Kashrus Kurrents, Fall 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eretz zavas chalav u\u2019devash<\/em> was surely music to Moshe Rabbeinu\u2019s ears, and no doubt filled his heart with anticipation of a yeshua<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Ribono\nShel Olam<\/em> commissioning Moshe to assume the leadership of Bnei Yisroel at\nthe Sneh<\/em>, He promised that Bnei Yisroel were to be emancipated from\ntheir servitude in Egypt and brought to a wonderful land, an eretz zavas chalav u\u2019devash<\/em>, a land\nflowing with milk and honey. This description surely conjured\nup the glorious image of a land abounding in delicious, sweet milk and heavenly\nhoney, a land of prosperity and, on a deeper level, an exceptional makom<\/em>\nthat exuded kedusha v\u2019tahara<\/em> (sanctity and holiness) and the Ribono Shel\nOlam\u2019s special Providence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ndescription eretz zavas chalav u\u2019devash<\/em> not only serves as a beautiful\nmetaphor to lavish praise on Eretz Yisroel. The Gemara Bechoros<\/em> points\nout that this possuk<\/em> is actually the mekor<\/em> (source) for\npermitting milk produced by a kosher mammal, as well as honey made by one of\nthe most remarkable of the Ribono Shel Olam\u2019s creations \u2013 the honeybee.[1]<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are All Honeys Created Equal? <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Halacha\ndoes not distinguish between bee honey varieties. Addressing the kashrus of\nhoneybee honey, the Halacha clearly states devash devorim mutar<\/em>.[2]<\/a>\n\u2013 honeybee honey is permissible. A blanket statement, with no exceptions, no\ndistinctions, unchallenged in Shulchan Aruch<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But are all\nhoneys created equal? While we are familiar with clover honey or orange blossom\nhoney, easily found on our supermarket shelves, there are countless exotic varieties,\neach with its own unique color, flavor, and viscosity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of\nthe diversity of honeys available for purchase, every one of them originates\nfrom the identical producer and production facility: the honeybee and the hive.\nFor instance, acacia honey comes from the nectar of a black locust tree. Manuka\nhoney comes from the nectar of the New Zealand manuka tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entomologically\nspeaking, how does this incredibly fascinating briya<\/em> actually create\nhoney? Let\u2019s take a closer look at the unique anatomy of honeybees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Honey Sac: Hashem\u2019s Special Gift\nto Honeybees <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ribono\nShel Olam created a honeybee with two stomachs. One stomach forms a part of the\nbee\u2019s digestive system; the other, also called the honey sac<\/em>, is entirely\nindependent of the digestive system. When honeybees drink nectar from flowering\nplants or trees, they deposit the nectar into their honey sac. The honey sac\ncould hold the nectar of a thousand flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The honey sac\ncontains natural enzymes called invertase<\/em> which help break down the\nsweet nectar, sucrose, into simple sugars: fructose and glucose. Once the sac is full, the honeybee brings the\nhoney to the hive and passes off the nectar to \u2018house bees\u2019 that apply\nadditional enzymes to the nectar. The water content of the nectar is reduced,\nand converted nectar is placed into cells in the hive, capped with wax, and\nleft to ripen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on the nectar supply, the nectar can be converted into honey in two to three days in peak season or in one to two weeks as the season wanes. In a small hive with fewer worker bees, it can take as long as 45 days. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Forest Honey<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned\npreviously, the Halacha does not make distinctions between bee honey varieties,\nyet there is an intriguing halachically<\/em> challenging source of a raw\nmaterial from the forest that is collected by honeybees to create a delightful and\nhealthful product called forest, or honeydew, honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forest honey\nis not produced from blossom nectar, but from \u2018honeydew,\u2019 a sugary solution\nthat is excreted from plant-sucking insects and deposited on the leaves of an\noak tree. The honeybee collects the sugary honeydew from the leaves and\nproduces honey with the same equipment, enzymes, and honey production protocols\nas honey sourced from blossom and tree nectar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to the\nunusual source of forest honey, Rav Moshe Heinemann shlita<\/em>, Rabbinic\nAdministrator of STAR-K, was asked to pasken<\/em> whether forest honey or\nhoneydew poses any kashrus concerns. The Rav maintained that the Mechaber\ndoesn\u2019t differentiate between nectar sources. Devash<\/em> is a halachic<\/em>\nanomaly: an edible item is produced in or by a non-kosher insect and yet is\nconsidered 100% kosher. All the sugars and nectars in the production of forest\nhoney are converted exactly the same. Thus, forest honey is acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Halachic \u2018Wanna Bee\u2019 <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the\nunchallenged \u2018devash devorim\u2019<\/em> halacha<\/em>, the Mechaber continues and\n states that wasp and hornet honey (devash\ntzirin v\u2019gizin<\/em>) are also permissible,[3]<\/a>\nthough there are those who forbid these honeys. The Rema weighs in and says not\nto worry, since this type of honey is not prevalent \u2013 ainenu motzui beineinu\nklal<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously,\nthe Halacha is not as generous permitting wasp honey as its honeybee\ncounterpart, and for good reason, as bees are not created anatomically identical!\nTrue, like honeybees, wasps collect nectar, but wasps do not have a separate\nnectar collection sac. A rare exception is the Mexican Honey Wasp, whose anatomy mirrors\nthe honeybee\u2019s and includes a separate honey sac. However, experts describe its\nhoney as second rate and tasting \u2018skunky\u2019! <\/p>\n\n\n\n To Bee or Not To Bee: The Bottom\nLine<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is\nabsolutely incredible how clearly Chazal understood the briya<\/em> and all of\nthe Ribono Shel Olam\u2019s creations. They were so clear, down to the kutzo shel\nyad<\/em> \u2013 the fine point of the letter yud<\/em> \u2013 or, in this instance, the kotz<\/em>\nof the bee!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wishing you and your family a shana tova u\u2019mesuka<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Natural Honey<\/strong> \u2013 100% honey, filtered, with no\nadditional color or flavor <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pure Honey<\/strong> \u2013 100% honey, pasteurized and\nfiltered<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honey Blend<\/strong> \u2013 honey processed with corn syrup<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organic Honey<\/strong> \u2013 100% honey produced from the\npollen of organically grown plants without chemical pesticides \u2013 filtration\nrequired*<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raw Honey<\/strong> \u2013 100% honey produced by extracting\nhoney from the hive, pouring it over a nylon cloth (a \u2018thrip cloth\u2019) to\nseparate the honey from beeswax and bee parts \u2013 filtration required*<\/p>\n\n\n\n * (filtration clarifies the honey) [1]<\/a> Bechoros<\/em> (6A) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBee Aware: Your\nGuide to Honey Labels<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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