[Avodah] ?yedia brura?

[David Riceman]

RJR:

> 
> In Moscow in 1936 Rav Moshe was asked (Y?D 1:54) concerning a situation
> where non-religious children were the only source of food for their
> religious parents. Could such children be relied upon concerning the kosher
> status of the food provided. He was mchadeish that while such individuals
> don?t have neemanut(halachic credibility),if the parents ?knew? that the
> children would not lie to them on this issue, they could be relied upon in
> a case of great need. A ?yedia brura?(clear knowledge?), based on actual
> experience would be required as well as an underlying theory as to why the
> child would not do such a thing.
> 
> It occurred to me that, even if a rabbi gave such a ruling, the ruling
> would be conditional on the parent?s judgment as to whether he had ?yedia
> brura?, rather than the rabbi?s evaluation of the knowledge. Quite a burden
> to put on somebody who will certainly be impacted by the result, any
> thoughts appreciated.
> 

It seems intuitive to me.  The rules of ne’emanus are for evaluating strangers, not for people you know well.  If their daughter gave up observance to avoid poverty, but she respects her parents’ practice, that’s yedia brura.  If she’s a communist ideologue who thinks that religion needs to be subverted, even if she assures her parents that she’s providing them kosher food, that’s not.

David Riceman