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<font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">When I lived in Northern
California, where getting kosher food was a challenge (it was an hour
and a quarter each way to Molly Stone's in Palo Alto, where we could
get kosher cheese), we were told that we could rely on Triangle-K.
When we moved to Chicago, where you trip over kosher marts, we were
told that Triangle-K isn't up to community standards.<br>
<br>
There are basic standards of kashrut, which are community based, and
there are kulot and chumrot. Ultimately, we are not Karaites, and we
aren't Talmudites or Rambamites or ShulchanAruchites. Torah she'b'al
peh means that the Torah comes to us through rabbis who have the
authority to make rulings. It does not come to use via books where we
can always look things up ourselves. That would reduce the Torah to a
non-living Torah, subject to the interpretation of every Tom, Dick and
Shlomo who can read.<br>
<br>
That's frustrating for a lot of people, particularly people in the
modern world, where personal empowerment is such a high value. (I
can't say that I feel all that comfortable with the idea of community
standards standing in the way of my eating Fritos, particularly when
many would say that I'm not up to community standards myself.)<br>
<br>
But that's the way it is. If you (general you; not R' Martin in
particular) disagree with the way in which the halakha is being
determined in your community, you can leave that community, or you can
learn to the point where you are involved in the decision making. What
you *can't* do is say that your understanding of this or that sefer
overrides the decisions of those with the authority to decide the
halakha.<br>
<br>
Lisa<br>
<br>
</font><br>
<br>
On 11/28/2011 12:27 PM, martin brody wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAPCWAkDiz8zoNVL5ftn7k=PLbWC-bQAWZ74sXRF1n2ngViGjpA@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">"See the above URL for the rest of these articles.<br>
From this articles it should be clear why there<br>
are differences between kashrus in the US and<br>
Israel and the rest of the world and why one<br>
should not extrapolate from the standards of one<br>
organization in a given country to the situation in other countries.<br>
YL"<br>
<br>
Sorry, but I completely disagree with you.<br>
A jar of Polish jam that is kosher in Sainsbury's, Golders Green, is
just as kosher in Trader Joes in Westwood, California.<br>
That there are kashrut agences that have standards that are meta
halachic,(none of the majors permit batel, for example) and differ
amongst themselves in many cases, is irrelevant to the kashrut of a
product, including that lovely vegetable, Brussel sprouts that started
this whole thing off. Don't want to rely on those guidlines? Then
don't, but please do not suggest that the products are not kosher.<br>
Kind regards,<br clear="all">
<br>
Martin Brody<br>
310 474 1856<br>
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