[Avodah] Kashrus Alert - Safeway: Purchasing Chometz After Pesach

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Yitzchok Levine wrote:

> I also learned the following from a reliable source, "Rabbi
> Heinemann does not hold of R' Moshe's heter when the mechira is
> made and the baal habayis stays open." However, there are many
> respected rabbonim who do agree with Reb Moshe on this issue.
> ...
> IMO, the Star-K did not do a community service by sending this
> announcement out without qualifying it properly.

I'd like to offer two very different responses.

1) I presume you mean that they should have qualified it by mentioning other views, such as that of Rav Moshe. Why do you feel this qualification is necessary for it to count as a community service? If they simply give their own view, is that insufficient? Will we now require every organization to cite views other than those held by that organization?

2) If one's response to the above is something like, "Yes, all the views should be cited so that the individual can decide for himself," then, to be fair, this rule should also be imposed on the meikilim as well. Even the rav who sold the chometz would not be allowed to publicize that fact, unless he also names the poskim who would invalidate his procedure.

My feeling is that one should be allowed to tell his own views without having to also publicize other views. They should be responsive to questions if asked, but to require them to give all sorts of disclosures and dissenting views from the beginning is an unreasonable burden.

Moreover: If one holds very strongly to the machmir view, but mentions that there is also a meikil view, then people will misinterpret him to mean that following the meikil is not so terrible. And if one holds very strongly to the meikil view, but mentions that there is also a machmir view, then people will misinterpret him to mean that following the machmir is a good idea.

Akiva Miller

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