Sabbath Mode and a Star: How Baltimore’s Star-K Changed the Kosher Kitchen

If your oven or fridge has a “Sabbath mode”, you have already met the work of Star-K, even if you have never seen its symbol on a packet. The Baltimore certifier helped bring that setting into ordinary kitchens, and its story says a great deal about how kashrut has moved beyond food.

Who is behind Star-K?

STAR-K Kosher Certification is based in Baltimore, Maryland. It began life as the Orthodox Jewish Council and the Vaad Hakashrus of Baltimore, which was chartered in 1947. In the early 1970s a group of lay leaders, led by Leonard Sperling, revived it.

In 1971 Rabbi Moshe Heinemann became its rabbinic administrator, and in 1981 Avrom Pollak became president.

From one empty classroom

The beginnings were modest. In 1978 Star-K was certifying about 25 establishments, working out of a single empty classroom. That same year it launched two things that are still at the heart of its work: Kashrus Kurrents, a quarterly publication, and a kashrus hotline for questions from the public. The very first Kashrus Kurrents was printed on yellow paper. Both the publication and the hotline are still running today, more than 45 years later, and together they remain the main way the public reaches Star-K.

How big is it today?

According to Star-K, it now certifies more than 3,100 locations in 48 US states and 63 countries, with a staff of 360. Its hotline handles more than 100,000 questions a year, which gives a sense of how many people rely on it for everyday answers. For an organisation that began with around 25 establishments and one empty classroom in 1978, that is considerable growth in a little over four decades.

The story of Sabbath mode

In 1997 Star-K worked with Whirlpool on a project that led to “Sabbath Mode” appliances, and Whirlpool patented the idea in 1998. Today Star-K keeps a list of appliances with a Sabbath mode, so that families can check a model before they buy it.

Marks to look out for

Alongside the main Star-K mark, you may come across two related marks:

• STAR-D: a mark administered by Star-K for dairy products that are not chalav Yisrael. It is a trademark of the National Council of Young Israel.
• STAR-S: a Passover mark for products that contain kitniyot, intended for Sephardim.

Star-K takes its symbol seriously. The trademark was registered in Rabbi Heinemann’s personal name, and Star-K says the symbol “may never be used for personal purposes”. The reasoning, as Star-K tells it, was to make sure that no future board could take the mark over and dilute its standards. It is an unusual arrangement, and it says something about how closely a hechsher’s reputation is tied to the people who stand behind it.

How to check a product

• The Kashrus Hotline on 410-484-4110, for questions about products and establishments.
• Kashrus Kurrents, published quarterly since 1978.
• The Passover directory, for products approved for Pesach.
• The Sabbath-mode appliance list, for ovens, fridges and other appliances.

Three things you might not know

1. The “Sabbath mode” on many modern ovens and fridges came out of a Star-K and Whirlpool project in 1997.
2. The Star-K trademark was registered in Rabbi Heinemann’s own name, so that no future board could take it over and dilute its standards.
3. The first issue of Kashrus Kurrents, in 1978, was printed on yellow paper.

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 Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and what “mehadrin” really means.

Sources: Star-K: About; Star-K retrospective; Star-K: All about Sabbath mode appliances; Wikipedia: Star-K; Wikipedia: Kosher certification agency. Figures are as published by Star-K.