The Law is always evolving. What is Kosher, and who decides?

The “chief” rabbi of the Torah and Land Institute in Israel has reversed the ruling he made last week and now has determined that strawberries are kosher despite the presence of tiny insects and insect parts on them:

During a class he gave last Thursday at the hesder yeshiva in Karnei Shomron, Rabbi Amar explained that “the Torah prohibits the consumption of insects that can be seen with the naked eye, and does not ban eating bugs that can only be spotted through a microscope.” 

The term “Chief Rabbi,” incidentally, has no significance beyond the particular group of Jews who choose to give it significance. The Torah and Land Institute has its followers, but plainly it is not the final word on what is and what is not kosher. No one is.

The decisions of the Israeli High Court of Justice, on the other hand, are binding on all Israelis. And last week that court ruled that the state cannot discriminate against Reform Jewish institutions in connection with conversions.