Camouflage, Kosher Certification, and Soy Milk: Permitted or Forbidden?

Sometimes we face a question that seems to have no solution, and it's not clear how we can find grounds for permitting it, but only halakhic and professional knowledge can open a door for us - a door so wide that we wonder how the question arose in the first place. Soy milk is one such example.

We all know soybeans as a type of round legume with a light brown color that cannot be eaten at all without proper cooking. So if we were asked about the status of soybeans cooked by a non-Jew, our answer would certainly be without any doubt - the beans are forbidden to eat.

If that's the case, let's intensify the question: how do strict kosher certification agencies grant kosher certification to soy milk produced in factories abroad, where all factory workers are non-Jews, and the production process involves cooking the beans before extraction? Why isn't soy milk forbidden due to the cooking done by non-Jews?

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, and first tell a bit about the soy milk production process.

Soy milk - Many folk tales have been told about the first inventor of soy milk, but apparently the credit goes to the Far East, perhaps to the Japanese or Chinese who don't use animal milk, but only soy and coconut milk. Looking back at the distant past reveals another aspect of the halakhic perspective, slightly different from today's common production, where soybeans are soaked in water so they absorb water and swell, after which the soybeans are ground and cooked. However, in more advanced facilities, there are computer-programmed cooking pots that combine cooking the soybeans while grinding them. But in both methods, at the end of cooking, a thick liquid resembling porridge is obtained. This liquid is mixed with water and squeezed until a clear white liquid called soy milk is obtained. Soy milk consists of 92.5% water, 3.4% protein, 1.5% carbohydrates, and also contains B vitamins.

However, when we analyze the soy milk production process, we discover that water is the main ingredient, while soy protein serves only as a basis for giving color, texture, and taste, similar to coffee where water is the main ingredient and coffee powder is added in small percentages just to create appearance and taste. Therefore, when soy milk came before Rabbi M. Yosef Shlita, head of the Beit Din, he initially advocated for it and opened a way for it not to be treated more strictly than coffee, which itself is a very interesting halakhic topic. Some say there is no prohibition of food cooked by non-Jews for items that aren't central to a meal and come only as a supplement, including coffee. However, the Yabea Omer has already proven that according to the Shulchan Aruch, even if something comes as a dessert, the laws of non-Jewish cooking apply to it. Therefore, the permissibility of drinking coffee cooked by a non-Jew comes from a completely different reason - only because coffee is similar to beer production. Just as it's permissible to drink beer brewed in non-Jewish breweries because water is the main component, and there's no prohibition if water is cooked by a non-Jew. The proof that water is the main component is that we make the blessing "shehakol" on beer because of the water, not "mezonot" because of the barley. The same applies to soy milk, where water is the main component, constituting about ninety-four percent of the drink at the end of the process.

In truth, we could go on and on, debating... since it's mentioned that the Arizal didn't drink coffee because the powder was roasted by non-Jews and was forbidden even before the drink was prepared... But this entire discussion doesn't apply to soy milk, which doesn't undergo roasting before extraction. And even if it did, it wouldn't be forbidden because a person doesn't invite friends over for roasted items... But the head of the Beit Din explained the major permission for soy milk because even after the soybeans are fully cooked, the milk is not suitable for drinking - its taste is bland and even repulsive. What makes it suitable for drinking are the flavoring agents and sugar. Therefore, the cooking itself doesn't benefit the milk at all, it only extracts the protein from the soy into the water but doesn't make it suitable for drinking. Consequently, the milk is not forbidden due to non-Jewish cooking.

However, if we recreate the ancient soy milk production process, we discover that soy milk can be produced without any cooking at all, by soaking soybeans in water for several hours until the soy protein breaks down on its own. After rinsing, the soybeans are ground while covered in water, and the paste is mixed again with water, then squeezed through a cloth. More water is added to the paste and squeezed again, and so on until the container is filled to the brim with juicy soy milk. Thus, the purpose of cooking soybeans in factories is not to improve the soy, but simply out of laziness and to save time so they don't have to deal with and wait for the soybeans to soak in water.