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    08 Aug KASHRUS QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT

    Posted at 19:02h in by
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    Yayin Nesech verses Stam Yeinam.
    Yayin Nesech does not exist in our times. Yayin Nesech is wine that
    was poured for avodah zarah. The wine that you’re buying in the
    store, a closed bottle of wine, was obviously not poured for avodah
    zarah as it is a closed bottle of wine. There is something known as
    Stam Yeinam. Stam Yeinam is kosher wine which is a serious halachic
    issue. Therefore, you should only buy wine that has a reliable kosher
    supervision.

    Even when you buy wine with a reliable kosher supervision, you need to pay attention
    if the wine is mevushal. Wine which is not mevushal, meaning it came into contact with
    a non-Jew or a Jew who is not shomer Shabbos, can not be drunk.. So, if somebody,
    for example, has non-Jewish help in the house or anything like that, they should only
    have in their home yayin mevushal. Another place where yayin mevushal is practical
    and a real issue is when someone is
    traveling with El AL and they serve
    only kosher wine. If the wine is
    not mevushal and it’s being served
    by someone who is not shomer
    Shabbos, then you’re not allowed
    to have them pour the wine for
    you. You should either choose only
    a mevushal wine or ask them if you
    could open the bottle and pour the
    wine yourself.

    When the OU gives hashgacha on non-
    cholov Yisroel milk, do they also make sure

    that it’s not punctured when the cows are
    given medicine or does the hashgacha not
    cover that?
    No, actually we don’t. Rabbi Belsky felt that it’s not
    really a serious issue, the puncturing of the cow, and
    we therefore don’t insist on it. The reality is that it’s not
    always a problem. It’s a complicated halachic discussion,
    but suffice it to say that the OU does not require that with
    non cholov Yisroel milk, the cow has not gone through
    the procedure of puncturing the cow. Cows that have
    that procedure are called a DA cow. We don’t insist that
    only DA cows be milked. All the Cholov Yisroel products are non-DA cows.

    Could one make a mezonos and al
    hamichya on a mezonos roll if it has
    the taste of fruit juice?
    The taste is not enough, it also has to not look like
    a roll. As the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and
    it quacks like a duck, then it IS a duck. That’s our
    position regarding bread, as well. If it looks that
    way, we’re going to require that it be Hamotzi. If it
    looks like a piece of cake and it tastes like a piece
    of cake, then it’s a mezonos.