08 Sep THE KASHRUS AND HALACHOS OF HONEY
The kashrus of
honey and products
made from honey
has been the topic of
discussion from time
immemorial. We will
discuss the halachos
regarding the kashrus
of honey, and other
honey products.
What is Honey?
Honey comes from a German word
“hunaga” which means golden. Honey has
long been recognized as a remedy for many
ailments for thousands of years. Many times
when one has a cold it is used as a remedy to
cure a sore throat, among many other uses.
Honey is produced in the following manner.
The bee flies to a flower, takes the nectar
out of the flower and stores it inside their
stomachs, and then returns to the hive. In
the hive the bee regurgitates the nectar, adds
enzymes to it and then passes it to worker
bees. These bees then fan their wings
creating a strong draft which makes most
of the water evaporate from the nectar. Bees
get rid of the extra water by swallowing
and regurgitating the nectar over and over.
The finished product is honey. Its flavors
depend on the flowers from which the bees
harvested their nectar.
According to the above it would seem at
first glance that honey is the by-product of
the bee since they swallow it. Therefore, it
should be forbidden based on the Gemorah
in Bechoros which says anything which
comes out of a non-kosher [animal etc.] is
tomei.
Why is Honey Permitted?
The Gemorah mentioned above says two
reasons why honey is permitted.
Honey is not a secretion of a bee; it is just
stored in the bee. According to this reason,
honey from other insects would also be
permitted.
There is a gezeiras hakusev which permits
honey from a bee. Based on this reason,
honey from other insects would not be
permitted.
According to these two reasons, honey is a
kosher product as codified in the Shulchan
Aruch (we will discuss later on kosher
status for Pesach).
Beeswax
Beeswax is a substance which is secreted
from the wax glands in a bee’s stomach.
This emerges as a transparent liquid that the
bee chews and molds into the cell on their
comb. The honey combs are melted and
filtered to produce a clean wax. Its color
may vary from white to yellow or brown,
which is because of the pollen that they may
have eaten. The bees use this wax to create a
honey comb in which honey is stored. In the
honey comb, the bees grow and form a larva
into mature bees.
Beeswax is used in a wide variety of things,
such as a coating for fruits, jelly beans,
candles, ear plugs, cosmetics, polishes,
sewing, and soap making.
Is Beeswax Kosher?
According to the two reasons mentioned
above why honey is permitted, they would
seem not to apply to beeswax since it is a
secretion and it is not honey from a bee.
There are many sources in Chazal which
would imply that beeswax, although a
secretion of the bee, is permitted.
The Levush says the beeswax is the excretion
of the processing of the honey, [and since
honey is permitted so too is beeswax].
The Tur says in regard to Hilchos Bedikas
Chometz that we check with a wax candle,
but not with a candle made out of [animal]
fat since it may drip on the utensil and make
the utensil non-kosher. From the fact that we
can use wax candles and there is no concern
that the dripping will make the utensils non-
kosher is a proof that beeswax is kosher.
In addition, many use a wax candle and
extinguish it on a utensil and there is no
concern about making the utensils non-
kosher.
The Rama says the custom is to light with a
wax candle for neiros Chanukah.
The Mishpatim Yesharim was asked about
the kosher status of a beverage made by
boiling beeswax in water. He was concerned
that maybe chelev was mixed in there, but
he does not mention a concern of beeswax
being non-kosher.
Contemporary Opinions
It is possible to say that wax has no inherent
taste, but is a waste product and therefore
not subject to the halachos of “anything
which comes out of a tomei is tomei.”
The opinion of Harav Shlomo Zalman
Aurbach zt”l is that beeswax is permitted
because it is not a food and is like dirt, and
even if one were to chew it and extract honey
from it, this is not considered an eating. This
is the reasoning of Horav Moshe Feinstein
zt”l to permit shellac which comes from a
non-kosher insect.
Harav Yisroel Belsky zt”l maintains that
beeswax is permitted to be eaten and this is
the custom of Klal Yisrael, without anyone
disputing the fact.
Bee Pollen
Bee pollen is a yellowish or greenish
substance. Pollen sticks to the many hairs
that are on the bee’s body when the bee
visits the flower. The bee then moves the
pollen to an area on its hind legs and is then
pressed into pollen baskets. The bee adds
traces of saliva to make a more effective
press. The bee pollen is collected off the
bees’ legs by special devices placed at the
entrance to the hives.
Bee pollen has many healthy vitamins and
enzymes. In addition, it rejuvenates the
body, stimulates organs and glands, and
brings about a longer life span.
Kashrus Status
Pollen is not a secretion of a bee and
therefore does not pose any kashrus issues.
Bee Bread
Bee bread is a mixture of honey and pollen
and is a kosher food.
Royal Jelly
Royal Jelly is an extremely nutritious, thick,
milky, white creamy substance located on
the top of the queen bees. The bees produce
it as food for a developing larva and as
the unique diet for the queen bee. Without
this, the queen bee would fail to develop
properly. It accounts for their incredible
size and longevity. They live forty times
longer than the worker bees, seven years as
opposed to seven weeks.
It is considered a health food due to its
richness in protein, amino acids, vitamins,
and fatty acids.
The following is a list of benefits that Royal
Jelly offers: It increases life span, tones and
strengthens your skin. It strengthens and
stimulates your immune system, helps heal
wounds, and gradually decreases pains. It
also increases appetite, relieves weak and
tired eyes, and many other benefits.
Some want to say that royal jelly should
be kosher since it is honey-like and it may
apply to the gezeiras hakusev applied to
permit honey.
However, this is not true because royal jelly
is a secretion from the bee, and it tastes
different than honey. Some say it is not fit
to be consumed by humans, in which case
the jelly would be permitted, but this is not
the case.
Bee Propolis
Bee propolis has been around for thousands
of years and is sold as a health supplement.
It offers effective antibacterial, antiviral,
antiseptic, antifungal, and antibiotic
properties. It heals burn wounds, it
is effective in treating gingivitis and
bronchitis. It is sold as an ingredient in
many products such as toothpaste, soaps,
creams, mouthwashes, and lipsticks. One
can see that bee propolis is very useful in
many areas.
Propolis is a resin that bees collect on their
legs from trees and use it in their hive as a
sealant and for other purposes. They carry
it on their hind legs. Some say that the
bees add saliva and other secretions to the
propolis.
Propolis is comprised of resins (45-55%),
waxes and fatty acids (25-35%), essential
oils (10%), pollen (5%), and other minerals
(5%). The above portion of propolis is
kosher. The question is in the other part of
the chemical make-up of propolis.
Even if one were to assume that the other
5%, which are minerals, are from non-
kosher materials, since it is a non-food
item it is butel b’rov. Since it is a non-food
item, it is another reason to permit it just as
beeswax.
If saliva is what the last 5% of the propolis
are made from, then it is permitted since
honey is made with some saliva from the bee.
However, if the saliva would be forbidden,
then the honey would be forbidden as well.
The consensus among the contemporary
poskim is that bee propolis is permitted.
Selected Halachos of Honey
Beracha
The beracha on honey is a shehakol, and the
beracha achrona is boreh nefoshos.
Some say the reason is because it is
something which does not grow from the
ground, to which one recites a shehakol.
Many times it is only eaten as a tafel and
the beracha on the ikkur would exempt the
honey from a beracha.
Rosh Hashanah and Honey Dipping
We all know since we were young that we
dip the apple and challah into honey on Rosh
Hashanah. This custom is not mentioned in
the Gemorah or Geonim, but is nonetheless
the overwhelming custom of Klal Yisrael.
A few points worth addressing are: Why
do we dip the apple in honey as opposed to
other fruits? When do we do the dipping?
Should we also dip the challah in salt as well
as honey? Until when is the custom to dip
challah into honey?
We will begin to
discuss each one of
the above in order as
presented.
The reason for eating
the honey on Rosh
Hashanah is for us
to have a sweet new
year.
The custom of some is to dip an apple into
a bit of honey, while others dip it three
times. Some say that the dipping into the
honey (and other simonim) is done on both
nights, while others say it is only done on
the first night. The custom of most people is
according to the first opinion quoted.
Some say dipping the apple in the honey
is done after kiddush. The custom of many
is to do this after washing and eating some
bread. When we dip the apple in the honey,
no beracha is made on the honey since the
apple is the ikkur.
Some say dipping the apple is based on
the reason of kabbalah. The Ben Ish Chai
says many reasons for this; one which is
understandable and does not seem to be
based on kabbalah is the following: An
apple has taste, it looks and smells nice, and
this is a good sign for us on Rosh Hashanah.
Many poskim say that the beracha on the
fruit should be said and a bit should be
eaten before reciting the customary yihi
ratzon in order to avoid any hefsek between
the beracha and the eating. B’dieved it is not
a hefsek if the yihi ratzon was said before
eating the apple.
Many have the custom to dip the challah
into honey on Rosh Hashanah. Some have
the custom to dip the challah into salt on one
side and honey on the other.
The custom of many is to dip the challah
into honey until Shemenei Atzeres.
Pesach
Potentially, honey can be adulterated with
additives such as corn syrup (which is not
eaten by those who do not eat kitniyos).
Some honey producers have been found
to mix the inexpensive corn syrup into
honey, and illegally label and sell it as “pure
honey,” with no mention of this almost
undetectable “filler.” Although this practice
is an exception, one should, nevertheless,
only purchase pure honey for Pesach, with
a reliable Pesachdik hechsher. This problem
does not impact the use of honey during the
rest of the year.
Bishul Akum on Honey
There are two basic exceptions which, if a
food falls into any of these two categories,
then the food is not subject to the halachos
of bishul akum. The food may be cooked by
a non-Jew and eaten by a Jew l’chatchilah.
A food which can be eaten raw is permitted
for a non-Jew to cook since the cooking
is not changing the food because it can be
eaten without the cooking.
The issur of bishul akum is limited to foods
which are served on a king’s table (a.k.a.
olah al shulchan melachim) to be eaten with
bread or as an appetizer. The reason is since
if the food is not fit to be served on a king’s
table, one will not invite someone over to
eat, we are not concerned for intermarriage,
and since one will not invite someone over,
we are not concerned of a non-Jew mixing
non-kosher into the kosher food.
Since honey is edible raw, there is no
concern of a non-Jew cooking it.
Wishing all of Klal Yisrael a Happy and
Healthy Sweet New Year!!!