Guest Post by Kosherman: A Concise History of Kashrut in Post-War Australia

The following post was submitted by "Kosherman" as a l-o-n-g comment to our post Australian Kosher News or Australian Treif News?

"Kosherman" seems to have more than average knowledge about the workings and recent history of Kashrut in Melbourne and Sydney. He has taken the time to give us so many interesting and unknown facts on this important topic that we feel it deserves a post of its own. Therefore we asked and received his permission to publish it as a Guest Post. (With the approval of the author, we have edited and made a few changes to parts of this post for clarity etc.)

We shall be more than happy to receive further information and comments from readers who have familiarity with the subject matter.

To introduce myself, I am a lifelong Kosher consumer who has resided in both Melbourne and Sydney and have for personal, communal and business reasons ‘stuck my nose’ into Kashrut matters.

My aim, one of these days, is to establish a blog specialising in all aspects of Kashrut in Australia. There is much to be recorded, believe me.

Often discussed is the cost of Kosher products, including meat and poultry, and why these are so much higher in Sydney than in Melbourne. It is no secret that caterers in Sydney pay more for supervision charges than those in Melbourne. While I can accept that certain Sydney Simcha Kashrut standards may be somewhat more stringent than Melbourne, the difference in charges seems extreme.

The KA website states:
Function Charges http://www.ka.org.au/index.php/Function_Charges.html

Functions up to $19.99 catering charge per guest - KA charge $1.20 per guest
Functions from $20.00 to $69.99 catering charge per guest - KA charge $4.27 per guest
Functions $70.00 and over catering charge per guest - KA charge $6.60 per guest
Kiddush - KA charge $180.20 flat fee

(I understand that there is also be an additional fee to pay for the Mashgiach/Shomer.) The above indicates that having catered Simcha in Sydney could cost an extra 10% for supervision.

In Melbourne as far as I can ascertain the fees are substantially lower. However for some reason Melbourne’s Kashrut authorities are not as open as the NSW KA and do not publicly state there charges. (If anyone knows, I would like to hear what these charges are.)

The reason why Melbourne’s fees are lower is obvious. Melbourne has more than the one single Kashrut authority. Competition is GREAT for us consumers. Does anyone doubt that if Kosher Australia or Adass didn’t have concerns about each other (and to some extent, Rabbi Meir Rabi’s “Kosher veYosher”), they too would consider higher charges?

The same goes for meat. Because Melbourne has 3 Kosher meat suppliers/hashgachot, the consumer benefits - by each one keeping the others honest. Interestingly,I hear that dozens of Sydney families purchase their meat from Unfanger in Melbourne. Why? Obviously his quality is excellent, but how much better than the Sydney butchers? The reason obviously has to do with price. For a large family, a few dollars per kilo adds up quite quickly and can make a huge difference in the budget.

Thus, the answer to the AJN’s recent Vox Pop question on whether we should have a single Kashrut authority in Australia must be a thunderous NO!. In fact consumers would be better off if there was even more Kashrut “competition” in all cities.

But to give credit where it is due, the NSW KA publishes a Directory which I recall is very reasonably priced ($10 or $20). But even better, their entire directory is available on-line – free of charge. That is definitely a great boost for Kosher consumers on tight budgets. It also comes handy when people travel on holidays and forget to bring along the directory. Just hop on-line and get all the info you need. A valuable resource which we should all save in our Bookmarks. www.ka.org.au/index.php/component/option,com_kosherdb/Itemid,60

Melbourne’s Kosher Australia, who charge $55 for their directory (the most expensive such booklet on the planet?) could learn from their Sydney colleagues.
(See: http://www.kosher.org.au/KAFB Renewal Blank 2009 Form.doc )

Here’s a potted (post-WW2) Kashrut history for the younger people reading this blog. Most of us oldies will have heard a lot of this.

Sydney originally had a Beth-Din-operated Shechita. (The BD also approved a few other products. Anyone remember McWilliam Wines?) A few additional items were produced under their label for Pesach use. This changed with the arrival of the “frum” Hungarians, ie, Sydney’s Adass community whose first rabbi, Rav Bernath, had been a Shochet in Budapest. They established an independent Shechita which I have been told even “exported” meat to discerning customers in Melbourne. (This was prior to the Melbourne Adass shechita being established.) Following the Adass/Yeshiva split, the Yeshiva too established a shechita, which went on for a number of years until, as I recall, both realised the stupidity of the double expenditure, and they joined forces, but still ‘competing’ with the Beth Din. Eventually it all became one and the Kashrut Authority came into being. These days, as we know, they are the only game in town.

Here's a differing POV - from the NSW KA website:

Why is there only one certification body in NSW?

Prior to the establishment of the KA (in 1990) there were numerous certification bodies in NSW. This was the cause of much angst and divisiveness within the community. People accepted only particular hechsherim, and so were unable to eat at each other’s tables and functions. The community together with the Rabbonim decided it was preferable to have a united body with a universally acceptable standard

In Melbourne, meanwhile, they had competing Batei Din/Shechita during and post-war years when Rav Gurevitz of Carlton established what was considered to be a higher Kashrut standard. However that didn’t last too long and the Melbourne Beth Din won the day. In the late 40s Melbourne’s Adass was established and they immediately brought out a shochet, the well-known Rev M S Rosenbaum. For a while they also had the services of Rav Betzalel Wilschansky. Old-timers tell me that most of the community’s “frum” newcomers and even a number of pre-war Carltoners - would only buy meat and poultry from one of the 4 (!!!) Adass supervised butchers and/or 2 poultry suppliers. Interestingly, for many years all were located on High Street (now St Kilda Road) St Kilda!

That was the situation until the 70s, when Chabad established a shop in Carlisle Street. That was followed by Solomons (who had previously sold poultry - under a different name - in Acland Street -supervised by the Melb BD) opening large modern premises in Glen Eira Road under the Mizrachi Kashrut. This shop eventually incorporated the Chabad butcher shop.

Some time later, Continental Butchers in Glenferrie Road which had been under the Melb BD (not a very popular Kashrut seal to most religious families) transfered to Mizrachi supervision. Allegedly this upset the owners of Solomons who promptly dropped the Mizrachi and asked the late Rabbi Groner z’’l to become their supervisor. By this time, Melbourne which used to have many Kosher butchers, was reduced to 3 – each under a different hashgacha. Pretty amazing in itself.

Meanwhile Mizrachi were growing in the Kashrut field and began producing their popular directory while at the same time promoting themselves as the Australia’s foremost authority (which they possibly are, though doubtful if the NSW KA agrees). To be more acceptable to the 'religious' community, as well as overseas Kashrut authorities with whom they liaise, they dropped the “Mizrachi” tag, as in many places this is seen as less than Mehadrin. They became “Melbourne Kosher” and at a later stage “Kosher Australia”. (I have heard speculation that when the name “Kosher Australia” was created, some were hoping to swallow Sydney as well… Of course that never eventuated. But I often wonder who was the Chelmer chacham who slipped up and so unoriginally replicated the NSW authority’s long-established “KA” label. 2 KA’s in our small Kosher consuming society! Definitely a bit strange. I was thinking, how it would be if the Adass Kashrut decided to call themselves “Kosher Adass” and also take on the “KA” initials… And then why not a “Kosher Adelaide” as well?)

Besides the Adass, Mizrachi had no real competitor. That is, until the arrival of Rabbi Mottel Gutnick from Sydney, who had for some time been in charge of that city’s Kashrut Authority gaining experience in the field. In addition to his position as rabbi in Doncaster, Rabbi Gutnick quickly established his own independent, or rather, private, label and was ‘in competition’ with Mizrachi. By that the time the Kashrut division of the Melbourne Beth Din (ie Rabbi M’s uncle, Rabbi Shulem Gutnick) was slowly expiring.

Some time later, Mizrachi, still hoping to become the undisputed authority in Melbourne, made Rabbi Mottel ‘an offer he couldn’t refuse’. (This was despite bad feelings by some – not least of all their rabbi at the time, Rabbi Baruch Zaichyk , who found it difficult to forgive Rabbi Gutnick for his hurried approval of Glick’s bakery after it was thrust aside by Mizrachi. However the Mizrachi leadership calculated that the long term benefit of being in charge of Melbourne’s Kashrut made it worthwhile to forget that affair. Thus Rabbi Gutnick was placed at the helm of Mizrachi’s operation and into the deal delivered his collection of establishments. There was also the matter of Rabbi Yanki Barber of South Caulfield who also had a couple of shops under him. Mizrachi took care of him similarly - offering him a position and thus removing another competitor. It was said at the time that to attract more “Haredim”, Mizrachi hired Kollel Beth Hatalmud’s Rabbi Nachman Sofer - adding his name to their growing and impressive rabbinical inventory.

Meanwhile Rabbi Chaim Gutnick, continued to supervise Ungar catering on behalf of Elwood Shul (which after his passing transferred to Kosher Australia). The late Rabbi Rudzki also approved a number of caterers. (Those seem to have been taken over by Rabbi Meir Rabi.)

Adass Kashrut has also been around for yonks. In the early years it was only butchers and poultry shops, chalav yisrael, oil and a limited number of products. This has over the past couple of decades expanded to caterers, food producers and shops, as well as the checking out of major companies eg Kellogs, Fosters etc on behalf of local consumers and overseas authorities. It is generally accepted by most, that the Adass standard is the highest in Australia and the important overseas Haredi Kashrut groups such as the Edah Haredit in Jerusalem and Kedassia in London work hand-in-hand with their rabbis.

In the past months we have seen Adass drop a number of establishments - for whatever reasons. These were immediately snapped up by Kosher Australia. Thus, unless one insists on Adass kashrut, those establishments are still there for us consumers. Another advantage of multiple Kashrut authorities.

This is all I have time for right now, but I hope to return and offer further facts and thoughts on the continuing evolution of Kashrut in Australia. Please note that the chronology may not be 100% accurate. I welcome comments and especially corrections.