10 Sep KASHRUS QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT

Checking Eggs for Blood Spots – What is the
issue with checking eggs for blood spots? If I
buy a package of eggs which is certified kosher,
is this necessary?

The Halacha is that an egg that has a blood
spot is not kosher.
However, that is only if the egg was fertilized
in a natural matter, with a male and female.
That blood represents the formation of an
embryo of a chicken so it is not kosher; it’s
like eating a live animal. However, nowadays
the eggs are not fertilized that way. They are
fertilized by the egg being exposed to heat
and that blood is not a real problem.
However, the Minhag is to check the egg so we check it. But if you ate the egg with
the blood spot or it was cooked in your pot, it would not make it not kosher.

Mushrooms: What is the kosher status and its bracha? Since
mushrooms are fungi, they are not the seed-bearing plants
the Torah allows man to eat. If so, how can they be kosher?
The bracha of a mushroom is shehakol because it does not grow from the ground.

Mushrooms are exposed
to nutrients that make
them grow, They do not
grow from the ground
and they do not grow
on wheat. One of the
questions concerning
mushrooms is about
Pesach. One of the
nutrients used to grow
mushrooms is wheat,
but that wheat does not
make the mushroom
chametz.
It’s the same as a person eating a piece of bread; you don’t become Chametz, rather
the chametz is a nutrient for you. The same is true of a mushroom. What you have to
be worried about is the canning.
You have to make sure they’re not being canned in the same equipment that is used
for meat or non-Kosher products. Therefore, canned mushrooms should only be
purchased with a reliable supervision.