What exactly is a kosher phone? Is it something that requires ritual slaughter by a shochet? Must it be killed by a single cut across the throat in a manner which causes the least amount of pain? Must it be served only by an establishment that employs a mashgiach? Obviously, the answer to these questions is “no”—in fact, ritual slaughter of any kind would destroy the phone—so what actually makes a “kosher phone” kosher?
Kosher phones are mobile telephones, including cell-phones, iPhones and even flip-phones, which manufacturers deliberately program to have limited capabilities. In fact, it is the limitation that makes the phone “kosher.” The more restrictions, the more “kosher” it is. Indeed, when it comes to kosher phones, less truly is more.
Does this mean that regular smartphones with unlimited and unfettered access to the internet are treif phones? Perhaps.
Of course, kosher phones must offer users some ability to communicate with others. The standard telephone functionality is commonplace but the phones often come with only a few preset phone numbers. For example, a kosher phone may allow the user to call a parent, spouse, child, sibling, teacher, rabbi, business contact, or 911. It also would not be unusual for the phone’s preset numbers to include a butcher, baker and dry cleaner. Beyond these essentials, however, kosher phones go no further, which is precisely the point. Those purchasing a kosher phone do not want to be tempted or corrupted by the world around them. In the same way that Jews “build a fence around the Torah,” they build a firewall around their phones.
Not surprisingly, many kosher phones do not permit any access to the internet, photo-taking or text messaging. For this reason, kosher phones can be quite a bargain because it’s tough to charge a user for a data plan when they are not receiving any data.
Some kosher phones technically are smartphones but they actually are the dumbest phones in the market. Then again, to kosher phone users, such ignorance is bliss.
If you see a Jew using a flip-phone, chances are they are using a kosher phone. Why else would someone use a dinosaur-ish flip-phone in this day and age? In today’s smartphone world, you would have to go pretty far out of your way to find a flip-phone provider. It would be like trying to purchase a VCR, Sony Walkman or ColecoVision.
Kosher phones can be well-suited for parents who wish to protect their phone-using children from unwanted intrusion. A phone can be a gateway to moral corruption so parents would be wise to limit their kids’ mobile access. Thus, a “kosher phone” is like giving someone a television with only one channel, e.g., The Disney Channel. The phone nevertheless must have some minimum functionality because without it, talking into a kosher phone would be about as helpful as talking into a banana or a tin can tied to a string.
Some kosher phones go one step further by offering a select and carefully curated number of Apps such as Waze. This is potentially dangerous because a user might use Waze to find a store that sells non-kosher phones.
Some kosher phones offer access to the phone’s calendar function, which can be crucial to some users. How else will they readily ascertain whether a given year will be filled with two-day or three-day yontifs? Of course, the calendar function really should not be necessary for determining when certain holidays or fast days take place, including Tu B’shvat and Shiva Asar B-Tammuz.
Some kosher phones allow access to Amazon and Ebay but this is a prescription for disaster unless improper content can be weeded out. That said, having the internet on your phone without full access to Amazon and EBay would be like having an Atari 2600 without having Space Invaders or Asteroids.
Most kosher phones come with a hechsher or similar seal of approval, something to give purchasers confidence that unwelcome content is sufficiently suppressed. On the hechsher front, if a kosher phone has limited internet access, it should be labeled as “kosher” and if it has zero internet access, it should be labeled “glatt kosher.” If the phone allows calls to family and friends, it is “kosher,” and if it permits calls only to your spouse, it should be labeled “pareve.” If the phone is derived only from kosher components and while under strict supervision, it should be labeled “Chalav Yisroel.”
Final thought: If a “kosher phone” is not safe enough for you, then try communicating with others the old-fashioned way: through a yenta.
By Jon Kranz
