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A mashgiach ( he, משגיח, "supervisor"; , ''mashgichim'') or mashgicha (pl. ''mashgichot'') is a
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
who supervises the
kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fr ...
status of a kosher establishment. Mashgichim may supervise any type of
food service The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many ...
establishment, including
slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
s,
food manufacturers Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...
, hotels, caterers,
nursing homes A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...
,
restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s,
butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...
s, groceries, or cooperatives. Mashgichim usually work as on-site supervisors and inspectors, representing a
kosher certification agency A kosher certification agency is an organization or certifying authority that grants a ''hechsher'' ( he, הכשר, "seal of approval") to ingredients, packaged foods, beverages, and certain materials, as well as food-service providers and faciliti ...
or a local
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
, who actually makes the policy decisions for what is or is not acceptably kosher. Sometimes certifying rabbis (, ''
Rav Hamachshir A kosher certification agency is an organization or certifying authority that grants a ''hechsher'' ( he, הכשר, "seal of approval") to ingredients, packaged foods, beverages, and certain materials, as well as food-service providers and faciliti ...
''; pl., ''Rav Hamachshirim'') act as their own mashgichim; such is the case in many small communities.


Requirements

The requirements for becoming a mashgiach/mashgicha are being Jewish, being
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...
-observant ('' shomer Shabbat''), being
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
-observant (''shomer mitzvot''), and personally fulfilling the laws of ''kashrut'' (''shomer kashrut''). According to Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, a senior Orthodox rabbi in the United States, the most important criterion is ''yirat Shamayim'' (fear of Heaven). Many AKO (Association of Kashrus Organizations) member organizations worldwide require mashgichim to complete the AKO Mashgiach Course, created b
Kosher Institute of America
and obtain a Mashgiach ID Card as a prerequisite to working as a mashgiach or mashgicha. Mashgichim take on a great responsibility and the burden of a community. Mashgichim put their good name and the name of the community on everything done under their watch. Most mashgichim are Orthodox. However, there are also
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
and
Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
mashgichim. In 2003, the Kosher Law Enforcement Division of the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets issued fines to two Long Island butchers, Jeff and Brian Yarmeisch, because they had employed a Conservative mashgiach. The United States Supreme Court upheld a ruling by lower courts that New York's 88 year old
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
regulating kashrut was unconstitutional because it favored an Orthodox interpretation of Jewish religious law. When New York state legislators and New York Governor George Pataki convened to consider new legislation, Conservative leaders complained that Orthodox Jews were being favored once again and that Conservative Jews were being excluded from the panel. Rabbi Mary L. Zamore became the "first Reform mashgiach" when she supervised a kosher bakery in New Jersey from 1997 to 2001.


Gender

Although the vast majority of mashgichim are men, most supervising agencies employ women as mashgichot as well. While the profession has historically been very male dominated, an increasing number of women as becoming mashgichot. Shira Feder writing for
The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...
has stated that in most kosher homes "you'll find a female ''mashgiach'' bustling about the kitchen — it is often women, after all, who are tasked with the job of maintaining a kosher kitchen...Yet this role rarely translates into the professional food industry." The greatest number of mashgichot work in the food services industry in the New York City and Los Angeles metropolitan regions. Women working as mashgichot sometimes report lower pay than male mashgichim, discriminatory hiring practices, and lack of respect from employers, coworkers, and customers. The first training course for mashgichot was held in Baltimore in the fall of 2009, organized by
Star-K Star-K Kosher Certification, also known as the Vaad Hakashrut of Baltimore ( he, ועד הכשרות דבאלטימאר), is a kosher certification agency based in Baltimore, Maryland, under the administration of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, with the ...
. In 2012, the Orthodox Jewish women's advocacy group Emunah petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel concerning the rights of women to serve as mashgichot. In 2013, the
Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate C ...
voted to allow women to serve as mashgichot. In 2014, nine women took the Chief Rabbinate's kosher certification exam in Jerusalem. The liberal Orthodox Tzohar organization, which offers kosher certification independent of the Chief Rabbinate, employed 5 mashgichot as of 2019. Rabbi
Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein ( he, משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moshe Faynshteyn''; en, Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—J ...
has permitted women to serve as mashgichot. Rabbi Meir Amsel issued a rebuttal to Rabbi Feinstein, arguing that women serving as mashgichot could lead to women rabbis.


Responsibilities

Depending on the assignment, mashgichim must be familiar with the
halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
s of slaughtering meat, cooking meat and fish, and separating meat and dairy. She or he must be knowledgeable about the way boilers and shipping vessels work, since high temperatures and long storage times can affect the status of kosher foods. It has been said that in addition to knowledge of Jewish law, mashgichim must be familiar with "
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
,
entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...
,
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
, boiler treatment,
food chemistry Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples. It is similar to biochemist ...
, and world
market trends A market trend is a perceived tendency of financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. Analysts classify these trends as ''secular'' for long time-frames, ''primary'' for medium time-frames, and ''secondary'' for short time-fra ...
". Mashgichim are required whenever
meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
or
fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...
is prepared or cooked. They check fresh eggs for blood spots before they are used in cooking, and must inspect all vegetables for forbidden insects before use. Mashgichim are responsible for performing the
mitzvah of challah In Judaism, the dough offering (or ''mitzvat terumat challah'', "commandment of separating ''challah''" he, מצוות תרומת חלה) is a positive commandment requiring the owner of a bread dough to give a part of the kneaded dough to a koh ...
, the
tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...
of dough set aside for consumption by a
kohen Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for " priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally ...
. (Some perform this in the diaspora, whereas in Israel it is always burnt.) Mashgichim must also light pilot lights and turn on cooking and heating equipment to satisfy minimum requirements of bishul Yisroel (food cooked by a Jew) and
pas Yisroel In Jewish law, Pas Yisroel or Pat Yisrael ( he, פת ישראל ''lit:"Bread of an Israelite"'') products are grain-products that were cooked or baked with the participation of an observant Jew. While any bread with kosher ingredients is consider ...
(bread baked by a Jew), in a way that a Jew must be involved in the cooking of any kosher food "fit for a king's table." To satisfy requirements for
Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
, the mashgiah may be required to play an even more active role in the cooking process. Often, the primary responsibility of mashgichim is washing and inspecting produce to ensure there is no infestation. The skill of inspecting produce properly requires much training and expertise. One of the most pressing jobs of mashgichim, however, is the checking in and verification of shipments. Mashgihcim must ensure that every food product that arrives at the facility has a reliable
hekhsher A hechsher (; he, הֶכְשֵׁר "prior approval"; plural: ''hechsherim'') is a rabbinical product certification, qualifying items (usually foods) that conform to the requirements of halakha. Forms A hechsher may be a printed and signed certif ...
(certification) before it is used. Suppliers often substitute products that are out of stock with non-kosher products. Non-kosher establishments would generally not mind these substitutions. For a kosher establishment, however, these substitutions can cause major problems. If a product arrives without a hekhsher, mashgichim must make sure the product is clearly marked as non-kosher and is not used, but returned to the supplier. Sometimes a product arrives that is purportedly kosher, but no hekhsher can be found. In this case, the mashgiach/mashgicha obtains a valid letter of certification from the certifying rabbi or kashrut agency, usually by contacting the manufacturer. In addition to checking hekhsherim, mashgichim must also check that all meat products that arrive are double sealed, usually by inner and outer plastic bags or an inner plastic bag and a sealed box, and that all wine is
kosher wine Kosher wine () is wine that is produced in accordance with ''halakha'', and more specifically ''kashrut'', such that Jews will be permitted to pronounce blessings over and drink it. This is an important issue, since wine is used in several Jewi ...
. Great strides, in the last several years, have been made towards ensuring that kosher products are transported only in kosher approved tanker trucks. In many settings, mashgichim are merely responsible for making sure that the above tasks are performed by responsible, knowledgeable, and well-trained persons. Mashgichim play social as well as technical roles in explaining kosher rules to the Jewish and non-Jewish community and forging close relationships with employees and customers.A Mashgiach's Job is Never Done
Retrieved 2018-04-27.


See also

* * * * *: non-kosher *: ritual slaughter


References


External links


What is kosher?Taking the Mystery Out of the Certification Process
{{Kashrut Conservative Judaism Food services occupations Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law Jewish religious occupations Kashrut Orthodox Judaism Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Reform Judaism