Anyway, kudos to everyone on the retractions and apologies. This is far above-average internet etiquette.

Jabbett - I really think this is a great blog and I enjoy most of what is put up here. One thing I see, and I don’t mean to offend anyone, is sometimes a general disrespect that can be seen, for example, with this post above. I mean, seriously discuss the halachik issues, bring sources (and there are a lot of classical halachik sources to bring to be able to speak intelligently on this issue)- But, please don’t let it descend into - those women-hating, chumra-loving rabbis have done it to us again. Can this not be done a little more respectfully? I think this goes along with what you are saying - these people she is speaking about are jews too. Inflamatory rhetoric doesn’t help. (I mean this in both ways - we should also be careful not to denigrate any rabbi or supervision which we don’t consider “acceptible”.)

More seriously, while I have strong concerns about the current trends in kashruth, I intended no personal offense by my comments. I note well Alex’s point with regard to following a particular posek; I can’t/don’t claim to follow the rabbis Abadi (the father is in Israel and two sons run the website in consultation with him), but I do find their approach rather enlightening in many areas. Sadly, they’re strict on hard cheese, but hey, give them time and we’ll see. ;-)

Bugs are a problem. Perhaps even worse than kashruth issues, they’re just gross. They are, however, a reality, and the reality is also that you, I and most everyone living has eaten them in whole or parts. Life goes on. Our approach is to soak “problematic” veggies in a mild vinegar solution a few times. It’s pretty nasty to see the little critters that come off with these treatments. Blech. As for Brussel sprouts, I’ll live happily if I never eat another; the wife will give me hell now when she reads this comment.

My local Conservative rabbi, who takes his kashruth quite seriously (he’s a vegetarian - “it’s been 20 years between milk and meat for me”) offered the opinion that frozen peas may be the safest veggie in the context of concern about bugs because they come from inside the protective hull. I’m comfortable purchasing frozen peas without certification, and they’re a very healthy food as well.

Nathan– you’re not beyond reproach either. While I, too, lament the higher price of certain kosher foods and the sometimes frustrating strictures we must follow, it’s not entirely respectful to accuse certification organizations of willfully extorting money from us with only circumstantial evidence.

However, I was interested to hear what Rabbi Abadi of Kashrut.org had to say on the subject.

What I’ve gleaned so far–
Crustaceans in NYC water, no problem. Asparagus, don’t eat the tips. Brussel sprouts, problematic. Impossible to clean broccoli. Wouldn’t eat a particular kind of Star-K “no checking necessary” frozen vegetables.

And he goes so far as to say they he’s not inventing new issurim by being meticulous about bugs. In fact, he criticizes the OU for being overly lenient regarding bugs for 20 years without halachic basis!

Why don’t you read what your posek from Kashrut.org says about bugs in vegetables, or do you only follow him for his leniencies?

Yes. I, and others, have been trying to warn about the dangers of following an ever-narrowing spiral downward into absurdity in the area of kashruth. The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions, so the saying goes.

If you want to wash your onions, go ahead and wash them. But if the rabbis start declaring that you must now use certified onions: follow the money. It’s a very, very large amount of money, and that money is being sucked away from observant communities without, unlike in the “good old days”, returning much benefit by funding schools, local rabbinate, etc.