Can you explain the value behind various Kosher certifications? Do all of them take the same things into consideration? If so - why so many? How did a commandment get politicized? And if not - what are the various considerations?

The Kashrut of Kosher Certifications

 

1.           Can you explain the value behind various Kosher certifications?

2.            Do all of them take the same things into consideration?

3.            If so - why so many?

4.            How did a commandment get politicized?

5.            And if there are other than religious considerations, what are they?

 

 Response:

 

1.   There is but one Torah in Israel but there are  many Jews and many  Jewish opinions.  Each Jew has his or her opinion, some of which are inforned and some are not informed.  And God’s never changing law has to be applied correctly as well as appropriately to ever changing realities, conditions, and sadly, the politics of the human condition.

 

2. The short answer, asking do rabbis take the same concerns into consideration, is “no.” The long anwer is a tad more complex.  Uri L’Zedek social justice Orthodoxy adds ethical considerations to the canon of Jewish law; by insisting upon only glatt meat [which is not the official Ashkenazi view], Jewish milk, extra sharp slaughtering knives, only unzerer/our kind of holy man ritual slaughterer, disallowing peanut oil and kosher for Passover matsa meal on Passover, and labeling soy milk as full fledged dairy even though it is usable for the lactose intolerant client, because it was produced on dairy equiptment, Kashrut is less about Orthodoxy, or correct doctrine regarding obeying God, and much more about secular social self-definition and how we present ourselves to others in everday life.  The way we add to the Torah tells us whom we like and whom we are like. 

 

According to Jewish law, an observant Jewish taster may taste the soy milk produced on dairy equiptment in order to  determine if there is a noticeable taste of cow milk.   This permissable practice  is halakhically correct yet politically incorrect.

 

3. Kashrut is both  a commandment and a business. We want to obey God; since we are told to be loyal to God, we are also told to be loyal  to God’s spokespeople. So following opinion X is a social and political gesture; she or he who keeps insider strictures is seen socially as a member of a self-selecting elect sect and is therefore a “really” good Jew.  We ask not what is written in the Holy Book; we ask how we acquire the socially acceptable, piety identifiable, and religiously presentable holy look.

 

When sects add to the law and make kashrut harder, and  when leaders of those sects refuse to eat  of food prepared by  those who, while oobeying the letter of God’s unchanging law, are not sanctified by their particular, peculiar, and canonically unattested add-ons which assume the status of canonical Torah, I do not use their food because they separate themselves from the community and change the unchanging Torah, a really serious sin.

 

4. When religion becomes political, “piety” becomes  a code word for subordination, submission, and mindless silliness. Official religion Judaism is about sanctifying the self  by honoring God, by being good to the image of God that inheres in the “other,” whom we are to love as ouseleves; extra strict gestures that do not keep one from sinning but show disrepect for others violate kevod ha-beriyyot, human dignity, and reconstruct the Torah from  a template of refinement into a cult of conformity.  Torah’s holiness means “be different.” Political correctness is not necessarily theologically correct.

 

5.            The considerations that are brought to bear in determining kosher policies are:

      i.                            the kosher laws of the Written and Oral Torah are

               sacred

ii.                         when there is no emergency or special circumstance, communal bylaws/customs should be honored

iii.                     Observant Jews must be trusted

iv.                     Kashrut is about sanctifying the table and not about pseudo heroic strictures.  Do what is right in a way that is right so that your Jewish human condition will be all right.

In her recent book, "Kosher Nation: Why More and More of America's Food Answers to a Higher Authority," author Sue Fishkoff explains that in 1981 there were only eighteen kosher certification agencies, but by early 2009 there were almost one thousand separate rabbis and agencies offering kosher supervision. That's a lot of different symbols for the kosher observant consumer to recognize in the grocery store aisles.

 

Why so many kosher symbols? Because kosher certification, like it or not, has become a business. The Torah commands us to light a minimum of two candles before Shabbat and holidays. Candlestick holders for this purpose have become a business too. In fact, there are many shopkeepers and Judaica merchants around the world who make their living from the sale of ritual objects that allow Jewish people to fulfill the mitzvot. That's sort of how I look at kosher certification agencies. These agencies, with their kosher certification symbols, exist so that Jewish people can fulfil the laws of kashrut (the Jewish dietary laws). Some are in the business simply because they want to increase the amount of kosher food items available and dining options for those who observe kashrut. Others are in it to make money -- to profit from these commandments.

 

There are so many kosher certification agencies because of two reasons: One, there are so many different standards of kosher observance that it naturally necessitates a wide array of hekhshers (kosher certifications); and, two, the industry allows for it (the law of supply and demand). 

 

In general, people like to know that their food has been supervised, both in its production and in its packaging. It is reassuring to the consumer that humans have observed the process and determined that it meets set safety and health standards. This is true for the kosher consumer as well. Those who maintain a kosher diet need to rest assured that reliable individuals have determined that the food item was produced and packaged in compliance with the kosher laws.

 

There are many interpretations of the kosher laws. There are also many different levels of kosher observance. This is why there are so many different hekhshers. I think it is important for consumers to know which rabbi (or which agency) has put its imprimatur on the label. In my opinion, so much of hashgacha (kosher certification) is based on trust. But it is necessary for consumers to know precisely who says something is kosher before they know if they can trust them. What I don't like is when the kosher consumer determines that a specific hekhsher cannot be trusted for superficial reasons (where that rabbi received ordination, how that rabbi looks, where the rabbis kids go to school, etc.). This merely politicizes the kosher certification process leading to higher prices and a cynical public (hence the poor reputation of some local kashrut agencies).

 

The mitzvah of kashrut got so politicized for several reasons. First and foremost, it became a business and that means that money is involved. Mashgichim who rely on their hashgacha work for parnasa (livelihood) are vulnerable to corruption. Also, communities are concerned about kosher standards and worried that everyone be on the same page. For instance, a family may be comfortable purchasing food items that have been certified by a particluar kosher agency, but refuse to do so because they worry that other families will no longer eat in their home (a dreadful scenario in insular communities). There is also an unstated contest within many Jewish communities to "out-Frum" (religious one-upmanship) others by constantly raising the bar of kosher standards. This only leads to increased pricing of kosher products as well as confusion on the part of consumers.

 

The kosher laws, based on the explanations in the Talmud, existed to keep Jews from eating, and thereby socializing, with non-Jews. The irony is that today's kosher laws in practice actually keep different Jewish communities from eating with each other. And in some case, the humratization (amending the kosher laws with increased strictures) of the kosher laws keep Jews within the same community from feeling comfortable enough to eat together.

 

Some of the politicization in the kosher world is likely inevitable. In an increasingly polarized Jewish community, these standards are in place so kosher observant individuals can be assured of the kosher status of what they consume. However, I often wonder how many of today's kosher standards would be foreign to Moses. Would he be able to trace back the thousand hekhshers, the super-kosher designations of Glatt and Mehadrin, or the strictures on the consumption of leafy vegetables to the principles he outlined in the Torah to our ancestors? I'm not sure that even Moses could have predicted what a politicized business venture these kosher laws would turn into.

 

To learn about Rabbi Jason Miller's kosher certification agency, please visit the Kosher Michigan website.

 

Can you explain the value behind various Kosher certifications? Do all of them take the same things into consideration? If so - why so many? How did a commandment get politicized? And if not - what are the various considerations?

As a Reform Rabbi, I believe in the right of autonomy when it comes to ritual matters. This is ,of course, not acceptable to my more traditional colleagues. Therefore, the full  response to this question has to come from a conservative or orthodox Rabbi. Nevertheless, with that caveat, I would suggest the following . The laws of Kashrut are rooted  in the Torah, where it is indicated what animals, birds, and fish may or may not be eaten. There is one verse, repeated three times, that says “ you shall not boil the kid in its mothers milk” .According to Reform Judaism , that refers to a pagan practice. For traditional Jews, it is an injunction against having milk and meat products at the same time.( Various countries have their own rules as to how long on e has to wait after eating meat before consuming milk)

    The difference in kosher certification is due to a need on the part of some to eat meat products, ( and other  products,as well )  , where  on e knows who issued the certificate. The leading Shochet of Cincinnati, many years ago, who supervised and certified the other shochets of the community, would only eat meat that he had personally killed. The basic premise is that one must be sure not to wittingly or unwittingly, violate the law.

 A Chassidic rabbi told me that every certification is truly kosher, but it is a matter of individual preference.