Customer StatementIn April 2016, Ben Pekuah Meats severed ties with its former Rabbi, Meir Gershon Rabi, after a dispute over certification that began in December 2015 between him and Kosher Australia and a number of other international rabbinic and kosher authorities.The decision to dissociate with Rabbi Meir Gershon Rabi over the unnecessary and damaging disputes has now prompted an urgent global search for an eminent, suitably qualified and experienced rabbi to provide the company the necessary oversight to ensure its meat productionfulfils all requirements under traditional law.Ben Pekuah Meats is confident it can source the right individual, but stresses this may take some time, and urges consumer and community support and patience as it resolves the problem.
Some questions::
- Some commentators state that the entire concept and idea of "Ben Pekuah" meats is the brainchild of Rabbi Rabi. This is also apparent in the Age article quoted below. Is this the case?
- If this is the case will "Ben Pekuah Meats" compensate Rabbi Rabi for lost income/patent/trademark?
- Will Rabbi Rabi now branch out on his own and start a new "Ben Pekuah" system?
- How can "Ben Pekuah Meats" be trusted if that not only don't have a Rav HaMachshir whatsoever and the business is mostly owned and operated by non-Jews?
- Now that they've fired Rabbi Rabi, will "Ben Pekuah Meats" publish the letter allegedly written by Rav Chaim Kanievsky about Ben Pekuah?
- And finally, how confident are "Ben Pekuah Meats" that they can ever find a Rabbi willing to support their initiative when even Rabbi Rabi was roundly condemned by just about every Australian Rabbi for saying that this initiative is halachically acceptable?
********
Yesterday (Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Metzorah) The Age ran an article about the Ben Pekuah business.
Short quotes follow:
New herd targets kosher markets, but ruffles feathers in Jewish community
A Victorian business has developed a herd of cattle and a flock of sheep it hopes will make kosher meat more affordable for consumers.
Source: theage.com.au
**
Known as Ben Pekuah, the "ancient ritual breed" allows all of the meat from the animal to be consumed, according to AK Ben Pekuah's managing director, Stephen Bloch.
**
The breeding of Ben Pekuah livestock followed an approach by a Melbourne rabbi to the Victorian Farmers Federation about 10 years ago about establishing a new kosher meat supply chain.
looking spiffy there rabbi rabi. Can't wait to have some lafa matza.
ReplyDeleteWhat's steven bloch's involvement? How can he be the interim rabbi of the business if he isn't a shomer torah umitzvot? or is he? not casting aspersions but I heard he's not.
ReplyDeleteNo chance anyone into kosher meat will by their stuff now.
DeleteGoodbye charlie.
Kolled beth hatalmud were fools to let him go. He would have been runnning the place today with rabbi W and Lanzer would be a good pair with motti fixler to take over beis yosef from hershel fogel who is elderly and should be retired.
ReplyDeleteI remember Rabbi Meir telling us stories at the Kollel on long winter nights. What a giant of a man he is.
ReplyDeleteKosher Australia targeted Rabi because they're TERRIFIED of him and his halachic knowledge and power and influence.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Pollak current senior shochet of the Adass was overheard stating that the Rav of Adass will give Ben Pekuah Meats a hechsher if he's paid enough.
ReplyDeleteMatthew should be sacked forthwith without any pension and sent back to Lubavitch where he came from.
If they cared about the opinion of Kosher Australia why didn't they go straight there for a hachsher?
ReplyDeleteOh, because it was Rabbi Rabi's idea!!!!
Matti Pollak is a long time soine of the ruv shlite. he should bet ibber the ruv pesach by night on the bime.
ReplyDeleteKosher Australia make a big fuss about Meir Rabi saying he has a business. So what? KA is just as much a business. And beware if you don't pay them!
ReplyDeletethe whole place needs a clean up
ReplyDeletegood time before passover
ReplyDeletegood time before passover
ReplyDeletePollak is no more or less a soina of the Ruv. He just happens to say what he thinks. (which is not always very clever)
ReplyDeleteMeir Rabi is a decent man who wants to make kashrut accessible to all. Its an approach Kosher Australia could learn from.
ReplyDeleteNo question without Rabi the BK story is over.
ReplyDeleteThey're idiots for dumping him at such a crucial time in their business process.
I write as Anonymous, as my position in the community may be compromised.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have known Meir for over 40 years, and he has always been a straight-up and honest guy, always a menche, and always mehadrin.
He has the great ideas, and the knowledge, to revamp kashrus in Australia, and turn the money-grabbing establishment on its head.
On top of that, he is a man of action, and is actively arranging these innovations.
Of course he would have those who are set in their comfortable groove up in arms. They have the most to lose from their loss of monopoly.
Kol Hakovod to him!!
BP had to dump Rabi. After every single Rabbi who takes Kashrus seriously opposed what Rabi was doing in his usual slippery way, Ben Pekuah could not afford to be criticized from all over the world due to the behaviour of Rabi, to a large degree.
ReplyDeleteI never knew Rabbi Rabi was a student of Kollel Bet Yossef. I have personaly contributed to Herschel Fogel on behalf of this Kollel many time over the last decade. I am a proud supporter of Torah/Talmud study. It's something my grandfather OBM always stressed.
ReplyDeleteI've never met Rabbi Rabi but I do thank him for shaking up the kasharut industry. Especially close to Pesach whenI try extra hard to keep the kasharut rules.
lol @ Yankel calling Rabbi Rabi slippery.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever dealt with the shysters at KA? Rip offs. The lot of em.
Stephen Bloch is nuts if he thinks any person who eats kosher (even of the lowest standard) will buy meat from 2 gentiles and a non-observant Jew - especially one who is married to a gentile!
ReplyDeleteBad, bad move, Stevy boy.
Her's some interesting material re Melb's Kashrut organisations from a blog called AJNWatch (link at the end)
ReplyDeletehashgacha. Pretty amazing in itself.
Meanwhile Mizrachi were growing in the Kashrut field and began producing their popular directory while at the same time promoting themselves as the Australia’s foremost authority (which they possibly are, though doubtful if the NSW KA agrees). To be more acceptable to the 'religious' community, as well as overseas Kashrut authorities with whom they liaise, they dropped the “Mizrachi” tag, as in many places this is seen as less than Mehadrin. They became “Melbourne Kosher” and at a later stage “Kosher Australia”. (I have heard speculation that when the name “Kosher Australia” was created, some were hoping to swallow Sydney as well… Of course that never eventuated. But I often wonder who was the Chelmer chacham who slipped up and so unoriginally replicated the NSW authority’s long-established “KA” label. 2 KA’s in our small Kosher consuming society! Definitely a bit strange. I was thinking, how it would be if the Adass Kashrut decided to call themselves “Kosher Adass” and also take on the “KA” initials… And then why not a “Kosher Adelaide” as well?)
Besides the Adass, Mizrachi had no real competitor. That is, until the arrival of Rabbi Mottel Gutnick from Sydney, who had for some time been in charge of that city’s Kashrut Authority gaining experience in the field. In addition to his position as rabbi in Doncaster, Rabbi Gutnick quickly established his own independent, or rather, private, label and was ‘in competition’ with Mizrachi. By that the time the Kashrut division of the Melbourne Beth Din (ie Rabbi M’s uncle, Rabbi Shulem Gutnick) was slowly expiring.
Some time later, Mizrachi, still hoping to become the undisputed authority in Melbourne, made Rabbi Mottel ‘an offer he couldn’t refuse’. (This was despite bad feelings by some – not least of all their rabbi at the time, Rabbi Baruch Zaichyk , who found it difficult to forgive Rabbi Gutnick for his hurried approval of Glick’s bakery after it was thrust aside by Mizrachi. However the Mizrachi leadership calculated that the long term benefit of being in charge of Melbourne’s Kashrut made it worthwhile to forget that affair. Thus Rabbi Gutnick was placed at the helm of Mizrachi’s operation and into the deal delivered his collection of establishments. There was also the matter of Rabbi Yanki Barber of South Caulfield who also had a couple of shops under him. Mizrachi took care of him similarly - offering him a position and thus removing another competitor. It was said at the time that to attract more “Haredim”, Mizrachi hired Kollel Beth Hatalmud’s Rabbi Nachman Sofer - adding his name to their growing and impressive rabbinical inventory....
MUCH MORE HERE:
http://ajnwatch.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/guest-post-by-kosherman-concise-history.html
I always prefer Adass, They're non political and aren't in it for the almighty buck!!
Deletebp meat will close down very soon with out rabbi rabi he is the only one who knows the halacha
ReplyDeletemr bloch who is your rabbi now ?
ReplyDeletestange selling kosher meat and an anonymous rabbi
wake up
Thanks Katanga Forever for the link to AJNwatch. That blog contains some very interesting information about Frum Australia. Strange I haven't heard of it before.
ReplyDelete(It sure gives the Jewish News a serve, doesn't it?)