STAR-K Kosher Certification recently held its first Winter Kashrus Training Program for a group of mashgichim from New York. The participants, who live in Boro Park, traveled to attend the seminar in Baltimore on three consecutive Sundays, January-February. The program was the brainchild of Mr. Meir Rand, a Chasidishe mashgiach who has worked in various kitchen venues in Boro Park. Realizing the lack of Chasidishe mashgiach training, he approached STAR-K Kashrus Administrator Rabbi Zvi Holland with his well-accepted idea of a training program.

�I was very, very happy with the program; I learned such new chidushim and how to deal with people in Kashrus work,� says Mr. Rand. �I have no words. It was mamash amazing–meyradik!

�The Chasidishe community doesn�t yet have such a training program for their mashgichim,� continues Mr. Rand. �We have no mesuderdik system for training them and we found out that STAR-K has the best training system for mashgichim. We saw HaRav Heinemann and how he deals with all shaylos with such a klehrkite and how he is behind everything and knows everything that is going on in his organization, all over the world. I realized that we need such a thing.�

Another participant, in food service hashgacha, who preferred anonymity, concurred with Mr. Rand. �Everyone enjoyed it and we can�t stop talking about it. Every section was a world in itself, and everything was organized and given over step-by-step. Everyone was shocked to see bugs on the fruits and vegetables, after we learned how to check properly�.You have to have someone experienced to teach you how to look for bugs.�

On Sunday, January 19, STAR-K veteran Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Mayer Kurcfeld, opened the program with, �All about Foodservice�. After a buffet lunch, STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Sholom Tendler, continued with a discussion on bugs, Bishul Yisroel, basar shenisalem, and simanim.

On Sunday, January 26, STAR-K President Avrom Pollak, presented, �A Certifying Agency�s Administrative Issues�, followed by STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Dovid Heber�s sessions: �On the Home Front�Being a Local Mashgiach for a National Agency� and �Pesach Issues Too Important to Pass Over�. After lunch was served, STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Avrohom Mushell, spoke on, �It�s a Matter of Chemistry�. The rest of the afternoon was spent touring Seven Mile Market, the largest kosher supermarket in the U.S., and participating in a hands-on bedikas tolaim training practicum, with Rabbi Tendler.

On Sunday, February 2, STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Baruch Beyer, led the session, �Coffees, Sodas, and Slurpees � The Beverage Industry�; STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Eliyahu Shuman, spoke about, �Kashrus of Fish�; and STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Tzvi Rosen, instructed the group about, �Alcoholic Kashrus�. After lunch, STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Moshe Schuchman, lectured on, �Industrial Kashrus: A Case Study Primer�, and STAR-K Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Zvi Holland, addressed, �The Kashrus of Meat�. The culmination of the three-part program was a Q & A session with STAR-K Rabbinic Administrator HaRav Moshe Heinemann.

Moshe Levy, a chef who worked in catering hashgacha, summed up his STAR-K training program experience: �I never heard such a lecture like this. Nobody ever taught me those things. I really gained a lot. STAR-K is the best hechsher because they know what they�re doing and they are straight.�

�STAR-K is always pleased to assist mashgichim in furthering their education even when they are working for other hechsherim,� noted Rabbi Holland. �This group showed tremendous mesirus nefesh traveling to Baltimore numerous times from New York to benefit from this program.�