Vaad HaRabbonim of Flatbush

Speak to an authorized source, such as your Rav. Unauthorised sources are usually nothing more than lashon hara or worse, motsi shem ra.

If the cRc says they are recommended, you might start with them and ask what they know about the hechsher that they recommend it. You recall from years back, but have no idea if anything changed, yet you have no problem insinuating there is a problem. During the 9 days no less. I’m surprised the moderators allow your innuendo aimed at groups in general, and am even more surprised when you direct it at a specific group.

Brush up on your sources unauthorized or not. My comprehension is fine. Your ability to hide your silly agendas is not.

I called and asked him if he’s reliable. He told me that his hechsher is the most reliable in the world.

I know he’s telling the truth. Would someone who has the most reliable hechsher in the world lie to me?

(This has nothing to do with how good the Vaad is, rather, how futile it is to ask someone about himself whether he’s reliable.)

You badly missed my point. You weren’t suppose to believe me, except the last line.

My point was that you don’t ask the rav hamachshir how good his hechsher is, you ask an objective third party.

Word is that the vaad is most machmir from all the other major kashrut agencies which some of them rely on just the Baal Habayit’s word, with almost no regular inspections from the certifying agency. Vaad has regular inspections and doesn’t allow leniency which the other major kashrut agencies do allow. You’d be surprised that the biggest most well known ones are very lax and kashrut violations go unreported because there’s no major over-seeing agency to keep them all straight, that’s why it’s comforting to know Rav Goldberg has stricter standard than the others, so you know he doesn’t allow these stores and catering halls and restaurants to cut corners and get away with violations at all. He’s been known to quickly drop those stores and caterers and restaurants that he catches trying to not conform to his standards, I don’t believe the others do that. They just keep warning them to stop. Meanwhile all of us are reliant on these agencies and c’v eating something improper is a very serious thing and is M’tamtem the Leb.

i didnt suggest you ask if he is reliable. ask him about his standards. if they work for you great, if not, then not. either way, dont report back. its not my business if he does or does not meet the standards you set for yourself.

I do occasionally call a rav hamachshir to ask about his policies. That is only part of the picture, though. I first need to know whether he is reliable, and whether he reliably implements and enforces his policies. In the context of an overall assessment of the quality of a hechser, providing a phone number is relatively insignificant, especially since, as you mentioned, it’s easily found.

“I first need to know whether he is reliable, and whether he reliably implements and enforces his policies.”

Ask him what his policies are, and how he plans to enforce them. It is not difficult to make a general assessment to determine if he adheres to those policies. an easy way is to ask the manager of an establishment “when is the rabbi expected”, if you hear “havent seen him in 2 weeks” you know there is a problem. ask the manager what the rabbi does when he is there. If the hechsher relies on a jewish manager, ask him what his qualifications are and how he knows if there is a problem that needs to be addressed. no foolproof way to determine everything, unless you move into the establishment and observe everything yourself.