Have you been making sure all of your food for the Rosh Hashanah ritual is actually kosher? Many individuals know the rules that one must follow in order to maintain the proper Jewish diet, but understanding the traditional dietary laws might not be enough to maintain a kosher diet in today’s complex food processing society!

In order to move forward it is important to understand what kosher really means. Kosher is simply a standard used to determine whether a food is fit to be eaten within the Jewish religion. There are general rules in place that allow a person to identify if a certain food would be considered kosher. These general rules restrict certain animals from being eaten, what parts and products of the animals may be eaten, and outline the proper preparation techniques to keep food from being contaminated by non-kosher material.

When it comes to kosher honey, the bee is considered Tameh, or non-kosher but the honey, when properly prepared, remains kosher. How could that “bee” you ask? The Talmud provides the explanation, “Why did they say that bee-honey is permitted? Because even though they bring it into their bodies, it is not a product of their bodies [it is stored there but not produced there].“ (Bechorot 7b) Since the honey is not produced and only carried by the bee which is Tameh, the honey is not determined to be Tameh.

Unfortunately, in today’s world this is not all that is needed to ensure the honey you are purchasing is officially kosher. In some honey, pieces of the bees among other material that is considered Tameh finds its way into the finished products. Other honey company’s over process their honey which causes it to be no longer considered kosher honey, while others use processing machines that are also used on other foods that are considered Tameh which contaminates the honey.

You can only really be sure that your food is kosher if it has been certified by the proper Jewish authorities. At Fundraising Zoo, we have had our Kosher honey certified by the Orthodox Union of America. This provides us with confidence that we are providing quality kosher honey that fits all necessary standards to suit your holiday and ritual needs, making it the perfect gift for Kosher Honey Fundraising.

Order a bottle of Fundraising Zoo’s Organic, Kosher Honey HERE to make sure you bring in the Jewish New Year the right way.