Articles
Pesach Shiurim
The Pesach holiday is a time where we have an opportunity to reflect on our rich heritage and affirm our commitment to the continuity of our many traditions. The geulah from Mitzrayim was the point in our great history when we were freed from bondage to man, and culminated with our becoming a nation with the subsequent acceptance of the Torah at Har Sinai. What has sustained us and preserved us throughout the millennia? Observance of Torah and mitzvos is replete with many intricate details that require us to be highly meticulous in our performance, in order to properly fulfill what is required by religious law. During Pesach, this notion expresses itself through required measurements of the special foods we eat during the holiday. These basic measurements and their careful observance are very much a part of our heritage. Indeed, the Talmud states that halachic measurements are a part of the unique laws that were given to Moshe Rabeinu at Sinai[1].
Kashering Ben Yomo
One very practical application of ta’am lifgam is found in the middle of hilchos basar b’chalav. The Mechaber (Y.D. 95:4) says that if one places ash into a pot of hot water before dirty dishes are placed in it, then even if some dishes are milchig and some are fleishig, the pot and the dishes will remain kosher. This is because the ta’am of the ash combines with the ta’am of the fat and gives off a ta’am that is lifgam. This is the basis for the leniency to kasher kailim that are ben yomo, by using a davar hapogem (e.g. caustic).
Can’t Duck the Issue: The Runner Duck Has a Lengthy Past but an Uncertain Future
The mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is one of the most colorful and common ducks in the United States, being found in wetlands as well as city ponds. Many of the ducks migrate across the United States, while others are supported year round by duck enthusiasts.
Our Daily Bread: More than the Sum of its Calories
The restaurant was bustling. Joyous noise and laughter filled the room as waiters and waitresses bustled to and fro, bringing trays of food or removing the empty plates of sated diners. The tables were filled with people enjoying their meals – extended families celebrating a birthday or graduation or promotion at some of the tables, small families sharing the evening together, friends crowding into a booth in the corner, laughing about something one of them had just said. There are couples, some older, some just married, sharing a quiet, intimate meal together at candle lit tables.
If You Think All Butter is Kosher, You’re Whey out of Line
“Fair words butter no parsnips”. This out-of-use phrase, which the Oxford English Dictionary dates back to at least 1639, means that words without action are of no use.
Off the Beaten Track: In a Visit to Armenia, an OU RFR Finds Pleasant People and Excellent Products
Bordered by Georgia (the one Stalin came from, not the one Scarlett O’Hara came from), Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran, and located between the Black and Caspian Seas, the former Soviet republic of Armenia, independent since 1991, has become the latest country to produce kosher products certified by the Orthodox Union.
Lo Basi Ella L’orer: Chumra d’Pischa
The term Chumra d’Pesach usually brings to mind Pesach minhagim that go beyond the letter of the law such as whitewashing walls or kashering leichter. However, there are also various halachos brought in Shulchan Aruch that are attributed to chumra d’Pesach as well.
ASK OU Outreach Brings Its Kashrus Experts to Brooklyn, April 18, 25 During Sefirah, for Shiurim
Rav Belsky, Rabbi Elefant to Answer Halacha and Policy Questions:
The Orthodox Union will present its popular OU Kosher program, ASK OU OUTREACH, in Brooklyn by holding a series of kashrus shiurim on two Sundays in April – April 18 and April 25. Both days fall during the period of sefirah, a perfect time for introspection and Jewish education.
The Tempering of Grains and its Chametz and Hafrashas Challah Implications
The milling of grains has been going on for millennia, and in all that time, the process has not changed dramatically. Milling is still done by simply grinding kernels, albeit with rollers instead of stones. Sifting is still done with sifters, although by automated machines instead of by hand. There is another part of milling known as tempering. Tempering refers to spraying grain kernels with water before they are milled. This makes the bran tougher and less brittle. If the wheat kernel has not been tempered, the bran may shatter and leave brown flecks (“ash”) in the flour when the kernel is milled. This is undesirable in regular white flour. Tempering strengthens the bran so that it is removed from the endosperm easily and does not cause brown flecks in the flour.
Kli Rishon and Kli Sheni
Both a kli sheini and a kli rishon shelo al ha’aish are pots of hot water that will gradually cool down. Since it is difficult to distinguish between them, we require Tosafos’s help to properly understand the distinction. Although they look almost identical, a kli sheini has difanos mikareros (walls that cool down the product) while a kli rishon shelo al ha’aish has difanos michamemos (walls that maintain the heat of the product). An extended irui is none of the above, for the simple reason that the walls of this pot will not cool down. So long as the irui continues, there is a heat source that is preventing the kli from cooling. For this reason it is most similar to a kli rishon al ha’aish.