London Bet Din warns of unkosher mezuzot and tefillin for sale
Items being sold at unnamed shop in Golders Green may not be suitable for use, as rabbinic authority looks to 'reassure our members' for the future
Jack Mendel is the former Online Editor at the Jewish News.
The London Bet Din has raised the alarm over the sale of tefillin and mezuzot that “fall below the required standard of kashrut”.
In a letter sent to rabbis on Friday, its head, Dayan Menachem Gelley, warned that items from an unnamed shop in Golders Green may not be suitable for use. The quality of the parchment or writing on the mezuzot and tefillin were reportedly found to be wanting.
He said the issue is a “cause for great concern”, reflecting on both “immediate” implications for those who have bought items, and “how we can reassure our members” for the future.
He said a ‘Rabbinical Authority for Sifrei Torah, Tefillin & Mezuzot’ has been set up to “address the lack of regulation”. It has published a list of six approved scribes for writing and checking items, and two outlets for purchasing them.
Concerns were echoed by the rabbi of Borehamwood, Britain’s largest Jewish community. Rabbi Alex Chapper, seeking to reassure congregants, said the London Bet Din “is aware of the situation and advises that anyone who has purchased tefillin and mezuzot from this shop should have them checked at their earliest convenience.”
Chapper added that “until they are checked, halachically [according to Jewish law] we can rely on the fact that any individual pair of tefillin or mezuzah that have been purchased, was sourced from the majority of the shop’s merchandise which were kosher, with only a minority were found to have fallen below the required standard. Therefore, they can continue to be used.”
He added that Torah scrolls purchased from the shop will also need to be checked, but the “immediate concern is considerably less for a number of halachic reasons”, so they can continue to be used in the meantime.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
