Hashgacha Pratit (organization)

Founded in 2012 by Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz in Jerusalem, Israel, it offers alternative halachic services in life-cycle events, rabbinical training, and other courses in religious education.

[3] In 2012, Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz founded Hashgacha Pratit and they began to form relationships with establishments that wanted a way around the Rabbinate's supervision, which could be corrupt due to lack of competition.

Public awareness spread and restaurants and patrons came to understand that a Hashgacha Pratit certificate is valid in accordance with Jewish law and began to support the mission of the organization.

The organization reworked their certificates to fit the restricted loopholes of the court decision, now calling them “Agreements of Trustworthiness.” They continued to rally support from the public and supervise establishments throughout Israel, still practicing according to Orthodox law.

[14] The public has generally responded well to the mission of Hashgacha Pratit, since many communities have long been weary of the danger of the monopoly and the services provided which they felt were substandard.

[citation needed] The services are offered to three main groups:[18] The wedding division of Hashgacha Pratit is headed by Rabbi Chuck Davidson.

Many Israeli couples choose to hold civil wedding ceremonies abroad and return home to register their marriage with the Ministry of Interior.

As with Hashgacha Pratit's kashrut initiative, the goal of Chuppot is not to bring down the Chief Rabbinate, but to provide a better alternative that is less invasive of privacy, less gender discriminatory, and less prohibitive of certain egalitarian elements of the wedding ceremony.

In 2018, Targum Shlishi, a foundation dedicated to creative change in Jewish life worldwide, awarded a grant to help Chuppot market itself to a broader audience in Israel.