Hi!
I am Sephardic and have been told that I should only eat Bet Yoseph shechitah. I wanted to know what your opinion is regarding what standards I should keep in my own home versus when eating by family or eating out? This question comes more frequently when I am in Israel.
Thank you for all your help.
Jacob Levy
Hi Jacob,
I think the idea that every Sephardi today must specifically eat only “Bet Yosef” meat has become, to a large extent, a political and communal issue rather than a serious halachic one.
In fact, when someone tells me how careful he is to eat only Bet Yosef, I’m sometimes tempted to ask whether he is equally careful to pay every bill on time, deal honestly in business, and treat people properly. Not paying someone what you owe him can be an actual Torah prohibition. Bet Yosef meat is a chumra. We sometimes seem to have gotten our priorities backwards.
My position is very simple. If meat has a reliable kosher supervision and is labeled glatt, Bet Yosef, or the equivalent, buy it, bring it into your home, and enjoy it. I would not make distinctions between regular glatt and Bet Yosef for a Sephardi household.
If you are traveling, especially somewhere where your choices are limited, and properly supervised kosher meat is available but it is not glatt, I would eat that as well. Certainly I would not create difficulties with family, hosts, or other people over it.
And while we are on the subject, a little shout-out to Rabbi Ralbag and his family, and to the people at Hebrew National. Hebrew National hot dogs are properly kosher and delicious. They are not glatt, and that would not stop me for a moment when traveling. If you are somewhere and cannot find another convenient kosher meat product, get yourself some Hebrew National hot dogs and enjoy them. I have eaten them myself.
There are many worthwhile chumrot a person can consider taking upon himself. In my view, insisting specifically on Bet Yosef shechitah would be very close to the bottom of my list.
I think we need to spend less energy on politically or communally driven distinctions that separate one group of Jews from another, and considerably more energy on the things the Torah itself places front and center: honesty, paying what we owe, not hurting people, treating others properly, and simply being a mensch.
So whether at home, eating with family, eating out, or traveling in Israel, I would not be concerned whether the meat says specifically “Bet Yosef.” If it has proper reliable supervision, eat and enjoy.
All the best!