First Chodosh Bulletin For the New Season 11Jun 00 The Guide to Chodosh--Yoseph Herman I hope all are enjoying the post-pesach season when there is no Chodosh problem, when all foods are Yoshon. The Guide to Chodosh is starting to gear up for the forthcoming season. This is the first Bulletin. It is being sent to you to keep you informed of new developments. WHEN IS CHODOSH STARTING AGAIN? WILL WE HAVE A MAJORITY YOSHOH? It is still too early to predict with any accuracy when the Chodosh season will start again. We are monitoring weekly reports from the US Department of Agriculture. By now, almost all of the Chodosh crops have been planted and most have shown appreciable growth. The current progress is about two weeks ahead of the normal crop schedule. This may change as the crops mature. However, if this trend is maintained, then we may see Chodosh spring wheat as early as the end of July in the Midwest and as early as the second week of August in the Northeast USA. I hope to keep you informed of this progress by E mail and by voice recordings on the Chodosh News section of the Hot Line. Pesach was �late� this year. It is natural to wonder if enough crops were planted before pesach to make the majority of some crops Yoshon for the coming season. The US Dep�t of Agriculture plans to issue its first estimate of total new crop production in mid July. It is only after this report is published that we can issue our own estimate of percent Yoshon for the new season. Here, too, we will try to disseminate these estimates when they are available, towards the end of July. NEW E-MAIL SERVICE For several years, the Chodosh information was being disseminated by a commercial E-mail distribution service. In the middle of last year�s Chodosh season, this service was sold to a �free� E-mail service. Our mailing list was transferred in this sale. As you may have noted, there was a �price� to pay for this new service. The price was that they attached commercial advertising to our messages. We had no control over what ads they added. Some of them may have been offensive to the sensitivities of observant Jews. Therefore, it is with gratitude that we accepted the kind offer of Rabbi Yaakov Menken and Project Genesis to allow us to use their computer services to distribute E mail messages from the Guide to Chodosh in the forthcoming season. As in the past, the Guide to Chodosh remains a fully independent project. It is not associated with Project Genesis or any other organization. You are receiving this message because your address was automatically transferred to the new service. As in the past, we ask that PLEASE if you plan to discontinue an E-mail or Internet service, first unsubscribe from the Chodosh E mail list. To do this at this time, just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Then, when you resume E-mail service, you may, if you wish, resume receiving our messages by sending a blank message from your new E-mail service to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION The preferred method of getting quick response to Chodosh questions remains the Chodosh Hot Line at 914-356-5743. As in the past, you record a question and call back later for a recorded answer. You may also send E mail, but the response may be slower. The E-mail address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Our fax number has changed. The preferred fax telephone number now is 914-356-5999. Usually, response to faxed questions is the slowest. Hot Line voice recordings are usually answered the same day, E-mail should be answered within a few days. Faxes may take longer. YOSHON HASHGOCHOS We will try to continue our campaign to encourage Yoshon establishments to engage responsible mashgichim to certify the reliability of their Yoshon arrangements. (The Guide never provides such supervision. It also does not endorse any specific mashgiach or organization, nor does it ever accept any fees for any listings in the Guide. ) The forthcoming Guide will list in separate sections those foods and establishments that have mashgichim. You can help by convincing your local establishments that it is beneficial to their business if they engage such a mashgiach. The Guide needs a letter from each mashgiach to be on file, to list the establishment as being under hashgocho.
