Clean & Kosher

Title: Clean & Kosher

Location: Kovno, Russian Empire

Document: Kosher Certification from Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spektor

Time: January 1881

“We entered a car where a chauffeur was seated at the wheel. Reb Boruch Ber, Reb Reuven, another man, Papa and I rode together… During the ride, I discovered that the other man riding with us, the owner of the car, was the well-known millionaire who owned the Rokeach factories. … ‘Mama, do you know who else is coming up? Mr. Rokeach, the very rich one. We rode in his car.’ I ran to our cupboard and pulled out the boxes of Rokeach’s dishwashing powder that were stored there and placed them in prominent places all over the kitchen. I hoped he would notice them as he passed through on the way to our dining room.”

—Ruchoma Shain, All for the Boss

Israel Rokeach (1841-1933) grew up in Volkovysk, Lithuania, moving to Kovno following his marriage. Rokeach was troubled by the trends of loosening halachic observance he was witness to in Kovno at this time, and he sensed both a business opportunity and a way to strengthen traditional norms. In lieu of lard, which was then the common base ingredient in commercial soap production, he pioneered using vegetable oil as a substitute.

In order to market his new kosher product, he approached the venerated rabbi of Kovno, Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spektor, for his approval. After being reassured that the new soap would bear the Hebrew imprint “kosher,” Rav Yitzchok Elchonon endorsed it, and the Rokeach line of kosher products was launched.

Branching out from soap into other vegetable-oil-based products, his lucrative business flourished for a time, and he became renowned for his philanthropy. The 1880s saw an economic downturn in the Russian Empire, and Israel Rokeach joined the throngs of immigrants to the United States, arriving in New York in 1890. Unlike most immigrants, who were generally in their twenties, Rokeach now had to rebuild his business from scratch at the age of nearly 50.

At a tribute dinner held in honor of the 90-year-old entrepreneur in 1930, Der Forverts ran a feature on his life story.