OU Kosher | Shechita in America: Past and Present, A Brief Overview

Shechita in America: Past and Present, A Brief Overview

By: Rabbi Yehuda Kravitz

But slowly things started to change. The anguish that these great Rabbonim across America endured was not for naught. Slowly, very slowly, things began to move towards the better. St. Louis took a Chief Rabbi, Toronto formed a Vaad HaKashrus; Shochtim began to be paid a salary, not per chicken. The Kehilla hired the Rav HaMachshir, not the Shochtim.

On November 19th, 1930, a landmark resolution prohibiting joint ownership of kosher and non-kosher meat companies was adopted at the semi-annual convention of the Agudas Harabonim, the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of America and Canada, and was reiterated once again in 1955, under the leadership of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l.

In May of 1932, the “Kashrus Association of Greater New York” was established to deal with the standards of Shechita and to control supervision.

But little progress was made in actuality, due to the vested personal interests of meat business proprietors, and some corrupt Shochtim and Rabbonim who turned their attention away from proper Kashrus standards due to monetary gains.

But their were Rabbonim and Shochtim that took a stand. In the summer of 1934, the kosher poultry industry was thrown into a major controversy between the Shochtim and proprietors of the meat industry.

Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia appointed Judge Otto Rosalsky to mediate the dispute that erupted. Rosalsky was an Orthodox Jew, and had an acute understanding of the main issues at hand. The Shochtim claimed that they had to slaughter too fast. The supervising Rabbis did not supervise well enough, and there was no proper identifying mark on the kosher birds slaughtered.

In conjunction with the Kashruth Association of Greater New York, Judge Rosalsky announced:

“All kosher slaughtered poultry offered for sale shall have affixed there to a plumba (lead seal) signifying that it is kosher, the same to be placed thereon by a Mashgiach. The plumba shall be supplied by the Kashruth Association of Greater New York.”

In order to strengthen the implementation of this ruling amongst the Jewish populace, a mass meeting took place at Beth Medrash Hagodol on November 5th, 1934, and a proper ban was pronounced on all those who would not adhere to this ruling.