Lessons in Kashrut from Arranging an Event

We are in the process of organizing a full day women's event and through this, certain difficulties with Kashrut are being highlighted.

Some hotels, when one asks what the Heksher is, will provide a certificate and the telephone number for the Mashgiach to ask any questions one may have. This is true Kashrut.

Some hotels, when one asks what the Heksher is, will say, "We write Kosher on the receipt". Saying on the receipt that the food was Kosher is not enough. There must be a Kosher certificate that is valid from a reputable Kashrut Organization. We also recommend that you speak to the mashgiach or at the very least have the ability to in the event you have Kashrut questions.

If you arrange a function or have relatives that come in from out of town, make sure that the hotel or venue is in fact Kosher. This might be Israel, but don't presume the food is all Kosher or a good standard of Kashrut.

As with everything in Israel, ask, ask and ask again.

If you are interested in our 1 day event for women, please take a look at our other blog.

Kashrut in Israel

An important factor to keep in mind and work on daily, is that of Kashrut when coming to Israel. For those who have come from South Africa, Kashrut is much easier, the Kashrut is all supervised by the Beth Din and there is only one Beth Din. In South Africa, certain items such as meat or dairy might be either Beth Din or Mehadrin. Mehadrin in South Africa means the Chabad Shechting.

If you are from America, I understand there are a few Kashrut certifications, however, they are still not as many as in Israel.

When one comes to Israel, it is easy to think that since you have come to Israel, that all the food items will be Kosher and if a sign says Kosher or Mehadrin or Glatt, it means just that. Not so simple.

The Heksherim here are rather complex and it takes quite a lot of study to understand which certificates or Heksherim to follow and which ones to rule out. In addition to this, it is important to know whether a certificate is still valid, meaning has it expired or is it still within the time frame issued. Is the certificate valid at all. Is the certificate for a different address.

One can sit on the bus and drive past a restaurant, cafe or other food place and see a banner that has the word Kosher written there and find that the word Kosher sadly is only an advertising tool, and yet the place is not Kosher at all. Mehadrin and Glatt are terms that often are quite misleading.

One also has to take into consideration Orla, Maaserot, Terumot, Shmita etc, all relevant specifically in the Land of Israel.

To make your life very much easier, I highly recommended visiting the website Jerusalem Kosher News. Visit it regularly or even receive updates which occur very frequently. This information is very thorough and will explain everything you need to know in order to ensure that what you eat is really Kosher.

For those who wish to learn more about Kashrut, from the basics or more advanced, you can sign up for personalized shiurim with Reb Eliyahu. You can learn either via the internet, on the telephone, in person either in small groups or individually. For more about his Torah Teaching visit his website and blog