Really? From whom did you hear that? Are you just trafficking in unsubstantiated rumors, or did you actually hear it from someone you are willing to identify who is in a position to know the facts of the case?

I heard from a friend who heard it directly from Rabbi Benjamin Samuels, who is on the Va’ad’s kashrut committee, that there was no kashrut issue leading to the severing of the relationship between Milk Street Cafe and the ORC.

Furthermore, my own Rabbi, Azriel Blumberg, sent an announcement to our shul mailing list which read, and I quote, “This was a decision made by the owners of Milk Street Cafe, and should not be viewed as a statement regarding their integrity.”

Considering that the head of the Va’ad, Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger, is the rabbi emeritus of my synagogue and attends minyan daily with Rabbi Blumberg, I would assume that Rabbi Blumberg is in a position to know the facts of the situation.

I also heard rabbi cywiac was out of the country.
As they say ‘when the cat’s away…….

Every time I ate at Milk Street Cafe, the ORC mashgiach was there. I assume that he was a mashgiach tamidi. With a mashgiach always on the premises, I can’t imagine how Rabbi Cywiac being out of the country could be in any way relevant. Unless you’re implying that in your opinion the ORC mashgichim can’t be trusted without Rabbi Cywiac breathing down their necks?

Mr kamens, word in ny is the va’ad of mass. can’t run their own show so,

More groundless, baseless lashon hara. Shame on you.

how would they know the inner workings of another kashrus org?!

They would ask, of course. The Va’ad trusts the determinations of other Orthodox kashrut certifiers in the Boston area (it is unfortunate that many of them do not extend to the Va’ad the same courtesy). If the ORC had revoked Milk Street Cafe’s hashgacha because of kashrut violations, then the Va’ad would have found that out by asking the ORC about it and would have refused to do business with Milk Street Cafe as a result.

I suggest there is much more here than meets the eye. I look forward to a statement from the orc.

I hope that the ORC is better at holding their tongue from evil speech than you are.

Hogwash.

It seems to me that they were simply dropped for failure to comply with kashrut direction.

You need to stop spreading rechilut. You have no evidence to back up this accusation. It’s simply outrageous to make claims like this with zero evidence to back them up.

Everyone I’ve spoken to about this, including several area rabbis, has confirmed that there was no kashrut violation on the part of Milk Street Cafe.

They are in talks with the Va’ad to restore their hashgacha. The Va’ad has a strict policy of not offering hashgacha to businesses whose hashgacha has been revoked by another agency for cause. There is no way in hell the Va’ad would be talking to them if they had compromised their kashrut.

Clearly Mik Street Cafe is doing some serious damage control,

I heard the fact that they did not break any kashrut rules from a rabbi who is on the Va’ad’s kashrut committee.

Disclaimer: I eat both.

Ex-Bostonian: The ORC is the Orhtodox Rabbinical Council headed by Rabbi Nochum Cywiak. They’re not new at all but you might not have heard of them as their hasgacha isn’t on too many things.