When I first began searching for someone to provide shechita training for our community in Colorado, I looked for months—and came up empty. It wasn’t just that qualified instructors were few and far between—they were virtually nonexistent.
Eventually, while flipping through a book, we came across the name and contact information of Rabbi Yisroel Landsman. That discovery changed everything.
Rabbi Landsman agreed to come out to Colorado, and what followed was nothing short of transformative. In just over 1 week, he provided a level of training in both shechita and knife sharpening that I had only heard of others taking months or even years to accomplish. His deep knowledge was matched by his masterful approach and joy for teaching. His simchadic spirit, warmth, and enthusiasm made every student feel welcome, capable, and inspired. He wasn’t just a teacher—he was a true mensch and mechanech, uplifting each of us through the process.
By the end of the course, I was able to shecht six chickens in one minute without issue—something I would’ve never imagined just weeks earlier. Rabbi Landsman was so impressed with how I had set up the infrastructure for the course that he mentioned the possibility of working together to help run more trainings in the future.
After completing his self-guided halacha course a few months later, both I and Rabbi Dovid Shaffier went on to receive kabbalah from Rabbi Landsman.
Sadly, that dream of future collaboration was never realized. Shortly after we completed the course, Rabbi Landsman passed away. We were honored to be among the last of the Rabbi’s student to receive his Kabbalah. His dedication to his student’s was so great and even though he was bed ridden and could not speak he made time to finish out our csavim before his passing.
His loss was deeply felt—not just by us, but by the many thousands of students he inspired across the world. Rabbi Landsman was to our knowledge the only person providing effective and accessible training outside of the slaughterhouse setting in the United States. He was known not just for his shechita teaching but also instruction in mila, safrus, and so much more.
We started The Kosher Cut to carry forward his legacy and fill the need only he had filled in the past.
Before The Kosher Cut existed, there was nowhere to buy kosher slaughter equipment online in the United States. But more than filling a logistical gap, we wanted to keep Rabbi Landsman’s teaching model alive. Our entire course is closely based on his structure and approach for both the halacha and hands-on training. Using his proven methods—along with a few additions we’ve picked up along the way—we’ve helped students master knife sharpening and shechita in as little as 1–3 weeks, where other programs often take months.
Through The Kosher Cut, we’re humbly working to continue Rabbi Landsman’s legacy to the best of our ability: making high-quality, no-nonsense shechita training accessible in the U.S., and passing down the skills, values, and spirit of a true master teacher. We’re honored to do so and could have never achieved what we have without his incredible instruction.
