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I receive many comments about Jewish-owned stores and establishments that sell food or clothing. In the case of food, the comments usually indicate that the store sells tref (unkosher) food. In the case of clothing, they report that it is shatnez. These notices are not posted to the Kosher group.
These messages usually follow a pattern. They are usually based on hearsay, or rumor, or "I think..." or "I heard...." They may even state that they heard from "a reliable [but unnamed] source" or that "everybody knows that..." or "I heard from a lot of places that..."
We're trying to help each other on the Kosher group, by providing useful information. Your recommendations about a Kosher establishment will be sent to all of our subscribers. Each subscriber represents a large audience:
Furthermore, each subscriber cares enough about Kashrut to join this group. That's a significant and serious audience.
The ultimate effect of our Kosher group is thus much, much greater than our subscription base (which is also quite large).
Your comment may ultimately reach the entire interested Jewish world – or hundreds of thousands of Jewish readers around the world. They may decide what to eat based on your recommendation. Your casual "I think..." or "I heard..." may be sufficient recommendation for many people!
True, we periodically warn our subscribers to confirm our postings with their Rabbi. However, that warning does not travel to our immense secondary and tertiary audience.
Furthermore, we can do our part on the Kosher group to provide accurate Kashrut information – even though it is on the Internet. Each of us can stipulate the source for our statements. They can then be verified by our educated readers and/or by local Rabbis.
In this way, we can be a significant and authoritative resource for those who want to make justified and qualified decisions regarding their food.
Somebody may have spread a false rumor in order to punish a store owner with whom he had an argument. That's bad enough. You would certainly not want to get involved in spreading this information still further!
Jews are prohibited to spread unfounded rumors. None of us would want to decide whether that prohibition is or is not greater than the prohibitions related to Kashrut.
Please, please, please be careful. Post only reliable information, from a reliable source, to our Kosher group. Stipulate that source when posting.
This request obviously relates to postings on our other groups that relate to Jewish law as well.
Find out more about the Kosher forum
Subscribe to the Kosher forum
Find out about general guidelines that apply to all of our Jewish groups
Find out more about other Jewish and Hebrew groups
Third Son will help you decide which group is best for you
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