Thursday, March 22, 2007

This Hand Made Matzo IS NOT KOSHER!!!

As if Passover preparations are not hard enough, a Lubavitch Matzo Bakery in Brooklyn is coming under fire for serious Kashrus issues. The problem stems from the issue that one of the employees may not have been Jewish. For your average food this is usually not an issue but Matzo has to be made "L'shaim matzos mitzvah" (the person must have in mind that they are creating these matzos for a mitzvah , which can only be accomplished by a Jewish person). The Article explains:

The employee at the center of the controversy, a Minsk native, was hired in October, when the bakery begins preparing Passover matzos. Her employment was terminated about two weeks ago. "From the information we have, it seems like she's Jewish, but we still don't feel 100% comfortable saying for sure," Rabbi Zalman Osdoba, rabbinical coordinator of Crown Heights Kosher certification, said.

Rabbi Osdoba said he has fielded dozens of calls from people looking to clarify the kosher-for-Passover status of the matzos. "Rumors have been flying," he said. "We've had many phone calls from people who are worried. We asked people not to panic, and that a letter of clarification would come out."

But some are saying the religious court ruling has only stoked confusion in the fervently Orthodox community in Crown Heights. "That response is a cop out," a post on crownheights.info read. "It's either kosher, or it's not."

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