Community Magazine December 2019

40 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE JSOR has exciting news. It has taken transformative steps to upgrade its infrastructure and policies. JSOR stands for Jersey Shore Orthodox Rabbinate, and it is the kashrut organization that Rabbi Isaac Farhi started over thirty years ago. It was founded in order to service a handful of establishments in Deal, NJ, primarily over the summer months. Since its inception it grew to service over sixty establishments year-round throughout the Jersey Shore and Brooklyn. JSOR’s New Direction “Over the past four months the kashrut organization took on a new, higher dimension,” says JSOR administrator Rabbi Hayim Arking. He is excited to share the changesmade and the newdirection JSOR is taking. Rabbi Arking is one of several individuals who was asked to strengthen the organization and to bring it to a more sophisticated level in every aspect. Together with JSOR rabbis, they restructured the organization to accommodate the community’s developing needs. Until now, Rabbi Shmuel Choueka and Rabbi Farhi ran JSOR together with local rabbis, who worked with kosher establishments on an individual basis. Today’s Rabbinical Board expanded considerably: Rabbi Rahamim Aboud, Rabbi Saul Kassin, and Rabbi Edmond Nahum now decide JSOR policy. Rabbi Isaac Farhi acts as Kashrut Coordinator, and Rabbi Arking is the administrator of the organization. Deal’s finest laymen comprise the board of: Steven Eddie Safdieh, Mark Massry, Sammy Saka, Edgar Cohen, and Steven S. Safdieh. Additionally, Joey Tobias, Ike Barnathan, and Jeremy Sultan have joined to assist with many tasks. Strengthening Kashrut from Different Angles Mrs. Farhi has always been an integral part of JSOR, especially with her chat “JSOR Is It Kosher.” Her chat reaches a couple hundred people, and provides answers to questions about kashrut , and offers information about kosher products. People always comment on how helpful Mrs. Farhi’s chat is. Her longtime experience helps many navigate a wide array of products and symbols. This chat can be joined by requesting an invite link. A recent addition to JSOR is the Woman’s Auxiliary, which was established to upgrade the consumer experience and to make eating in restaurants more palatable, especially for those who find eating kosher challenging. The Women’s Auxiliary also arranges wonderful events and ladies’ classes. Rabbi Farhi envisioned JSOR as a community-based organization that strengthens kashrut availability to the community as a whole. JSOR has now moved to a whole new level, as it is now collaborating and working with national standards and subsequently serves an entire dynamic spectrum – from Bnei Torah Kollel to those who are not yet committed to eating kosher. “Over the past six months, we worked closely with the OU, CRC, STAR-K, KCL, and other kashrut organizations to standardize and bring a stronger sense of protocol and a more standardized system to a growing, centralized organization,” Rabbi Arking says. “In this regard, we can give greater assurance to community members for whom kashrut observance is fundamental.” Game Changer – New Vegetable and Meat Supervisors In previous years Rabbi Farhi and other mashgichim , including Rabbi David Condiotti, Rabbi Reuven Cohen, and Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Friedman, would supervise the many kosher establishments. A current game-changer was the hiring of two supervisors. One specifically oversees how produce is handled and cleaned, and the second is a mashgiach who supervises butchers and meat restaurants on a daily basis . Produce supervisor Rabbi Meyer Safdieh will spot check all establishments for the cleanliness of produce. This additional service provides a double layer of supervision. Every mashgiach is now trained to check vegetables for insect infestation. “Many people prefer fresh produce to the pre-checked Bodek variety, as it is fresher andmore palatable,” Rabbi Arking informs. You may ask, doesn’t checking every leaf of lettuce take hours to do? “We have a streamlined method via the thrip-cloth that allows Reevaluated, Reconceived, and Redefined MACHLA ABRAMOVITZ JSOR KOSHER JERSEY SHORE ORTHODOX RABBINATE Rabbi David Condiotti, supervising Mashgiach in Star-K seminar with Rav Moshe Heineman (L) and Rabbi Binyamin Seruya (R), Rosh Haburah of Ohr Halacha.