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In the year 1935, the Coca Cola company wanted to seek rabbinical supervision for Coke. They brought in Rabbi Tuvia Geffen of Atlanta, and rumor has it that he insisted that they slightly change the recipe for its production. Coke complied, and has been kosher ever since. But here’s what so fascinating – Rabbi Geffen became privy to one of the great “trade secrets” in the world. That is, the precise process for producing Coke is known only by a handful, lest it be stolen by unscrupulous “copy cats.”
There were similar “trade secrets” in the Tabernacle and, later, in the Temple in Jerusalem. Consider this passage, which concerns the formulation of the incense used by the priests:
And G-d said to Moses: Take the herbs balsam, onycha (don’t know what it is either), and galbanum (resin)—these herbs together with pure frankincense; let there be an equal part of each. Make them into incense, a compound expertly blended, refined, pure, sacred…But when you make this incense, you must not make any in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be held by you sacred to G-d. (Exodus 30:34-37)
Now this was the ancient equivalent of the formulation for Coke: a secret which needed to be kept out of the hands of others. In fact, those items which were used in the Temple were proscribed for use by laypeople, with penalties varying from civil to capital. According to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 38a), this was taken very seriously by the priests, to their eternal credit:
The Sages said to the priests: What did you see that led you not to teach others this craft? They said: The members of our father’s house knew that this house, the Temple, is destined to be destroyed, and they were concerned lest an unworthy man learn our skill of preparing incense and go and engage in idol worship with that skill. Therefore, they attempted to prevent this skill from spreading beyond their family…And for this matter they are mentioned favorably: Never did a perfumed bride emerge from their homes. And when they marry a woman from a different place, they stipulate with her that she will not perfume herself, so that cynics would not say that it is with the work of the incense that they perfume themselves, to fulfill that which is stated: “And you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel” (Numbers 32:22).
The trade secret of Coke never did emerge from Rabbi Geffen or any subsequent rabbinic certifying agency.
On the other hand, kosher certification led in part to Coke becoming the national soft drink of Israel. (yes, the Arab boycott played a role as well)
- Rabbi Scott Hoffman
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