Jerusalem – R., the manager of a large dairy, is a kibbutznik who sells milk to a big dairy conglomerate. Like her, the heads of the conglomerate are not Orthodox – but when Passover approaches, R.’s cows enjoy a kosher-for-Passover menu, following the special strictures of the holiday.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
“We install filters on the milk pumps to make sure no leavened food gets into the milk. The kashrut supervisors [who ensure that dietary laws are observed] sometimes, even at 4 A.M., come to check whether we are using the filters. Two weeks before Passover, we change the cows’ entire nutrition program – from fodder with seeds to fodder without; this too they check. The special feed costs me NIS 24 per serving, NIS 2 more than regular food, and it also causes metabolic problems, constipation, diarrhea and hoof problems. In practice, we start getting them used to it well before the holiday, and this screws us – both because of the price and the cows’ output.”
R. has also been required to install a camera in her dairy, so that on Saturday nights the supervisors will be able to check that on the Sabbath only non-Jews did the milking: Thais or Arabs. “If by chance I go into the milking center on a Shabbat, the supervisor will ask me what I was doing there.”
As compensation for having to employ Thais on the Sabbath, R. receives from the conglomerate an additional 3 agorot per liter for the kosher milk. She also has to pay for the mehadrin (the strictest level of kashrut ) supervisors, who keep watch of her movements every Saturday, out of the dairy’s budget.
R. does not necessarily have to produce milk that is kosher lemehadrin. “I could be producing regular milk, and then Jews could work for me on the Sabbath. But I understand from the conglomerate that the aim is to make all the milk [stringently] kosher.” She attributes this to the increasing demand among Israel’s growing Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, population, and people abroad who consume exported food products.
Osem, one of the country’s largest food manufacturers, today has strictly kosher certification for more than 90 percent of its products. This is in addition to kashrut certification from the state-funded Chief Rabbinate, which is required for all Israeli food products marketed as kosher. Elite, another food giant, has expanded its strictly kosher line significantly. Tnuva dairy products have Eda Haredit Badatz certification (from one of the ultra-Orthodox rabbinical courts ), and Tnuva has also established a “strict kashrut committee” made up of representatives from smaller certification authorities, such as Hatam Sofer and Belz. The companies naturally display the kashrut seals on the products, so as not to miss out on a single ultra-Orthodox customer.
“Strict kashrut [certification] is needed for a very simple reason,” says Danny Hecht, CEO of Dodot, which markets baked goods. “The ultra-Orthodox don’t buy a product without this certification, while the secular buy everything on offer. A Badatz kashrut certificate makes it possible to introduce the product into all the stores in Israel. Secular people also shop at stores for the ultra-Orthodox, so from my perspective those stores are open to all sectors.”
The three leading strictly kosher certifications are Eda Haredit Badatz, considered the most popular; Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau’s hekhsher from Chabad, which is accepted by a large part of the Haredi sector; and the certification of Rabbi Avraham Rubin of the Slonim Hasidic sect. However, because of the huge economic potential, in recent years, other religious bodies have been providing additional certifications.
“This could be a profitable business, but in fact it isn’t, because there is crazy competition,” relates kashrut authority Rabbi Yitzhak Dvoritz. “Everyone slanders everyone else and only the Eda Haredit keeps quiet. The big ones don’t need to slander anyone, but the little ones are involved in intrigues all day long.”
Thus, for example, kashrut certification from Rabbi Rubin prohibits his followers from purchasing Coca-Cola, which is certified by Rabbi Landau; over a year ago, Strauss went from Rabbi Landau’s certification to Rabbi Rubin’s. Furthermore, every Passover various certification bodies conduct “kashrut investigations,” which are supposed to inform the Haredi public about improprieties. These are also an effective weapon against rival bodies who authorize kashrut.
Meeting the conditions for mehadrin kashrut is extremely important for anyone interested in exporting to Jewish communities abroad, says Yosef Minsky, the Israeli representative of America’s Orthodox Union, which denotes kosher certification with its “OU” seal. Among its clients are food giants like Ben and Jerry’s, Pringles, Coca-Cola and Heinz. According to Minsky, some OU products even find their way to Iran and Saudi Arabia. Though the Iranian consumers do not adhere to the strictures of kashrut, they do follow strictly the dietary rules of Islam. For them, a kosher lemehadrin seal proves that a product has been scrupulously checked and does not contain pork.
“The special feed costs me NIS 24 per serving, NIS 2 more than regular food, and it also causes metabolic problems, constipation, diarrhea and hoof problems.”
This is utter idiocy. This woman and her rabbis are violating a halakha (tzar ba’alei chaim) in order to fulfil a silly chumra by making cows keep kosher for Pesach. I find the whole thing offensive, and the only thing that’s at the bottom of it is that some rabbi figured out a way to make a few extra shekels. It’s an absolute chilul HaShem.
Would you prefer milk produced with chometz feed?
This article is very long for a Purim Shpiel!
#2 Udder idiocy. The milk produced from the feed is not the same as urine – it is biologically transformed before it becomes milk. NO CHOMETz in it.
But I do know that I’d NEVER trust any Israeli, especially a chiloni kibbutznik, when they start telling stories about how put-upon they are; whether by rabbis, the gov’t, or anyone else.
They’re a bunch of whiners who are used to freebies and handouts every step of the way and they can’t handle doing business in a free market.
Lady, if it ain’t worth your time, do st else for a living.
The land and probably the cows u got for free anyway.
why not go even further feed the cows only shumra mazhos this way one can be sure the milk comes out kosher for passover
Rabbi Swift in Pittsburgh has always wondered if we should stop eating chometz a few days early to get it out of our system
!3 is right its not that chomaitz feed makes the milk chomatz,this is shtus ,the halaca is your cow cant injoy chomats on pesach nor your horse or fish or dog. You cant have any benefit from chomaits on Pesach. Didnt u learn???
#5 : yes it is “udder” idiocy (nice pun). The only issur I can see is b’hana’a.
Look at the source: HaAretz. Nuff said.
It isn’t about avoiding prohibited actions. It’s about money. Sad that G-d can be sold for such a tiny sum.