Kashrus expert Rabbi Sholem Fishbane calls on kosher consumers to put their money where their mouth is 

Photos: Tali Weldler

The explosion of kosher options today, coupled with an ever-demanding and competitive foodie culture, means that kosher consumers have more choices and food opportunities than ever before (think kosher cheeseburgers and facon-and-eggs). But it also means that kashrus certification agencies are faced with challenges more complex than ever before. With all that there is to celebrate in the kashrus world today, those responsible for ensuring that what lands in our mouths is truly up to standard are expressing concerns over the challenges the new food culture has created. Where does that put the kosher consumer?

“We’ve come a long way in the food market, yet in a sense, our success has become our enemy,” says Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, kashrus administrator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc) and executive director of the Association of Kashrus Organizations (AKO), an umbrella group of major kosher certifying agencies. “Today’s generation of consumers is so accustomed to having everything out there in a kosher version that we’ve slowly let down our guard.”

Rabbi Fishbane, who has been one of the driving forces behind the improvements and advances in the North American kashrus scene, is credited with blending halachic proficiency and organizational expertise to increase communication between certifying agencies, along with introducing innovations that have become the gold standard in the industry. Still, his ambivalence is a sentiment being echoed by others in the certification loop whose jobs range from checking and verifying food shipments to inspecting (and often sleuthing) ingredients to establishing proper protocol for washing hard-to-clean vegetables. The agencies perform admirably, they say, but there is a key role that the consumer plays as well: a role that includes being personally educated in matters of kashrus, being on the lookout for areas of concern, and most importantly, standing up and taking responsibility for standards and insisting they be followed.

Of course, what a century ago was unimaginable in the often scandalous realm of kashrus has been not only achieved, but exceeded. Heightened awareness, technological advancements, and a dedicated industry of poskim, rabbanim, mashgichim, and intra-agency cooperation and collaboration have led to an unprecedented level of kashrus standards internationally. But all that didn’t stop Rabbi Fishbane from giving Mishpacha a front-seat ride around Lakewood, New Jersey, where he pointed out certain issues within various venues that have been concerning mashgichim — and what consumers can do about them.

As anyone who’s worked with Rabbi Fishbane can attest, he brings a powerful energy to any job he undertakes. As soon as we meet, that energy is evident. It’s a chilly 40 degrees in this bustling parking lot, yet the native Chicagoan steps out of his car coatless, and he waves me into a nearby supermarket without wasting time.

“Take in the scene,” he says, as we head down the aisles, “and notice how it’s a heimishe environment, and therefore in our heads we start creating a conception that everything sold here is one thousand percent okay to eat.”

He’s right. There’s that kosher feel that permeates the store: Avraham Fried is entertaining customers over the loudspeaker, a Tu B’Shevat stand displays a potpourri of delectable dried fruit, and the clientele is the predictable mix of frum busy mothers, balabatim on errands for their wives, and hat-and-jacketed yeshivah bochurim stocking up on salsa and chips for their Leil Shabbos oneg.

­­­­­­The pervading atmosphere is relaxed and pleasant — great effort and creativity has obviously been enlisted to give a great shopping experience — yet Rabbi Fishbane walks with purpose, his eagle eyes taking in the nuances that come with being immersed in the world of kashrus.