What is Truth: Part II
I keep getting questions as to whether I am going to shut my blog down, give up internet, or only have internet outside of my home. The answer is a big NO on all three. Yes I know that the various agencies have issued their rulings, and for the moment I am choosing to ignore them. Here is why.
First I have a five year Teuda(certificate). Which means I don’t have to get rechecked for it for another five years. I got said Teuda before the various agencies issued their first(sudden) change in policy which required all sofrim to have a filter on their internet(which I already had). Granted I didn’t buy the one that they were pitching at the Asifa, I have the one that comes with Norton, because it is superior.
Second I have a heter from my Rosh Yeshiva to have internet in the home for the reasons of Kibud Av V’Em. In short neither my wife nor I have any family to speak of here in Israel. Our parents, and my children’s grandparents are all in the US. Phone bills to the US can be quite astronomically expensive. However via Skype(or in our case ooVoo) not only are those calls free, but my children can speak face to face with their grandparents for free, and daily.
Third in keeping with the rulings of Rav Eliashiv ZTzUK”L, Rav Ovadia Shlit”a and Rav Shternbuch Shlit”a, American Olim should continue to follow the leniencies that they were accustomed to when they lived in the US. Since the Roshei Yeshivot of the Mir and Lakewood, as well as Rav Katzin decided to permit internet(filtered) in the home in the US before I made Aliyah, and that was my custom there. There is no reason to change it now, especially given the other mitigating factors.
Fourth in order to get a certificate one needs a letter of recommendation from a Rav(or other certified sofer). My own came from my Rosh Yeshiva who as I stated above, has given me a heter for internet in the home. His words when I discussed this development with him were that I need not worry about their latest Chumrot until it was time to renew my Teuda. I fulfilled their requirements when they gave it to me, and they have no right to change those ex-post facto. Much like Rabbinut Semikha, despite it being made increasingly harder to obtain, they cannot impose those new requirements on those who have already attained it.
Finally I have five years. In short hopefully by then I will be able to pass the Rabbinut Semikha exam on Safrut and thus not need to worry about an outside agency to grant me legitimacy.
your thoughts on this
http://www.jerusalemkoshernews.com/2012/07/summer-kashrus-travel-advisory-for-jerusalem/
Why? What does it have to do with me? On the extremely rare occasions that I eat out, I only eat Badatz Hekhsherim.
BS”D
imo/lfi aniyas daati:
(1) What lies behind a Teuda? truth of ‘trustworthy’ kashrut/ mashgichim? truth of ‘trustworthy’ sofrim? what are the criteria and what really happens ‘behind the appearances’ of any ‘trustworthy’ Teuda?
(2a) kashrut. Some Poskim say it is each individual’s responsibility to eat Kosher — trusting the Teuda/heksher, mashgichim, etc is not a patour. if you eat treif there is no blaming others. However, ‘bitul beRov’ is a very curious affair. Considering the metziut of a treifa and its halakhic status as kosher, one may be kosherly consuming a treifa… [bearing in mind that 'half the treifa carcass' is not still hanging there in the presence of the mixture].
(2b) If a non-Jew comes to buy meat, chooses a piece and offers 50 you can sell it (a) even though it is treifa and (b) truly priced at 30… there is no ganevus hada’at, bc this customer did it to himself. However, if Jew does the same one is obligated to tell him the truth about (a) and (b).
(3a) Sofrim. If the customers are interested in the new criteria re: internet and they ask directly one must tell or else it would be overtly transgressing ganevus hada’at…. however, if one does not tell the question of ganevus hada’at remains, since we are dealing with fellow Yidden.
(3b) I would therefore suggest (to be on the safe side and cover all bases) that anyone buying from a sofer with that specific agency’s certification may very well be halakhically entitled to all the criteria even if the Teuda was issued before the new decree (of internet).
Therefore, anyone buying it may have chosen to do so specifically with the new criteria in mind, thinking it is “internet free”.
Admittedly, there are enough people out there interested in that new criterion — otherwise the process of deriving a psak halakha would neither have developed in this direction nor with this result.
Personally, I am offering this shtickel “limud”, hopefully and as much as possible, leshem shamayim
[however, bc it is internet, alone and so on, I do feel a lot of personal glorification, gaava and so on... but also just a hint (sometimes more) of bitul Torah and bitul zman, etc what can I do? it's the structure of internet writing/"interaction" as I experience it. ]
birkas col tuv lekulam, BS”D
Knowledge of the halakhot. In a Teuda Sofrim/Shechitta/Mohelut, just knowlege of the relevant halakhot and skill in doing the task at hand.
Unlike Rabbinut Semikha where you actually need character references.
BS”D
sorry if i am wrong, but it seems as though you have overlooked possible theoretical ‘lumdus’ type questions concerning your 1st reason for ignoring the new criteria re: internet, since it seems that you only answered – what was intended to be – solely rhetorical questions re: the overlooked relationship between the above Kashrut Teuda reply/ link and your own Sofrim Teuda posts. That was only the beginning, i.e. (1).
The consequences might be more stringent than we have thought/read/shared so far. I feel somewhat concerned (in my illusory internet bubble of desultory isolation)… be that as it may,
you wrote:
“I have a five year Teuda(certificate). Which means I don’t have to get rechecked for it for another five years. I got said Teuda before the various agencies issued their first(sudden) change in policy”
However, the above reply describes a possible transgression based on the clients’ expectations/ reasons for buying your ‘merchandise’ (toyre is di beste skhoyre), since it is ASSUMED TO BE in conformity with the issued Teuda…
please read it, bs”d, maybe I am wrong in what I say…. a Yid alleyn iz a Yid keyn
and without a havrusa (a proper reply) i will continue going deeper into internet madness…
nu, let’s be mekayem “Dibarta Bam”………
birkas col tuv, bs”d.