Edah HaChareidis

The Edah HaChareidis was originally founded by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld and Rabbi Yitzchok Yerucham Diskin (son of Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin) in 1918, as the Ashkenazic City Council (Va'ad Ha'Ir Ha'Ashkenazi ועד העיר האשכנזי), to separate from the Zionist-controlled General City Council. Rabbi Sonnenfeld had previously been the de facto chief rabbi of Jerusalem since 1909, after the death of Rabbi Shmuel Salant, but only accepted the official title in 1920, in order to counter the establishment of the Chief Rabbinate by the Zionist movement under British auspices. The Council originally had two rabbinical courts, one for the perushim and one for the chassidim, over which Rabbi Sonnenfeld was named as the first Av Beis Din, a position he held until his death in 1932. In 1936 the two courts joined and the organization received its current name.

While the Edah was originally affiliated with the World Agudath Israel, after the Agudah grudgingly began to cooperate with the Jewish Agency and other Zionist bodies, Amram Blau and Aharon Katzenellenbogen of Jerusalem broke away in 1938 to form Neturei Karta, refusing to have any dealings with the Zionists. During the 1940s the Neturei Karta became increasingly critical of the Agudah's position and in 1945 they succeeded in expelling Agudah members from the Edah, who eventually formed the Agudat Yisrael political party.

Rabbi Sonnenfeld was succeeded by Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, who was succeeded by Rabbi Zelig Reuven Bengis, who was succeeded by the Satmar Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum. Teitelbaum had already emigrated to the United States, but was still given the position as chief rabbi of the Edah. Teitelbaum's nephew, the late Grand Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum of Satmar, was given the title of President upon Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum's death. The lay leader of the body for many years was Gershon Stemmer, until his death in early 2007.

The Edah HaChareidis is known for its high standards in rabbinical supervision of kosher food, and is considered to be the most prominent and reliable hechsher in Israel. It is often simply known as the hechsher of the "Badatz", which stands for Beis Din Tzedek (literally, "Court [of] Righteous Law"), the standard term for a rabbinical court. Products certified by the Edah are marked with the logo of the Edah.

The Kashruth Council of the Edah HaChareidis (וועד הכשרות שע"י בד"ץ העדה החרדית) is the primary supervisory body. The council certifies all food products, besides meat and poultry, which are certified by the Council for Ritual Slaughter of the Edah HaChareidis (וועד השחיטה שע"י בד"ץ העדה החרדית). The Kashruth Council of the Edah HaChareidis publishes a kashruth guide annually under the title Madrich HaKashruth.

The Edah maintains various smaller councils, mostly to supervise and certify various products and services, as follows:

The Shemita Council of the Edah HaChareidis (וועד השמיטה שע"י העדה החרדית), which supervises produce and fields during the Shemita year;

Rabbinical court

The Rabbinical Court of the Edah HaChareidis (בית דין צדק לכל מקהלות האשכנזים שע"י העדה החרדית) is the highest authority in the Edah. The court hears both monetary and family cases, as well as community-wide halachic questions. Historically, the court is headed by both a Chief Rabbi, called the "Ga'avad" גאב"ד (an acronym for Gaon Av Beis Din, meaning Grand Patriarch of the Rabbinical Court), and by the "Ra'avad" ראב"ד (an acronym for Rosh Beis Din, meaning Head of the Rabbinical Court). The "Ra'avad" is the first person in the line of succession of the "Ga'avad", and would usually ascend to the role of "Ga'avad" upon his death or resignation, subject to confirmation by vote.

Titles and honorifics

Decrees and announcements promulgated by the court are usually published under one of the following headers:

(when signed by the Ga'avad) "By the authority of our teachers, the geniuses, the righteous, (or the princes of Torah) (his honorable holiness) our master the Ga'avad and the righteous court, may they live long and good days Amen".

(when signed by the Ra'avad and not by the Ga'avad) "By the authority of our teachers, the geniuses, the righteous, (or the princes of Torah) (his honorable holiness) our masters the Ra'avad and the righteous court, may they live long and good days Amen".

(when signed by neither the Ra'avad nor the Ga'avad) "By the authority of our teachers, the geniuses, the righteous, the members of the righteous court (of this here holy city), may they live long and good days Amen".

The following lists the proper (written) titles of the various members of the Edah's rabbinical court: