A follow-up on my earlier post, about Ceres juices and a kashrus alert from the Star-K.
I kvetched about the wording a bit, explained why the concern (some kitniyot that was batel) should not render the food not kosher for Pesach, and noted that the Star-K’s alert system did not yet list it.
Since then, Star-K put in their alert, and I must say that I am impressed with how they handled it.
Compare the circulated image, which made be unhappy (read the post for why):
with what they posted as an alert:
Ceres Juice
March 23, 2023Please note that effective December 2022, STAR-K changed the status of the entire line of Ceres 100% Juice from "STAR-K Kosher for Passover" to STAR-K for year-round use only. This was due to a change in a processing aid used by the manufacturer that does not meet STAR-K's standards for Pesach.
Consumers who find containers of Ceres Juice on store shelves bearing a STAR-K P symbol should note that while these items are no longer certified Kosher for Passover according to STAR-K standards, they are halachically Kosher for Pesach.
New productions of Ceres Juice will bear only a STAR-K symbol.
They deserve mad props for this. On the one hand, they are absolutely entitled to determine for themselves what level of halacha, leniencies, stringencies and minhagim they want to impose in order to earn their certification. Yes, we Pharisees believe in bittul, and this is not chametz (which itself only isn’t nullified on Pesach itself, not beforehand), but just legumes; and even though this is likely a case of mei kitnitot / derivatives. Even so, they have a clientele who wish to maintain a specific group of practices, and they want to attest to the fact that all these requirements have been met.
While the image I kvetched about said “and the juices are not kfp”, the alert stresses that “while these items are no longer certified… they are halachically Kosher for Pesach.” Most excellent.
After my earlier post, I saw Ceres juices in the local store bearing the appropriate symbol, and purchased one.
The thing is, the standards of many religious Jews, based on family minhagim, are not matched by the major kashrut industries. Coupled with a general unwillingness to buy something without a dedicated Pesach hechsher — because we’d rather not have chametz in there in a tiny amount in the first place, rather than rely on bittul before the chag — this means that many minhagim or halachic standards are effectively lost.
So, some people would be willing to eat peanuts or peanut butter (saying that the gezeira doesn’t apply), or peanut oil (mei kitniyot). And they would pass this on to their children, which is part of the purpose of the chag, via actual practice and mimetic tradition. But such is not available, and the tradition is lost. What if a Sefardic hechsher has certified that there is no chametz in it? Then, they might avail themselves of that product. The same would seem to be true here. Star-K says there is no chametz, and the only concern is kitniyot which are batel. What an opportunity!
Hey, here’s Rabbi Elli Fischer staking out a position which might run counter to the above:
He makes a good point, for those who do consume kitniyot. (That’s not me, as I refrain for consuming kitniyot on Pesach.) It reminds me of the joke:
Q: How can you tell if someone is vegan?
A: Don’t worry, They’ll Tell you.
But some people get enjoyment arguing about it. And I think there is something to be learned from the analysis I provided above.
I can think of a few other reasons people may argue about justifying kitniyot, and try to convert others to the cause.
Consider the famous precedence of the Vilna Gaon, who put matza in a bowl of water in the window, in order to communicate against the minhag of gebrochts.
It is part of a their general world-view, part of a general assault on e.g. the Torah of galut and promoting the Torah of Eretz Yisrael.
Social pressure, or marital peace, or their kid’s shidduchim. They won’t actually be willing to eat kitniyot unless it is uncontroversial. And it won’t be uncontroversial unless they move others over to their side.
I’ll conclude by restating my praise for the Star-K in how they handled it.