Zachlawi Fig Arak: Personal Notes
HAVING BEEN NURTURED in the Ashkenazic (Eastern European) Jewish tradition, as both my parents were born in Romania, it was always a special treat for me as a little boy to accompany my late father, a much sought-after rabbinic speaker in the early days of Israel’s statehood, whenever he was invited to deliver lectures in Tel Aviv’s most prominent synagogues — including the Sephardic (Middle Eastern) synagogues.
Transitioning Traditional Kosher Brands to the Mainstream
Last year more than 3,200 new foods products were certified kosher, according to a report by the Mintel International Group, a consumer, media and market research firm. Today’s kosher consumer looks for and finds wasabi horseradish sauce, frozen wraps and whole grain noodles on supermarket shelves.
OU Kosher Supervisor in Louisville Plays Matchmaker
Rabbi Yosef Levy’s official job is as a Rabbinic Field Representative (RFR) in Kentucky and Indiana for the Orthodox Union, in which he certifies food plants as kosher, but in his spare time he uses that position for another, altruistic pursuit: playing matchmaker between the OU-certified companies he supervises and Louisville’s Jewish Family and Vocational Service’s (JFVS) Food Pantry.
Lo Basi Ella L’orer: Waiting 24 Hours To Do Hagalah
Ordinarily, we require waiting 24 hours before doing hagalah on utensils that had absorbed non-kosher. This is because before 24 hours the ta’am that is absorbed inside of a utensil is still nosain ta’am lishvach. The water that one tries to use to kasher the utensil will receive the non-kosher ta’am and it itself will […]
Lo Basi Ella L’orer: Calculating Bitul
We are often confronted with situations in which we must determine if issur is batel in heter. Sometimes this is very easy to figure out. Under normal circumstances if 10 grams of issur is used with 5,000 lbs. of heter it will be batel.1 Other times it might be more complicated and we must take out […]
non food
No household is complete without a basic toiletry, toothpaste. Although the use of modern forms of toothpaste became widespread by the early 20th century, tooth applications in crude forms have existed for hundreds of years. Today, toothpastes have come a long way and its manufacturing process is fairly sophisticated. Toothpastes, even the simplest kinds, contain […]
New Concern for Kosher Pizza Eaters Prompts OU KOSHER
Kosher pizza, anyone? Those who keep the laws of kemach yashan must check whether their favorite pizza stores certify that the wheat used to bake the pizza is kemach yashan, the Torah law that states that only grains (barley, oats, rye, spelt and wheat) that took root prior to Passover may be consumed in the current year. Jewish law mandates its observance in Israel, while allowing for leniencies outside of Israel. Nonetheless, there are people who observe this law even outside of Israel, and they are facing problems.
Styrofoam Cups and Aluminum Foil
Over the past several decades the kosher industry has grown considerably. Food companies recognizing the profitability of the kosher market have pursued kosher certification in an effort to increase marketability and sales of their products. What has been especially remarkable is that the pursuit of kosher certification has not stopped with food. It is not unusual to find nowadays a hechsher on non-food items. Are there really any viable kashrus concerns with something that is inedible? This article will focus on three popular household items, aluminum foil and pans, Styrofoam cups, and paper towels.
Lo Basi Ella L’orer: Relying on a K’feila
If a non-kosher food falls into a pot of kosher food and we are not sure whether it was nosain ta’am, the Gemara (Chulin 98a) says that we can get a non-Jewish k’feila (chef) to taste the food. If the non-Jew can assure us that the non-kosher taste is not detectable, then the food is […]
OU Mesorah Conference on Mitzvot of Eretz Yisrael Both Enlightens and Educates Audience of Over 300
They came from Randallstown and Baltimore, MD; Edison and Highland Park, NJ; Monsey and Spring Valley, NY. They came from Lakewood, Teaneck, Elizabeth, Passaic and Jersey City, NJ. They came from Allentown, PA, Plainview and New Rochelle, NY and throughout the Metropolitan New York area. Speakers came from Eretz Yisrael via Boston and Stamford, CT. A crowd of over 300 gathered this past Sunday at Lander College for Men in Kew Gardens Hills, NY, for a fascinating eight-hour Harry H. Beren program on the Kedushat Ha’Aretz and Its Mitzvot, that is the mitzvot especially related to the land of Israel. The audience sat mesmerized by one powerful presentation and dynamic shiur after the other.