10 Dec KASRUTH QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT

Does the OU allow
music to be played
at restaurants
they certify? Many
restaurants want
to have an ambiance and they want
to have live music playing. What’s
the OU’s policy when certifying these
establishments and how do they go
about it?
In the teshuvos of the Igros Moshe, Reb
Moshe Feinstein zt”l, & in the teshuvos
of the Shevet HaLevi, Rav Wosner zt”l,
understand that from the gemara in
Mesechta Gittin it comes out that one
should never listen to any music live or
taped when wine is being served, and even
perhaps when wine is not being served.
The Chelkas Yaakov’s opinion is that since
there was no taped or recorded music in
the time of Chazal there’s no reason to be
machmir, to be strict, about recorded music
ever. This is pretty much what everybody
follows. Rav Wosner adds that since we
live in a time when people have all sorts
of pressures and music helps us get into
the right mood, this would be another

consideration to be lenient. At the OU we
believe that there is no room for leniency
to have live music, where wine is served,
unless it’s a Seudas Mitzvah. I recently met
with a new restaurant that wanted the OU
supervision and they wanted to be able to
have live music in the restaurant. We told
them that they could not have live music
if we are certifying them unless they are
having a sheva brachos in the restaurant,
and the entire restaurant is being taken over
for the sheva brachos. They cannot have
live music if the party is only taking part
of the restaurant because there are other
customers in the restaurant that are not
there for the Seudas Mitzvah.

Some kosher restaurants no longer
provide towel paper at sinks; they have
hand air dryers. Has there been any
halachic discussion as to whether it’s
permissible to use a hand air dryer when
washing for bread?
It is certainly better to dry your hands with
towels. If you’re in a place that doesn’t
have hand towels and you can’t get a
napkin or anything else to dry your hands,
you could rely on the hand dryer.

Does Pepto Bismol or Alka Seltzer need
a hechsher?
When we talk about medicine the rules are
as follows: A) If someone is a chole sh’yesh
bo sakanah, just take your medicine and
don’t ask Shailos. This means that he/she
has a chronic condition. This doesn’t mean
that they’re in the hospital; they can be
walking and talking like the rest of us, but
they’re a diabetic, high blood pressure,
cardiac, cancer, etc. patient.
B) If it’s not a chronic condition, then the
best thing to do is to take a pill that you
don’t chew and taste. If it’s not possible,
then the chewable is your second best
choice. The third best is liquid and it should
not be taken unless you’re really sick.