This was a year of many significant losses of kosher certification personalities with the Covid-19 pandemic claiming many victims. The most recent loss was Rabbi Abe Sharp, longtime Assistant and Business Manager for the Association of Kashrus Organizations and the Chicago Rabbinical Council. He played a major role in organizing many of the successful AKO conferences as well as maintaining constant communications with the AKO membership. AKO plans to honor the memory of many of these “heroes” who were responsible for the kashrus revolution in America and worldwide at its December 24th AKO Virtual Conference. Amongst the giants who will be remembered are Rabbi Don Joel Levy of the OK Laboratories who was one of the leaders of kashrus supervision. Another key OK personality was Rabbi Leizer Teitelbaum, a brilliant authority on kashrus. A new book is scheduled to be published on Rabbi Chaim Goldzweig, an iconic figure in the world of kosher certification. Appropriately titled “Chief,” it will no doubt shed light on his remarkable scope of knowledge tying technology to kashrus. Rabbi Goldzweig was referred to by many as the “father” of modern kashrus supervision. Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, who merited to learn from (and with) Rabbi Goldzweig, whom he viewed as his mentor in kashrus supervision, said: ‘It is hard to describe a man as brilliant as Rabbi Goldzweig with his combined knowledge of Torah, mechanics, chemicals and ingredients, but yet a master of humility.
