14 Aug HASHGACHAH AND HECHSHEIRIM PART 2

Q. Why are Israeli
hechsherim so difficult
to understand? When I
travel to Eretz Yisrael,
how can I know where
to eat?
A. This is a common
question. At home, each
person generally knows
what is acceptable and
up to his personal or
communal standards,
yet it can be difficult to navigate the scene of
hechsherim outside of one’s comfort zone.
Especially in Eretz Yisrael, where everything
is in Hebrew, nice-looking certificates and
impressive titles can be misleading.
At home, if one sees a kosher certificate from an
unrecognized hechsher in a store, he can usually
turn to a local rabbi for guidance. However, when
it comes to a foreign country, this is easier said
than done. The country may have very different
kashrus standards than what is taken for granted
in one’s home turf. This is especially true in Eretz
Yisrael, where there are special requirements due
to mitzvos hateluyos ba’Aretz, in addition to the
fact that virtually all food-related businesses are
owned by Jews but are not necessarily operated
by Jews. This makes matters rather confusing
even to those who are well versed in halachah
and practical kashrus supervision.
An additional complication in Eretz Yisrael
is that it’s the only place in the world where
the vast majority of kosher consumers are less
religious. In America, for example, those who are
not so observant are generally not committed to
eating exclusively kosher food. In Eretz Yisrael,
however, even those who do not consider
themselves religious, and may not even keep
Shabbos, are committed to eating only kosher
food. This results in a lower standard of kashrus
overall, particularly in regard to supervision and
enforcement of standards.
Legally, each local Rabbanut must give a
hechsher to any establishment that requests it.
Even if an establishment has multiple violations
and its hechsher is taken away, the Rabbanut is
required to give back the certification, sometimes
even before the issue is fixed. It’s enough just
for an establishment to commit to fixing the
problem. In other countries, no one is forced
to give a hechsher to a company that requests
certification but shows absolutely no interest in
maintaining kashrus requirements and standards.
To make matters worse, due to an entirely
different organizational model, it is very difficult
to get accurate and reliable kashrus information in
Eretz Yisrael. Sometimes kashrus professionals
who understand both the U.S. and Israeli markets
and mindsets can obtain such information, but it
is always challenging.
Under Israeli law, one cannot create a certification
body on his own. The word “kosher” is, in a
sense, trademarked by the Chief Rabbinate
of Israel. While the actual certification of
factories and establishments is entrusted to each
jurisdiction’s local “official” rabbi, the actual
supervision is in the hands of the municipal
“religious council” and, on occasion, the actual
municipality. (Sometimes this is for the better,

such as Rav Landau’s certification in Bnei Brak,
but generally it’s less than ideal.) Additionally,
while the religious council may have a few
managers and supervisors on staff, the actual
mashgichim are almost never employed or even
properly supported by them. Rather, they are
hired by the establishments themselves.
Furthermore, while the Chief Rabbinate has
official kashrus guidelines and policies, these
are not binding on the local rabbis, who can
establish any guidelines, policies, or rulings they
want. Generally, there are no written policies or
guidelines.
Finally, most foodstuff in Israel is imported
entirely or made up of imported ingredients. The
exception is most fresh fruits and vegetables.
While the approval of all imported items is
in the purview of the Chief Rabbinate import
department, in reality a vast majority of products
are never submitted for approval in the first
place, or don’t actually meet the requirements
and conditions of approval. In addition, the list
of certifiers they approve have standards that
are generally not acceptable to most kosher
consumers.
So while all items approved by the Chief
Rabbinate or certified by a local Rabbanut are
kosher in the eyes of the law, and every other
local Rabbanut is required by law to accept any
legally kosher item for use in establishments and
factories under its certification, the result is utter
and total chaos without any real standard. While
there are a handful of private kosher certification
agencies, some of which are backed by poskim,
many are not approved or recommended carte
blanche by most major kashrus agencies, due
to lack of communal backing and professional
staffing.
To address some of these issues, many local
Rabbinates have created a two-tier and, in many
instances, a three-tier system. The first is a basic
standard that they call “kosher,” but in reality the
goal is to provide an option for most people to
eat food that on some level may be declared as
kosher. This is seen as a service, not a response
to a commercial demand, to create a simple
process that makes kosher food accessible to as
many places as possible at a low price, even if
the standard is very low. This is one of the main
focuses of the Rabbanut; it is not catering to the
American student or traveler.
A second tier, called “Mehadrin,” was therefore
created. This is optional and at the discretion of
the local Rabbanut. It is not designed to provide
kosher food to as many people as possible. It’s
a higher level of kashrus, for the consumer who
wants to eat kosher food. The Mehadrin hechsher
therefore strives for a standard that should be
acceptable to all.
There are many differences between the
Rabbanut’s basic “kosher” and Mehadrin
certifications. One example is that regular
Rabbanut meat does not have to be glatt
kosher (which technically is only acceptable
to Ashkenazim), while Mehadrin must be not
only glatt (a higher standard for Ashkenazim)
but Halak Beis Yosef (which is required by
Sefardim). This would be acceptable to both
Ashkenazim and Sefardim. This is a surprise to
many Americans, since for the past thirty years

in North America glatt kosher has become the
default basic requirement. An American who
eats at an establishment in Eretz Yisrael with a
Rabbanut hechsher is lowering his standard.
Another difference lies in the standards for bishul
Yisrael. The Mehadrin level requires bishul
Beis Yosef to accommodate the more stringent
requirements of Sefardim (whereby a Jew needs
to be involved in the actual cooking), while the
basic kosher level only requires that a Jew light
the fire. However, this is taken to an extreme
and formats that are unacceptable l’chatchilah,
even for Ashkenazim, are relied upon, such as
eish m’eish (lighting a fire lit by a non-Jew).
Compounded with inadequate supervision and
controls for these requirements, there is no
guarantee that there is any bishul Yisrael at all!
When it comes to infestation, the entire format
of supervision differs from any other country,
where the mashgichim actually conduct
inspections of the produce. For the past thirty
years in Eretz Yisrael, a system of growing
“controlled” vegetables was developed, but
these are not bug free. Rather, through intensive
inspections throughout the growing period, it
has been established that only a small number
of bugs exists in each bag/head, and these are of
a variety that should come off with a standard
three-minute soak with soapy water and rinsing,
after which inspection is not required. This is,
of course, if everyone does their job correctly.
However, this is not the case. While with most
leafy greens the standards in Israel may be much
weaker, especially in regard to a basic Rabbanut
kosher certification, other areas of infestation
awareness are much more advanced. Even on a
basic kosher level, all flour, rice, and beans are
inspected for infestation.
Last but not least, as mentioned, a Rabbanut
restaurant must accept ingredients with any type
of hechsher as long as it is legally certified kosher.
However, Rabbanut Mehadrin will generally
only accept items certified as Mehadrin, which

generally means it is certified by some third-
party certifier — which, as mentioned previously,

most are not widely recommended. While this is
obviously an improvement, it is a far cry from
what many would expect.
Many cities have therefore created a third
tier, dubbed the local “Badatz.” At this level,
there are generally no changes to policy and
procedure beyond the Mehadrin level other
than only allowing an exclusive list of certifiers
for ingredients. Most notable, and one of the
first to implement a three-tier system, is the
Tzefas Rabbanut, which created the “Badatz
Tzefas.” This only allows the use of ingredients
with the hechsherim of the Eidah Chareidis
of Yerushalayim and Rabbi Landau of Bnei
Brak, with two exceptions: Dairy products may
be under Rabbi Rubin or Vaadat Mehadrin of
Tnuva,[14] and meat can be either Eidah or
Landau, a Chabad shechitah overseen by Badatz
Tzefas itself, or one of two mainstream Sefardi
shechitos (Beis Yosef or Rav Machpud). All
exceptions to the Eidah/Landau rule are stated on
the certificate.
Another major difference in expectation relates
to the actual supervision. On a basic level, the
Rabbanut doesn’t require the physical presence

of a mashgiach or even a shomer Shabbos staff
member (which in Eretz Yisrael is referred to
as a “ne’eman kashrus”), for neither dairy nor
even a meat establishment. In many cases, the
mashgiach is allotted sixty minutes a day to be on
site, which does not always allow for him to cover
even the most basic aspects of supervision. Even
catering halls, not to mention off-site catering
events, don’t always have full-time supervision.
A meat Rabbanut Mehadrin establishment will
generally have a shomer Shabbos staff member
(i.e., a ne’eman kashrus) and occasionally a
mashgiach at all times, but this is generally not
the case with a dairy establishment. Even this
“requirement” can vary from one municipality to
another. Again, there are no binding guidelines
or social norms. If there is no mashgiach present
in a store, how can we know that lettuce is being
washed properly or that ovens are turned on
when needed?
There are obviously many other issues and
differences in standards, such as the allowance of
non-kosher bovine gelatin and carmine, kitniyos
in food on Pesach, and even the definition of
kitniyos itself.
Of course, all local produce is subject to terumos
and ma’asros requirements, and shemittah is an
issue not only for one out of seven years. It lasts
almost from one shemittah to the next due to
canned and processed foods.
It should be obvious by now that kashrus,
especially in Eretz Yisrael, is not a simple topic.
Before traveling to Eretz Yisrael, it’s important
to be educated in this topic. One should consult
with a rav as to how to address these issues.