New OU Kashrut Chair Appointed/ Positive Convention Feedback

Feedback on the OU National Convention continues to pour in. I am gratified by all the very positive comments we have been receiving, from staff, from lay leaders, and from the community at large. You may be interested in one particularly thorough write-up of the event that appeared in the NJ Jewish Standard. In the words of the Talmud in Rosh Hashana, hearing about something cannot compare to experiencing it for one’s self. Accordingly, we hope to share a complete palette of Convention videos on our web site so that you can enjoy the actual sessions and plenaries exactly as they were presented. In the mean time, I’d like to share one of the most popular and thought-provoking presentations of the Convention: Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb‘s plenary on the Mesorah. This talk enthused the audience and generated much discussion. You can enjoy it here.

I’ve also been receiving a deluge of praise for the new OU video that was unveiled at the Convention. One of our mashgichim from Illinois wrote:

This is the very best OU video I have ever seen! Yayasher Koach! Is it going to be available on a disc (or similar) for OU mashgichim and other employees? I have several OU discs & DVDs that I use in various kashrus presentations and this would be a great asset.

This is a terrific representation of the enthusiastic response the video has generated among the OU family. By popular request, I am including a link again. The video can be enjoyed and shared at this new, user-friendly URL: www.ou.org/ouvideo

Finally, I’d like to wish mazel tov to OU past president and Chairman of the Board Harvey Blitz for his appointment as Chair of the OU Kashrut Commission, succeeding Dr. Simcha Katz, the newly-installed president of the OU. We are thrilled that he will continue to share his considerable skills, knowledge and experience working with the OU on behalf of the Jewish people. You can read more about the appointment here.