A Guest Post by @azigra, not @Dovbear
The Charedi-ization of Orthodoxy has been most manifest in the extremes the organization's members are willing to go to prove their devoutness. One oft repeated example is the granting of kosher statuses to non food items such as plates, silver foil, and soaps. The narrative for cynics has been that corporate shills are capitalizing on the public's low self esteem by granting religious significance to grocery shopping. They realize the public's move to Charedism means more profits. The worst example is of course the Kosher Phone, which was foisted on the public through the collusion of business people and rabbis.
However, I came across a journal the other week, 'The Jewish Forum', published in January of 1922 with an ad containing copy that I would think could have only been written in this decade. There is precedent for such a thing, President Obama's Hawaiian birth announcement was inserted into a local microfiche in 2007 while preparing to run for president. Nevertheless, this seems authentic, a 1922 advertisement for soap stating that it is kosher. It even utilizes an appeal to emotion, 'worry about your children's Jewish souls! buy CN Soap!'
Search for more information about Kosher Collusion at4torah.com
The Charedi-ization of Orthodoxy has been most manifest in the extremes the organization's members are willing to go to prove their devoutness. One oft repeated example is the granting of kosher statuses to non food items such as plates, silver foil, and soaps. The narrative for cynics has been that corporate shills are capitalizing on the public's low self esteem by granting religious significance to grocery shopping. They realize the public's move to Charedism means more profits. The worst example is of course the Kosher Phone, which was foisted on the public through the collusion of business people and rabbis.
However, I came across a journal the other week, 'The Jewish Forum', published in January of 1922 with an ad containing copy that I would think could have only been written in this decade. There is precedent for such a thing, President Obama's Hawaiian birth announcement was inserted into a local microfiche in 2007 while preparing to run for president. Nevertheless, this seems authentic, a 1922 advertisement for soap stating that it is kosher. It even utilizes an appeal to emotion, 'worry about your children's Jewish souls! buy CN Soap!'
Search for more information about Kosher Collusion at4torah.com
