Is it possible for food to be kosher, and yet not kosher? There are numerous examples which fit this description. For example, there is kosher meat, prepared in absolute accordance with Jewish law, yet not keeping with the higher standards of glatt kosher, which requires that the animal’s lungs are perfectly smooth, free of any (even insignificant) blemish. Similarly there are Jews who only consume dairy products which are chalav yisrael, derived from milk which has been produced under Rabbinical supervision.

Baked goods which contain only kosher ingredients might still be forbidden to eat unless they are made from grains which are yoshon (literally “old”—from the previous year). Products from Jewish owned land in Israel might be prohibited if purchased during the shemitah (year of release, which occurs once every seven years).

In some of these cases, all would agree that a seemingly kosher food is nonetheless forbidden. However in other examples, there is a difference of opinion, depending on one’s personal level of strictness.

There are restaurants, and other food vendors, which sell only kosher food, but do not bear a heskhsher, a rabbinic certificate declaring the kashrut of the food and/or the establishment. There are a number of reasons why such a situation would occur—the vendor might do business on Shabbat, or chooses to not pay the money necessary to receive proper Rabbinical supervision.

In such cases, some of us who keep kosher will buy food from these establishments, based on a personal trust of the product. Others will hold themselves to a higher standard, and only eat food which is under supervision.

There are Jews who will not eat veal, because no matter that the veal is prepared under strict Rabbinic supervision, there are reports that the calves are treated inhumanely in preparation for slaughter.

So keeping kosher becomes more complicated all the time. As you can now see, the presence of all kosher ingredients does not necessarily make a particular food permitted to be eaten.

Now I would like to introduce you to a new program of Conservative Judaism called Hekhsher Tzedek (which literally means, “the Kashrut of Justice”). Hekhsher Tzedek, created in the aftermath of alleged unethical practices in the kashrut industry, is a call to all Kosher meat and food companies to practice high moral codes, including: proper wages and safety standards for employees, compassionate treatment of animals, and honest disclosures to the public.

In the information about Hekhsher Tzedek on the United Synagogue website (http://www.uscj.org/Hekhsher_Tzedek7413.html), a story is told about Rabbi Israel Salanter, the founder of Judaism’s Mussar [ethics] movement. Rabbi Salanter visits a Matzah Factory. As he inspects the plant, he discovers “a well oiled machine” of high efficiency. However Rabbi Salanter declares the factory to be unkosher because he says that there is ”blood in the matzah.” Rabbi Salanter does not mean physical blood, which would certainly make the matzah unkosher, but rather he refers to the unfair treatment of the employees, thereby rendering a spiritual pollutant into the finished product.

Hekhsher Tzedek seeks to bring attention to any company whose production of strictly kosher food comes at the price of immoral or unethical practices, and more importantly, to praise those companies who strive for the highest ethics and morals, by placing a “seal of justice” on their kosher food products.

Too often, people only think of Conservative Judaism as seeking ways to bring more leniency to the practice of Jewish Law. With Hekhsher Tzedek one is moved to a higher, but ultimately more meaningful, standard of Jewish living. Not only should we limit ourselves to God’s gift of a kosher diet, we must also limit ourselves to consuming food whose production brings only glory to God’s creation.