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The Chicago Rabbinical Council recently sent out the following:<br><br>
<font size=3><b>April 10, 2008<br><br>
Nisan 5 5768<br><br>
Although all of the Jewish owned companies under cRc certification sell
their chometz for Pesach, the following Jewish owned bakeries will be
producing during Pesach:<br><br>
Bulldog Bakery, Solomon Gourmet, Eli's Cheesecake & Today's
Temptations.<br><br>
<u>All products manufactured by these companies during Pesach will NOT
bear the cRc logo on the package</u>. Consumers should be aware of
packaging not bearing the cRc logo when purchasing any of these products
after Pesach.<br><br>
</b>I sent the following email to Rabbi Sholem Fishbane of the
CRC:<br><br>
Does this mean that you go in and kasher these places after
Pesach?<br><br>
Do these places sell their Chometz? Are there Jews actually baking
Chometz on Pesach in these places?<br><br>
Y. Levine<br><br>
Rabbi Fishbane's reply:<br><br>
</font><font size=2 color="#000080">Yes, we sell their chometz so there
is no need to kasher.<br><br>
I then emailed him and asked:<br><br>
</font><font size=3>But who supervises the place during Pesach? How does
one know that they are using kosher ingredients? Are you supervising the
baking of Chometz on Pesach? <br><br>
</font><font size=2 color="#000080">Rabbi Fishbane's reply:<br><br>
Our mashgichim visit them during Pesach as well.<br><br>
</font><font size=2>None of this sits well with me personally, although
it may be ok according to halacha. How can an observant Jew go into a
Jewish owned bakery that is baking chometz on Pesach? What about Moris
Ayin? How can one justify setting up a procedure that allows Jews to bake
chometz on Pesach? Of course, on Pesach the bakery is not owned by Jews,
since the owner has sold his chometz. However, how many people actually
know this?<br><br>
</font><font size=2 color="#000080">The fact that this sort of thing is
being done at Dunkin donuts stores does not sit right with me. However,
these stores are owned by gentiles, so it is certainly different.
Nonetheless, the idea of a fellow with a Yarmulka going into a place that
sells chometz on Pesach to make sure that it is kosher, strikes me as
strange. <br><br>
</font><font size=3>I await<b> </b>edification from those more
knowledgeable than me. <br>
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<b>Yitzchok Levine</font></b></body>
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