02 Apr PESACH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT FROM THE OU
Selling chametz in different time zones:
What happens if the chametz is in
America, but its initial owner will be in
Israel for Pesach?
When the Rabbi is selling the chametz in
the US time zone, Yom Tov will have already begun in Israel,
past the time that one is permitted to have chametz in one’s
possession.
You have to tell the Rabbi with whom you’re selling the chametz
if your plan is that you’re not going to be in the same time zone
where he will be selling it. The zman from when we’re not allowed to eat chametz in Israel
is going to be 6-7 hours earlier than in New York, for instance. So if you’re selling your
chametz here, but you’re going to be in Israel and the Rabbi who’s selling the chametz is
only going to be selling it according to the American time zone, then you have an issue.
You will have owned chametz at a time where you’re not allowed to own chametz anymore.
So when you sell your chametz, you need to tell the Rav with whom you’re selling your
chametz that this is your plan for Yom Tov. Rabbanim who have such individuals that are
selling chametz like that would then do a mechira that is effective earlier than the mechira
for the rest of us. It’s very, very important.
Should a hashgacha give their approval on a Pesach
program where the entertainment that they are
providing is not up to Orthodox standards?
I, as a Rabbi, will tell you that even if you have a private
party, you should do it in a halachically permissible manner.
However, if you have a private party, it’s your private party
in the privacy of your home, and you have a right to choose
what to do. Again, I emphasize you should be doing what
the halacha says, but I understand that everybody in the
privacy of their own home or the privacy of their own party
can make that decision. When you’re doing a public event, such as a Pesach program, and
the Pesach program is geared for any guest that will join, the hashgacha has to set up an
environment that any religious Jew will be comfortable with. Now comfortable means
that it’s halachically acceptable and if it’s not halachically acceptable, then they shouldn’t
be certifying a program that they don’t believe that religious Jews should be participating
in. These are very subjective questions. If it’s a situation of Kol Isha, where you have live
women singing, it’s a no brainer because the halacha is very clear that that’s not permitted.
If it’s a situation where there’s mixed dancing, that too is a no brainer because the halacha
is very clear that you’re not allowed to have that type of an environment. If it’s a situation
however of something which is subjective, a comedian for instance, I can’t say that there’s
a specific halachic prohibition to participate in a comedian’s entertainment, although I
personally wouldn’t participate in that. That’s the kind of thing that a supervision has to
be sensitive to and it’s not always easy to be sensitive to.
Does the OU give a hashgacha on items that are kitniyos?
The OU certifies items that are kitniyos as well, but all products that
are OU certified as kitniyos are called “OU Kitniyot.” They won’t be
labeled “OU P,” it’ll be labeled “OU Kitniyot.”
Does the OU give a hashgacha on gebrokts items?
Yes, the OU certifies gebrokts.
Why is it that plain coffee is almost
always acceptable for Pesach, but not
decaf?
Because alcohol may be used in the decaffeination process.
Obviously whenever you hear the word alcohol you need to be
concerned about the alcohol. However, plain, regular coffee that
has nothing in it besides coffee is not a problem, but decaffeinated
coffee can be a problem.
Why is plain coffee in a k-cup an issue for Pesach?
They have many other ingredients in them and they’re made on the same
equipment with other ingredients. So you have to know which k-cups are
fine and which are not.
Why is Kosher for Pesach confectioners sugar impossible to find?
Starch is used in confectioners sugar and you have to be sure
that the starch is not kitniyos or chametz. It’s a product that
technically could be Kosher for Pesach, but nobody is making
it Kosher for Pesach. You can’t assume that it’s Kosher for
Pesach because of the starch.ommend, but if you really need to
use it, clean it well and then triple wrap everything.
READER QUESTION:
Dear Rabbi Elefant, Thank you for your Kashruth column which I follow in the weekly
Jewish Vues newspaper. Last year, I recall reading that you wrote that meats and chicken
are OU Kosher for Pesach all year at the local glatt supermarkets. You advised the “smart
shoppers” to take advantage of this and stock up on sale meat items in Chodesh Adar or
earlier, prior to the exorbitant meat prices which precede the Yom Tov of Pesach. I looked
in my Pesach folder to see if I kept a copy of that article, but to no avail. My question is:
Are the meat departments in the Five
Towns stores such as: Gourmet Glatt,
Seasons, and Kol Save, presently
Kosher for Pesach? Parenthetically,
my son-in-law forwarded me a post from a well-
known Miami Rav, dated 2/23/21, that all non-
processed meat or chicken are kosher for Pesach.
This did not apply to ground meat, he wrote. Thank
you in advance and I look forward, iyH, to your
reply. – Judith W. Rubin
P.S. You might be interested to know that my mother, Mrs. Pearl Wadler, ah, was the only
woman in its history to sit on the OU Kashruth Commission in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
So, we’ll go backwards. Yes, I very much remember Mrs. Wadler who did represent
the women of Klal Yisrael in the OU Kashrus Commission and would come to our
Kashrus Commission meetings and participate. She was a very special woman and
I recall her participation. The answer this year is the same as the answer last year.
Raw meat and raw chicken that has nothing done to it, its cut can be used all year
round without special Pesach supervision. What I recommend, which probably
everyone does anyway, when getting a piece of chicken or a piece of meat, is to rinse
it before you actually cook it or do whatever you’re going to do with it. If that’s what
you’re doing, there’s no need to get meat or chicken with special Pesach supervision.
However, as was said correctly, meat that is processed in any way, so certainly if
you’re buying processed meat like cold cuts or chopped meat etc., those should only
be bought with Pesach supervision.