Boca Raton ASK OU Event Coming Up
Boca Raton Synagogue presents in conjunction with OU Community Services and ASK OU OUTREACH a Community Kashrus Event. Sunday, Feb, 08, 2015 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM 9:30 AM What Could Be Wrong With… Rabbi Moshe Elefant COO and Executive Rabbinic Coordinator 10:30 AM Eating Out – What Could Be The Problem? Rabbi Yaakov Luban […]
Rabbi Eli Eleff Joins in Administering Kashrus Education
Rabbi Yosef Grossman, OU Kosher Senior Educational Rabbinic Coordinator In the beginning, going back to 1996, there were the Advanced Seminars on Kashrus, OU Kosher’s ASK OU mashgiach training programs, held every other summer for three and one-week sessions. A decade later, the seminars became the Harry H. Beren […]
Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU Kosher
Rabbi Hershel Schachter once told me that if there’s a disagreement in matters of halacha at the OU between him and Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, you are the deciding vote. The halachic decisors at the OU are the three of us. So if there’s a dispute the majority rules. You’re also involved in running the office? […]
Meet the Woman Who Keeps Tootsie Rolls Kosher
If you keep kosher, and enjoy eating a handful of Tootsie Rolls or drinking a tall glass of Gatorade, you have Phyllis Koegel to thank. As marketing director of the Orthodox Union’s Kosher Division, Koegel is charged with convincing companies of the financial and commercial benefits of going kosher—and getting the OU symbol, the most widely […]
Everything You Need To Know About Shemittah
Photos courtesy of Keren Hashviis By Y. Dov Krakowski While shemittah (the Sabbatical year of the land) has unfortunately become a hot political topic in modern-day Israel, it is important to remember that shemittah is actually a mitzvah with its own set of halachot. It is especially vital for the American tourist or student who […]
Sukkos
The connection between kashrus and Yom Tov is fairly apparent during Pesach. During this special holiday, chometz is strictly prohibited and we fulfill a very unique mitzvah of eating matzah. There are many intricate halachos associated with baking matzah, which if not performed properly, render one’s matzos to become chometz. There are also many halachos associated with the kashrus of wine used for daled kosos, the maror that we eat at the seder, and the list goes on. However, Pesach is not a holiday that has a monopoly on kashrus concepts. Areas of kashrus are also touched upon during other times of the year, even though sometimes the connection may seem hidden. Succos is no exception, as there are topics dealing with kashrus and eating, which are associated with this special time.
ASK OU comes to Monsey with “Contemporary Issues & Halachic Applications In Dairy Kashrus”
The Beis Midrash Ohr Chaim’s Community Learning Center and Night Kollel of 18 Forshay Road, headed by Rabbi Nachum Scheiner Shlit”a, hosted a number of shiurim on the topic of cholov akum. The first shiur was given last week by Rabbi Ari Senter, Rabbinical Administrator of the Kof-K; Rav, Kehilas Yeshorim of Wesley Hills. TOPIC: […]
Trade Shows: Meet the OU Representatives
OU Representatives will be more than glad to meet you at the trade shows. Please stop by! Natural Products Expo West Show March 3-7, 2020 Anaheim Convention Center 800 West Katella Avenue Anaheim, CA 92802 USA Winter Fancy Food Show Jan 19 – 21, 2020 Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA Summer Fancy Food Show June […]
The Spiritual Significance of Shemittah
by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb Why would the Torah dictate such a challenging set of laws, requiring that landowners relinquish their land and neither plant nor reap for an entire year? Many great sages have asked this question and have offered a variety of answers. The Rambam offers two very different reasons for shemittah. Firstly, that shemittah is […]
To Largest Group Ever, ASK OU 12 Provides Knowledge From Orthodox Union Experts On Adapting Kashrus Halacha To Modern Food Production
70 participants from ASK OU 12 at the OU’s New York City headquarters. Seated foreground from left: Senior Educational Rabbinic Coordinator Rabbi Yosef Grossman; OU Executive Vice President Allen Fagin; and OU Kosher CEO Rabbi Menachem Genack. There is an annual cycle in Judaism in which season follows season, holiday follows holiday, observances follow observances, and of […]