Institutions do not become great merely by growing large. They become great by earning trust — slowly, patiently, and faithfully — across generations. Few contemporary Jewish builders and leaders embody this truth more fully than Rabbi Menachem Genack, whose 45 years at the helm of OU Kosher transformed a relatively modest certification program into the most trusted kashrus organization in the world.
In 1980, the Kashrus Division of the Orthodox Union certified approximately 300 companies. Its portfolio included a handful of major names — Heinz and Procter & Gamble amongst them — but the operation itself was small, lean, and largely decentralized.
OU Kashrus Division was founded in 1924 and certified Heinz Vegetarian Beans, the first nationally distributed kosher product in the United States. At the time, American kashrus was fragmented and unreliable, often administered privately, inconsistently, and with insufficient oversight. The OU was established as a nonprofit communal response — committed to integrity, transparency, and uniform standards, and determined to make reliable kosher food accessible at reasonable cost.
Its rabbinic leadership over the decades included legendary figures such as Rabbi Alexander Rosenberg, Rabbi Beryl Wein, and Rabbi Yaakov Lipschutz. Yet by 1980, the organization still relied heavily on local rabbis for supervision, with minimal centralized infrastructure and just a single full-time employee at its New York headquarters.
Recognizing both the opportunity and the responsibility of the moment, OU lay leaders Rabbi Julius Berman and Shimon Kwestel sought a new direction. They turned to Rabbi Menachem Genack, a close talmid of Rav Yosef Ber Soloveitchik and then rosh kollel at Touro College, and appointed him Rabbinic Administrator and CEO of OU Kosher.
OU Kosher Through the Years
1980’s — Laying Foundations
Rabbi Genack understood that trust is built not only on ideals, but on systems. Together with Julius Berman, longtime chair of the Joint Kashrus Commission, he began laying the professional and moral infrastructure for OU Kosher’s future.
A new cohort of rabbinical coordinators (RCs) was recruited — talmidei chachamim and yirei shamayim who were also capable administrators. Drawn from a wide range of yeshivot and communities, they represented an unprecedented professionalization of kashrus supervision. For the first time, kashrus was centrally administered by a knowledgeable, cohesive team operating from OU headquarters.
Concurrently, Rabbi Genack charted a new course in field supervision. Rather than relying primarily on local pulpit rabbis, OU Kosher began employing full-time mashgichim — specialists who developed deep expertise in food production and halachic application, and who visited hundreds of facilities.
Halachic integrity remained paramount. In consultation with the RCA’s Rabbinical Kashrus Commission, Rabbi Genack served as the primary halachic decisor, while also appointing Rav Hershel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva at REITS, and Rav Yisroel Belsky, זצ״ל Rosh Yeshiva at Torah Vodaath, as halachic consultants. Their inclusion broadened consensus, strengthened consistency, and enhanced transparency.
Growth followed — in staff, in companies, and in global recognition. Yet Rabbi Genack never lost sight of a teaching he received from Rav Soloveitchik: the OU must never become a monopoly. True leadership, he believed, strengthens others. As OU Kosher grew, so too did local vaadim and other kashrus agencies, many inspired by the OU’s standards and systems.
In 1987, Rabbi Genack recruited a gifted young talmid chacham, Rabbi Moshe Elefant, whose rise through the ranks would culminate in a lasting partnership as COO of OU Kosher.
By the end of the decade, OU Kosher-certified brands included household names like Pepperidge Farm, General Mills, Pillsbury, and Nestlé.
The 1990s: Growth with Responsibility
Expansion brings complexity. The 1990s required careful stewardship of a rapidly growing enterprise.
Group leaders were appointed to oversee RCs, while senior rabbinic field representatives supervised mashgichim across continents.
Paper systems gave way to technology. OU Kosher developed custom software to manage inspections, ingredient approvals, certification data, and compliance monitoring — laying the groundwork for modern kashrus administration.
Transparency, a core value for Rabbi Genack, found expression in education. ASK OU was founded to train kashrus professionals and to educate communities, empowering consumers to understand, and therefore demand, higher standards of kashrus.
The Annual OU Kashrus Conference further strengthened professional culture, bringing together hundreds of mashgichim, rabbanim, poskim, and industry experts to share knowledge and confront emerging challenges together.
OU Kosher-certified products of the era included Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, Oreos, Hershey’s, and Häagen-Dazs.
The 2000s: Technology and Resilience
During the tragic events of September 11, 2001, OU Kosher headquarters, located near Ground Zero, were inaccessible for weeks. Critical systems were suddenly out of reach.
Out of crisis came transformation. OU Kosher developed parallel servers and remote-work capabilities that would later prove invaluable during Hurricane Katrina and beyond. Technology was no longer ancillary — it became central.
OU Kosher was established with noble intentions as a nonprofit communal organization, committed to integrity and transparency in providing reliably kosher products at reasonable prices tot he broad kosher market
The launch of OUDirect, incorporating the Universal Kashrus Database with millions of approved ingredients, made OU Kosher the world’s most comprehensive kashrus resource for professionals and clients alike.
Rabbi Genack never hesitated to invest in tools that enhanced reliability, accountability, and service.
OU Kosher-certified brands of the era included Mars, Kraft, and Gatorade.
The 2010s: A Cultural Icon
Rav Soloveitchik once observed that the OU symbol is a testament to the vibrancy of American Jewish life. Under Rabbi Genack’s leadership, it also became a broadly recognized cultural marker.
For kosher consumers, it meant trust. Beyond traditional kosher customers, for others, it signified quality, allergen awareness, or dietary transparency. Muslims sought kosher meat when halal was unavailable. Gluten-free consumers looked for OUP. In all 50 states, reliable kosher food became readily accessible — fulfilling the OU’s founding mission.
OU Kosher-certified brands of the era included Jelly Belly, Tic Tac, Impossible Burger, Post, and more.
The 2020s: Leadership in Crisis
COVID-19 tested institutions worldwide. OU Kosher remained operational, even assisting other kashrus agencies unable to function under severe travel restrictions. Its global staffing model proved invaluable. Because OU Kosher had staff stationed internationally, it was able to continue functioning even when others were not.
The human toll was real. Some mashgichim were stranded overseas, hospitalized far from home, or isolated over Yom Tov. Rabbi Genack personally ensured that no employee faced crisis alone, mobilizing care, advocacy, and support without hesitation.
Even as the organization reached historic scale, Rabbi Genack never lost sight of individuals — their dignity, safety, and wellbeing. When emergencies arose, he made himself available around-the-clock to address every situation.
OU Kosher-certified brands of the era included Kellogg’s and Chobani.
Rav, Scholar, Statesman — and a Humble Giant
Torah Scholar
Since 1985, he has served as Rav of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Englewood, New Jersey, and has played a central role in the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County. A lifelong educator, he has taught Rabbinical students at Yeshiva University and Touro University for decades, and most recently founded the Bergen County Community Kollel.
A close talmid of Rav Yosef Ber Soloveitchik from the age of 17, Rabbi Genack is among the Rav’s foremost talmidim. He has edited nearly 50 volumes of the Rav’s Torah and authored six volumes of his own original Torah thought.
Through OU Press, which he founded, hundreds of works of Jewish scholarship have reached a global audience.
Public Advocate for Jewish Causes
Having learned in his youth about the failed Wagner-Rodgers Bill of 1939, which would have allowed 20,000 German refugee children to enter the U.S. outside existing immigration quotas, Rabbi Genack firmly believed in public advocacy to promote Jewish causes.
Rabbi Genack founded NORPAC in 1994, championing bipartisan support for Israel and Jewish causes. His friendships with leaders such as President Bill Clinton and Senator Joe Lieberman, z”l, yielded unique works of dialogue and reflection, including Letters to President Clinton and The Gift of Rest.
Rabbi Genack is beloved by a wide range of public officials and has been asked to deliver numerous invocations and benedictions at significant official events.
While Israel and communal Jewish interests were the primary focus of Rabbi Genack’s advocacy, he has also intervened quietly but decisively on behalf of individuals in need.
Modest Benevolence
Yet for all his accomplishments, Rabbi Genack remains deeply modest. He helps without publicity, listens without judgment, and acts without hesitation. He believes not only in ideas, but in people, not only in institutions, but in individuals.
As the Zohar teaches: “The one who is truly small is the one who is truly great.”
In Rabbi Menachem Genack, that teaching has found enduring expression.
Moving OU Kosher Forward: A Conversation with OU Kosher COO Rabbi Moshe Elefant
You have worked alongside Rabbi Menachem Genack for thirty-seven years. How would you describe that relationship?
Rabbi Genack has been both mentor and partner to me. With the exception of Shabbos and Yom Tov, we speak multiple times each day. There is scarcely a significant deliberation or decision at OU Kosher that is made without our consulting one another. Beyond the professional collaboration, Rabbi Genack has been a true friend—one who has prepared me for this transition in ways too numerous to articulate.
What challenges do you foresee for OU Kosher in the years ahead?
None of us could have anticipated the turbulence of recent years, certainly we cannot predict lies ahead. Ultimately, we are in the hands of Heaven. Still, there are indicators we cannot afford to ignore.
The global market expansion of recent decades may be entering a period of transition. While we have not yet seen dramatic shifts, current tariff policies have the potential to reshape international trade relationships. OU Kosher must remain agile and prepared to respond as some markets contract and others emerge.
Government guidance and consumer preferences are increasingly moving away from artificial additives toward natural alternatives. This has significant kosher implications. Certain natural colors, for example, can be halachically sensitive and may affect the kosher status of finished products. In many instances, solutions can be found—through substitutions, revised formulations, or newly developed processes—but these changes demand vigilance and creativity.
We must also confront the troubling rise of open antisemitism in many parts of the world. The safety of our mashgichim, who travel extensively across continents, is our foremost concern. There are also marketing sensitivities for widely distributed products with Jewish associations. In this regard, the OU symbol offers companies a way to communicate kosher certification without making explicit religious statements on packaging.
Kashrus has always evolved in response to changing realities, and with Siyata diShmaya (Heavenly assistance), I am confident it will continue to do so.
What opportunities do you see for OU Kosher going Forward?
The United States and Israel remain the central consumer markets for kosher products. Notably, food manufacture in Israel has been declining, replaced by increased importation of kosher goods. OU Kosher is well positioned to play a significant role in both markets, as well as globally.
Biotechnology is reshaping the food industry. Innovations such as cultivated or “clean” meat are moving steadily from concept to reality. For years, OU Kosher has been working with developers in this space to help pave the way for these products’ eventual entry into —and acceptance within — the kosher marketplace.
Do you anticipate continuing your predecessor’s policies, or introducing new initiatives?
Rabbi Genack introduced many transformative initiatives over the course of his tenure, and I was privileged to participate in a great number of them. Our intention is to honor and extend that legacy — continuing to introduce new initiatives where appropriate, while refining and strengthening existing programs.
We are currently conducting a comprehensive review of OU Kosher requirements and policies across industries, with the goal of standardizing and unifying procedures. This process includes revisiting assumptions made in the past and testing their validity in today’s realities.
OU Kosher remains at the forefront of kashrus technology. At the same time, we are investing in the development of robust dashboards and workflows to ensure that our operations are as effective and efficient as possible. We are also embracing AI-based tools to introduce new capabilities and significantly shorten development timelines.
In addition, we are expanding kashrus education on three fronts: training OU’s professional staff in halachic principles and technical realities; educating relevant client personnel in kosher procedures and requirements; and reaching out to yeshivos, kollelim, and Jewish communities, to raise awareness of kashrus issues. A key component of this effort is strengthening our relationships with community rabbanim — inviting them into a deeper understanding of OU Kosher’s inner workings, listening to their feedback, and responding thoughtfully to their questions and needs.
Rabbi Genack now enters a well-deserved retirement after nearly half a century of extraordinary achievement. He leaves OU Kosher with a strong and promising future, and I am certain he will remain closely connected to our work in the years ahead.
