Hechsher
Encyclopedia
A hechsher is the special certification mark
ing found on the packages of products (usually foods) that have been certified as kosher (meaning "fit" for consumption). In Halakha
(Jewish law), the dietary laws of kashrut
specify food items that may be eaten and others that are prohibited as set out in the commandments
of the Torah
. Observant Jews generally will only eat permitted foods. To assist Jewish consumers, rabbi
nic authorities produce and regulate their own hechsherim. It is usually Orthodox
rabbis who assume the jobs of mashgichim (singular: mashgiach
, "supervisor"). This means that they will "supervise" the products and processes that manufacture kosher food to ensure compliance with the required standards. The mashgiach will allow the manufacturer to apply a hechsher to the packaging of the product only if found to contain only kosher ingredients and produced in accordance with Halakha. The rabbi may also apply additional words or letters after the hechsher to denote whether the product contains meat (often denoted "Meat"), dairy (D or Dairy), neither meat nor dairy (Pareve), whether the product is Kosher for Passover because it contains no chametz
(P), whether the product is pas yisroel
(bread baked at least in part by a Jew), cholov yisroel
(any dairy products came from Jewish owned farms), or whether the product is yoshon
(lit. "old": all grain contents took root before the previous Passover
).
The marking is also commonly found on items not meant for consumption, such as cleaning products.
based in New York City
in the United States
. Outside of the United States, they are less well known. They employ hundreds of rabbis as mashgichim and are generally accepted.
There are many other respected hechsher logos; examples include: OK Kosher Certification
based in Brooklyn, New York, Star-K
based in Baltimore, Maryland, the logo of both the Johannesburg
and Cape Town
Beth Din used in South Africa, MK Va'ad Ha'ir based in Montreal
, Canada
, and Kosher Australia based in Melbourne
, Australia
.
The largest number of agencies are in the U.S.A. Kashrus Magazine publishes an annual guide of almost all kosher supervision agencies worldwide; its 2007 Kosher supervision Guide features 921 agencies.
Certification mark
A certification mark on a commercial product indicates five things:* The existence of a legal follow-up or product certification agreement between the manufacturer of a product and an organization with national accreditation for both testing and certification,* Legal evidence that the product was...
ing found on the packages of products (usually foods) that have been certified as kosher (meaning "fit" for consumption). In Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
(Jewish law), the dietary laws of kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
specify food items that may be eaten and others that are prohibited as set out in the commandments
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. Observant Jews generally will only eat permitted foods. To assist Jewish consumers, rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nic authorities produce and regulate their own hechsherim. It is usually Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbis who assume the jobs of mashgichim (singular: mashgiach
Mashgiach
In Judaism, a Mashgiach is a person who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment.A mashgiah may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, food manufacturers, hotels, caterers, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives...
, "supervisor"). This means that they will "supervise" the products and processes that manufacture kosher food to ensure compliance with the required standards. The mashgiach will allow the manufacturer to apply a hechsher to the packaging of the product only if found to contain only kosher ingredients and produced in accordance with Halakha. The rabbi may also apply additional words or letters after the hechsher to denote whether the product contains meat (often denoted "Meat"), dairy (D or Dairy), neither meat nor dairy (Pareve), whether the product is Kosher for Passover because it contains no chametz
Chametz
Chametz, also Chometz, and other spellings transliterated from , are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover...
(P), whether the product is pas yisroel
Pas Yisroel
Pas Yisroel or Pat Yisrael products are grain-products that were cooked or baked with the participation of an observant Jew. This must be, at minimum, the ignition of the flame used to prepare, cook, or bake the grain product...
(bread baked at least in part by a Jew), cholov yisroel
Cholov Yisroel
Cholov Yisroel refers to all dairy products, including cheese and non-fat dry milk powder, which have been produced under the supervision of a Rabbi....
(any dairy products came from Jewish owned farms), or whether the product is yoshon
Yoshon
In Judaism, Chodosh is a concept within Kashrut , based on the Biblical requirement not to eat any grain of the new year prior to the annual Omer offering on the 16th day of Nisan.Grain products which are no longer affected by this law are referred to as Yoshon .-The five types of...
(lit. "old": all grain contents took root before the previous Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
).
The marking is also commonly found on items not meant for consumption, such as cleaning products.
Specific authorities
In America, one of the best known hechsher symbols is the "OU" of the Orthodox UnionOrthodox Union
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America , more popularly known as the Orthodox Union , is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. It is best known for its kosher food preparation supervision service...
based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Outside of the United States, they are less well known. They employ hundreds of rabbis as mashgichim and are generally accepted.
There are many other respected hechsher logos; examples include: OK Kosher Certification
OK Kosher Certification
OK Kosher Certification is one of the major kosher certification agencies.-Early history:In 1935, Abraham Goldstein founded Organized Kashrut Laboratories to meet the American Jewish community's need for Kosher food products....
based in Brooklyn, New York, Star-K
Star-K
Star-K Kosher Certification, also known as the Vaad Hakashrus of Baltimore, is a kashrus certifying agency based in Baltimore, Maryland under the administration of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, with the involvement of many other rabbis . It is one of the largest kashrus certification agencies in North...
based in Baltimore, Maryland, the logo of both the Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
Beth Din used in South Africa, MK Va'ad Ha'ir based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Kosher Australia based in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The largest number of agencies are in the U.S.A. Kashrus Magazine publishes an annual guide of almost all kosher supervision agencies worldwide; its 2007 Kosher supervision Guide features 921 agencies.
Spelling
- At the 2006 Scripps National Spelling BeeScripps National Spelling BeeThe Scripps National Spelling Bee is a highly competitive annual spelling bee in the United States, with participants from other countries as well. It is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W...
, contestant Saryn Hooks correctly spelled "hechsher," but her spelling was ruled incorrect. A few minutes later, the judges realized their printed spelling of "hechscher" was incorrect and reinstated Hooks, thanks to 7th grader Lucas Brown, who noticed the error and called it to the attention of his father. The transliteration from Hebrew into German is "Hechscher".
See also
- Civil laws regarding KashrutCivil laws regarding KashrutCivil laws regarding Kashrut are found in several countries. Advertising standards laws in many jurisdictions prohibit the use of the phrase kosher in a product's labelling, unless it can be shown that the product conforms to Jewish dietary laws; however, the legal qualifications for conforming to...
- Hechsher TzedekHechsher TzedekMagen Tzedek, original known as Hekhsher Tzedek, is a proposed complementary certification for food produced in a way that meets Jewish Halakhic standards for workers, consumers, animals, and the environment, as understood by Conservative Judaism and its Rabbinical Assembly...
- Kosher foodsKosher foodsKosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of the Jewish Halakhic law framework, kosher meaning fit or allowed to be eaten. A list of some kosher foods are found in the book of Leviticus 11:1-47. There are also certain kosher rules found there...
- Taboo food and drinkTaboo food and drinkTaboo food and drink are food and beverages which people abstain from consuming for religious, cultural or hygienic reasons. Many food taboos forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, bony fish, and crustaceans...
- Unclean animalsUnclean animalsUnclean animals, in some religions, are animals whose consumption or handling is labeled a taboo. According to these religion's dogmas, persons who handle such animals may need to purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanness.-Judaism:...
- KashrutKashrutKashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
- HeckscherHeckscher- People :* August Heckscher , German American philanthropist* Charles Heckscher, American academic and management theorist* Eli Heckscher , Swedish economist* Gunnar Heckscher , Swedish politician and son of Eli Heckscher...
- YoshonYoshonIn Judaism, Chodosh is a concept within Kashrut , based on the Biblical requirement not to eat any grain of the new year prior to the annual Omer offering on the 16th day of Nisan.Grain products which are no longer affected by this law are referred to as Yoshon .-The five types of...