Sweeter than honey is
This is not meant to rule practical halachah; rather it’s to show the sweetness of learning.
Based on R’ Yitzchok Silberstein’s seforim
Who To Ask?
Of course to R’ Yitzchok Silberstein Shlit”a.
Who makes Torah Learning so sweet & geshmak…
Shmuel was a mashgiach and always made sure everything that his bachurim ate was kosher, had the best hechsher, no bugs, no mixing dairy and kosher equipment. He took his job very seriously.
One day, Shmuel walked into the kitchen and froze. Something smelled terribly bad like rotten meat. Shmuel tried to ask the cook nicely, "Gavriel, is everything okay? It smells like spoiled meat."
The cook got upset and said, "You do YOUR job and make sure the ingredients are kosher, and I'll do MY job of actually cooking, don't mix into my business."
That night at supper, the food smelled fine. (Gavriel mixed in enough spices and seasoning into the meat.) Later, Bachurim were in terrible stomach pain, some were throwing up, and a few ended up in the hospital.
The only two people from the yeshiva who weren't sick that night were the mashgiach and the cook. Both were smart enough not to eat it.
The yeshiva fired the cook without paying him. Then they turned to Shmuel. "We found out that you knew that the meat was bad and you didn't do anything about it. You won't be paid either; you didn't do your job!"
Shmuel said, "It was the cook's problem. I just make sure everything is kosher! I did my job! And you owe me my full money!"
Who is right?
The Cook Got Upset
- If the mashgiach saw someone put in poison, could he say, "It's not my job?" Of course, he should tell everyone. Food that has poison or is spoiled, which will probably hurt anyone who eats it, is the mashgiach's responsibility.
- The mashgiach claimed he only takes care of the "Kosher part". There was also a problem of "kosher" involved here. The Torah says one must "protect their health," and the Rambam (Hilchas Dei'os 4:1) says that one should avoid eating food that isn’t good for a person, since it will be difficult to come close to Hashem if he isn't keeping his body healthy!
So the mashgiach did not do a good job at keeping bad food away from the bachurim. The Yeshiva hired the mashgiach to protect the spirituality of the bachurim; they should not eat any forbidden foods.
According to the Torah and the Rambam above, eating spoiled or harmful foods is considered a form of forbidden food.
In Short: The Yeshiva can lower the mashgiach's payment because he didn't do his job properly.
