the newsletter to mean. I had thought the 
> problem to be that (from their
> perspective) a shochet who watches television is under suspicion of 
> being a non-shomer mitzvos, which
> would make the shechita itself passul, regardless of any paskening he 
> might do.

He isn't pasqening per se, only that based on his testimony (or rather
based on his lack of mentioning that there is a kashrus problem with the
slaughtered beast or fowl) do we assume that the Shehita was performed
properly. It doesn't matter whether he is viewed as an Avaryan and he is
unfit for Shehita OR he is a person the certifying agency will choose to
ignore his testimony based on their arbitrary policies. In any event,
the Shoheit will need to find work elsewhere.

It is easier to explain to the public, that firing these Shohetim, or
refusing to hire people who fit this description is done with the intent
of having a team of Shohetim who are Ehrlikh at the highest levels,
without any suspicions.

--Jacob Farkas