Moderated by Rabbi Eli Eleff, rabbinic coordinator and consumer relations administrator, this year’s panel consisted of Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operations Officer of OU Kosher; Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, senior rabbinic coordinator and Passover Directory editor; Rabbi Gavriel Price, rabbinic coordinator for ingredient research; and Rabbi Eli Gersten, rabbinic coordinator and halachic recorder.
Questions discussed in the 45-minute presentation included:
- The OU’s stance on quinoa;
- Drinking coffee on Passover – what is permitted and what is not permitted;
- Eating smoked and frozen fish on Passover;
- Do paper goods need special Passover certification?
- What am I looking for when purchasing matzah and wine for Passover?
- Can I use washed and cut carrots on Passover?
- How does shemittah (the Sabbatical year) affect Passover products purchased from Israel?
- If consuming vitamins, what is the situation if the vitamin has corn syrup?
- Does seltzer need to be Kosher for Passover? Don’t the bubbles come from the manufacture of beer?
- Can tequila be consumed on Passover?
- Regarding medications, questions included the use of thyroid medications on Passover;
- For those using a time share following the first two days, can kashering be done then or does it have to be done before the start of the holiday?
