(1)
Q: If there are no kosher restaurants nearby, may I enter a non-kosher establishment to drink a cup of coffee?

A: There are three problems:

1. The utensils may have been used for non-kosher drinks.

2. People may think you are consuming non-kosher food and drink (maris ayin).

3. Food cooked by a non-Jew (bishul akum) is forbidden.

Let us analyze these problems:


1. Utensils. The urn or percolator is probably used exclusively for this one purpose; you need not be concerned that it may have been used for anything else.¹

Drink the coffee from a paper cup. If none is available, use a glass cup; many Rabbinical authorities (e.g., Beis Yosef) hold that glass does not absorb the taste of forbidden foods. Do not use a plastic or ceramic cup or a metal spoon. However, if you used one by mistake, you may still drink the coffee according to most opinions. When hot liquid is poured from a pot on the fire into a cold cup, the liquid penetrates only a very thin layer of the cup. Since the liquid in the cup has 60 times the volume of this layer₂ the forbidden layer is nullified.

(However, you may not nullify the forbidden layer intentionally.)

Do not use a coffee machine; non-kosher hot drinks found in the same machine probably go down the same pipe.


2. Maris ayin. The problem of maris ayin is more acute in a restaurant than in a cafe, because people generally enter a restaurant to eat a meal ,whereas they enter a cafe to buy beverages.

3. Bishul akum. The consensus of opinion is that the law of bishul akum does not apply to coffee.³

Conclusion: If there are no kosher establishments nearby, you may drink coffee in a non-kosher cafe provided that you use a paper or glass cup and do not use a metal spoon or a coffee machine.




(2) Q: Is there anything wrong with eating in a vegetarian restaurant that is not under Rabbinical supervision?

A: There are various problems:

1. Not all food in a vegetarian restaurant is strictly vegetarian. Margarine, for instance, may contain animal fat. The pots may therefore have become non-kosher, and may make any food cooked in them non-kosher.

2. The cheese may contain rennet derived from non-kosher animals. Furthermore, the Sages have forbidden cheese made by non-Jews (gevinas akum) even if it contains no rennet.

3. Food cooked by a non-Jew (bishul akum) is forbidden.

4. Cutting an onion or radish with a knife that was once used to cut hot non-kosher food makes the onion or radish non-kosher.

5. Leafy vegetables often contain many small insects.

6. Grape juice, which is sometimes poured over fruit salad, is forbidden unless it has Orthodox Rabbinica] supervision. Wine vinegar must also have such supervision.

Note: Even wine with strict supervision becomes forbidden if poured by a non-Jew unless it has been boiled.₄ However, wine vinegar and brandy under Orthodox Rabbinical supervision does not become forbidden when it is poured by a non-Jew.₅


(3) Q: If I am very hungry and there is no kosher establishment nearby, may I eat a cold fruit or vegetable salad in a vegetarian restaurant?

A: Yes, if you make sure that:

1. the cutlery used to prepare the vegetables or fruit are clean from non-kosher food;

2. the plates and cutlery you will be eating with are clean⁶;

3. the vegetables are free of insects;

4. no grape juice or vinegar was added to the salad;

5. the vegetable salad contains no onions or radishes (see Question 53, in Israel, see Question 43).


(4)
Q: May I buy kosher fish in a non-kosher fish store?

A: If there are no kosher fish stores in the vicinity, you may buy kosher fish—that is, fish with fins and scales—in a non-kosher fish store, provided that you follow these rules:

1. The fish must be recognizable as kosher. If the fins and scales were removed so that the fish is not recognizable as kosher, you may not buy it even if the storekeeper claims it is kosher.

2. Make sure the fish was not salted.

3. Bring your own knife for cutting the fish; the storekeeper’s knife may have been used to cut non-kosher fish. If you cannot bring your own knife, scrape where the non-kosher knife cut the fish.

4. Make sure that the scale on which the fish is weighed is clean, or place clean paper between the fish and the scale. The same conditions also apply to the counter where the fish is cut.


(5)

Q: May I go into an ordinary fruit store and buy a cut watermelon?

A: Yes. You need not worry that the watermelon may have been cut with a non-kosher knife.


(6)

Q: May I buy pure fresh lemon juice in a store that sells non-kosher products?

A: Yes.₇ All fresh squeezed fruit juices are permitted except grape juice. (In Israel,see question 43).


(7)
Q: Must I have separate dishwashers for meat and dairy?

A: According to Rav Henkin zt’l, separate dishwashers must be used for meat and dairy dishes. According to Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l, you need only change the racks and the water between meat and dairy; and it is recommended that you run the washer through one cycle with clean hot water.₈



(8)
Q: How can I kasher a non-kosher dishwasher?

A: If the dishwasher is metal, clean it well, wait 24 hours after its previous use, and then run it through its hottest cycle once. If the dishwasher is made of porcelain, clean it well, wait 12 months, and then run it through its hottest cycle three times. (See Questions 33 and 35)


(9)
Q: After using the dishwasher for meat dishes and draining the water, I put in dairy dishes, added soap, and turned the dishwasher on. I forgot to change the racks. Did the dairy dishes become non-kosher?

A: No. However, one should not use the racks for twenty-four hours.


(10)
Q: May I wash pareve dishes in the dishwasher after using it for meat or dairy dishes?
A: Yes; you need not even change the racks. Be careful, though, not to wash any meat or dairy dishes together with the pareve ones (See Question 110). It must be noted that if one uses the same dishwasher for meat, pareve, or milk dishes, the filter must be clean.



(11)

Q: Must I have separate stove tops for meat and dairy pots?

A: It is preferable but not essential, because the fire generally burns any food that has spilled on the grate.


(12)

Q: May I cook on a non-kosher stove top?

A: Yes, provided that you first place a metal sheet on the grate. If you do not have a metal sheet, light the stove before placing your pot on the grate. If that is impossible, you may still place the pot on the grate because we assume that the fire burned the non-kosher food.

(13)

Q: How can I kasher the grates on my stove?

A: Clean them well with an oven cleaner; then rotate each grate around the flame until the grate becomes red-hot. If you have an electric stove, simply turn the stove on to its highest setting until the rings become red-hot. (See Question 33)


(14)

Q: May a regular household oven be used for meat and dairy?

A: Some authorities⁹ hold that an oven may be used for meat and dairy consecutively, though not simultaneously. After using the oven for meat, make sure the oven is clean—especially if the meat was spicy—and change the racks. You may then use it for dairy.

According to other opinions, not only must the oven be clean and the racks changed; either 24 hours must elapse or else either the meat or the dairy must be covered.

Some opinions require that the oven be turned to its highest temperature for an hour (libun kal) between dairy and meat.

(15)

Q: May a toaster oven be used for meat and dairy?

A: No.


(16)

Q: How can I kasher an oven that was used for non-kosher food?

A: Clean the oven thoroughly; then turn it up to its highest temperature for an hour (libun kal). To use a stricter method, kasher with a blowtorch, hot charcoals, or self-cleaning cycle (libun chamur). Be careful not to get burned!

Buy new racks, or kasher the old ones as follows:

Run the oven through the self-cleaning cycle, if it has one; or use a blowtorch (libun chamur). If food was never placed directly on the racks, some opinions suffice with turning any oven up to its highest temperature for one hour.

Note: If you use libun chamur, check with the manufacturer.


(17)

Q: If I stay at a youth hostel, may I heat my food in the oven?

A: Yes, if you double wrap the food in aluminum foil.


(18)

Q: May a microwave oven be used for meat and dairy?

A: Some authorities say no.¹⁰ Others say that if you thoroughly clean the oven and insert a new bottom surface after using it for dairy you may then use the microwave oven for meat. It is not necessary to cover the meat or dairy dish unless the walls of the microwave oven become hotter than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.₁₁


(19)

Q: How is a microwave oven kashered?

A: Clean it, wait 24 hours after its previous use, and then heat a tray of water in it. Afterwards insert a new bottom surface.


(20)

Q: May kosher food be heated in a clean, non-kosher microwave oven (e.g., at work)?

A: Some authorities forbid it. Others permit it provided that the oven is clean and the food is in a paper plate and covered with plastic.¹²


(21)

Q: What is Cholov Yisroel?

A: Cholov Yisroel is milk whose milking was supervised by a Jew. The Sages forbade drinking milk whose milking was not supervised by a Jew, lest the milk of a non-kosher animal be mixed in.

There is a lenient ruling that if there are no non-kosher animals in the vicinity, the Rabbinic prohibition does not apply.¹³ According to Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l, in a land where the government forbids mixing the milk of pigs or donkeys with the milk of cows and goats, the penalty for breaking the law will deter farmers from mixing them; therefore milk that was not supervised by a Jew is permitted. Although many authorities are of the opinion that the Rabbinic prohibition applies even in this case (the Chassidic community follows this opinion), Rav Feinstein said that whoever relies on the lenient opinion should not be considered as treating the precepts lightly. He recommended, however, that Cholov Yisroel be bought if it is available._14-A

There are authorities who hold that the laws of cholov yisroel do not apply to kosher cheese, kosher butter, and kosher powdered milk._14-B


(22)

Q: I follow the stricter ruling concerning Cholov Yisroel. If I visit a friend who uses regular milk under government supervision, may I use his cup to drink tea?

A: Yes, provided that the hot water was poured from a kettle into a pareve jug before being poured into the cup (see Question 92).


(23)

Q: Must bread have strict Orthodox Rabbinical supervision even if it is baked by Jews?

A: Yes. However, in France, certain types of commercial bread do not need supervision.


(24)

Q: What is the law of separating challah?

A: When bread is baked by a Jew, challah—a piece of dough or a piece from the baked product must be separated and then burned. If it is not burned completely, wrap it in two plastic bags and discard.

If a bread or cake dough which was kneaded with water contains about five pounds or more of wheat, rye, oats, spelt, or barley, a blessing must be said upon the separation of the challah. In this case, it is customary to separate a kezayis—one ounce, or 28 cc.

If less than two pounds of flour are used, one does not have to separate chal!ah. If the majority of liquid content is not water, challah is separated without a blessing—even if one uses a large amount of flour. One should always knead dough with at least a small amount of water.₁₅


(25]

Q: May I eat bread baked by non-Jews?

A: The most lenient opinion allows eating kosher commercial bread baked by non-Jews. A more stringent opinion allows eating such bread only if there is no kosher Jewish bakery. Some authorities allow it only if the bread is of superior quality. In any case, during the Ten days of Penitence from Rosh HaShannah to Yom Kippur, you should eat only bread baked by Jews, if it is available.₁₆

Remember that in all cases bread must have strict Orthodox Rabbinical supervision.


(26)

Q: What should I know about kashering a toaster?

A: Most new toasters are put through a test run with bread before being sold, and must therefore be kashered. A second-hand toaster which was used for non-kosher bread must be kashered after the crumbs are cleaned out of the inside.

To kasher a toaster, operate it once, or, according to some authorities, three times.

However, if kosher bread was accidentally toasted in a non-kosher toaster the bread is still kosher.


(27)

Q: Why must cheese have strict Orthodox Rabbinical supervision?

A: There are two problems with cheese:

1. Many cheeses contain rennet, the membrane of a calf’s stomach that is used for curdling milk. Even if the cheese has 60 times the volume of the rennet, the cheese may not be used because the rennet is essential to the formation of the cheese.

2. Our Sages forbade cheese made by non-Jews (gevinas akum) even if all its ingredients are kosher, lest one come to eat cheese containing non-kosher rennet.₁₇


(28)

Q: What is bishul akum?

A: Bishul akum literally means “food cooked by non-Jews.” The expression refers to the Rabbinical prohibition against eating such food. Foods which are eaten raw are excluded from this prohibition.


(29)

Q: If kosher food was cooked by a non-Jew, must the pot be kashered?

A: It is preferable to kasher it.

If the pot cannot be kashered, wait 24 hours from the time it was used before you cook food in it. Nevertheless, if food was cooked in that pot within the 24 hour period, the food is permitted.₁₈

Although porcelain cannot generally be kashered, if kosher food was cooked by a non-Jew in a porcelain pot, you can kasher the pot by dipping it three times into boiling water that is on the fire. (See question 33.)


(30)

Q: If a Jew participates in the cooking process but non-Jews do most of the work, is the food still bishul akum?

A: No. According to many authorities, even if a Jew merely lit the pilot light, the food is permitted. However, most Sephardim follow the decision of the Beis Yosef₁₉ that a Jew must participate in the actual cooking process.


(31)

Q: May a non-Jew work in a kosher kitchen or prepare food without being supervised?

A: No.


(32)

Q: What makes a vessel non-kosher?

A: The following are some of the things that make a vessel non-kosher:

1. Cooking or roasting non-kosher food in a kosher vessel.

2. Cooking or roasting meat in a dairy pot.

3. Leaving a non-kosher liquid in a kosher vessel for 24 hours.

4. Leaving chicken soup in a dairy vessel for 24 hours.

5. Placing dairy which is extremely salty on a meat vessel.

6. Placing dairy that is so hot you cannot keep your finger on it, on a meat vessel.

Note: Except for the rules of waiting between eating meat and eating dairy, whatever is true of meat and dairy holds true for dairy and meat. For instance, just as leaving chicken soup in a dairy vessel for 24 hours makes the vessel non-kosher, so does leaving milk in a meat vessel.


(33)

Q: How can I kasher utensils?

A: Clean the utensils and wait 24 hours. Then kasher them in the same way that they become non-kosher:

1. If a pan became non-kosher through roasting, kasher it with fire. For example, use a blowtorch or put it through the self-cleaning cycle of an oven (even within 24 hours).

2. If a pot became non-kosher through cooking with liquid, it can be kashered with a liquid. Fill the pot with water and heat to boiling. Make sure that the boiling water spills over the rim of the pot.

3. If a piece of cutlery—let’s say a spoon—becomes non-kosher, boil water in any clean pot (kosher or not) that has not been used for 24 hours, and insert the spoon into the boiling water. The boiling water must touch the entire spoon, but not necessarily all at once.

4. If very hot milk fell into a cold metal cup used for meat, pour boiling hot water into the cup until the water runs over the rim. If hot milk fell on the outside of a cold metal cup or plate used for meat, pour hot water on the outside of the cup or on the plate.

5. If milk was left inside a cup used for meat for more than 24 hours or extremely salty cheese was placed on a plate used for meat, boil water in a pot that has not been used for 24 hours, and insert the cup or plate.

Note: if there are cracks which may contain food particles in the vessel you wish to kasher, put dish detergent in the cracks and place the cracks on the fire before kashering.


(34)

Q: May I kasher year-round vessels for Passover and dairy vessels for meat?

A: Yes,²⁰ but some people have the custom to buy new vessels specially for Passover use. Most people have a custom not to kasher dairy vessels to use for meat and vice versa.₂₁


(35)

Q: Can china be kashered?

A: Generally not. However, if the china is very expensive and was generally not used to cook non-kosher food on the fire, according to many authorities₂₂ you can kasher it by waiting 12 months and then inserting it three times into boiling hot water that is on the fire.


(36)

Q: If I buy utensils, must I tovel them, that is, dip them in a kosher mikveh?

A: You must tovel (with a blessing) metal and glass utensils used for eating or cooking if they were manufactured or owned by non-Jews.

Note: if the utensils must be kashered and toveled, kasher them before toveling.₂₃


(37)

Q: If I cook food in a pot that has not yet been toveled, is the food forbidden?

A: No₂₄.


(38)

Q: May I eat from a vessel that was not toveled if it belongs to a non-Jew?

A: Yes, since a non-Jew is not required to immerse his vessels.


(39)

Q: May I eat from a vessel that was not toveled if it belongs to another Jew?

A: According to some authorities, you may not eat from the vessel. However, in extenuating circumstances, if cold, solid food was placed on such a plate, you may pick up the food with your hands and eat it.₂₅ There is a lenient opinion that since only the owner of the utensils is obligated to tovel them, others are permitted to use them even if they have not been toveled.₂₆

However, one cannot use an untoveled vessel borrowed from a jew.₂₇


(40)

Q: When buying meat, how can I tell if it is kosher?



A: If the meat is not prepackaged, make sure that the butcher shop is under strict Orthodox Rabbinical supervision. If the meat is prepackaged under strict Orthodox Rabbinical supervision, you may buy it even in a supermarket owned by non-Jews.


(41)

Q: May I send a non-Jew to buy meat for me in a kosher butcher shop?

A: No, unless the meat or chicken has a “kosher” seal on it.₂₈


(42)

Q: Are there any products, such as sugar or coffee, that may be bought without Orthodox Rabbinical supervision?

A: In the United States of America, consult the OU, OK, or other kashrus organizations for the answer to this question. In England, the local Beis Din issues kashrus lists.

Some Kashrus organizations are of the opinion that the laws of 'Bishul Akum' do not apply to commercial canned foods.


(43)

Q: What other information do kashrus organizations provide?

A: They can tell you which food products must be checked for insect infestation and how to remove the insects. They also provide information about fruits and vegetables grown in Israel, which are subject to the laws of shemittah, terumos and maasros, and orlah. (See Glossary and Chapter 4)


(44)

Q: What is meant by glatt?

A: Glatt kosher is defined as the absence of any adhesions in an animal’s lungs as determined at first glance.²⁹ If a blemish or adhesion is found but can be removed without tearing the tissue, the animal is kosher, but not glatt kosher.₃₀ In America, however, the word glatt is interpreted liberally to include an animal with one or two lesions that come off easily. Glatt kosher applies only to meat. Fish do not have lungs, and chicken’s lungs are difficult to check.


(45)

Q: What is yoshon and chodosh?

A: Eating products made from new crops of wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt, is forbidden until the third day of Pesach. The permitted grain is called yoshon, literally “old”; the forbidden grain is called chodosh, “new.” In the United States of America, there is a winter crop, harvested after Pesach, which is problem-free, and a spring crop, planted after Pesach and harvested in the late summer, which is problematic. According to most opinions, the laws of yoshon and chodosh apply in Israel and outside Israel.₃₁ However, some authorities rule that these laws do not apply outside Israel where the majority of fields are owned by non-Jews.₃₂ The majority of people follow the more lenient opinion.₃₃

Note: If one follows the stricter opinion, one can still use the utensils from one who follows the more lenient opinion, after a 24 hour waiting period.₃₄







Meat and Milk



(46)

Q: What are the basic laws of meat and milk?

A: The Torah states three times that it is forbidden to cook a kid in its mother’s milk. ³⁵ One time refers to cooking the meat of a kosher animal (not fowl) with the milk of a kosher animal, one to eating this mixture, and one to receiving benefit from it. The term milk here includes dairy products. The Sages forbade eating meat and milk together even if the mixture was not cooked. They also forbade eating fowl (e.g., chicken, duck) with milk. Furthermore, they ordained that one must wait (between one and six hours, depending on one’s custom) after eating meat or fowl before eating dairy.


(47)

Q: May I order non-kosher food for a Jewish employer?

A: No, because it is forbidden to help another Jew commit a transgression.


(48)

Q: May I order non-kosher food for a non-Jewish employer?

A: Yes. The exception is meat of a kosher animal that is cooked together with milk, since we are forbidden to derive any benefit from such a mixture. You may order a hot ham and cheese sandwich because the meat is from a non-kosher animal, or a hot chicken and cheese sandwich because fowl is not included in this prohibition.


(49)

Q: May I cook meat and milk together in a cookery class with no intention of eating it?

A: No, since it is forbidden to cook the meat of a kosher animal with milk. It is also forbidden to cook meat in a pot which has been used for milk within 24 hours.₃₆


(50)

Q: May I cook chicken and milk together in a cookery class with no intention of eating it?

A: Yes. The Torah’s three prohibitions concerning meat and milk do not extend to fowl, since the Torah does not consider fowl as meat. The prohibition against eating fowl with milk was instituted by the Sages, who did not forbid cooking or deriving benefit from the mixture. Therefore, for a cookery course you may cook chicken and milk together and then allow a non-Jew to eat the mixture or feed it to an animal.₃₇


(51)

Q: May I buy dog or cat food that contains a cooked mixture of meat and milk?

A: No, since it is forbidden to derive benefit from such a mixture. In fact, you may not even feed it to a stray dog or cat,³⁸ because people derive pleasure from having an animal eat their food.


(52)

Q: Must separate dishes be used for meat and dairy?

A: Yes.


(53)

Q: May I use a meat vessel for dairy or a non-kosher vessel for kosher food if the vessel is clean and the food cold?

A: You may not do it on a permanent basis because you might accidentally use the vessel for hot food, forget to wash the vessel thoroughly, or leave milk in a meat cup for 24 hours. However, on a temporary basis you may put cold non-spicy dairy in a meat vessel or kosher food in a non-kosher vessel if the vessel is clean and cold and no other vessels are available.₃₉ Note: Wash off the dairy from the meat vessel with a milk sponge using cold water.


(54)

Q: I have heard that when people used to have meat and dairy plates with the same pattern, the custom was to mark the dairy plates. Is there any reason for marking the dairy plates rather than the meat plates?

A: Suppose the custom had been to mark the meat plates, and someone forgot to do it. A guest, not realising he was eating meat, might go home and eat cheese without waiting the required time between meat and dairy. The custom was to mark the dairy plates so that if someone forgot to do it, no transgression would result₄₀ because it is permitted to eat meat after milk.


(55)

Q: I use my kitchen table for serving dairy. Must I put down a tablecloth before serving meat on this table?

A: If dairy is placed directly on the table, you must put down a tablecloth before serving meat. If the dairy is always on plates, you need only clean the tabletop;₄₁ however, putting down a tablecloth is highly recommended.₄₂


(56)

Q: If sliced bread was left over from a meat meal, may I eat the bread at a dairy meal?

A: No,⁴³ because someone is likely to have touched the bread with meaty hands, and it is difficult to scrape particles of meat from slices of bread.


(57)

Q: May I bake bread from dough that was kneaded with milk or with chicken gravy?

A: No, unless you make a design on the bread to indicate that it is not pareve and thereby prevent people from mistakenly eating meat with dairy.₄₄


(58)

Q: After eating meat or fowl, how long must I wait before consuming dairy products?

A: Wait from one meal to the next. The custom varies between one hour and six hours, depending on your community of origin.₄₅


(59)

Q: Do I begin waiting from the end of the meal or from the time I finish eating the meat?

A: The majority opinion is that you wait from the time you finish eating the meat, but there is one opinion that you wait from the end of the meal.₄₆ All agree that you may not eat dairy at the same meal even if you finished eating the meat six hours before. Moreover, even if you wait six hours, you must still remove any meat stuck between your teeth. If he then wishes to eat dairy —after removing the meat— he must rinse his mouth and then eat some pareve food.₄₇


(60)

Q: After eating dairy products, must I wait before eating meat?

A: No, provided that you wash your hands, rinse your mouth, and eat some food that does not stick to the gums (e.g., bread). Some people have a custom to wait an hour.₄₈ However, if you eat hard cheese that has been aged six months or longer- it is recommended that you wait 1-6 hours.₄₉


(61)

Q: If I chew meat but do not swallow it, must I wait before drinking milk?

A: Yes, you must wait just as if you had swallowed it.₅₀


(62)

Q: I must eat dairy products for medical reasons. How long must I wait from meat to milk?

A: Even if you normally wait six hours, under these circumstances you need wait only one hour.₅₁


(63)

Q: May I serve meat to one person and dairy to another at the same table simultaneously?

A: Yes, provided that you place an object on the table that will remind each person not to partake of the other’s food. If the people are strangers, a reminder is not necessary since we assume that they will not want to share each other’s food.

There is an opinion that if one person is paying for the food of both, closeness is engendered between them. In this case an object does not suffice as a reminder; separate tables are required.₅₂


(64)

Q: If I eat kosher food while another person is eating non-kosher food at the same table, must I place an object between us?

A: No. Since eating non-kosher food is not permitted except to save a life, you will surely be careful not to partake of the other’s food, even without an object to remind you. The exception is non-kosher bread, since bread is man’s basic food.₅₃


(65)

Q: May I place meat and milk on the same shelf of the refrigerator?

A: Yes.₅₄ It is advisable not to place milk above meat, for the milk might spill onto the meat.




In the following questions, a distinction is made between “cracked” meat, which absorbs liquid spilled on it, and “uncracked” meat, which does not. To determine whether your meat is cracked or uncracked, consult a competent Orthodox rabbi.

Questions 66-69 deal with milk in the liquid state falling on meat, which may absorb it.


(66)

Q: What happens if cold milk spilled onto cold uncracked meat?

A: If the milk remained on the meat for less than 24 hours, simply rinse the meat with cold water. ⁵⁵ The meat is then permitted. According to some opinions, you must also remove the very thin outer layer of the meat that came in contact with the milk.₅₆

If the milk remained on the meat for 24 hours or longer, the meat is forbidden unless it has 60 times the milk’s volume.

If the meat has 60 times the milk’s volume, remove the thinnest outer layer of meat that came in contact with the milk. The meat is then permitted.


(67)

Q: What happens if cold milk spilled onto cold cracked meat?

A: If the meat was raw and was in contact with the milk for less than 24 hours, rinse with cold water; then remove the thinnest outer layer of meat that came in contact with the milk.₅₇ The rest of the meat is permitted. If the meat was in contact with the milk for 24 hours, the meat is forbidden.

If the meat was cooked, it is forbidden (even if it has 60 times the milk’s volume) because cooked cracked meat absorbs liquid more readily than raw cracked meat. In case of substantial loss, the cooked cracked meat is permitted after you remove the thinnest outer layer of meat that came in contact with the milk.₅₈


(68)

Q: I found milk on uncracked meat in the refrigerator, and do not know whether the milk had been in contact with the meat for 24 hours. What is the law?

A: If the meat was cooked, rinse it with cold water. You may then eat it, provided that you do not reheat it. If the meat is raw, you may not eat it because the meat will later be cooked.

The reason is that there is doubt as to whether the meat was in contact with the milk for 24 hours. If it was, it has absorbed the milk. Should you cook it, you would be transgressing the Torah’s commandment not to cook meat and milk together. However, if you eat it without cooking it, you will be transgressing the Sages’ prohibition against eating meat and milk which have not been cooked together.₅₉

In general, when there is doubt involving a transgression of Torah law, we are strict, but when there is doubt involving a transgression of Rabbinic ordinances, we are lenient in certain circumstances.


(69)

Q: What happens if hot milk falls on cold meat?

A: If the meat is cracked, it is forbidden even if a substantial loss will result.

If it is uncracked and the milk remained on the meat for less than 24 hours, rinse the meat in cold water and remove the thinnest outer layer of meat where the milk spilled; the rest of the meat is permitted.₆₀ If the milk remained on the meat for 24 hours or more, the meat is forbidden.


(70)

Q: What happens if a hot piece of meat falls on cold cheese?

A: Remove the thinnest outer layers of meat and cheese where they touched. The rest of the meat and cheese is then permitted. This is because of the principle that the food on the bottom cools or heats the food on top.₆₁ In this case, the cold cheese on the bottom cooled the hot meat on top.


(71)

Q: What happens if a hot piece of meat falls onto a cold non-kosher surface (e.g., a sink)?

A: In most cases, the whole piece of meat is permitted. If hot non-kosher food or hot milk from a pot on the fire was poured into the sink within the previous 24 hours, remove the thinnest outer layer of meat where it touched the non-kosher surface; the rest is permitted.


(72)

Q: What happens if cold meat falls onto hot cheese?

A: The hot cheese on the bottom heats up the cold meat, making both meat and cheese forbidden, except in the following case: If either one has 60 times the other’s volume, only the smaller one is forbidden.₆₂ Cut away a thumb’s width of the larger one in the place where it touched the smaller one; you may eat the rest.


(73)

Q: What happens if cold meat falls onto cold cheese?

A: Separate the meat and the cheese; then rinse the place where they touched with cold water.₆₃






Questions 74-75 discuss food that is so salty as to be unpleasant to eat. Salt penetrates a vessel to the depth of the thinnest outer layer, and salty food has a special ability to penetrate other food with which it comes in contact.


(74)

Q: What is the law if moist, salty meat came in contact with moist, salty cheese?

A: Both are forbidden because each absorbs the taste of the other. ⁶⁴ The exception is if one has 60 times the other’s volume. Then only the smaller one is forbidden. Remove the thinnest outer layer of the larger one where the two touched; the rest is permitted.


(75)

Q: What is the law if salty meat fell on cheese that is not salty?

A: The cheese is forbidden because it absorbed the taste of the salty meat. The meat, after it is washed in cold water, is permitted if there is any loss involved.₆₅


(76)

Q: Milk was mistakenly cooked in a clean meat pot. What is the status of the milk and of the pot?

A: The pot must be kashered.

If meat had been cooked in the pot within the preceding 24 hours, the milk is forbidden. ⁶⁶ If not, the milk is permitted.

The reason is that when food is cooked in a pot, the pot absorbs the taste of the food. When a second food is later cooked in the same pot, the second food absorbs the taste of the first food from the pot. If the second cooking takes place within 24 hours of the first, the flavour of the first food enhances the taste of the second. After 24 hours, the flavour of the first food goes bad and detracts from the taste of the second. (See Questions 135-137)


(77)

Q: If I accidentally cooked kosher food in a dean, non-kosher pot that had not been used within 24 hours, is the food permitted?

A: Yes, unless the food is very sharp or spicy. In that case, it is forbidden.₆₇


(78)

Q: May I use a clean non-kosher pot twenty-four hours after it was last used in order to cook kosher food in it?

A: No, because you might mistakenly cook kosher food within the 24 hours.₆₈


(79)

Q: I cut cold cheese with a meat knife. What is the status of the cheese and of the knife?

A: Unlike other pieces of cutlery, a knife is likely to have small food particles on it even after it has been washed. Therefore, remove the thinnest outer layer of the cheese where it was cut by the knife; you may eat the rest. Clean the knife either by sticking it into hard ground ten times in different places or by scrubbing it with steel wool.₆₉


(80)

Q: If I cut a cucumber with a meat knife, may I eat the cucumber with milk?

A: Yes. If the knife was not clean, scrape away the part of the cucumber that was cut with the knife.₇₀


(81)

Q: Milk splashed near a hot meat pot, but I am not sure any milk touched the pot. Is the pot permitted?

A: Yes, unless you actually see milk on the pot.


(82)

Q: What happens if a drop of milk falls onto the outside of a hot pot of meat on the fire?

A: If the milk falls on a spot that is level with the food in the pot, and the volume of the food is 60 times the volume of the milk, the milk is “nullified,” and the food in the pot is permitted. It is best to immediately pour the food out of the pot from the side which was not touched by the milk.

If the milk falls on a spot that is above the food line, and the food has 60 times the milk’s volume, the food is permitted provided that you pour it out from the side which was not touched by the milk, or else wait until it cools down before pouring it out of the pot. However, there is a custom to forbid the food in this case.

In either case, the pot must be kashered.₇₁


(83)

Q: What happens if a drop of milk falls on the outside of a hot empty pareve pot?

A: The pot remains pareve.₇₂ However, you must wait 24 hours before using the pot to cook pareve food that is to be eaten with meat.


(84)

Q: What happens if a hot dairy pot cover is placed on top of an empty, hot meat pot, if both are clean and dry?

A: Since the two hot vessels are clean and dry, both are permitted.₇₃


(85)

Q: What happens if a hot dairy pot cover which was just removed from a pot of milk is placed on a cold pot containing meat?

A: The vessel or food on the bottom cools the vessel or food on top. Therefore, the meat is permitted after you remove its thinnest outer layer. Kasher the lid and pot by cleaning them, waiting 24 hours, and then pouring boiling hot water over the lid and over the pot.₇₄ If it is difficult to kosher the pot, waiting twenty-four hours is sufficient and one need not kosher the pot.


(86)

Q: What happens if the cold lid of a pot in which milk was cooked in the past 24 hours is placed on a hot pot of meat?

A: Since the food or vessel on the bottom heats the food or vessel on the top, you must kosher the lid and the pot. Discard the meat; you may not even feed it to a stray dog.

If, however, milk falls on the lid of a hot meat pot, many authorities hold that if the food in the pot is sixty times the amount of spilled milk, the food is permitted. However, the lid must be koshered in a kli rishon₇₅ (see Question 33).


(87)

Q: What happens if a pot of meat sits above a pan of milk that is on the fire?

A: When the hot vapour from the milk hits the meat pot, the meat and its pot become forbidden, unless there is 60 times as much food in the meat pot as milk in the pan.₇₆ Even if there is, according to many opinions you must still kasher the meat pot.₇₇

The milk and pan are permitted according to many authorities, although there are some authorities that forbid them.₇₈


(88)

Q: What should I do if a bird falls into a pot of hot milk and dies?

A: It is forbidden to eat from the pot because the taste of the bird is absorbed by the milk. Even just the taste of the limb of a live animal is forbidden to Jews and non-Jews alike; therefore, you may not even give the milk to a non-Jew’.₇₉ The pot must be kashered.


(89)

Q: Why are we permitted to drink milk, which is derived from a live animal?

A: The reason is that the Torah specifically mentions “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 6:3).


(90)

Q: Why are we permitted to eat eggs, which are derived from a living animal?

A: The Torah (Deuteronomy 22:6) states that one who finds a nest of eggs must send away the mother bird before taking the eggs. From here we see that eggs are permitted.


(91)

Q: Are all eggs kosher?

A: No; only the eggs of kosher fowl are kosher.


(92)

Q: What is meant by first, second, and third vessels (kli rishon, sheini, and shelishi)?

A: The first vessel is the one that is heated directly on the fire. If its contents are then poured into another vessel, that vessel becomes the second. If the contents are then poured into yet another vessel, this vessel becomes the third.

Thus a pot heated on the fire is a first vessel. If milk from the pot is poured into a cup, the cup is a second vessel. If milk is poured from the pot into a pitcher and then into a cup, the cup is a third vessel.

When a liquid is poured into a second vessel and then into a third, the walls of the vessel cool the liquid. In the case of a solid, however, the walls of the vessel do not cool the food significantly.₈₀


(93)

Q: A dairy spoon was used to stir hot milk in a pot on the fire and was then washed. After some time had elapsed, this spoon was inserted by mistake into a meat pot on the fire. What is the law?

A: If the time elapsed was less than 24 hours, the law is as follows:

If the meaty food has less than 60 times the volume of the part of the spoon inserted into it, ⁸¹ the meat must be discarded because it contains a taste of milk; it may not even be fed to a dog. The pot and spoon must be kashered.₈₂

If the meaty food has 60 times the volume of the part of the spoon inserted into it, the meaty food and pot are permitted, but the dairy spoon must be kashered.

If the time that elapsed was more than 24 hours, the meat pot and meat are permitted, but the dairy spoon must be kashered.

Note: ‘hot’ means ‘so hot that you cannot keep your finger on it’ (above 45 degrees centigrade).


(94)

Q: A dairy spoon was used to stir hot milk in a cup and was then washed. Within 24 hours, this spoon was inserted by mistake into a hot pot of meat on the fire. What is the law?

A: The meat and pot are permitted, but the spoon must be kashered. The reason for the difference between this answer and the previous one is that in the previous case, the hot milk was in a pot on the fire, which is a first vessel. In this case the hot milk is in a cup, which is a second vessel, since hot liquid is poured into it from a pot on the fire.


(95)

Q: By mistake, I sliced a hot piece of meat with a dairy knife that had been used to cut hot cheese within 24 hours. Are the knife and meat forbidden?

A: The knife must be kashered.

If the meat has less than 60 times the knife’s volume (excluding the handle), the meat is forbidden and may not even be given to a dog.

If the meat has at least 60 times the knife’s volume, remove the thinnest outer layer of meat where it was cut with the knife; the rest is permitted.₈₃


(96)

Q: If non-kosher food falls into hot kosher food, under what conditions is the resultant mixture permitted?

A: If the kosher food has at least 60 times the volume of the non-kosher food, the non-kosher is “nullified” by the kosher food, and the mixture may be eaten.₈₄ If the non-kosher food is recognisable, though, it must be removed.

If the kosher food has less than 60 times the volume of the non-kosher food, the entire mixture is forbidden. If this mixture, in, turn, falls into kosher food, nullification takes place only if the kosher food has 60 times the volume of the whole mixture that fell in.

There are some exceptions to this rule of nullification.

1. If the non-kosher food is very spicy, no nullification takes place as long as the spicy food can be tasted.

2. If a non-kosher ingredient is used as an agent to solidify the food or to make it edible (e.g., non-kosher rennet used in making cheese), no nullification takes place.


(97)

Q: If salt that has become forbidden (e.g., by soaking up blood) falls into a pot that contains 60 times the salt’s volume, but the salt can stifi be tasted, is the food forbidden?

A: No. Since the salt is not intrinsically forbidden (it only became forbidden by absorbing a non-kosher substance), it is nullified by food that has 60 times its volume.₈₅


(98)

Q: If a non-kosher colouring agent fell into kosher food which has 60 times the volume of the colouring agent, but the colour is still visible, is the food forbidden?

A: Some authorities forbid it; ⁸⁶ others permit it. ⁸⁷


(99)

Q: May I deliberately put one ounre of non-kosher juice into 60 ounces of kosher juice and thereby nullify the non-kosher juice?

A: No. It is forbidden to deliberately nullify non-kosher food whether for yourself or for others.₈₈


(100)

Q: If a non-Jewish company used a non-kosher ingredient that was less than 1/60 of the final product, is the product permitted?

A: Yes, provided that the non-kosher ingredient was nullified immediately in 60 and is not essential to the product. It is permitted because the company produced it for the general market rather than specifically for Jews.₈₉

However, if at the time that the non-kosher ingredient was added, the kosher ingredients had less than 60 times the volume of the non-kosher ingredient, the entire mixture became forbidden. If this mixture was then added to other kosher food, nullification occurred only if this kosher food had 60 times the volume of the entire mixture, not just of its non-kosher ingredient.


(101)

Q: A cup of coffee with milk spilled into a pot of chicken soup. For the soup to be permitted, must it have 60 times the volume of the whole cup of coffee or only of the milk?

A: The chicken soup need only have 60 times the volume of the milk in the coffee, since each of the foods by itself is kosher. ⁹⁰


(102)

Q: What is chometz?

A: Chometz is leavened bread or any food containing leavened grain of the species: wheat, oats, rye, barley, and spelt. A Jew is forbidden to eat or even own chometz on Pesach (Passover). He may sell his chometz through an Orthodox Rabbi for the duration of the festival.


(103)

Q: Does the rule of nullification in 60 apply to chometz on Pesach?

A: No, for two reasons:

1. Anything that is forbidden for the moment but will later be permitted is forbidden even in minute amounts. Since chometz is forbidden only during Pesach but permitted the rest of the year, on Pesach it is forbidden even in minute amounts.

2. We are stricter with chometz on Pesach than with non-kosher food in order to prevent unwitting transgressions. Since you are used to eating chometz all year, you might accidentally eat it on Pesach. You are much less likely to unwittingly eat non-kosher food, which is always forbidden.


(104)

Q: What happens if a shop owned by Jews did not sell its chometz for the duration of Pesach?

A: You are forbidden to buy chometz from that shop after Passover until the forbidden stock has been replaced and new stock is being sold.


(105)

Q: After cooking meat and potatoes, I discovered insects in the pot. What is the law?

A: If you find three or more insects in a pot, we assume that there are more. Rinse and check the meat and potatoes; you may then eat them. ⁹¹ Discard the liquid. The reason is that checking solids for insects is possible, whereas checking liquids is almost impossible. It is permitted to use the pot.


(106)

Q: A fly fell into the soup. What should I do?

A: Take a spoon and remove the fly along with some of the soup. The spoon and remaining soup are permitted. ⁹² If you cannot find the fly, the soup is forbidden, since a whole insect is never nullified.₉₃


(107)

Q: May I use glass utensils for meat and dairy?

A: No. One reason is that if you forget to clean the utensil thoroughly, you might unwittingly eat meat together with traces of dairy left in the utensil. Another reason is that according to some opinions, glass absorbs the taste of food.₉₄


(108)

Q: non-kosher food was cooked in a glass pot. Is the pot forbidden?

A: The Beis Yosef holds that glass does not absorb the taste of food and therefore never becomes non-kosher (or meaty or dairy). However, the Rama is stricter. Therefore, if non-kosher food was cooked in a glass pot, wait 24 hours before using the pot.


(109)

Q: May glass utensils in which food has been cooked throughout the year be used for Pesach?

A: The prevailing custom among Ashkenazim is not to use glass dishes on Pesach if they were used for hot food during the year.


(110)

Q: What is the principle of ‘nat bar nat’?

A: Nat is an acronym of ‘nosen taain’ which means “giving taste”. When food A is cooked in a pot, the pot absorbs the taste of the food. Even after the pot is cleaned, when food B is later cooked in the pot, B absorbs the taste of A from the pot.

If less than 24 hours have elapsed between the times that A and B were cooked, the taste of A contributes positively to B. If A is a forbidden food, the rule that applies is nat bar nat l’isura, meaning that B is forbidden. If B is then cooked in another pot, that pot, too, is forbidden. This process continues indefinitely. If A is permitted, the rule that applies is nat bar nat l’heteira, meaning that B is permitted (except if A is kosher meat and B is dairy or vice versa).

If 24 hours or more have elapsed, the taste of A contributes negatively to B, and nothing becomes forbidden.


(111)

Q: By mistake, potatoes were cooked in a clean pot that had been used for cooking non-kosher food. May I eat the potatoes?

A: If 24 hours or more elapsed between the cooking of the non-kosher food and the cooking of the potatoes, you may eat the potatoes. If less than 24 hours elapsed, the potatoes are forbidden because of nat bar nat l’isura.


(112)

Q: I cooked potatoes in a clean meat pot. May I eat the potatoes with dairy?

A: If 24 hours or more elapsed since the last time meat was cooked in the pot, you may eat the potatoes with dairy.

If less than 24 hours elapsed, you may not eat the potatoes with dairy, but you may drink milk immediately after eating the potatoes. Nevertheless, if butter was accidentally added to the potatoes on the plate, you may eat the potatoes because of nat bar nat l’heteira.₉₅


(113)

Q: May I cook potatoes in a clean meat pot that has not been used within 24 hours, if I intend to eat the potatoes with butter?

A: No, unless you do not own a pareve or dairy pot ⁹⁶ (in which case you should try to acquire one for future use). However, once the potatoes have already been cooked, you may add butter to the potatoes when they are on a plate.₉₇


(114)

Q: May fish and meat be eaten together?

A: No. It is preferable to rinse one’s mouth and eat a small amount of pareve food between fish and meat.⁹⁸


(115)

Q: May I cook fish in a clean meat pot?

A: Yes, ⁹⁹ but it is preferable to acquire a special pot for fish because the meat pot may not always be completely clean.


(116)

Q: I cooked fish in a clean pot that had been used within 24 hours to cook meat. May I reheat the fish in a pareve pot? May I reheat it in a dairy pot that was used within 24 hours to cook milk?

A: You may reheat the fish in a pareve pot, and the pot will remain pareve in accordance with the principle of flat bar nat l’heteira.

You may not reheat the fish in a dairy pot that was used within 24 hours to cook milk unless extreme difficulty makes it necessary. ¹⁰⁰ However, if you had already done it, the fish and the pot would be permitted.


(117)

Q: May fish be eaten together with milk?

A: Most authorities permit it,¹⁰¹ but there are some that forbid it.¹⁰² Many Sephardim do not eat fish with milk.


(118)

Q: I cooked sharp pareve spicy food in a clean meat pot that had not been used for 24 hours. May I eat the sharp/spicy food with dairy?

A: No, not even if the sharp/spicy food fell into milk. However, you may drink milk immediately after eating the sharp/spicy food.₁₀₃


(119)

Q: Sharp pareve spicy food was cooked in a clean meat pot that had not been used for 24 hours. Less than 24 hours later, I cooked dairy in that pot by mistake. Are the dairy and the pot permitted?

A: The dairy is permitted,¹⁰⁴ but the pot must be kashered.


(120)

Q: While vegetables were cooking in a pot in which meat had been cooked within the previous 24 hours, a clean dairy spoon was inserted into the pot. What is the halachic status of the vegetables, the pot, and the spoon?

A: If the spoon had been used for hot milk in a first vessel within the previous 24 hours, the vegetables, the pot, and the spoon are forbidden,¹⁰⁵ unless the vegetables had 60 times the volume of the part of the spoon inserted. In that case, the vegetables, the pot, and the spoon are permitted; however, it is customary to kasher the spoon.₁₀₆

If the spoon had not been used for hot milk within the previous 24 hours, the vegetables, the pot, and the spoon are permitted. It is customary, though, to eat the vegetables on a meat plate and to kasher the dairy spoon.₁₀₇


(121)

Q: I cooked kosher meat in a pot that had been used to cook non-kosher food within the previous 24 hours. This meat was later recooked in a kosher pot. Must the second pot be kashered?

A: Yes. Moreover, anything cooked in the second pot within 24 hours of cooking of that meat becomes forbidden by the principle of nat bar nat l’isura.


(122)

Q: Must I have separate sinks for washing meat and dairy dishes?

A: No. However, if you have only one sink, you must have separate basins to hold the dishes in the sink. In either case, you must have separate sponges.


(123)

Q: By mistake I put meat and dairy dishes in the same basin, and then added hot water. Are the dishes and basin forbidden?

A: If the dishes were clean from food, the dishes and basin are permitted.₁₀₈

If the dishes were dirty, kasher the basin by waiting 24 hours and then pouring boiling hot water over the whole basin. Kasher the dishes if possible. If they cannot be kashered and you need them badly, you may use them after 24 hours in accordance with the Rama’s lenient opinion.₁₀₉ If they cannot be kashered and you do not need them badly, put them away for a year and then use them.

However, if dish detergent was poured into the basin with the dirty dishes before you added the hot water, the taste of the food particles in the basin was spoiled. Therefore, if the detergent was mild, you may use the dishes and basin after 24 hours. If the detergent was thick and strong, you may use the dishes and basin immediately.


(124)

Q: I poured hot water into a basin, and then mistakenly put in dirty meat and dairy dishes. Are the dishes and basin forbidden?

A: The basin, which is a ku sheini (see Question 92), cools the water before it comes in contact with the dishes. Therefore the dishes and basin are permitted.₁₁₀ However, since some authorities are stringent in this case,₁₁₁ it is preferable to wait 24 hours before using the dishes and basin.


(125)

Q: If dirty dairy dishes were accidentally placed in a meat basin and hot water was poured over them, are the dishes and the basin permitted?

A: The dishes are permitted. Kasher the basin by waiting 24 hours and then by pouring boiling hot water over the whole basin.¹¹²


(126)

Q: I found a dairy spoon among the meat spoons in the drawer. What should I do?

A: Take out the dairy spoon and put it with the rest of the dairy cutlery. No kashering is necessary.¹¹³




Note: The following questions deal with foods that are "sharp,” such as onions, radishes, or sour pickles. Foods that are heavily salted or very spicy are also included in this halachic category. Sharp foods transmit taste more readily than cold foods. To avoid halachic questions, use a pareve knife and plate to cut sharp vegetables.₁₁₄


(127)

Q: What is the law if an onion was cut with a meat knife?

A: The onion is considered meaty (even if the knife had not been used to cut hot meat within the preceding 24 hours) to a certain extent.

1. Dairy may not be eaten together with the onion, but it may be eaten immediately after (see Question 118).

2. If the onion is cooked with dairy by mistake, the onion and the dairy are forbidden unless the dairy food has 60 times the volume of a thumb’s width of the part of the onion that was cut. In that event, both are permitted.₁₁₅

3. If the onion is put through a grinder, the grinder does not become meaty because of nat bar nat l’heteira (see Question 110).¹¹⁶ However, you should always use a pareve knife to cut sharp vegetables because there are opinions that hold the grinder to be meaty.


(128)

Q: An onion was cut into small pieces with a dairy knife and then cooked with chicken soup by mistake. Is the chicken soup permitted?

A: Only if the chicken soup had 60 times the volume of the whole onion.₁₁₇ In that case, the onions can also be eaten with the chicken soup.¹¹⁸


(129)

Q: What is the law if an onion is cut even once with a non-kosher knife?

A: The onion is forbidden (even if the knife was not used for hot non-kosher food within the past 24 hours).¹¹⁹

However, if no other onion is available and you must have one, take a kosher knife and cut away a thumb’s width from the area cut by the non-kosher knife. The rest of the onion is permitted.₁₂₀

If an onion cut with a non-kosher knife is cooked by mistake with kosher food, the kosher food is permitted only if it has 60 times the volume of a thumb’s width of the cut part of the onion. The onion must be removed.₁₂₁


(130)

Q: An onion was cut into small pieces with a non-kosher knife and then cooked with kosher food by mistake. Is the food permitted?

A: Only if the food has 60 times the volume of the whole onion. The onion must be removed.₁₂₂


(131)

Q: Spices were ground in a clean meat grinder that had not been used for hot meat within the past 24 hours. May I eat these spices with dairy?

A: No. In fact, if the spices fall into dairy, it would be forbidden to eat this mixture.¹²³


(132)

Q: A clean non-kosher spoon which had been used for hot non-kosher food within the last 24 hours was inserted into horseradish. Is the horseradish forbidden?

A: If the spoon is removed from the horseradish within 24 hours, the horseradish is permitted.¹²⁴ A more stringent view forbids the horseradish if the spoon was left in the horseradish for 18 minutes, except in case of considerable loss.₁₂₅


(133)

Q: Cold meat fell into dry horseradish. The meat was then removed. Is the horseradish meaty?

A: If the meat remained in the horseradish for less than 18 minutes, remove the thinnest outer layer of horseradish that touched the meat; then you may eat the horseradish with dairy.

If the meat remained in the horseradish for 18 minutes or longer, the horseradish is meaty.¹²⁶ (We discussed only dry horseradish because it is difficult to remove bits of meat from horseradish that is moist.)


(134)

Q: Must I have separate salt and pepper bowls for meat and dairy?

A: Yes, because particles of meat and dairy can easily fall into the salt and pepper.¹²⁷

If you use shakers, it is recommended that you have separate ones for meat and dairy, because while pouring salt into steaming hot soup, the steam may hit the shaker.


(135)

Q: At 1:00 PM Sunday, I finished cooking meat and removed it from the pot. At 5:00 PM, I boiled water in the same pot. At 2:00 PM Monday, someone cooked dairy in that pot by mistake. Is the dairy forbidden? What about the pot?

A: The dairy is permitted since 24 hours elapsed from the cooking of the meat. The cooking of the water is irrelevant. The pot must be kashered. Wait until 2:00 PM Tuesday, which is 24 hours from the time the dairy was cooked. Then kasher the pot in a kli rishon (see Question 92).


(136)

Q: At 1:00 PM Sunday, I finished cooking meat and removed it from the pot. At 5:00 PM, someone boiled milk in the same pot. At 6:00 PM, I boiled water in that pot. Is the water forbidden? When can I kasher the pot?

A: The water is forbidden (nat bar nat l’isura). You must therefore wait until 6 PM Monday to kasher the pot so that 24 hours will have elapsed from the time the water was cooked.


(137)

Q: At 1:00 PM Sunday, I finished cooking meat and removed it from the pot. At 5:00 PM, someone boiled milk in the same pot. At 3:00 PM Monday, I boiled water in that pot. Is the water forbidden? When can I kasher the pot?

A: The water is forbidden. However, since the night has passed, we can be lenient and allow the pot to be kashered Monday after 5:00 PM, 24 hours after the milk was cooked.₁₂₈


(138)

Q: If meat and cheese are touching side by side, are they forbidden?

A: If both are hot, they are forbidden.₁₂₉ If one is hot and the other cold, remove the thinnest layer of each where it touched the other. They are then permitted.₁₃₀


(139)

Q: A meat pot was placed side by side with cheese and the two touched. What is the law?

A: If both are hot, everything is forbidden. If one was cold and the other hot, remove the thinnest outer layer of cheese which touched the meat pot. The rest of the cheese is permitted, as are the contents of the pot. The pot is forbidden.

To kasher the pot, wait 24 hours; then pour boiling water on the outside of the pot.₁₃₁


(140)

Q: A meat pot touched a dairy pot that had been placed beside it. What is the law?

A: If the outsides of the pots are clean and dry, the pots and their contents are permitted even if they are hot.¹³²


(141)

Q: A non-kosher piece of chicken became mixed with two kosher pieces, and I do not know which is which. What is the law?

A: If the pieces were cooked together, they are all forbidden. (However, if there were 60 times as much kosher chicken as non-kosher, they would be permitted.)

If the pieces were not cooked together, the following rules apply:

1. If the pieces are separate and small, we follow the “majority” principle: Since the majority of the pieces are kosher, the chicken is permitted after one of the pieces is removed.₁₃₃

2. If each piece is big enough to serve a guest, all the pieces are forbidden. (Even if there were a thousand kosher pieces, they would all be forbidden!).₁₃₄ However, if the non-kosher piece is non-kosher only because it has absorbed non-kosher food (e.g., it was cooked without first being salted, so that it absorbed blood), we follow the majority principle: The chicken is permitted after one piece is removed.₁₃₅


(142)

Q: Among two small pieces of chicken and one small piece of meat, there is one non-kosher piece, but I do not know which it is. Do we follow the majority principle?

A: No, because the pieces are not the same species. They are all forbidden.¹³⁶


(143)

Q: A non-kosher pot became mixed with the kosher pots. What is the law?

A: Wait 24 hours from the time the pot became non-kosher. Thereafter, all the pots are permitted. if you can, you should kasher at least one of the pots.₁₃₇


(144)

Q: Must I check eggs for blood spots before preparing them?

A: Yes. Crack the eggs one by one into a glass. If you find a blood spot, discard that egg.

Since you cannot check eggs before boiling them, always cook at least three together. When the eggs are done, pour cold water on them to cool the pot and the eggs. Then you may remove the eggs separately, and even if you find a blood spot in one, the other eggs and the pot are still kosher.

There are lenient opinions that since the eggs are not fertilised, if a loss is involved you may eat the egg after removing the blood spot.₁₃₈







Kashering Meat



For meat to be kosher, it must:

1. Come from a kosher animal (those that chew their cud and have cloven hoofs) or a kosher bird.

2. Be slaughtered according to Jewish Law.

3. Be checked for internal disorders.

4. Have its forbidden fats and veins removed.

5. Be soaked and salted before cooking or else broiled.




(145)

Q: In Britain, many kosher butchers sell meat or chicken that was not salted. What is the law if one cooks meat without first salting or broiling it?

A: The meat is forbidden.₁₃₉


(146)

Q: What is the correct procedure for salting?

A: Set aside a special pail. Fill it with cold water. Submerge the meat in the water for 30 minutes. (Caution: If you leave it in for 24 hours or more, the meat and the pail become forbidden.)

Rub the meat while it is in the water. Then take it out and shake off the water. (It should not be totally dry, though.) Place it on a perforated board set above a basin so that the blood can drip through the board when the meat is salted. Sprinkle kashering salt all over the meat to totally cover it, and into every crack and crevice. Chicken must be salted inside and out.₁₄₀

An hour later, thoroughly rinse the meat or chicken three times under cold tap water to remove the salt and blood on its surface.

Liver cannot be kashered through this procedure. The procedure for liver is discussed in questions 164-169.


(147)

Q: I am in a non-kosher house. I bought meat that has not yet been salted. How should I salt it?

A: Clean out any pail and any perforated board. They need not be kosher, since salt does not have the strength to extract what is absorbed in the walls of a clean vessel.₁₄₁

If kashering salt is not available, use sodium chloride table salt.₁₄₂ Proceed as in Question 146.


(148)

Q: Does the basin that is placed beneath the perforated board to catch the blood become forbidden?

A: Yes, but it may be used for kashering again.


(149)

Q: Why must I soak the meat or chicken before salting it?

A: Soaking softens the meat so that the salt can draw out the blood.₁₄₃ It also removes the thick blood on the surface of the meat.₁₄₄


(150)

Q: I salted the meat without first soaking it. What is the law?

A: If you rinsed the meat before salting it, the meat is permitted.

In case of great necessity (e.g., substantial monetary loss, guests expected for dinner, or it’s close to Shabbos), even if you did not wash the meat at all before salting it, the meat is permitted provided that you wash it properly and salt it again and follow normal kashering procedure.¹⁴⁵


(151)

Q: I washed meat before salting it, and then cut it up into pieces. Must I wash the meat again before salting?

A: Yes, because now there are new surfaces containing blood.₁₄₆ However, one does not need to wash new surfaces if the meat was already kashered.₁₄₇


(152)

Q: By mistake I salted only one side of a piece of meat. Must I salt the other side?

A: If the salt has been on the meat for less than 12 hours and you have not yet rinsed it off, salt the forgotten side. If the salt has been on the meat for 12 hours or longer, or if you have already rinsed off the salt, broil the meat. In a case of great necessity, if you cannot broil the meat, you may salt both sides again and then cook it after the normal kashering procedure._148-A

Caution: Meat should not be salted for more than 12 hours. However if it was salted longer the meat is still permitted._148-B


(153)

Q: After cooking meat, I realised that I had only salted one side. Is the meat permitted?

A: Only in a case of great necessity.₁₄₉


(154)

Q: What is the law if I salted meat or chicken and then cooked it without washing off the salt?

A: Both the meat and the pot are forbidden. However, if there was an equal amount of kosher food in the pot during the cooking, the pot and its entire contents are permitted.₁₅₀


(155)

Q: It is erev Shabbos. I have not yet salted the meat, and have no facilities for broiling. Time is running out. What should I do?

A: Wash the meat; rub it well in the water. You need not soak it for 30 minutes. Then salt the meat and leave it on a perforated board for 31 minutes₁₅₁ (in a real emergency, 24 minutes₁₅₂ or, according to another opinion, 18 minutes). Rinse off the salt in cold water.


(156)

Q: While I was salting meat on a perforated board, the meat fell onto an unperforated surface. Did the meat become forbidden?

A: If the meat had been in salt for less than 18 minutes when it fell, it became forbidden unless it was picked up immediately.

If it had been in salt for more than 18 minutes, cut away the part of the meat that was sitting in blood, as well as the thinnest strip past that part.₁₅₃


(157)

Q: Must I kasher or rinse meat as soon as I bring it home?

A: No. However, meat must be rinsed, and should preferably be soaked in cold water for 30 minutes, within three days after shechitah (ritual slaughter).₁₅₄ In case of great necessity, if the third day falls on Shabbos, wash your hands for bread over all the sides of the meat, since it is forbidden to rinse the meat on Shabbos.¹⁵⁵

If three days elapse without rinsing, the meat cannot be koshered by salting, but must be broiled.


(158)

Q: I am planning to broil a piece of unsalted meat. Must I wash it within every three days until I broil it?

A: Yes, because you might forget and then salt and cook it.₁₅₆


(159)

Q: In some countries, unsalted meat is frozen for long periods. How is this allowed?

A: According to some opinions, if meat is frozen within three days of shechitah, the time the meat remained frozen does not count; you may therefore rinse the meat after it is defrosted. Thus if the meat was frozen 3 hours after the shechitah, you have 68.5 hours after it is defrosted in which to soak the meat for 0.5 hours and follow normal koshering procedure.₁₅₇ Another opinion forbids this practice.₁₅₈ Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l held that unsalted meat should not be frozen, but that if it was, it may still be eaten after the normal kashering procedure.₁₅₉


(160)

Q: I broiled meat that had not been rinsed every three days after shechitah. May I later cook it?

A: No. if the meat was cooked by mistake, however, you may eat it.₁₆₀


(161)

Q: May I salt several pieces of meat on a perforated board and then stack them one on top of the other on the perforated board?

A: Yes.₁₆₁ However chicken eggs which come from the chicken and bones must be salted separately.


(162)

Q: After my mother rinses off the salt, she places the meat in boiling watet What is the source of this custom?

A: This is the opinion of the Rambam,₁₆₂ whose decisions Yemenite Jews follow.


(163)

Q: May I broil chicken or meat without first kashering it by the usual method of salting?

A: Yes, one must use the procedure described in Questions 164-165 for broiling liver. (See also Questions 166, 167, and 169 which also apply to chicken or meat).


(164)

Q: I bought liver that has not yet been kashered from a kosher butchet How do I kasher it?

A: Wash it and sprinkle a little salt over it. Immediately broil it on a ‘grate’ over the fire until it is done. Then rinse in cold water.¹⁶³


(165)

Q: If all the steps above were omitted except for the broiling of the liver, may the liver be eaten?

A: Yes. It may even be cooked after it is broiled.₁₆₄


(166)

Q: What happens if liver is broiled in a frying pan rather than on a grate?

A: Since the frying pan catches the forbidden blood, the liver and the pan become forbidden.


(167)

Q: What is the status of the grate used for kashering liver?

A: The grate should be kashered by leaving it on the fire between one piece of liver and the next. However, even if the grate was used again for liver within 24 hours without being kashered, the liver is permitted.₁₆₅

If a grate was used for non-kosher liver, and within 24 hours kosher liver is broiled on it, the kosher liver becomes forbidden.


(168)

Q: Must raw liver be washed within three days if one wants to cook the liver after it is broiled?

A: According to some authorities,¹⁶⁶ it is not necessary. According to others, if liver was not washed within three days, you may not cook it after it is broiled.₁₆₇ However, if it was cooked after being broiled, it may be eaten.


(169)

Q: May I use an electric oven to broil liver?

A: Some authorities permit it.₁₆₈ Others say an electric oven should not be used.¹⁶⁹

If you use an electric oven, remember that the liver must be kashered on a grate, and the basin which catches the blood may not be used for other purposes.


(170)

Q: After pan roasting a kashered chicken, I found an unkashered liver in a plastic bag inside the chicken. May I eat the chicken?

A: No. The chicken, the liver, and the pan are forbidden unless the total volume of the chicken and any other food in the pan is 60 times the volume of the liver. In that case, only the liver is forbidden.

If the liver is attached to the chicken, however, both the liver and the chicken are forbidden. The other food in the pot or pan is permitted only if it has 60 times the volume of the chicken plus liver.₁₇₀


(171)

Q: May raw meat be eaten?

A: Yes. Kashering is not necessary; simply wash the raw meat or chicken in cold water to remove the blood on the surface.¹⁷¹


(172)

Q: My doctor put me on a salt-free diet. How can I eat kosher meat without going off my diet?

A: Broil meat rather than cook it, and omit the salt. Salting meat or liver before broiling is only a custom, and a custom is waived when health is threatened.



Terumos and Ma ‘asros

(173)

Q: If one buys oranges and tomatoes grown in Israel and one does not know if terumos and ma‘asros were separated, what should one do?

A: Separate just over 1% of oranges and just over 1% of tomatoes and place them in front of you, together with the rest of the produce. The following is said: “All separations and all redemptions required for this food should take effect according to the formula compiled by the Grand Rabbi the “Chazon Ish” which is printed in the ArtScroll Siddur (prayer book)”. The food should be in a still position while reciting the formula. The food which was separated should be discarded in a respectful manner. If it is a liquid it should be poured down the sink. A coin with a monetary value equal to 1/40 of a gram of pure silver must be set aside for each redemption. In U.S.A. one can use a 25 cent coin, in U.K. one can use a 10 pence coin and in Israel one can use a shekel. The coin must be kept in a safe place. Afterwards one can discuss with an Orthodox Rabbi whether one should join a fund for the redemptions (especially if one lives in Israel). The advantage of joining a fund is that one would not have to set aside a coin. However if one does not join the fund one would have to ascertain how many times one can use the coin.



SOURCES:

1 Rama, Yoreh Deah 96:2 2 Shach, Yoreh Deah 69:65 3 Pri Chodosh; see Pischei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 114:1 4 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 124:18 5 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 123:4 6 Taz, Yoreh Deah 91:2 7 Beis Yosef (note: every reference to the Beis Yosef refers to the Shuichan Aruch), Yoreh Deah 96:4, Shach, Taz, Pri Megadim 8 Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 2:28-29 9 Rav Moshe Rosen zt’l; Personally heard from Rav Asher Zimmerman shlita. 10 Personally heard from Rav Asher Zimmerman shlita. 11 Vaad Hakashrus of Baltimore (see Kashrus Kurrents vol.8 no.4) 12 Vaad Hakashrus of Baltimore (see Kashrus Kurrents vol.8 no.4) 13 Pri Chodosh, Yoreh Deah 115:6 14-A Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 1:47-49 14-B See Rav Zvi Pesach Frank Z"L, Har Zvi Yoreh Deah 103 15 Beis Hillel, Yoreh Deah 329:9 16 Chochmas Adam 65. 17 Chochmas Adam 67:7 18 Chochmas Adam 66:11 19 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 113:7 20 Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh Deah 89:17 21 Mishnah Berurah, Orach Chayim 451:19 22 see Chacham Tzvi, Question 75; Rabbi Akiva Eiger 23 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 121:2 24 Rama, Yoreh Deah 120:16 25 Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l, L’Torah V’Horaah, vol. 2:20 26 Rabbi Liebes shlita, Beis Avi vol.1:116 27 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 120:8 28 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 63:1 29 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 39:10 30 Rama, Yoreh Deah 39:13 31 G’ra, Yoreh Deah 293:2 32 Bach, see Baer Heitev, Yoreh Deah 293:2 33 See Mishnah Berurah, Orach Chayim 489:45 34 See Mishnah Berurah, Orach Chayim 489:48 35 Exodus 23:19, 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21 36 Pri Megadim, “Introduction to Meat and Milk”, Yoreh Deah 37 Shach, Yoreh Deah 87:7 38 Taz, Yoreh Deah 94:4 39 Shach, Yoreh Deah 91:3; Chochmas Adam 40 Rav Heshel from Cracow 41 Pischei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 89:8 42 Darchei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 89:48 43 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deaiz 91:3 44 Beis Yosef, Yore/i Deah 97:1 45 Rama, Yoreh Deah 89:1 46 Aruch HaShuichan, Yoreh Deah 89:4 47 Rama, Yoreh Deah 89:1 48 See Aruch HaShuichan, Yoreh Deah 89:9 49 Shach, Yoreh Deah 89:15-16 50 Rambam; see Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 89:1 51 Aruch HaShulehan, Yoreh Deah 89:7 52 Tur; see Taz, Yoreh Deah 88:3 53 Shach, Yoreh Deah 88:2 54 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 88:1 55 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 91:4 56 Baer Heitev, Yoreh Deah 91:8 57 Tzvi L’tzadik, Yoreh Deah 91:7 58 Rama, Yoreh Deah 91:7; Aruch HaShulchan 59 Rama, Yoreh Deah 105:1 60 Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh Deah 91:37 61 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 91:4 62 Dogul Merevavah, Yoreh Deah 94 63 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 91:1 64 Rama, Yoreh Deah 105:9 65 Rama, Yoreh Deah 105:10 66 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 93:1 67 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 103:6 68 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 122:2 69 Personally heard from Ray Asher Zimmerman shlita. 70 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 96:5 71 Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh Deah 92:43 72 Chochmas Adam—Binas Adam 45:41 73 Rama, Yoreh Deah 93:3 74 Shach, Yoreh Deah 93:6 75 Rama, Yoreh Deah 92:7; Chochmas Adam 76 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 92:8 77 Shach, Yoreh Deah 92:27 78 See Darchei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 92:165 79 Hafla’ah, see Chasam Sofer, Yoreh Deah 94 80 Shach, Yoreh Deah 94:30 81 Chochmas Adam 46:6 82 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 94:1 83 Taz, Yoreh Deah 94:12-13; Chochmas Adam 84 Pischei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 98:2 85 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 105:14 86 Pri Chodosh; see G’ra, Yoreh Deah 102:6 87 G’ra, Yoreh Deah 102:6 88 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 99:5 89 See Sdei Chemed 1 page 95:360 90 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 94:6 91 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 100:4 92 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 107:2; Rama; Pri Chodosh 93 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 100:3 94 Rama, Orach Chaim 451:26 95 Rama, Yoreh Deah 95:2 96 Chochmas Adam 48:2 97 Issur V’Heter; Rama, Yoreh Deah 95:2 98 Rama, Yoreh Deah 116:3 99 Taz, Yoreh Deah 95:3 100 Chochmas Adam 48:1; Pri Megadim 101 Taz, Yoreh Deah 87:3; Shach, Aruch HaShulchan 102 Levush. See Taz, Yoreh Deah 87:3 103 Rabbi Akiva Eiger, Yoreh Deah 89 104 See Even Haozer, Yoreh Deah 96. 105 Rama, Yoreh Deah 95:3 106 Chochmas Adam 46:9 107 Rama, Yoreh Deah 94:5 108 Rama, Yoreh Deah 95:3; Shach, Taz 109 Rama, Yoreh Deah 95:3 110 Rama, Yoreh Deah 95:3 111 Rashal; see Taz, Yoreh Deah 95:12 112 Taz, Yoreh Deah 95:12 113 Rama, Yoreh Deah 95:3 114 See Darchei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 96.2 115 Taz, Yoreh Deah 96:5 116 Even Haozer, Yoreh Deah 96 117 Rama, Yoreh Deah 96:1 118 Shach, Yoreh Deah 94:23 119 Rashba; See Rama, Yoreh Deah 96:1 120 Rama, Yoreh Deah 96:1 121 Taz, Yoreh Deah 96:6 122 Rama, Yoreh Deah 96:1 123 Rama, Yoreh Dcah 96:3 124 Taz, Yoreh Deah 69:41; Shach 125 Chochmas Adam 57:10 126 Chochmas Adam 58:3 127 Rama, Yoreh Deah 88:2 128 Rama, Yoreh Deah 103:7 129 Chochmas Adam 60:11 130 Rama, Yoreh Deah 105:3, Shach, Aruch HaShulchan 131 Rama, Yoreh Deah 105:3; Shach 132 Rama, Yoreh Deah 93:3 133 Rama, Yoreh Deah 109:1 134 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 101:1 135 Chavas Daas, Beurim 69:20. 136 Rama, Yoreh Deah 109:1 137 Shach, Yoreh Deah 102:8 138 Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l, Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 1:36 139 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 69:11 140 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 69:4 141 Rama, Yoreh Deah 70:2 142 Rama, Yoreh Deah 69:3 143 An opinion found in the Mordechai; see Shach, Yoreh Deah 69:1 144 Smak; see Shach, Yoreh Deah 69:1 145 Rama, Yoreh Deah 69:2; Shach, Taz 146 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 69:1 147 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 69:5 148-A Taz, Yoreh Deah 69:15 148-B Taz, Yoreh Deah 70:13 149 Rama, Yoreh Deah 69:4 150 Rama, Yoreh Deah 69:9 151 Dogul Merevaveh, Yoreh Deah 69:6 152 Chochmas Adam 30:9 153 Taz, Yoreh Deah 69:48 154 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 69:13 155 Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh Deah 69:81 156 Rama, Yoreh Deah 69:12 157 Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh Deah 69:79 158 Pri Megadim, Yoreh Deah 69:60 (Sifsey Daas) 159 Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 1:27 160 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 69:12 161 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 70:1 162 See Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 69:19 163 Rama, Yoreh Deah 76:2 164 Rama, Yoreh Deah 76:2 165 Rama, Yoreh Deah 76:4 166 See Chochmas Adam 34:13; Aruch HaShulchan 167 Minchas Yaakov 4:3; Pri Megadim 168 Rav Henkin zt’l, Lev Ivra 38 169 Personally heard from Rav Yitzchok Yakov Weiss zt’l, 170 Chochmas Adam 34:18 171 Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah 67:2

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