PATERNALISTIC MONOPOLIES: 5T VAAD and LOCAL YESHIVAS
By: Suri Stern
Rumor has it that the Five Towns Vaad is not permitting the grocery stores to open before chatzot/midday on Tisha B’av. This happened last year as well. After decades of being the monopoly kashrut organization in this community, have the rules of the torah changed?
What about those who become ill as the day progresses, and want to shop fresh food for the day, before they weaken as the day progresses? What about those who don’t have to fast, either halachically or because they are not Jewish. The kosher grocery stores are the only grocery stores that are local. Is it fair to those who are not Jewish to preclude them from shopping? Who appointed the Vaad as the personal overseer of every Jew?
They permit Dunkin Donuts to stay open on Shabbos, yom tov, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
They permit cholov stam and pas stam in their stores.
Why don’t they close all the restaurants during the nine days, is it proper for Jews to be eating festively in restaurants?
In Manhattan, Florida, Israel and other Jewish communities, residents can pre-pay at restaurants on Shabbos and yom tov to eat out. Those who are aging and want a break, those who are working who want a break, those who are making a simcha and want a festivity room, on the eve of Jewish holidays, women want a break from cooking, visitors want a place to eat, and the Vaad has turned deaf ears on the community, for too long.
Other communities permit multiple hashgachahs, our community has grown extensively, it is time either that the Vaad respond and respect its constituents and listen to the needs of our community, or its time to break open the Vaad monopoly to permit reasonable accommodations to the community and its residents and food establishments.
While I am on the topic of monopolies and paternalism, let’s turn to Yeshiva Administrations. Why have we surrendered our authority over our children and what we think is appropriate for them. I understand that the administration wants conformity and uniformity in its school, but why have we permitted them to penalize our children by suspending them one day for every day that a parent takes them out of school without permission. Really? Since when do parents have to ask a school to take out their child, whether its for a special day together, or a family simcha?
Why have we abdicated our home authority to the schools? What they wear outside of school. The camp they go to. The number of guests permitted at a family simcha, the location of the affair and the subject matter of the affair? Have we parents become so very busy, that we prefer others take over our personal decisions?
Quite simply, the schools can dictate the policies because as our community has grown, there is scarcity of desks in yeshivas. Parents want their children to be with their friends’ children, and we have not banded together as a community to state what we want and what our needs are.
With so many means of communication, it is time to communicate as a group to our leaders in the Vaad, the community and our schools that we do not want the stranglehold they have in Brooklyn. We do not want our world narrowed and we will not abdicate our voices in the community, we will stand as a community to ensure that our needs are met, or we will establish other kashrut organizations and build other schools which will listen to our needs.
Leave our stores open on Tisha B’av. Let each person communicate with his own Rabbi as to what is appropriate for himself and his family. We should not permit our local monopolies to dictate to us what we should/could do, listen to us, we are your constituents.
-Suri