Pesach Rice
Question
Another question, with your permission. Your faq states that R. Abadi, a"h said that because of modern manufacturing anc cleaning methids, checking the rice is not necessary. I must tell you that I have asked many (Syrian) community rabbis, both in the US and here in Israel (where I live, and where you can buy rice with Hechsher for Pesach), and they all say the same thing: that checking - 3 times - is necssary because we are not allowed to do away with minhagim like this. I even tried to "tyneh" that the hechsher on the rice should be considered one checking, but no dice. What about this issue of minhag?
Answer
Answered by Aaron AbadiRabbi Abadi Shlit"a is alive and well and lives in Har Nof, Jerusalem with a home in Lakewood, NJ. The only minhagim that have such status are the ones that are referred to as "Minhag Kadmonim." This is not one of them. Additionally, this was not a minhag at all, but a practical requirement. You can go now to any thirld world country and the grains are all sold in big pails sitting right next to each other. It is common for some rice to fall in the wheat and vice versa. When they checked, they almost alway found foreign grains in their rice. When you buy packaged "Carolina Rice" or the likes, this is completely non-existent, and thus unnecessary. We must continuously concentrate on everything we do to determine it's source, rather than act like robots. Aaron Abadi