Fall 2010

As we look toward the beginning of the new year, we turn our thoughts to teshuva, and the hope that our tefillos will be answered for a sweet new year.  This request has been symbolized for hundreds of years on Rosh Hashana by eating challah and apples dipped in honey.1

The question regarding the kosher status of honey is older than the custom of dipping an apple on Rosh Hashana.  There is a well known halacha that states that derivatives of non-kosher species are not kosher;2 this would include camel’s milk and ostrich eggs.  Since a bee is a non-kosher insect, how can honey which comes from a bee be permissible to eat?  Furthermore, if honey is kosher, are all products manufactured by the bee, e.g. royal jelly, beeswax, bee venom, and propolis (described below) also kosher?

The Kashrus of Honey

A brief entomological review of this remarkable insect is necessary in […]