Rabbi, Is This Kosher? Germany’s Orthodox Rabbinical Conference and Its Kosher List

In Germany, one of the most useful kashrut tools has a disarmingly simple name: Rabbi, ist das koscher?, or “Rabbi, is this kosher?”. The list grew up alongside the Orthodoxe Rabbinerkonferenz Deutschland, the ORD, and by 2009 it covered more than 3,500 products. This article looks at the ORD, the list, and the city rabbinates that also supervise kosher food in Germany, and what all three mean for shoppers.

Who is behind the ORD?

The Orthodox Rabbinical Conference of Germany was founded in 2003 in Frankfurt am Main by eleven rabbis, among them Rabbi Yitshak Ehrenberg of Berlin. Ten years later it had 48 rabbis from 31 communities, and its members serve communities across the country. In its first decade, then, the conference more than quadrupled in size.

Its tenth anniversary, celebrated in Berlin, drew about 200 rabbis from across Europe, as well as both Chief Rabbis of Israel.

The story of the list

The list was compiled by Rabbi Tuvia Hod-Hochwald, a founding member of the ORD. In 2006 it was rebuilt from scratch, with more than 2,000 new products. In 2009 a new edition listing more than 3,500 products was presented at the ORD conference in Munich. Rabbi Hod-Hochwald died in 2019. In three years, the list went from a fresh start to a reference covering thousands of everyday products.

His list reached well beyond the food aisle, covering toothpaste and washing-up liquid as well as groceries. It filled a real gap: in 2006 Germany had only two or three kosher meat suppliers, and many of the kashrut questions he received came from non-Jews.

That mix of enquirers says something about the list’s reach: a tool built for observant Jews also became a reference for careful non-Jewish shoppers.

One country, several rabbinates

There is no single kashrut authority in Germany. Several city rabbinates, Frankfurt among them, run their own supervision, each setting its own standard, and standards are sometimes disputed. In 2014, during the “Aviv” meat-fraud case in Frankfurt, the ORD publicly disagreed with the Frankfurt rabbinate.

At the time, the ORD stated that its Beth Din is the only Orthodox court in Germany recognised by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and by the Zentralrat, the Central Council of Jews in Germany. For shoppers, the practical lesson is simple: it is worth knowing which rabbinate stands behind a product or a restaurant.

Who supervises what

• The ORD: a national conference of Orthodox rabbis, with its own Beth Din and links to the Rabbi, ist das koscher? list.
• City rabbinates: local communities such as Frankfurt run their own kashrut supervision.
• Differences: the two do not always agree, as the 2014 Frankfurt case showed.
• Recognition: the ORD says its Beth Din is recognised by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and the Zentralrat.

How to check a product

The list is the main consumer guide linked to the ORD. A few steps help:

• Use the current list. Rabbi, ist das koscher? has been rebuilt and reissued over the years, so an old copy may be out of date.
• Look beyond food. The list has covered household items such as toothpaste and washing-up liquid.
• Ask which rabbinate supervises a restaurant, butcher or caterer, since local standards can differ.

Three things you might not know

1. The German kosher list has included toothpaste and washing-up liquid, not just food.
2. In 2006 the whole country had only two or three kosher meat suppliers.
3. Many of the kashrut questions sent to the list’s compiler came from non-Jewish shoppers.

On The Kosher Shop, every food seller tells us which kashrut authority supervises their products, and we check the certificate before their shop opens. Next in this series: the Jewish community of Vienna and its rabbinate.

Sources: Jüdische Allgemeine, 12 November 2013; Jüdische Allgemeine, 12 October 2006; Jüdische Allgemeine, 3 December 2009; Jüdische Allgemeine, 19 December 2014; Jüdische Allgemeine, 11 April 2019.