Chabad Rabbonim of Illinois Give De Facto Nod To New Lubavitch Hashgacha In Community Letter

by CrownHeights.info

Two Chabad Rabbonim who oversee the Association of Chabad Rabonim of Illinois (ACRI), have given a De Facto approval of the new “Lamed-K” Hashgacha in a letter published to their community.

“For more than 20 years, the Association of Chabad Rabonim of Illinois (ACRI) has given guidance and made recommendations for our local Anash community regarding appropriate Hiddur in matters of Kashrus,” the letter, signed by Rabbi Boruch Hertz and Rabbi Yosef Posner said. “With regard to meat and poultry our recommendation has been to accept that which is supervised by organizations of Lubavitcher Rabonim for use by Anash.”

Under that heading there have been various products available, some with more stringencies than others, and the Rabbonim of ACRI have left it to the individual consumer and their own Rov or Mashpia to decide whether to seek additional stringencies.

The the withdrawal of the CHK Hechsher from AgriStar, the Association of Chabad Rabonim of Illinois was faced with a unique problem.

“Last week, we were presented with a new question,” the ACRI Rabbonim explained. “The Shor Habor product line coming into the market from this point forward is supervised by a new organization of Lubavitcher Rabonim for use by Anash, and at the same time the organization of Lubavitcher Rabonim which previously gave the Hashgacha states that it is not suitable for Anash.”

After careful consideration, the two Rabbonim concluded not to make any change to their general recommendation, that the minimum standard that a member of Anash should seek is for meat and poultry products which are supervised by an organization of Lubavitcher Rabonim for use by Anash.

This is a De Facto nod to the new “Lamed-K” Hechsher as it falls into that category of being a Lubavitch led Kashrus organization.

“Many people have contacted us asking for direction or expressing their opinions,” the Rabbonim ended their letter by saying. “It is good to see that people are passionate about Kashrus and want to know that the food they consume is at the highest standards. It is our hope that the kosher food producers and supervising Rabonim continue to work together to provide the community with quality products produced בתכלית ההידור.”

Read the Full Text of the Letter Below:

א’ אדר ב תשפ”ד

March 11, 2024

For more than 20 years. the Association of Chabad Rabonim of Illinois (ACRI) has given guidance and made recommendations for our local Anash community regarding appropriate Hiddur in matters of Kashrus. We do not supervise or certify any products, relying on existing Hechsherim and additional information which we are able to obtain. With regard to meat and poultry our recommendation has been to accept that which is supervised by organizations of Lubavitcher Rabonim for use by Anash. Under that heading there have been various products available, some with more stringencies than others, and we have left it to the individual consumer and his Rov/Mashpia to decide whether to seek additional stringencies.

Last week, we were presented with a new question. The Shor Habor product line coming into the market from this point forward is supervised by a new organization of Lubavitcher Rabonim for use by Anash, and at the same time the organization of Lubavitcher Rabonim which previously gave the Hashgacha states that it is not suitable for Anash.

Upon careful consideration, we have concluded not to make any change to our general recommendation: The minimum standard that a member of Anash should seek is for meat and poultry products which are supervised by an organization of Lubavitcher Rabonim for use by Anash. We continue to leave it to the individual consumer and his Rov/Mashpia to decide whether to be more discriminating as to which product lines and standards are appropriate for him.

Many people have contacted us asking for direction or expressing their opinions. It is good to see that people are passionate about Kashrus and want to know that the food they consume is at the highest standards. It is our hope that the kosher food producers and supervising Rabonim continue to work together to provide the community with quality products produced בתכלית ההידור.

Rabbi Boruch Hertz

Rabbi Yosef Posner