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.
Mission Not Impossible: The Kosher Jew in a Non-Kosher Milieu
It is well-known that when Robert A. Heinlein entitled his most famous novel, “Stranger in a Strange Land,” he adopted a phrase from the book of Exodus. Very often, the kosher consumer feels like a stranger in a strange land. Whether it’s an executive in a hotel during a business trip, or a Ba’al Teshuvah in his parents’ home, kosher consumers must sometimes navigate their way in a nonkosher kitchen. The purpose of this presentation is to offer some points of guidance to those faced with such challenges.
Nothing Fishy Here! OU Releases “The Kosher Fish Primer” DVD
Nothing Fishy Here! OU Releases ‘The Kosher Fish Primer’ DVD To Clarify Issues Of What Makes These Creatures Kosher
OU KOSHER Releases Educational DVD Containing 91 Harry H. Beren ASK OU Kashrut Presentations
If you “ASK OU” Kosher about the intricacies of kashrut, you are going to get a very substantial answer, almost 55 hours worth.
That became perfectly clear today as the Orthodox Union Kosher Division announced the release of a DVD containing 91 presentations of ASKOU programs –kashrut education seminars presented by OU Kosher and made possible by a grant from the Harry H. Beren Foundation of Lakewood, NJ, in memory of Harry H. Beren z”l. Played end to end, the DVD would provide 25 hours of video and 29 hours of audio presentations.
OU KOSHER to Present Mesorah Conference IV on Perspectives of Eretz Yisrael at Lander College
OU Kosher To Present Mesorah Conference IV, On Perspectives of Eretz Yisrael at Lander College, June 15
OU Kosher will provide a halachic, historic and archeological perspective of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the special mitzvot that are connected to this holy land when it presents Kedushas Ha’Aretz and its Mitzvos, Sunday, June 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p. m. at Lander College in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens.
