page_title: Hechsher
section_title: Seals
hierarchical_section_title: Hechsher / History / Seals
caption_attribution_description: Replica of the Temple menorah, made by en:The Temple Institute
context_page_description: A hechsher is a rabbinical product certification, qualifying items that conform to the requirements of halakha.
context_section_description: The Babylonian Talmud cites an early example of a kashrut seal: the seal of the Kohen Gadol on jugs containing olive oil used in the Jewish Temple for the lighting of the Menorah. The Menorah has since become a symbol for purity in Jewish tradition.
  'LMLK seals' (למלך) were stamped on the handles of large storage jars mostly in and around Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah (circa 700 BC) based on several complete jars found in situ buried under a destruction layer caused by Sennacherib at Lachish. None of the original seals have been found, but about 2,000 impressions (also referred to as stamps) made by at least 21 seal types have been published.
  The practice of marking food as a sign of kashrut can be dated back as far as the 6th century CE. A clay stamp bearing a Menorah image from this period was discovered in an excavation near Acre, Israel in 2011. According to archeologists, local Jews stamped their dough with Menorah impressions while preparing bread, in order for consumers to verify its kashrut.
caption: A reconstruction of the Menorah of the Temple created by the Temple Institute
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