Whats the deal with Rabbi Israel Steinberg? He certifies some of the coolest NYC resturants. Under his supervision are places like Dosa Hut and Udipi Palace in the "Curry Hill" section of (Murray Hill) Manhattan. He also supervises Buddha Bodi, a vegan place on the LES.
His fleishig offerings sound even better. Steinberg certifies Ben's Deli. Besides this mainstay of nonobservant LI Jews, he also certifies Dushnabe, the only Kajik place in the city, and Issyk-Kul, the only Krygyz resturant in the universe (I think).
People don't trust Steinberg's certification. Objections are raised because of Bishul Akum (the prohibition to have non-Jews cook for you) among other things. He is seen as some kind of charlatan, despite the fact that he was ordained in Torah VeDaas, and taught in Chaim Berlin.
I think Steinberg is a hero for certifying the coolest, most diverse and best resturants in NYC.
4 comments:
Buddha Bodai is in Queens on Main St., not the LES. One interesting issue with his certification is that the teuda isn't changed-- ex. Buddha Bodai in Queens had a certification with the date 5759 when in 2001. Sounds like a problem to me. BTW, the brand name of a yeshiva is great, but that doesn't mean that the person is a gadol or is makpid with halachic issues.
I spoke with Yisroel Steinberg some time ago. He gave a reference at a major Yeshiva who in turn told me not to eat from him. Wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, I called him again asked him about his kashrus certification. He told me that he certifies Ben's (which is not Shomer Shabbos) because it is a corporation and he doesn't think that a corporation would take a chance on making a mistake. Whoooa ... He probably means well, but I can't see how we can trust his judgement in Kashrus...Avi..
The original post is really misleading. The problem is not with Bishul Achim as you say, but with his stores being open on Shabbat despite the fact that they are Jewish owned. How can we trust someone who does not keep Shabbat to be careful in keeping Kashrus? And how would Rabbi Steinberg supervise a store that is open on Shabbat? (The Rabbi lives in Boro Park and the stores are in NYC or Long Island - kinda of a long walk eh?)
If the stores were just honest and advertised as being "kosher style" then I would not object - or G-d forbid - be judgemental.
Also you wrote...
"he was ordained in Torah VeDaas, and taught in Chaim Berlin. I think Steinberg is a hero for certifying the coolest, most diverse and best resturants in NYC." But if you speak with his references at these Yeshivas you may get a very different impression. I took the time to do this and I took the time to talk with Rabbi Steinberg (twice) and his explanations for his actions were totally unsafisfactory... Please be a little more careful about what you write ... This is not about Kashrus politics - this is about how carefully a Rabbi supervises the stores that he certifies and whether or not religious people wish to avoid eating (possibly) treif food from a poorly supervised "kosher-style" restuarant - like Bens which is open on Shabbat... ...Avi...
My general attitude to hechsherim is very liberal: if someone who appears to keep kosher and to know which end ok a kitchen is up, and to be generally honest, and assures me that something is kosher, I take their word for it. In practise, that means I will accept any hechsher by any Orthodox Jew at face value, unless I have a reason not to. Ed echad ne'eman be'isurim, and everybody starts out with a chezkat kashrut.
I do not trust R Steinberg's hechsher because of a conversation I had with him, when I rang him to ask a question about a specific detail at one of his restaurants. The attitude to kashrut, and to his responsibility as a Rav Hamachshir, that he displayed in that conversation left me deciding that he had lost his chezkat kashrut in my eyes, and I was no longer prepared to take his word that anything was kosher.
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