Date and Place: 7 Shevat 5670 (1910), Yafo
Recipient: The secretariat of the Jewish Colonial Association
Body: I have the honor to request of the honored secretariat to instruct the schoolteacher not to accept children whose fathers have been sued to pay tuition, until the matter can be worked out under the auspices of the rabbi of the moshava Ekron. The adjudication will be before the rabbi of Ekron, to avoid the matter being drawn out if they need to go to Yafo.
Questions about the Kashrut in Hadera – #267, 268
Date and Place: 14 Shevat 5670 (1910), 25 Shevat 5670, Yafo
Recipient: The council of Hadera and the revered shochet of Hadera
Body: 1. Mr. S.G. came before me and complained that he was condemned as forbidden to be involved in kosher food production, and presented his excuse [to answer the questions raised against him]. I am very happy about the general matter that Hashem gave your pure spirits [the impetus] to stand in the breach on the matter of kashrut and take the necessary, firm steps. Your part in all of this is to be praised. May Hashem strengthen your pure hearts in [other] matters of religion and Judaism, and may you be well known and admired within the Holy Land. May you witness Hashem’s salvation of His nation in regard to the Land that is their lot, quickly in our days.
However, regarding Mr. S.G. specific request, that the matter be clarified before us (i.e., rabbinic authorities, especially Rav Kook himself), and that he wants show that he is clear of wrongdoing, he is correct. It is critical that the most important people needed for clarification will come to us. If you see that it will be possible to clarify the matter (i.e., amassing the information) by means of hearing the witnesses according to the laws of the Torah, you can send me the details of the testimony, and we will see what to do about S.G.’s presumption of fitness.
Let me repeat, my dear people, that I bless you for your improvements in the area of the Torah of Hashem, in that you are supervising the kashrut. May the pleasantness of Hashem be upon you, and may He bequeath blessing to you forever.
P.S. – The council should definitely include the respected shochet and two other Torah-knowledgeable men when you investigate the matter.
2. It has been almost two weeks since I sent you a letter concerning Mr. G, and I am very surprised that I have not been honored with a response to this point.
It is obvious that in order to disqualify a Jew from his presumption of fitness, there must be a serious legal process in front of a rabbinical court that includes rabbis who are experts in rendering rulings. However, it is a very good idea to suspend Mr. G and not grant him reliability as a fully-approved kosher food producer, just as is being done now with the Arab.
However, as time goes on, no more than two weeks from now, it is proper to clarify the matter before me, so that I will be able to know what happened there. Just as we stand in the breach to protect kashrut standards, so must we investigate to make sure that one of our brothers is not being improperly pursued, as it could emerge that he did nothing wrong.
In short, be methodical in the matter, dear brothers, and have a ruling of justice emerge. Uphold the standards of sanctity and kashrut, together with justice, rectitude, concern for a person’s dignity, and love of our brethren. I am hereby waiting to receive your answer, as I bless you with everything good and as I try to strengthen your resolve to uphold Torah and mitzvot.
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