The morning news., 1894-06-12
POLLUTED ALL The DISHES.
Orthodox Jews Buy Meat That Was
Not KOSheTed.


Meeting Held, at Which Friedman
Was Found Guilty, and He Will No
Longer Sell Meat to the Members of
the Orthodox sect-Wanted Him to
Pay for the Dishes Ruined.
The Orthodox Hebrew congregations Of
the city are in a stew, or at least that is
the condition in which their action has
placed Sam Friedman, who was their
trusted butcher and took care of the
kosher meat
The trouble all arises out of the fact
4 that, through his agency, between twenty
and thirty of the Orthodox Jewish fami-
/ lies got hold of some meat that was not
/ kOshered, and his action in selling it to
them has been strongly condemned Dy
them in mass meeting assembled.
So great was their indignation when
they learned that they had been given
western meat, or meat that was not
slaughtered and prepared according to
the rites of their religion, that a meeting
was held at Turner's hall, in which very,
decided action was taken with regard to
/ Friedmap's course, and in future he will
not serve them.
WHAT IT MEANS.
The Orthodox Jews, many of whom
/ here are Polish Jews and there are
over 100 families in Savannah, are re-
/ quired by their religion to eat what is
known as kosher meat, that is, it is killed
| by an officer who in their religion is
known as shOchet. The shochet in Sa-
| vannah is j. Mersky.
There are three congregations of these
! Jews in Savannah, Chebra Talmud Torah
Bani Jacob, and Bani Abraham, and
Mersky does the killing for all of them.
II is done at Cohen Brothers slaughter
house near Thunderbolt. The beef killed
by the shochet is generally a lean ami
NAL, with very little fat about it.
The animal is examined with a view of
having it thoroughly healthy, and even
after it is dead if anything is found about
it TO indicate in any way lack of health it is
cast aside as useless. 1t is killed by having
/ its throat cut with knife, and is not
first knocked senseless as is done in most
slaughter houses. There is usually some
ceremony, consisting of the pronouncing
of few words OF Hebrew, over the ami
NAL by the shochet when the beef is
slaughtered.
Each piece of the meat is marked or
tagged by the sochet, and on the tag is
stamped his seal in sealing wax. This
meat was put in charge of Sam Fried
man in the market, and it was he who
sold 1t to the orthodox Jews.
SOLD THEM BAD MEAT.
Last Friday the tagged kosher meat
had run out, and still there was large
| demand for meat Meat that was
slaughtered in Savannah in the usual
way or western meat was sold from the
stall TO about twenty or twenty-five
orthodox Jewish families Some of it
was shipped to families Of this religion
outside the city.
1t was soon discovered that this meat
/ 70 bov hot
chet and did not have the appearance of
the regular kosher meat. MersIy was
called in, and after an examination had
been duly held it was pronounced fraud
Friedman had always been considered
trustworthy, and this is the reason why
the meat was bought without having the
| shochet's tag attached to it.
Then there was CONSERVATION in the
| congregations, and an unusual amount of
| hurrying to and fro. All the families
We're warned that they had unholy meat
in their midst if they had purchased any
| without the tag. kilograms were sent
hurrledly out of the city to those points
where the meat had been shipped, and it
was quickly recalled, some of it almost
perhaps before it had reached its destina-
tion.
THE DISHES TO BE DESTROYED.
The matter would not have been near
so serious had it not been that whatever
dish the unholY meat touched was also
made unholy and could no more be used
by a true and conscientious orthodox
Jew.
Pots in which the meat had been boiled,
plates and dishes OF all kinds in which it
/ had been served, knives and forks that
had been used in cutting and preparing it,
all dishes with which it had come in CON
tact were unfit for further use in those
families and must be used no more. Thus
twenty or more families ind themselves
| very short on chinaware and cooking
utensils. Some of them packed all these
! utensils away, and will either dispose of
them to the junk dealer or destroy them
entirely as unfit for further use by man or
beast.
AN INDIGNATION MEETING.
The three congregations were highly
indignant at their treatment at the hands
of Friedman and a short time after the
matter had been brought to light they
held an indignation meeting at Turner's
hall After discussing the matter. pro
and con, and seeing no other conclusion in
sight but condemnation of t'riedman's
action committee of five was appointed
to investigate the matter, and he was
found guilty.
The meeting was then adjourned to give
the committee further time in which to
look into the matter and determine what
action it was best to take. At the next
meeting representatives of the three con
gregations assembled at Turner's hall.
which is the meeting house of the congre-
cation Talmud Torah. In all there were
more than 100 members present There
was a lively discussion of the matter and
the meeting was in full sympathy with
the report Of the committee finding Fried
| man guilty.
CAN SELL NO MORE MEAT.
A resolution was passed to the effect
/ that the shochet would be allowed to kill
no more beef for Friedman, which prac-
tically prohibits him from selling meat
to any members of the congregation of
| this sect.
1t was decided hereafter that J. Mersky
shall be in charge both of the killing of
the beef and that he shall preside at the
stall at Cohen Bros place in the market
so that it may be known that the ortho-
dOX Jews get nothing but kosher meat.
Friedman it seems, was employed by
the orthodox Jews to stay at Cohens
stall and handle this kosher meat for
them The action of the church was ac-
cepted by Cohen Bros, and hereafter
/ Mersky will preside at the stall and de-
liver the kosher meat
The way in which the shochet so read
lily determined that there had been a mis-
30 N Foo . ~