Kashrut Reliance on Seller's Integrity

Hi, I am at a takeout place, and I asked the seller where his kashrut certificate is. He told me that he doesn’t have one, but all the ingredients are kosher. May I rely on him?

Thank you for your question.

The answer :

According to the Sefardim, if the seller is observant and is not suspected of eating or feeding prohibited food, then one may rely on him.

According to the Ashkenazim, only if the seller is not only an observant Jew, but also has been proven and known as a man who is honest and follows Halachah this is called in Hebrew מוחזק בכשרות, then you may rely on him.

This is according to the letter of the law; however, as will be explained, it would be better to buy from a shop that has a kashrut certificate or at least from a person whom one knows is knowledgeable with all the Halachot so one can be confident that what he is buying is strictly Kosher, for example properly checked for bugs etc.

The answer in depth :

The source of this Halacha is in The Shulchan Aruch YD Siman 119

שולחן ערוך יורה דעה הלכות מאכלי עובדי כוכבים סימן קיט

המחבר: החשוד לאכול דברים האסורים, בין אם הוא חשוד באיסור תורה בין אם הוא חשוד באיסור דרבנן, אין לסמוך עליו בהם; ואם נתארח עמו, לא יאכל משלו מדברים שהוא חשוד עליהם.

הגה: וי"א אפילו ממי שאינו חשוד, רק שאין מכירין אותו שהוא מוחזק בכשרות, אסור לקנות ממנו יין או שאר דברים שיש לחוש לאיסור

The Me’chaber : A person who is suspected of eating forbidden items, whether the suspicion is for a Torah prohibition or a rabbinic prohibition, should not be relied upon.

The Rema : Some say that even from someone who is not suspected, but who is not known to be reliable, then it is forbidden to buy wine or other items from him since we suspect maybe the food or wine is not Kosher.

We see that according to the opinion of the Me’chaber only if one is suspected of selling non-Kosher items, halachicly we cannot rely on him. However, if it is a person that we have no suspicion of him then it would be permitted.

According to the Rema, it is not enough to just not suspect him we also need to know that he is reliable and that he lives a life according to Halachah, in Hebrew this term is called מוחזק בכשרות the Aruch Hashulchan seif 11 explains in detail what it mean מוחזק בכשרות, for example, a person who puts on Tallit and Teffilin and prays three times a day and washes his hands before eating and educates his children in the way of Torah…

The Sephardic custom is like the Me’chaber, whereas the Ashkenaz custom is like the Rema

However one can ask a fundamental question how can he be trusted? We know a person who is personally involved in the matter may not testify in the courts since we suspect he has a bias due to his connection to the case. Therefore how is it possible that a person selling the food can be trusted to say all ingredients are kosher even if he is מוחזק בכשרות ?

We do find this in the commentary of the Gaon (YD siman 236 seif katan 22) as follows;
“Since he is connected to testimony he is not eligible to testify (even as a single witness) for matters prohibitions”

We see that a person who has a personal interest is disqualified from giving testimony in court.

However, we do find that the Rambam Hilchos Shechitah Perek 10 Halacha has a different approach:

רמב"ם הלכות שחיטה פרק י הלכה יד

שעד אחד נאמן באיסורין בין יש לו הנייה בעדותו בין אין לו הנייה בעדותו,

“One witness is believed regarding prohibitions whether he benefits from his testimony or not.”

We see that the halachos of testimony from a single witness regarding prohibitions are different from the general rules of testimony given by two witnesses in court.

Le’halacha, we follow the opinion of the Rambam, a person selling food can be trusted. As mentioned above, according to the Sephardi minhag, as long as he is shomer Torah and Mitzvot, and according to the Ashkenazi minhag, he must be מוחזק בכשרות, proven and known to live his life according to halacha.

As I wrote earlier this is according to the letter of the law; however, it is important to know that even a person who is מוחזק בכשרות does not always know all the halachic details and nuances. For example, which vegetables need to be checked for bugs, the correct way to check them, and all the details involved. Therefore, it is better to buy from a shop that has a kosher certificate, or from one where it is known for sure that the proprietor is knowledgeable about all the halachot that need to be known.

Wishing you all the best.

Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, Siman 119

Rema, Yoreh Deah, Siman 119

Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh Deah, Siman 119, Seif 11

Rambam, Hilchot Shechitah, Perek 10, Halacha 14

Gaon's commentary, Yoreh Deah, Siman 236, Seif Katan 22

Azamroh Lish’mecho sheet # 259