Ever since Divine deliveries of manna stopped falling, kosher consumers have had to rely on conscientious kashruth supervisors to make certain their food meets the highest standards of kashruth. That\u2019s why the OU\u2019s dedicated team of rabbinic field representatives (RFRs) travels to food-manufacturing plants across the globe, ensuring that the established kosher programs in each plant run according to plan. With travel bags in tow, they bring their expertise, guidance, and\u2014if it\u2019s Rabbi Norman Schloss at the door\u2014a really good joke.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Schloss, who lives in Atlanta, supervises OU plants in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and parts of Northern Florida, as well as some in Ireland. The wandering rabbi, who drives an average of 500 to 700 miles per week, meets Jews from all over who express their gratitude for what he and the other RFRs do for the kosher community.<\/p>\n
The distinctively personable manner with which Rabbi Schloss gets the job done also affects those outside the kosher community. \u201cSome of these people (at the plants) have never met a Jew,\u201d says his wife, Lydia, \u201clet alone an Orthodox one. He\u2019s a kind of emissary for the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mashgiach Has Arrived<\/strong> From the management to the workers on the plant floor, everyone looks forward to a visit from the cheerful rabbi. \u201cEveryone knows Rabbi Schloss,\u201d says Richard Robinson, former materials manager of Golden State Foods, which produces condiments for the food industry in Conyers, GA. \u201cWhen we started doing business with McDonald\u2019s in Israel, supplying a lot of their syrups, toppings and sauces, Rabbi Schloss was the guy we worked with from day one. He helps us get all our ingredients properly categorized, and if we have an equipment issue, he\u2019ll work for hours correcting it. You (can) always call him with a question; he\u2019s always available.\u201d<\/p>\n Plant personnel never fail to relate to the rabbi known to most as \u201cRabbi Norm.\u201d \u201cMy father, a salesman, taught me to always relate to the people with whom I am dealing,\u201d says Rabbi Schloss. \u201cHe believed, as I do, that no matter what profession one is in, he is in the position of selling himself. I often use an old trick of his if I\u2019m going to a plant in a small town, I make sure to look over the local newspaper to see how the local sports team is doing. I\u2019ll congratulate them on their team\u2019s win that week. (So) when the staff hears I\u2019m coming, they don\u2019t feel they have to button up their shirts and put on their ties.\u201d<\/p>\n Earning His Title<\/strong> Rabbi Schloss soon married, moved South, and, combining his natural sales acumen with his longtime penchant for the culinary arts, he opened Norm\u2019s Place, a combination deli, supermarket and restaurant. \u201cIt was the only kosher restaurant in the United States without wood paneling or chandeliers,\u201d he muses. After some time, Rabbi Schloss realized running the restaurant was taking a toll on his health. He closed it and began working in sales. Since the work was based solely on commission, he worked on the weekends as a kosher supervisor with the Atlanta Kashruth Commission, supervising events held at local hotels.<\/p>\n Various kashruth agencies heard about the rabbi and approached him about doing kashruth work around the greater Georgia area. \u201cOne of the only people doing kosher supervision in the southeast at the time was Rabbi Nota Greenblatt, head of the Rabbinical Court of Memphis,\u201d says Rabbi Schloss. \u201cHe was overextended and gave companies over to me.\u201d Rabbi Schloss soon contacted the various agencies to see if they would be interested in having him cover more terrain. He quit his sales job and went into kosher supervision full time, working as an independent contractor for major American kashruth organizations. In 2001, the OU offered Rabbi Schloss a full-time position, which he accepted.<\/p>\n Have RFR, Will Travel<\/strong> The wandering rabbi spends two to three nights a week out of town for \u201clocal\u201d jobs and fourteen weeks out of the year overseas. Although the absences are tough on his family, Lydia, says it\u2019s worth it. \u201cHe\u2019s well respected in his field and [his work] serves a tremendous purpose for the community. He\u2019s very happy with what he does.\u201d And it shows. \u201cHe\u2019s very aware of the issues that could crop up and gives us input that always keeps us ahead of the game,\u201d says Baker. \u201cWe really like that.\u201d So do the kosher consumers who enjoy OU Kosher Drakes Fruit Pies, Coffee Cakes, Ring Dings, Devil Dogs, and Yodels!<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents taught me to enjoy life, to look on the bright side and to greet people with a smile,\u201d says Rabbi Schloss. According to OU Rabbinic Coordinator Rabbi Avraham Juravel, the OU\u2019s proficient RFR from Atlanta perfected these skills long ago. \u201cI\u2019ve warned personnel at (OU-certified) companies,\u201d he says, \u201cthat if someone comes in claiming his name is Rabbi Schloss and he does not tell you a joke, you can be sure he is an imposter.\u201d<\/p>\n Bayla Sheva Brenner is senior writer in the OU Communications and Marketing Department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ever since Divine deliveries of manna stopped falling, kosher consumers have had to rely on conscientious kashruth supervisors to make certain their food meets the highest standards of kashruth. That\u2019s why the OU\u2019s dedicated team of rabbinic field representatives (RFRs) travels to food-manufacturing plants across the globe, ensuring that the established kosher programs in each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cUnscheduled inspections\u201d comprise the bulk of Rabbi Schloss\u2019 kashruth work. \u201cWhat do a mashgiach (Hebrew for kosher supervisor) and the Mashiach (Hebrew for Messiah) have in common?\u201d asks Rabbi Schloss. \u201cEveryone knows I\u2019m coming; they just don\u2019t know when.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHis time in New York set the foundation for his many productive years with the OU. From 1969 to 1974, he held the position of \u201cchief cook and bottle washer\u201d at NCSY. \u201cI rented a van, picked up the food and served it to two hundred people at NCSY conventions,\u201d he reminisces. After attending rabbinical school in Israel, he returned to the United States and majored in marketing at Baruch College in New York. \u201cWe called it UCLA,\u201d says Rabbi Schloss, \u201cthe University at the Corner of Lexington Avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nBefore Rabbi Schloss departs on a trip, he does extensive research: will there be an Orthodox shul near his accommodations? Does the area have a supermarket with a substantial kosher food section? If he\u2019s staying at a major hotel chain, can it obtain frozen airline meals? He also familiarizes himself with the local kosher symbols and checks if they are reliable.
\nWith his resourceful kosher recipes for the road, Rabbi Schloss has proven the adage about necessity spawning invention. \u201cSalmon is one type of fish that is easily recognizable as being kosher (having visible fins and scales),\u201d says Rabbi Schloss. \u201cI go to any supermarket and purchase salmon, making sure the skin is still on. I season it with lemon juice, curry, salt and pepper. I double-wrap it in foil to keep the juices in, take the (hotel) steam iron and set it on high, and place the iron on the fish for fifteen minutes on each side. Voila! Perfectly done Salmon \u00e0 la Black and Decker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFamily, friends and work colleagues all agree there is never a dull moment when Rabbi Schloss is within earshot. \u201cHe has quite a repertoire of jokes,\u201d says Lydia. \u201cThe day of our wedding, my mother-in-law came over to me and said, \u2018You know what the ultimate in self-sacrifice is? It\u2019s laughing at the same jokes after twenty-five years.\u2019 [Jokes are] his way of putting people at ease.\u201d
\nKen Baker, plant technical services supervisor at McKee Foods Corporation, heartily agrees. \u201cEveryone smiles when he walks in the building,\u201d he says. \u201cHe\u2019s a fun guy to be around.\u201d Apparently a knowledgeable one as well; according to Baker, every time Rabbi Schloss comes to the Collegedale, TN, plant the McKee team learns something valuable regarding its production of OU Kosher Drakes cake products.<\/p>\n