Chalav Yisrael

I am going to venture into controversial territory, something I generally try to avoid on this blog. This is a topic which I'm sure you know all about, whether you heard about some heter that supposedly says you can rely on our wonderfully honest government or weather you are too scared to offend other Jews by stating the truth, I am now here to clear up all the confusion there is on the topic of Chalav Yisrael.

I will go through and explain what Chalav Yisrael is and the reasons behind it. Then I will proceed to dissect and analyze every argument which is made against it and conclusively demonstrate how they are all philosophically incoherent. I will let you know now that there is actually no philosophically coherent way to explain why it is not necessary to keep to as a frum Jew. I will not deal with cabbalistic reasons in discussing this issue; I will only stick to the practical reasoning and logic.

What is Chalav Yisrael?
Chalav Yisrael is milk in which was produced through a milking process which was supervised by a mashgiach.
What is non-Chalav Yisrael?
Non Chalav Yisrael is milk which has had no Jewish supervision over it.
Why was Chalav Yisrael institued?
Chalav Yisrael has been historically kept by Jews throughout the generations for fear of non-Jews adding milk from non-kosher animals to kosher milk.
What is the concept behind Chalav Yisrael?
Throughout our history, the goyim have tried to screw us at every opportunity. They have tried (and still do) to annihilate us repeatedly. They were supposed to send us up sheep to sacrifice to Hashem (when they had us surrounded in Jerusalem), but one day they came up with the idea to send us up a pig instead. Multiple very similar incidents brought about the necessity to only consume Chalav Yisrael. In fact, it shares the underlying principal of Pas Yisrael and Mevushal wine as well. The underlying principal behind all three is that we are not supposed to wine and dine with goyim, and we are supposed to remain generally separated from them. The underlying principal behind just Chalav Yisrael is that it is a chazaka that the goyim try to hurt us b'ruchnius and that this is a real issue at play here.
Is it halacha that we have to keep Chalav Yisrael in our time?
Yes. The Talmud, the Shulchan Aruch, the Rambam and many other places that I'm too lazy to go and find right now, state it as halacha and it was not disputed up until less than a century ago. If those three places aren't good enough for you, I suggest you go back to your reform temple and continue bowing to a rainbow flag.
If it's halacha, how come most Jews don't keep it?
This is a pretty insidious question and as I'm the one following the halacha, you should probably ask those who aren't, but I'll go into it anyways.

1. Just because 'most Jews' do or don't do something doesn't make it right; we have seen so many cases throughout our history where the majority of Jews have been flat out wrong, for a simple example; look to Yiftach in the Tanach. Contrary to popular belief, Judaism is not a democracy, and the majority doesn't win. We don't have votes on the mitzvos every 4 years. I really wish we did, as I have some excellent changes I would love to make, but until G-d tells us we can do that, the majority of Jews behaving in a way which goes contrary to Torah means absolutely nothing other than a lot of Jews are sinning which is by no means a novel concept.
2. Here we get to the good part; R' Moshe Fienstein. Everyone argues about what he said, about what he wrote, about what he did, and about various other details. These arguments get us nowhere and hold us back from discussing the real issues. For arguments sake, lets say that he said that one is allowed to drink Chalav Akum (Nochri for all those Israelis out there) where Chalav Yisrael is not available. He definitely did not say that Chalav Yisrael is irrelevant and you can drink whatever milk you want if there is Chalav Yisrael readily available. If he even said the above statement is up for serious debate. His rational was that the government has regulations in place which threaten farms with serious fines and other punishments if they find out that anything other than cows milk goes in cows milk bottles and that can be considered as-good-as Chalav Yisrael.
3. Now how did that translate to what happens today isn't really such a big mystery. He supposedly opened the bull pen. For example, if you were stranded on an island with only pigs, you would be allowed to eat pig in order to live. That doesn't make the pig any more kosher, it simply means that you are allowed to eat non-kosher to save your life. Based on this supposed rationalization, it became immensely easy for every Jew to simply rationalize that if something is kosher sometimes, then it is always kosher (which is actually the case). I mean it is pretty easy to arrive at that conclusion. 

But how is this even relevant in today's time? How does it make sense that a major dairy farm will try to get us to drink pigs milk?
I could give you the stupid answer which you will very often hear from uneducated rabbis who don't know the real answer which goes along the lines of "we have been doing it for so long so it's very important that we still keep to it" or even good and true answers such as "it is better for your neshama". All of these answers and most of the rest of them given avoid the true issues which are at play here and don't actually answer the question. (keep reading, the second part to this question and the answer follows)
How could a goy possibly risk hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines just to make us not eat kosher?
In the gemara we discuss the issue of buying a red heifer. Now, a red heifer has many requirements as to what makes it kosher or treif in terms of being Beis Hamikdash. One of those requirements is that a human hasn't had sex with it. In the gemara, we learn that this is an issue. Now if a goy has a red heifer, he can name any price he wants for it and the Jews will pay it. That can be a lot of money if it is a smart goy. The obvious question is "If a goy who has a red heifer knows that he can demand such a high price for it and also knows that having sex with it would make him lose all that money, how could he still have a very strong desire to have sex with the red heifer?" Nevertheless the gemeara discusses this as a very valid concern. The point: that despite the immense potential monetary loss that could be incurred for violating certain rules, a goy still cannot be trusted when it comes to our yiddishkeit even at the risk of major monetary loss.
Why do I have to keep Chalav Yisrael today?

1. The first rational reason for holding to Chalav Yisrael is if you have any desire to follow the Talmud or the Shulchan Aruch.
2. 
   
1. As a frum Jew, you cannot be a Democrat. The Democratic party supports abortion and same-sex marriage, both of which it is very clear that it is completely not allowed in Torah.
2. Since, as a frum Jew you have to be a Republican, that means that you opposed Obamacare. The reason you opposed Obamacare is that you do not trust the government with your healthcare.
3. As a frum Jew, you understand that your spiritual healthcare is of far more importance than your physical healthcare and even has major affects on your physical healthcare.

So, how as a frum Jew, can you eat non-Chalav Yisrael, which relies on the government for kashrus, which means relying on the government for your spiritual healthcare, which is more important than your physical healthcare, something you refuse to rely on your government for? How can one make a philosophically coherent argument that Chalav Yisrael is not necessary?

The answer is: you cannot.