Bidspirit auction | “שחוטי חוץ” — A Halachic

“שחוטי חוץ” — A Halachic Letter from  Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski A fully handwritten, signed halachic letter from Maran Rav Chaim Ozer, dated 1938–5698, addressed to a shochet in Australia. The background is striking. At the request of a meat merchant, this shochet had exported large quantities of meat under his supervision to Eretz Yisrael. Upon arrival, the Rabbanim of Eretz Yisrael objected to the import and forbade its consumption, referring to it as “shechutei chutz” — a refined expression alluding to the harm such imports posed to the local parnassah of meat sellers in Eretz Yisrael. The shochet, distressed, turned to Rav Chaim Ozer for support — even enclosing a donation for the Ramailes Yeshivah. Rav Chaim Ozer’s response is a masterclass in daas Torah and achrayus. He explains that the merchant from Eretz Yisrael had earlier approached him with an “innocent” question: whether the kashrus of this Australian shochet could be relied upon. Rav Chaim Ozer answered in the affirmative. That merchant then publicized Rav Chaim Ozer’s letter in the newspapers in Eretz Yisrael. This triggered the strong opposition of the Rabbanim there. Rav Chaim Ozer clarifies to the shochet that this had not been his intention at all. He was therefore compelled to publicly state that his words were never meant to override the authority of the Rabbanim of Eretz Yisrael, and that their ruling — not to consume “shechutei chutz” — stands firm. And then comes the line that defines the letter: Despite affirming that the shochet’s kashrus is sound, Rav Chaim Ozer writes that he cannot act in a way that undermines the Rabbanim of Eretz Yisrael, and that his own view aligns with theirs. At the end of the letter, Rav Chaim Ozer answers the shochet’s halachic question regarding melichah. Included is the original letter of inquiry from the shochet — likely the very question that remained in his possession