Anyone stop keeping cholov yisroel?

amother

Ginger

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 6:21 pm

My family never kept cholov yisroel, but when I went to seminary I started keeping it, and then I continued keeping it when I came home. My dh and his family keep cholov yisroel, so I continued keeping it from seminary until present (I've been married a number of years). Lately I have been craving cholov stam (I'm not pregnant) and in the grocery stores I pass so many OU-D items and wish I could eat them. I also feel on a spiritual and emotional low at this point and kind of want to just stop keeping cholov yisroel.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did you ask a Rav?

I was wondering if I'd be allowed to stop keeping c"y and if I would be if I'd have to do hataras niddarim or something like that?

amother

Amethyst

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 6:31 pm

I stopped. I was allowed to because we moved "out of town". I wasn't able to get a heter to stop even a week before we moved- I had to sit at a dairy cholov stam shavuous meal (there was plenty I could eat as well don't worry Wink

) because my rabbi said stopping wasn't pashut. He wanted the rabbis in my new place to tell me to stop not him.

As soon as I moved- literally within the week I did hataras nedarim but yeah I needed hataras nedarim and I neededed to say that I probably wouldn't have started doing it if I knew we would be moving here. I wish I could give you the simple answer of yes you can just stop but that's not what I was told.

Coke Slurpee

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 7:52 pm

We keep cholov yisroel, but our families don't. Over the last few years my kids started attending a more modern day school, where almost all the kids don't keep cholov yisroel and the teachers sometimes offer cholov stam treats. So we let the kids eat cholov stam, but the basics in the house like cream cheese, milk, yogurt, and cheese are all cholov yisroel.

amother

Saddlebrown

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 9:24 pm

I stopped. Was originally for diet products that were not chalav yisroel and then extended to cookies and chocolate when I had stomach problems and that's all I could get down. Then I got married and my husband doesn't keep chalav yisroel so neither do I.

nursemomma

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 9:24 pm

amother wrote:

I stopped, after doing the research and deciding it was okay.
I did not do any hetaris nedarim, but I didn't ask anyone about that. Besides, I think now with the Yom Kippur tefillah of Kol Nidre, it's all forgiven.

If that would be the case, why all the extraneous hataras nedarim from all the posters above? According to your post, it would seem like people can go around doing whatever they want, bec it's all forgiven on Yom Kippur anyway.

little_mage

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 9:28 pm

DH kept it for a while, and when we were first married, we kept our house CY. I would still buy the occasional candy bar while out. We had more or less decided to stop on our own, but our Rabbi actually told us to stop. Now, this was said in the context of a meeting about finances, but he did say that he would tell people to donate the extra money to charity rather then spend on Cholov Yisrael.

amother

Aqua

Wed, Oct 05 2016, 10:53 pm

Do you want to stop completely? Or just eat chalav stam once in a while when similar isn't available in chalav yisrael?
I'm not sure if there's a difference, but who knows?
I only eat CY and so does my family and dh's family. But recently I started working in a neighborhood with no Jewish stores around and I'll sometimes get myself a Starbucks coffee after I checked that the milk has an OU-D.
For some reason I don't feel guilty.

amother

Ginger

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:50 pm

amother wrote:

OP here. I don't mind having cholov yisroel milk and cheese (although it is more expensive, which I do mind), but I wish I could have the products that aren't available in a cy version (like reese's pieces, cereals, certain ice creams, dunkin donuts, etc.).

ectomorph

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:56 pm

when I got married, we moved to a plac where keeping CY is incredibly difficult, although tere are peple who do it. So I stopped keeping it. but if available I would like to start again.
Don't stop during a "low" and certainly not during Aseres Yemei Teshuva. Wait until you feel better and then decide with a clear head.

amother

Bisque

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 2:30 pm

amother wrote:

There is sooo much good stuff out there Cholov Yisroel

Sorry. No. The frum companies know they have the market cornered so they don't spend much in innovation. The ice cream is awful. Dairy products spoil faster. Not as many options- full fat plain yogurt? How hard is that? My toddler needs that!

It's also twice the price.
I don't keep CY because I lived OOT for many many years where it was impossible to keep it.

miami85

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 2:46 pm

I think the main question is did you accept it upon yourself as a "neder"? We do our best to be makpid on cholov yisroel at home, but we never took it on as a neder, so that we're not makpid when we're away/too expensive/for kids/other people's homes. If you hold by R'Moshe, then it is a chumrah and we have reasons why it would not be practical for us to abide by it full-time.

watergirl

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 2:46 pm

amother wrote:

Can't imagine how one feels deprived sooo many cheeses yogurts ice cream flavors etc

If you live out of Brooklyn/Monsey/NY area, you would be able to imagine it. We arent all as lucky to have options. Or fresh options. Or not freezer burnt options. Or non spoiled options.

amother

Amethyst

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 2:54 pm

just want to mention that some people who keep cholov yisroel say that cholov stam powdered milk is ok and I think also butter. A lot of junk food don't have "real" milk.

One of the rabbanim in my OOT community keeps it only for himself ( not his wife or kids) but he has a whole stash of dairy oud candy that he holds is fine.

Chayalle

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 2:59 pm

I grew up keeping Cholov Yisrael, but interestingly, when I was 15 my parents sent me to England for the summer to visit family, and at that time my relatives had CY milk but not so much butter, cheeses, etc...they did have these little CY french yogurts...in any case, I remember my father told me that I can eat whatever I am served there, and not worry about CY. I also recall him saying there's a difference between drinking actual milk that is not CY, to eating products made with butter or cheese. I'm not sure why, though.

Does this mean that just by being raised this way, I never made a neder? I definitely was not matir neder.

In any case - want to double-like what ectomorph said. Also to ask yourself what is causing this spiritual low, and what you can do for yourself to reconnect.

to those who say that there are so many options that are CY, I would venture to guess that those who were raised with non-CY products will have it much harder than those of us who don't know what we are missing, so to speak. If I've never eaten reeses pieces, I wouldn't crave it, would I?

(now, once upon a time there were CV peanut butter and coconut dream cups. Yum! Why don't they make them anymore?)

LittleDucky

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 3:03 pm

Chayalle wrote:

IIRC it is because historically milk from trief Animals cannot be naturally churned into butter or cheese. Now with today's science it might be different as there are probably additives that can be added.