[Avodah] Kashrus Question

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Yitzchok Levine wrote:
> One person who is involved in the supervision of a donut
> store told me that they actually visit the store on Pesach.
> If they did not, then they would have to kasher the place
> after Pesach, he wrote.
> So I have to ask (again), "These donuts that are manufactured
> on Pesach under supervision are kosher for whom? What does
> this supervision on Pesach mean?" I presume that the sign
> saying the store is under supervision is not removed on Pesach.

First of all, I do not understand why you are not satisfied with what that person told you. Throughout Pesach, the store is certified as following the regular Kashrus laws, but not the more restrictive Pesach laws. Thus, it is good for the Jewish consumer that the store is supervised even on Pesach, because the store will not need to be kashered from treif to kosher when Pesach ends.

Why is the sign left up over Pesach? One reason could simply be convenience, to avoid the hassle of taking it down and putting it back up. For another reason, see next paragraph.

"For whom?" A big chunk of the kosher market is indeed non-Jewish. Vegetarians and others find that kosher-certified items often meet the requirements of what they're looking for. Sometimes our rules aren't quite as strict as they'd like, but many will prefer a kosher-certified donut shop to a totally nonkosher one. And Pesach has nothing to do with this.

(Examples of where kashrus would not meet their needs: Hindus like kosher dairy restaurants because they don't serve beef, but I wonder if there might be some kosher cheeses nowadays that are made in a halachic manner with beef rennet. Muslims like all kosher restaurants because they don't serve pork, but they probably don't want the alcohol found in some flavorings.)

Akiva Miller