The Dog as Posek

Rav Ovadia Yosef used to tell a story about Rav Mordechai Bennet when he taught the mishnah in Pirkei Avos, Appoint a rav for yourself and keep far from doubt.

It is told that Rav Mordechai was once at the spa in Carlsbad, where he met a Reform rabbi who boasted that all matters of Jewish law were in his hands and that his rulings were final. When Rav Mordechai began to discuss Torah with him, he found the man knew nothing at all. He asked what the man did when a question on kashrus came to him, for example a chicken with a needle in its gizzard or a broken wing joint. The man, flustered, said that he simply declared it treif every time, so as to leave no room for doubt.

Rav Mordechai smiled and told him a story. A simple Jew lived in a village far from the city and raised geese, chickens and ducks. He took them to the local shochet and sold the meat and fat at the market to earn his living. When a bird raised a question of kashrus, such as a needle or a broken wing, he saddled his horse and rode to the Rav in Frankfurt to ask. One day a joker passed through the village and saw a chance for some fun. He told the simple Jew it was a waste of time and money to travel all the way to Frankfurt, especially in winter when the roads were bad. The Torah itself says, "L'kelev tashlichun oso", throw it to the dogs, so all treif belongs to the dog. Let the dog decide. If he ate the meat, it was treif, and if he left it, it was kosher.

The simple Jew was delighted, and the dog became the posek. Since the dog ate every piece of meat put in front of him, a month passed, and then the man finally rode to Frankfurt. The Rav asked why he had not seen him for weeks and whether he had no questions. The man answered that he had many, but the dog had settled them. When the Rav asked why he had come now, he explained that the dog was too machmir, since he ruled every bird treif.

Rav Mordechai then turned to the Reform rabbi and told him that his approach seemed to be the same as the dog's.