Thinking Kosher: An Introduction

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By: Rabbi Joseph Grunblatt

The Meaning of a Label

Gone are the days of the local shochet (ritual slaughterer), cheese manufacturer and bakery. Food has become industrialized big business. Mass production and national and international distribution bring new pressures of profit, production, speed, ingredient complexity and product diversification. Now, more than ever, expert supervision is needed to provide the consumer with reliable kashrut certification.

The (OU) insignia of the Orthodox Union is a symbol of such expertise and integrity. As a non-profit service organization, the Orthodox Union has been the leader in the field of reliable kashrut for nearly three-quarters of a century. It has made reliable kashrut available in a range of products spanning the gamut of human needs. It has made these products accessible around the world.

But the success story of modern, high-level kashrut supervision has implications beyond its immediate accomplishments. It is a theological statement, a testimony that Torah is not an “ancient religion essentially geared to an agricultural society,” but a living reality that is meaningful and workable in any stage of civilization to which ingenuity and technological progress may carry us.

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