44 I JEWISH ACTION Summer 5771/2011

I N 1 9 6 0 , when Rabbi Goldzweigfirst joined the OU’s kosher division,known today as “OU Kosher,” it was afledgling operation with just a handfulof full-time mashgichim in the field. Atthe time, the world of kosher certifica-tion was in its infancy.

“As long as the ingredients paneldidn’t list lard, everybody thought itwas fine,” says Rabbi Goldzweig, wholives in Chicago.

Intent on learning everything therewas to know about ingredients, RabbiGoldzweig quickly became the “go-to”ingredient maven, with four phonelines to accommodate the daily delugeof calls he would receive from kosheragencies and consumers aroundthe world.

“He could walk into a plant and justby looking at the code on an ingredientcontainer, he would know exactly whomanufactured it and if it was kosher,”says Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of OUKosher, which today boasts a high-techdatabase with nearly 350,000 kosherfood ingredients.

“There’s no question that RabbiGoldzweig was a pivotal player inthe development of kashrut inAmerica. He was the OU,” saysRabbi Israel Paretzky, an OU rab-binic coordinator (RC).

“Kosher Columbo” Rabbi Goldzweig’s colleagues (read:disciples) view his brilliance, metic-ulousness, and unpretentious charmresponsible for OU Kosher’s phe-nomenal success. “He has no airsabout him,” says Rabbi Avrohom Ju-ravel, an OU RC. “He comes across

like a human being, not like a professorwith white gloves looking for thatspeck of dust. He’ll find the speck ofdust but won’t come to managers withan attitude when showing it to them.”

“Companies feel safe with him.They trust him,” says Rabbi YaakovHorowitz, head mashgiach of the Man-ischewitz Company. “In the final

Bayla Sheva Brenner is senior writer inthe OU Communications and MarketingDepartment.

Profile By Bayla Sheva Brenner

THE SUPERMashgiachBefore PCs, iPads and iPods, there was Rabbi ChaimGoldzweig. An Orthodox Union rabbinic field represen-tative who recently marked his fiftieth anniversarywith the OU, Rabbi Goldzweig is known in food manu-facturing plants across the globe as the OU’s walking,talking kosher database.

An OU mashgiach inspects equipment at a NewJersey beverage bottling plant.

Rabbi Chaim GoldzweigPhoto: Joe Kus at the Chicago Jewish News

Summer11b_Layout 1 5/27/11 12:31 PM Page 44

Summer 5771/2011 JEWISH ACTION I 45

analysis, kosher is very much a function of trust. You’re notgoing to entrust a major part of your multi-million dollarbusiness to someone you don’t trust.”

Rabbi Goldzweig engendered such confidence that an oilcompany in India insisted that he—and only he—be incharge of overseeing its kosher production, which would re-quire him to spend the year in the country. Rabbi Goldzweig

explained that he couldn’t possibly stay away from his fam-ily for so long. “The company spent over one million dollarson his airfare just so that he could fly home for Shabbat andbe back [in India] on Monday,” says Rabbi Horowitz. “It wasbased purely on the personal relationship.”

His disarming manner put people at ease. “He’d walkinto a plant looking like the TV-detective Columbo, wearingan old hat and a disheveled jacket with overstuffed pockets,where he kept all his notes and pieces of paper,” says RabbiMichael Morris, an OU RC.

Rabbi Goldzweig, his colleagues say, would act as if hedidn’t know much. In short order, company executiveswould realize that he knew more about their productionthan the technical people in the company.

Globetrotting for KashrutRabbi Goldzweig’s entry into the kashrut field began whenthe OU hired him as a rabbinic field represenative (RFR) forProcter & Gamble. Soon the OU began sending him to plantsaround the world. Every Sunday morning, he would call thesupervising RC to plan his itinerary for the week. By Sundayevening, he was bound for somewhere in the US, or in Eu-rope or the Far East.

“I have more stamps on my passport than Carter has liverpills,” says Rabbi Goldzweig. Along the way, OU Kosher’sColumbo amassed many memorable episodes—some funny,some moving and others downright scary.

Once, after landing in Malaysia, Rabbi Goldzweig wasapproached by two men sporting rifles and bayonets. Theyasked if he was Jewish. Although nervous, he kept his witsabout him. “Let’s see . . . I’m not Irish,” he told them. “I’mnot Polish, Swedish, Greek . . . Ithink I must be Jewish.” Notamused, they asked him whathe was doing there. “Youknow, I’m beginning to won-der that myself,” he said. “Ifyou don’t want me here, Idon’t mind going back on thenext plane ‘cause you guyspaid for the tickets.” He pulledout a letter from Procter &Gamble confirming his super-vision of a vegetable glycerinrun. They let him go.

His winsome disposition not only got him out of jams, italso inspired lifelong friendships. One of the managers atProcter & Gamble sued his ex-wife for custody of their chil-dren. He asked Rabbi Goldzweig if he would be a characterwitness. Rabbi Goldzweig agreed. “The judge was trying tosurmise why in the world they called in a rabbi,” says RabbiGoldzweig. “He asked me how I knew the man. I explainedthat I worked at Procter & Gamble as a kosher supervisorand that I’d been to his home and knew his family. He askedme some questions about kashrut then banged his gavel andannounced that because the manager got a rabbi to be a

Crisco, a shortening made entirely of vegetable oil instead of lard, wasinvented in 1910. Three years after the product was on the market,Procter & Gamble began advertising that Crisco was a cheap andkosher product for which the “Hebrew race has been waiting 4,000years.” In 1958, Crisco became OU certified.

Courtesy of the J.M. Smucker Company Corporate Archives

With 55 rabbiniccoordinators at the nationaloffice overseeing morethan 500 rabbinic fieldrepresentatives stationedaround the world, the OUhas achieved prominenceinternationally, particularlyin Europe and the Far East.

An OU mashgiach makes the rounds.

Summer11b_Layout 1 5/27/11 12:31 PM Page 45

46 I JEWISH ACTION Summer 5771/2011

In the early part of the twentieth cen-tury, American manufacturers

started recognizing the buying powerof Jewish immigrants, and began ad-vertising in the Yiddish press. By the1920s, kosher consumers were facedwith a genuine dilemma—how werethey to know which ingredients hid in-side those tempting packages on thegrocery shelves?

Rebecca Goldstein, president of theWomen’s Branch of the OrthodoxUnion, teamed up with her husband,Rabbi Dr. Herbert S. Goldstein, presi-dent of the OU, to take action. “We hadalways been telling our children whatthey might not eat. We decided . . . tosee if we could . . . persuade some ofthe well-known manufacturers . . . tosubstitute Kosher for non-kosher in-gredients . . . Then we could point outthe things we were permitted to eat.”1

The OU approached the Loose-WilesBiscuit Co. early in 1924 to suggest bak-ing kosher crackers and cookies. Loose-Wiles created Sunshine KosherCrackers, the first product to receivekosher certification from the OU.2 Thesymbol was not the familiar OU , first

featured on Heinz3 products, but a moreelaborate seal with the letters UOJC(Union of Orthodox Jewish Congrega-tions of America). The symbol appearedin both English and Hebrew versionsand was printed next to Yiddish andEnglish text:

SUNSHINE KOSHER CRACKERSare made under the supervision of theUnion of Orthodox Jewish Congregationsof America, whose representative, RabbiE. Goelman, appointed by Rabbi M.S.Margolies, is always present at the bak-ing of the crackers to see that they arekosher in every respect. These koshercrackers can be used with meat or dairydishes. [Signed] Rabbi Herbert S. Gold-stein, President.4

Kashrut was paramount in Sun-shine’s advertising campaign. The ad-vertisements assured customers thatthe OU’s certification guaranteed that

character witness, he’s going to givehim the children. I can’t tell you howhappy he was.”

The Mashgiach’s MashgiachThe string of RCs under RabbiGoldzweig’s tutelage still consider himthe king of kashrut. “There is no bigger

boki [expert] in the field—then andtoday,” says Rabbi Dovid Jenkins, OURC. “He taught me how to go through afacility, how to look at ingredients, howto decipher which are problematic ornot—all in clear, understandableterms.”

He also transmitted the tricks of thetrade. “He was famous for using the‘salami method,’”says Rabbi Juravel.“He’d walk into a plant with severalkosher salamis in his pockets and givethem out as presents. The workers be-came his best friends.”

The plant managers were also smit-ten. “He is one smart person,” says RayHenry, retired president and CEO ofDaddy Ray’s, the country’s largestmanufacturer of fig and fruit bars. “Heis bubbly and friendly and probably theonly guy who would let me hug him.”

Rabbi Goldzweig approached theplants’ kosher glitches in the same gra-cious manner. “He never looked downon anyone; he treated them as equals,”says Rabbi Mordechai Grunberg, anOU RFR. “Once, we were sitting at aninitial meeting with the plant adminis-

Shulamith Z. Berger is the curator of specialcollections at Yeshiva University’s MendelGottesman Library in New York.

The original OU kosher symbol, in Hebrewand English versions, appeared in 1924 onSunshine Kosher Crackers, the first productto receive OU certification.From the collections of the National

Library of Israel

A Rosh Hashanah ad for Sunshine KosherCrackers, which appeared in Der Morgen

Journal, Sept. 7, 1931. The ad reads: “In orderto ask for a good year, one must have a kosher

mouth—your mouth is not kosher if you eatcrackers . . . baked with khazer-fat.”

From the collections of the National

Library of Israel

The OU: Pioneering the KosherFood IndustryB Y S H U L A M I T H Z . B E R G E R

Today, one-third to one-half of thefood for sale in the typical Americansupermarket is kosher.

Summer11b_Layout 1 5/27/11 12:31 PM Page 46

no treif ingredients lurked inside thecrackers. A Rosh Hashanah ad in theYiddish daily Der Morgen Journal fea-tures an illustration of women prayingin a synagogue. The text reads: “Inorder to ask for a good year, one musthave a kosher mouth—your mouth isnot kosher if you eat crackers . . . bakedwith khazer-fat.”

A Simchat Torah-themed ad showschildren carrying flags in a synagogue.The ad warns: “You can’t teach yourchildren respect for the Torah whenafter the hakafot . . . you give themcookies . . . baked with lard.”

A January 1925 report of the OUWomen’s Branch lauded their success:“This is the first time in the history ofour country that kosher crackers areavailable for use in Orthodox Jewishhomes and we feel that by this accom-plishment, we have helped to fill along-felt want among scrupulous and

observant housewives.” The report ex-plained that the Kashruth Committeeis “at present engaged in similar nego-tiations with other companies whichmanufacture food products.”5 Thesenegotiations led to the OU’s collabora-tion with Heinz and the creation of theOU symbol in 1927.6 Heinz productsare still proudly part of the OUfamily today.

Notes1. Mrs. Herbert S. Goldstein, “The Jew-

ish Woman: A Force for Jewishness,” JewishForum 8, no. 10 (Dec. 1925), 571.

2. The Light of Israel = Yidishe Likht 2,no. 44 (Jan. 18, 1924): 7; “Kosher Kookies,”New Yorker, 17 Oct. 1931, 14; “Swat the Lie,”The Sunshine News: A Monthly Magazine forthe Sunshine Family 14, no. 4 (April 1926);Harold P. Gastwirt, Fraud, Corruption andHoliness: The Controversy Over the Supervi-sion of Jewish Dietary Practices in New YorkCity 1881-1940 (New York, 1974), 11, citinginterview with Rabbi Dr. Herbert S. Gold-stein, Nov. 6, 1967.

3. Eleanor Dienstag, In Good Company:125 Years at the Heinz Table (New York,1994), 275.

4. “Rendering a Service,” The SunshineNews 13, no. 7 (July 1925): 15-16; and on Sun-shine Kosher Crackers advertisements.

5. Yeshiva University Archives. YeshivaUniversity Records, “Women’s Committee”Folder: 12/3, Women’s Publicity 1925.

6. List entitled “Heinz 57 Varieties,” is-sued by the OU, Nov. 1927; “Message byRabbi Herbert S. Goldstein, President of theUnion of Orthodox Jewish Congregations ofAmerica, National Conference, New YorkCity, Nov. 19-21, 1927,” 10. The list and mes-sage are located in the Herbert S. GoldsteinPapers, Yeshiva University Archives.

Summer 5771/2011 JEWISH ACTION I 47

A Heinz ad, appearing in Der MorgenJournal, August 31, 1938. Heinz was thefirst company to use the OU kosher sym-bol used today. The ad reads: “What isthe meaning of the OU? The small em-blem on the labels of over 50 Heinz prod-ucts marks the approval of the OU.”

From the collections of the National

Library of Israel

tration, and Rabbi Goldzweig was try-ing to get information on a certain rawmaterial. He suspected that it could beanimal based. In a nice way, he asked if .. . they were sure they had all the ingre-dients listed. He suggested they reviewit again. He knew that the raw materialhad to be there.”

Once the executives realized thatthe rabbi knew exactly which ingredi-ents should be in the particular prod-uct, and that they weren’t going to getaway with hiding anything, they came

clean. “Mostly, they appreciated how helet them know in such a polite indi-rectly direct way,” says Rabbi Grunberg.Word got out in the industry that whenRabbi Goldzweig comes to a plant, givehim everything, because he’s going tohelp you; if you can’t get a raw materialfrom a kosher source, he has anothersource in his left shirt pocket, and he’llmake a call for you on the spot.

Although his kashrut work took himaway from home for most of the week,it didn’t detract from his devotion to

family. “Except for the times he had tofly to Hawaii to supervise macadamianuts, he never missed a Shabbos athome,” says his daughter, Beila Lichter.

Growing up, the Goldzweig childrencouldn’t help but notice that their fa-ther was an important person in thecommunity. “Wherever we went, peo-ple stopped to ask him questions aboutproducts and ingredients,” says his son,Pinchus. “Whenever we went to food

The OU database contains information onnearly 350,000 food ingredients.

A Simchat Torah ad for Sunshine KosherCrackers, which appeared in Der MorgenJournal, Sept. 28, 1931. The ad reads, “Youcan’t teach your children respect for theTorah when after hakafot you give themcookies . . . baked with lard.”

From the collections of the National

Library of Israel

Summer11b_Layout 1 5/27/11 12:31 PM Page 47

48 I JEWISH ACTION Summer 5771/2011

stores, he would walk around look-ing at ingredients. Once, while in asupermarket, he picked up a certainproduct, and a woman came runningover, saying: ‘Rabbi Goldzweig saidyou’re not supposed to use thatitem!’ He quickly put it down andwent to the next aisle, where anothershopper approached him with aquestion, addressing my father byname. The first woman overheard

and apologized. He said:‘At least I know people arelistening to me.’”

Today, OU RCs con-tinue to call him for ad-vice. “I still need to hearhis judgment on an issue,”says Rabbi Paretzky. “Ialso encourage membersof the new kashrut staffwho haven’t heard of himto call Rabbi Goldzweig.Besides, the man is a realupper. If you’re ever in a

bad mood, call Rabbi Goldzweig; you’ll be in a good mood withinfive minutes.”

“The kashrut department wasbuilt on his shoulders,” saysRabbi Menachem Genack,CEO of OU Kosher. “Heis a man of commit-ment, knowledge andconcern for every as-pect of the job. He iswhat we call the‘super mashgiach.’” �

Timeline of the KosherFood Industry

In the early 1920s, at a time when kosher food su-pervision in the US was riddled with corruption, theOrthodox Union, under the leadership of Rabbi Dr.Herbert S. Goldstein, embarked on a monumental,unprecedented undertaking: the creation of the firstnon-profit, communally sponsored kosher certifica-tion. Sunshine Crackers became the first product toreceive certification by the OU in 1924.

1927: Heinz Vegetarian Beans becomes OU certi-fied—and is the first kosher-certified product to bemarketed nationally. The OU logo is designed, atthe request of Heinz, for use on the label of itsVegetarian Baked Beans.

1945: OU certifies 184 products madeby 37 companies.

1961: OU certifies 1,830 products madeby 359 companies.

1997: Considered a watershed in the his-tory of the kosher food industry, Nabisco’sOreo cookies become OU certified (alongwith 80 other Nabisco products).

1998: The OU, the largest kosher supervi-sion agency in the world, celebrates its cen-tennial anniversary.

2003: Kosher food is a $12 billion industry,with a sustained 15 percent growth yearafter year.

2009: Tootsie Roll becomes OU certified.

2011: OU certifies more than 600,000products worldwide, which are manufacturedin nearly 8,000 plants in more than 80 coun-tries. Many of the basic ingredients requiredfor kosher manufacture anywhere in theworld, and by all supervision agencies, areOU certified.

Many of the world’s most recognizedbrands choose the OU for their koshercertification including Best Foods, Gen-eral Mills, Kraft/Nabisco, Pillsbury,Reynolds Aluminum and hundreds more.

The OU kosher symbol appears on morethan 60 percent of America’s producedfoods that are certified kosher.

An OU mashgiach on the job.

“There’s no question that he was apivotal player in the development ofkashrut in America. He was the OU.”

Summer11b_Layout 1 5/27/11 12:31 PM Page 48

Available at www.oupress.org and Authorized Koren Booksellers everywhere

NOW IN STORES!Sold Out Last Year

N

SIN STN

OWNNOTN

Sld ut L

old ON STSSo W

Oa

OWTTO

earYYeastLL

ORES!

AA

oos.s.sseeprpruuoo..www.w.wwwwwwt wt wwwwwle ale abbaallaiaivvAAAvAv

nn eed Kord Koreezziiororuthuthd Ad Annorg aorg a

eerreehhwwwhwhyyywywrreevvrs ers elelelleesskkBooBoo

y

sit

Summer11b_Layout 1 5/27/11 12:32 PM Page 49