Hechsher facts for kids
A hechsher is a special mark or certificate. It shows that a product, usually food, follows Jewish religious laws. These laws are called kashrut, which means "kosher." When you see a hechsher, it means a rabbi or a Jewish organization has checked the product. They make sure it meets all the rules for Jewish people to use or eat.
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What a Hechsher Looks Like
A hechsher can appear in different ways. Sometimes, it's a paper certificate. You might see this certificate in a restaurant or a store. It tells you that the place or its products are kosher. These certificates usually show the name of the rabbi or group that approved it. They also show the name of the business and the dates it is valid.
Other times, a hechsher is a special symbol or stamp. This mark is printed right on the package of a product. It's like a seal of approval. These symbols are often simple designs. Today, some hechsher marks even have holograms. This makes them very hard to copy or fake.
What Gets a Hechsher?
Most often, hechsherim are for food products. They make sure the food follows the kashrut laws. These laws decide which foods Jewish people can eat and which they cannot. They are part of the Torah's commandments.
But hechsherim are also given to other items. This includes things that touch food, like cleaning supplies or plastic forks. It makes sure these items don't have anything forbidden in them.
Who Checks for Kosher?
Many Jewish people only eat foods that are kosher. To help them, rabbis and Jewish groups check products. They then give them a hechsher. Usually, Orthodox rabbis do this work. They are called mashgichim (supervisors).
A mashgiach watches how kosher food is made. They check that all ingredients are kosher. They also make sure the food is prepared according to Jewish law. If everything is correct, the manufacturer can put the hechsher on the product.
Special Hechsher Marks
Sometimes, a hechsher will have extra letters or words. These tell you more about the product.
- D or Dairy: Means the product contains dairy.
- Meat: Means the product contains meat.
- Pareve: Means the product has neither meat nor dairy. It can be eaten with either.
- P: Means the product is Kosher for Passover. This means it doesn't have chametz (forbidden grains during Passover).
- Pas Yisroel: Means bread that was baked, at least partly, by a Jewish person.
- Cholov Yisroel: Means milk that was milked by or watched by a Jewish person.
- Yoshon: Means the grain in the product grew before the previous Passover.
Hechsherim are also used for religious items. These include tefillin, mezuzot, and tzitzit. These items must be made in a very specific way. A hechsher shows they meet these special rules. Even items for holidays, like the Four Species, can have a hechsher. This confirms they are fit for religious use.
In Israel, some companies put a hechsher on their products. This shows that the product was not made during the Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest).
History of Hechsherim
The idea of marking items as kosher is very old.
Ancient Seals
The Babylonian Talmud, an ancient Jewish text, talks about an early kosher seal. This seal was used by the High Priest. It was put on olive oil jugs used in the Jewish Temple. This oil was for lighting the Menorah.
Around 700 BC, during King Hezekiah's time, special "LMLK seals" were used. These seals were stamped on large storage jars. They were found mostly around Jerusalem. These stamps showed that the jars were approved.
Archeologists found a clay stamp from the 6th century CE. It had a Menorah image. This stamp was found near Acre, Israel. Experts believe Jewish people used it to stamp their bread dough. This helped buyers know the bread was kosher.
In the late 1700s in New York City, a Jewish butcher (called a shochet) sold kosher meat. He put a seal on it. Other butchers, who sold non-kosher meat, sometimes tried to use fake seals. This led to people getting in trouble for selling meat with fake kosher marks.
Early Certificates
An old certificate was found from the 11th century. It was written by a rabbinical court. This paper said that cheeses sold by a grocer were kosher. The document explained that the cheese was made in a factory that followed Jewish rules. The certificate said: "The cheeses are kosher and it is right for Jewish people to buy them."
Main Kosher Agencies
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Many organizations around the world give out hechsherim.
In America, one of the most famous hechsher symbols is the "OU." This comes from Orthodox Union Kosher. It is the largest kosher certification group in the world. As of 2010, they check over 400,000 products. These products are made in 8,000 factories in 80 different countries.
In Britain, the "KLBD" symbol is very well known. It comes from the London Beth Din. The "MK" symbol from the Manchester Beth Din is also recognized globally.
Other well-known hechsher groups include:
- OK Kosher Certification in Brooklyn, New York.
- Star-K in Baltimore, Maryland.
- EarthKosher Kosher Certification Agency with offices in Colorado, New York, and Israel.
- The logos of the Johannesburg and Cape Town Beth Din in South Africa.
- MK Va'ad Ha'ir in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- The Kashrut Authority in Sydney, Australia.
There are many kosher supervision groups. A guide from 2019 listed 1,427 agencies worldwide. By 2021, this number grew to 1,493.
See also
