By Rabbi Eli Gersten
The Keurig coffee machine, an appliance unbeknownst to most of us two or three years ago, has become a fixture in many homes and offices. This has given rise to a great number of questions surrounding this machine, especially regarding the office setting. At the OU we get asked these questions on a daily basis and I would like to share some of these questions and answers.
“OU Kosher’s Harry H. Beren ASK OU OUTREACH program in Great Neck Sunday night, which was supposed to present the two OU poskim (halachic decisors), Rav Yisroel Belsky and Rav Hershel Schachter, was held under the cloud of the sudden serious illness to Rav Belsky, shlita,” declared Rabbi Yosef Grossman, the organizer of the program and OU Senior Educational Rabbinic Coordinator. “Rabbi Menachem Genack (CEO of OU Kosher) stepped in as a substitute on very short notice. He and Rav Schachter were outstanding, as can be seen by the following feedback, first from one of the participants, and then from Rabbi Avraham Kohan, the Rav of Congregation Torah Ohr where the event was held.”
The show must go on….and on: Rabbis Chaim Loike (left) and Dovid Jenkins continue to answer questions following their presentations at the Ask the OU Rabbis session in South Florida.
The Mesivta Tiferes Jerusalem(MTJ) high school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan was the latest school to be OU Kosher’s guest for the Harry H. Beren VISIT OU program. The group, led by Menahel Rabbi Shaul Katz (center) and their rabbeim, met with Rabbi Menachem Genack, Chief Executive Officer of OU Kosher, and heard from OU posek Rav Yisroel Belsky, who spoke on what he had learned from the illustrious Rosh HaYeshiva of MTJ, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l.
Gluten-Free Baked Goods Certified Kosher Pareve Just In Time To Enjoy Chanukah Donuts
EDMONTON, CANADA – Kinnikinnick Foods, North America’s leading manufacturer of gluten-free baked goods and snacks, today announced that its company, facilities, and all of its current products are now certified OU kosher pareve by the Orthodox Union.
Kinnikinnick runs the largest, dedicated gluten, dairy and nut free facilities in North America and both of its plants in Edmonton are under the supervision and certification of the Orthodox Union. By making all of its products in house, Kinnikinnick can ensure its baked goods and snacks are safe from cross contamination.
In this extra special video, OU Kosher Senior Poskim, Rabbi Yisroel Belsky and Rabbi Hershel Schachter, provided practical guidance on issues spanning the breadth and depth of Yahadut, in another OU Kosher Webcast recorded live at OU Headquarters on Tuesday, December 13.
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
ChaNaN does not apply to a davar heter. This is because chatichah na’ases neveila, as it name implies, means that the entire item that absorbed ta’am of issur becomes like a neveila. Since one must refrain from eating the item, we view it as becoming 100% assur. This sevara obviously does not apply to a davar heter such as kosher milk, kosher meat or kosher fish. Therefore, if 1 gallon of kosher milk is mixed with 10 gallons of water, and this mixture is then mixed into 100 gallons of water, we would not say ChaNaN and the milk would be batel b’shishim. Although, we would still insist on labeling this product as dairy, however there would be no need to kasher the equipment that came in contact with the mixture since the milk is already batel.
VPLENISH® packets, the world’s first completely taste-free, clearly dissolving vitamin powder announced today that they are now certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, the world’s largest and most respected kosher certification agency.
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
The minhag of Ashkenazim is to apply the halachos of Chatichah Na’ses Nevaila (ChaNaN) to all issurim, not just to basar b’cholov; (Rema Y.D. 92:4). Therefore, if one kezayis of any issur is cooked with 9 kezaysim of heter, we would have 10 kezeysim of issur. If these 10 kezaysim of issur, are subsequently cooked with 90 kezaysim of heter, although this is more than 60 times the original kezayis of issur, nevertheless because we say ChaNaN the entire mixture becomes assur. However, there is a distinction between the original 10 kezaysim and the subsequent 90 kezaysim. The original 10 kezaysim are assur mid’oraisah because they were mikabel ta’am issur (ta’am k’ikar); however, the later 90 kezaysim are only assur mid’Rabbanan because of ChaNaN b’shar issurim.
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