Consumer Kosher Articles
OU KOSHER Prepares The Public For Pesach On A Grand And High-Tech Scale
At OU Kosher, “Preparing for Pesach” takes on a whole new meaning! This Pesach season, OU Kosher again distinguished itself among kashrus agencies by offering expanded consumer information and education across the media spectrum. From Ask OU Pesach shiurim, to the OU Kosher Pesach Webinar, to the OU Kashrus Hotline and Webbe Rebbe email service. […]
OU Kosher Answers Your Top Ten Pesach FAQs
OU Kosher presents the most frequently asked consumer questions to-date on the OU Kosher Hotline (212-613-8241). Questions may be submitted to kosherq@ou.org as well. The Passover questions were answered by Rabbi Tzvi Nussbaum, the voice of OU Kosher’s Consumer Hotline. The responses were reviewed by Rabbi Yaakov Luban, OU Kosher executive rabbinic coordinator. Rabbi Moshe Zywica, […]
May Non-Pesach Certified Milk Be Used If Bottled Before Pesach?
Chametz before Pesach is like any other issur in that it can be batel b’shishim. However, if pirurim (crumbs) of chametz b’en might remain in the food, even if those crumbs are batel chad b’trei, the chametz on Pesach will bechozer v’niyur. However, Rema (O.C. 447:4) writes that if the chametz is lach b’lach (either […]
HaRav Chaim Yisroel HaLevi Belsky, Zatsal: Recorded, Remembered, and Reflected Upon
For just shy of 16 years, I had the immeasurable Zechus to interact with Maran HaGaon HaRav Chaim Yisroel HaLevi Belsky, Zatzal, in his capacity as a Senior Poseik with the Kashrus Division of the Orthodox Union (“the OU”), in which I serve as a Rabbinic Coordinator. I would like to share here some of […]
Kosher Brings Out the Best at Winter Fancy Food Show 2016
For the past 25 years I’ve been coming to San Francisco every year to attend the Winter Fancy Food show. I admit, getting out of the New York winter every January is certainly a bonus, but attending this growing event is much more than a foodie’s dream, it’s a reunion of the important players in […]
A Giant in Our Midst: The Legacy of Rav Chaim Yisroel Belsky zt”l at the OU
Last week, the OU suffered an enormous loss with the passing of Moreinu Virabeinu, Harav Hagaon, Rav Chaim Yisroel Belsky zt”l, who provided halachic and spiritual guidance to the OU Kashrus Department for more than 28 years. The OU was not the only organization to experience an enormous loss. Rabbi Belsky had an amazing array of talents and […]
Rabbi Belsky Remembered
I was not a talmid of Rabbi Belsky in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath or in Camp Agudah as I did not attend either. My association with Rabbi Belsky was in the OU where I had the great zechus of interacting with him on kashruth matters, so my recollections of him are mostly anecdotal. Rabbi Yisroel Belsky […]
What Could Be Wrong With… Fish?
One of the most serious misimpression’s that persist in the minds of kosher consumers is the belief that one can eat inherently kosher foods prepared in non-kosher restaurants. Professionals are often under great pressure to go out with clients or colleagues to lunch and dinner. When kosher restaurants are not available, people rationalize that they […]