Tobias Geffen
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Tobias Geffen ( he, טוביה גפן; August 1, 1870 – February 10, 1970) was an American Orthodox rabbi. He served as the leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
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, from 1910 to 1970. Geffen is widely known for his 1935 decision that certified
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as kosher.


Biography

Geffen was born on August 1, 1870, in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas (called Kovno at the time, part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
). He was ordained by Rabbis Tzvi Rabinowitz of Kovno and Moshe Danishevsky of the Slobodka Yeshivah. He immigrated to the United States in 1903 and became rabbi of New York's Congregation Ahavat Zedek in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Because of the cramped tenement conditions, he moved to Canton,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, in 1907 to become the rabbi of a small synagogue. He was successful in uniting the community in Canton, but had some health problems. His doctor recommended he move to a warmer climate. Heeding this advice, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1910, where he served as rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel until his death at age 99. Geffen organized the first Hebrew school in Atlanta in his own home, as the synagogue could not support a full school. He also initiated a daily community class in
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
. Geffen also standardized regulation of kosher supervision in the Atlanta area under his central authority. He was the leader of the Southern division of the
Union of Orthodox Rabbis The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (UOR), often called by its Hebrew name, Agudath Harabonim or Agudas Harrabonim ("union of rabbis"), was established in 1901 in the United States and is the oldest organization of Orthod ...
. Geffen published eight books of Talmudic and Biblical exegesis. He died on February 10, 1970.


Kosher certification of Coca-Cola

Since he lived in Atlanta near
The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...
's headquarters, Geffen received many inquiries from rabbis across the United States inquiring whether Coca-Cola was kosher and whether it was
kosher for Passover ''Chametz'' (also ''chometz'', ', ''ḥameṣ'', ''ḥameç'' and other spellings transliterated from he, חָמֵץ / חמץ; ) are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews ma ...
. He asked the company for a list of the beverage's ingredients. Geffen was provided with the
Coca-Cola formula The Coca-Cola Company's formula for Coca-Cola syrup, which bottlers combine with carbonated water to create the company's flagship cola soft drink, is a closely guarded trade secret. Company founder Asa Candler initiated the veil of secrecy tha ...
, a closely guarded trade secret, on the condition that he not disclose the formula. Geffen discovered that one ingredient was glycerin produced from
tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, includ ...
from non-kosher beef. He convinced the company to substitute a vegetable-based glycerin. A similar problem presented itself concerning the use of Coca-Cola during
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...
, when Jews are not permitted to consume products derived from grains. One of the sweeteners used in Coca-Cola included traces of alcohol produced from grain, rendering the drink impermissible during Passover. The company's chemists found that a sweetener made from cane sugar and beet sugar could be used without changing the beverage's flavor. Satisfied that Coca-Cola's ingredients were kosher, Geffen issued a
responsum ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
in 1935 that Coca-Cola was kosher for year-round consumption. "With the help of God, I have been able to uncover a pragmatic solution according to which there would be no question nor any doubt concerning the ingredients of Coca Cola", he wrote. "It is now possible for the most stringent Halachist to enjoy Coca Cola throughout the year and on Passover."


References


Further reading

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External links

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Guide to the Tobias Geffen Papers
at the
American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geffen, Tobias 1870 births 1970 deaths American Orthodox rabbis Coca-Cola people Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Lithuanian Jews Clergy from Kaunas Rabbis from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American rabbis