December 25, 2006
Baltimore Kosher News: Goldberg's Moving; Star-K Expands to Israel
A few Baltimore-related bits of kashrus news. The first: rumor is that Baltimore's beloved Goldberg's Bagels is moving it's Pikesville retail location. No word yet on the exact location, but it will be nearby. Hopefully it will be a larger and nicer establishment, and they will keep the free wi-fi.
Another rumor floating around is that the Star-K, the Baltimore-based kashrus certification organization, is expanding overseas with the acquisition of a Jerusalem-based hashgacha. It's still unclear which one; either way it's an interesting expansion. I'm not that familiar with the intricacies of international kashrus, I believe the OU is not well-respected there, so the joining of a respectable US organization with a respected Israeli one could be an important step.
I have more info that can't be published yet if you'd like to contact me directly.
Posted by: mike at December 25, 2006 12:28 PMThe Star-K is already supervising a bunch of places in Ramat Eshkol.
Posted by: Jerusalemite at December 25, 2006 2:37 PMIf the rumor about the Star-K's expansion is true, that is just another piece of evidence that it is no longer the "Vaad" as it is merely an international Kashrus organization that just happens to be based in Baltimore. As Seinfeld would say "not that there's anything wrong with that". But, the Star-K can certainly not complain when other organizations such as the OU etc. come to town and bid on local accounts.
Posted by: Dr. E at December 25, 2006 10:15 PMI think the most obvious question here should be will they be offering the $2500 shidduch money in yerushalayim?
Posted by: peninah at December 25, 2006 10:32 PMGoldberg's is moving to Club Centre - where Blockbuster's is - and where Joan and Gary's Bagels was, b/c they say they're out of space. Maybe - but where they are seems more convenient
Posted by: beth at December 25, 2006 11:03 PMI personally saw the Star-K on 2 Israeli establishments in Ramat Eshkol, as Jerusalemite said. I thought it was interesting. Being that Kashrut in Israel is so political, I wonder how the Star-K hashgacha on an establishment will affect business.
Posted by: Sara K at December 26, 2006 11:28 AMI just noticed that your Mishneh Torah is next to Lord of the Rings. So whats the symbolism there? ;)
Posted by: ha-historion at December 26, 2006 3:23 PMHA: Good question. There was some thought put into the juxtaposition of the books; I recently commented over at On The Main Line on his recent post (see http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2006/11/is-agudah-upset-about-good-blogs-too.html), about the books in the center of the picture:
It's a little hard to see, but notice that Rambam is not only next to The Lord of the Rings, it's also next to Machiavelli's The Prince. There was a little bit of thought into how the books were arranged.
Posted by: Greg at December 26, 2006 3:49 PMInteresting post – you always seem to have good stuff on local Kashrus news. Not to nitpick – but I think that to say that the OU is not well-respected there is somewhat inaccurate. Products under the OU made in Israel for the Israeli market are generally considered mehadrin. The issue is that when OU-certified products from the US or elsewhere are imported to Israel, they generally may be chalav stam or pas palter or not yoshon, which is fine, as these are the OU’s general policies, but in Israel many don’t want to rely on this types of leniencies. For many years the OU in Israel, until a few years ago, was headed by Rabbi Avraham Rubin of Rechovot (currently of the Badatz Mehdrin), who was considered mehadrin by all.
Also, I should point out that the Star-k is the only of the big-4 (OU, OK, Kof-k, and Star-k) currently without an official office in Israel (I think the OK’s is in Elad, the Kof-k’s is in Efrat, and obviously, the OU is in Yerushalaim).
Anyway, this blog has some really good kashrus related stuff on it, if I ever get around to starting my own I will totally link to it.
Posted by: Ori at December 27, 2006 8:40 AM
