Introduction
Most of the food sold in Israel is marked by one kosher certification or another. “Under the supervision of Rabbi…”, “Under the supervision of the BD“T…”, “Under the supervision of the local rabbinate…” in a city or a regional council, or “Kosher for Mehadrin under the supervision of the rabbinate…” What is kosher certification? How and why is it given, and what is it good for?
Kosher Certification: A ‘Standard-Mark’
Kosher certification is like a standard mark. The meaning of kosher certification is that an authorized entity supervises the kosher status of the product. In Israel, the rabbinate is legally responsible for approving kosher certification.
However, the rabbinate’s requirements and the level of its supervision are basic at best. For various reasons and constraints, the rabbinate often struggles to set high kosher standards and maintain adequate supervision. Its main effort is to ensure the minimal observance of kosher laws. This is the advantage of a private kosher certification body: with its commercial power, it can demand that kosher certification meet higher standards, that products strictly adhere to all kosher rules, and that no compromises are made on kosher matters. Hence, such a ‘standard-mark’ expresses stricter, more meticulous, and quality supervision, therefore indicating a higher level of kosher.
BD“T = Beth Din Tzedek – A term for an important court of Jewish law
It should be noted that there are also kosher departments in local rabbinates, which, despite all constraints, manage to maintain high rigor in kosher matters, and often they operate a ‘Mehadrin’ kosher system alongside the regular, basic one. There are kosher certifications of this type that have a great reputation and are considered by the public as excellent kosher.
Question: Why do some people not eat food with kosher certification from one BD“T and eat food with kosher certification from another BD“T?
Answer: The key word in kosher matters is – trust! A Jew who cares about kosher wants to be sure about the quality of supervision over the products he brings into his home and the restaurants where he eats. Therefore, the reputation of the kosher certification provider and the degree of public trust in him is very important. From this perspective, kosher certification is like any standard institute or laboratory. There are more professional, meticulous, trustworthy institutes, and there are those whose level is lower.
The cornerstone and foundation for establishing and operating an efficient kosher system are trust and full cooperation between all components of the system. Such a system is composed of various elements. First and foremost, rabbis, Halacha (Jewish law) teachers, supervisors, and inspectors who are assisted by food engineers, chemists, agronomists, laboratory workers, and of course the central component: factory owners, hotel and hall managers, production workers, marketers, agents, drivers and porters who are all partners in what should be a kosher system according to Halacha.
It goes without saying that when personal trust is lacking and there is no constant and continuous cooperation – the system cannot function and one part cannot fulfill the role of its partner. Trust and cooperation are required and put to a real test, especially when problems arise or attempts are made by vested interests to circumvent, obstruct, and even deliberately and knowingly defraud the system, often in a sophisticated manner, by falsifying or concealing data, phenomena that cannot be faced without absolute cooperation between those engaged in this sacred work.
Another important reason, no less significant, is the Halachic differences that exist between the methods. There are kosher bodies that will also be strict according to the stricter Halachic opinions, and there are those who will not seek to be stringent when not necessary. Differences in Jewish communities also play a role in the kosher system. This difference also has Halachic implications, as each community tries to behave according to its customs.
Purchasing Kosher Products
One of the familiar experiences in our territories is the ‘shopping experience’. The slow walk down the aisles of the local supermarket alongside the shopping cart, as we calmly fill it with whatever comes to hand.
Whatever comes to hand, did we say? Almost. Just as we usually check the price of a product on the sticker on it, so we as Jews need to check its kashrut. And don’t worry, it doesn’t ruin the shopping experience.
One should check the kashrut of each product before it enters the shopping cart. Every product has a symbol of a kashrut authority of one sort or another. Even on imported products, the kashrut authority that supervises the kashrut of the product is listed. In Israel, thank God, the vast majority of the products in the large stores are kosher under one supervision or another. It is hardly worthwhile nowadays to produce or import a product that is not kosher.
- In Israel, there are laws concerning kashrut, with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel being the legal authority on this issue.
Among the laws, there are some that pertain to fraud in kashrut – cases where a store or a product is labeled as kosher despite not being so (or it claims to be kosher under a specific supervision and is not). A dedicated team of supervisors work all year round to find these scammers.
Yet despite this, one cannot always rely on every instance where the word “kosher” is written.
When can’t we? Two examples:
- A product (or store) labeled kosher without a symbol or mention of the kosher certification authority – raises suspicion of forgery.
- On imported products, in addition to the body that gives the kashrut, it must also be written “Approved by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel”. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel supervises all kosher food products imported into the country and checks the reliability of the kashrut bodies abroad. Therefore, an imported product without the aforementioned inscription, one should not rely on its kashrut – even if a rabbi’s name or kashrut body is written on it. Who knows who that person is on the other side of the ocean ‘supervising’ the kashrut of the product we put into our mouths, or whether they exist at all?
One should not rely on the store owner or the restaurant, it is necessary to see the certification authority on the product or on an original certificate (not a photocopy!) hanging on the wall of the place.
With the development of the food industry, many products are composed of a large number of raw materials. These should be carefully marked with the symbol of a proper kashrut authority that supervises their kashrut.
It is worth accumulating basic knowledge about types of kashrut and the logo of each of the kashrut bodies on which we rely, in order to know what to buy. The supervision symbol usually appears on the packaging of the product.
