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13 Tammuz 5761 - July 4, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Shemen Oil Factory: No Chillul Shabbos
by Y. Ariel

After a serious investigation, the Rabbinical Committee for the Sake of the Sanctity of Shabbos in Eretz Yisroel (Vaada Lemaan Kedushas HaShabbos), the major watchdog organization of Shabbos in Eretz Yisroel, announced that "it is clear to us beyond all doubt that the factory has not violated Shabbos in any way in the past and the place shows no signs of any intent chas vesholom to violate Shabbos Rachmono litzlan."

This investigation was undertaken in response to various public declarations from chareidi organizations that the Shemen factory intended to work on Shabbos.

At the request of the gedolei Yisroel, Shabbos Committee representatives visited the Shemen Haifa plant to observe its manufacturing and work procedures. Company officials also asked the rabbinical committee to examine the entire issue of Shabbos in their plant. The meeting was attended by committee representatives as well as by Boaz Tzafrir, plant director; Chaim Meller, operations director; Menachem Hartman, a chareidi engineer brought in by the rabbinical committee; as well as by Rabbi Sholom Eliezer Roter, coordinator of the visit.

At a lengthy meeting, the rabbonim and technical experts questioned various professionals about the plant's manufacturing processes. The visitors then proceeded to the control room and examined the work ledgers and computers, all of which indicated that the plant had not even made any preparations to work on Shabbos.

Menachem Hartman told Yated Ne'eman that following a thorough examination of the issue, he is confident that the plant had no plans to work on Shabbos. "All findings indicate that the plant did not work on Shabbos and never had any plans in that direction. Additional discussions with the workers confirmed this," he said.

At the end of the visit, the representatives of the rabbonim stated that the issue had been thoroughly examined, and that it is absolutely clear that the firm had never desecrated Shabbos in the past, and had no plans to do so in the future, either using automated systems or by any other means.

On Friday 8 Tammuz, it was announced that the BaDaTz Mehadrin of Rechovot headed by HaRav Simcha Kook and HaRav Avrohom Rubin have granted their hechsher to Shemen's Haifa plant. The Shemen company also has the hechsherim of Shearis Yisroel and the Kahal Machzikei Hadas of Belz, of which HaRav Yosef Efrati is a member.

In the wake of changes in the plant's kashrus supervision, it was decided to appoint a Shabbos supervisor, which the plant had lacked in the past, to supervise the resumption of work in the first shift on motzei Shabbos.

The Shemen factory is owned by chareidi Jews. A number of months ago, the owners of the firm began to observe a special kashrus stringency with respect to company products, namely taking terumos uma'asros even from imported soybeans if the gmar melochoh takes place in Eretz Yisroel.

Though many important authorities do not require this, the Chazon Ish was unequivocal in this requirement and many bnei Torah follow his ruling. Shearis Yisroel has always followed this ruling in all products under its supervision.

Following the recommendations of the Chazon Ish, the terumos uma'asros are given to kohanim who have animal farms. It should be noted that this hiddur is unique to the Shemen factory, and that the Center for Agriculture According to the Torah headed by HaRav Y. Efrati supervises this procedure.

The chareidi community was happy to learn that the country's most important kashrus networks are currently certifying the Shemen Haifa factory, and that since the factory has received the new kashrus supervision of Shearis Yisroel and others, many new hiddurim have been installed.

 

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