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    01 Sep SPECIAL KASHRUTH QUESTIONS FOR THE YOMIM NORAIM WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT FROM THE OU

    Posted at 11:53h in by
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    Since honey
    is produced
    by bees,
    and bees are
    not a kosher species, how can
    honey be kosher?

    That’s a great question which is in the
    Gemarah. The Gemarah says honey must
    be Kosher. How do we know this? Because
    Eretz Yisroel is called “Eretz Zvas Chalav
    U’Dvash.” So, there’s no way that the Torah
    would’ve compared Israel to something
    that isn’t kosher. But why indeed is it
    kosher? The Gemarah says that honey is
    not digested by the bee. The bee swallows
    the pollen from the flower and secretes it
    from its body the same way that it ingested
    it. The bee has nothing to do with the

    making of the honey; it’s just like a bag
    holding the food.
    The Question is, can that be applied to
    other foods? And that’s a very interesting
    question because there’s another very
    popular food ingredient called shellac,
    which is the secretion of another bug.
    The question is, does that have the same
    properties as honey? Rav Moshe Feinstein
    held that it did and that’s why the OU
    certifies shellac for food.

    Is one allowed to eat an esrog
    and, if yes, can one eat the
    esrog on Sukkos itself?
    There’s nothing wrong with eating an Esrog.

    You can’t eat your esrog on Sukkos because
    once the Esrog has been designated for a
    mitzvah, you can’t eat it until the Yom Tov
    is over. Even an esrog that was bought to
    decorate the Sukkah, can’t be used on
    Sukkos to eat. If you just want to buy an
    esrog as a fruit, that’s fine. You need to make
    sure that if the esrog is from Israel, there
    are no issues with terumos and masros, but
    otherwise you can eat an esrog. Many have
    the minhag to eat an esrog on Tu B’shvat
    and pray for a nice Esrog for the next year.
    Can one eat Cheerios during
    the Aseres Yemei Teshuva (ten
    days from Rosh Hashana to
    Yom Kippur) or Shabbos and
    Yom Tov for those who only eat
    Pas Yisroel on those days?
    What about other breakfast
    cereals? Must they be Pas
    Yisroel?
    There are differing opinions as to
    whether Cheerios is considered pas.
    The OU poskim do not consider it pas,
    because of the size of the individual
    pieces and the manner in which it is
    made. Likewise, wheat flake cereals
    are not considered “bread-like” and
    therefore do not need to be pas Yisroel.
    Corn and Rice Cereals are, by definition,
    not bread items. For a current OU Pas
    Yisroel list please see https://oukosher.
    org/blog/articles/pas-yisroel-list-5780/
    This month
    many of the
    bakeries
    sell raisin
    challah.
    Many local
    bagel stores
    recently stopped selling
    cinnamon raisin bagels.
    Are raisins kosher to eat?
    The OU’s position is that raisins are
    kosher. The only issue that comes up
    with raisins is that you can find insects
    in raisins. The Halacha is very concerned
    about the consumption of insects; it can
    involve 4-5 aveiros every time you ingest

    one. However, the halacha is that an insect
    only becomes prohibited once it has left
    the fruit where it was formed. The Prid
    Megadim and other commentators suggest
    that raisins don’t have that issue and even if
    a raisin did have an insect, it wouldn’t pose
    a Kashrut issue. Therefore, the OU does
    certify raisins.
    What foods should one eat at
    the seuda ha’mafsekes (last
    meal) on Erev Yom Kippur?
    Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 608:4)
    writes that on Erev Yom Kippur, one should
    eat light foods that are easily digestible, so
    one will be able to daven on Yom Kippur
    with proper concentration. There is a
    common custom to dip challah in honey.
    Mishnah Berurah (608:16-18) writes that
    one should not overeat. It is proper to
    serve chicken, red meat, and especially
    fatty meat, should be avoided. Wine and
    other intoxicating beverages should not
    be served. One should avoid foods that are
    overly spicy or vinegary. Sesame should be
    avoided, since it can cause reflux. Based on
    the Tur (Orach Chaim 604), some have a
    minhag to eat fish on erev Yom Kippur.
    However, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (131:12)
    writes that it should not be served at the
    seuda ha’mafsekes, but rather should be
    eaten earlier in the day.

    What needs to be toiveled? Is
    there a general rule?
    The Halacha is that Kli Seuda, utensils used
    for food, need to be toiveled. Deoraisa,
    only something made of metal needs to
    be toiveled so pots, pans etc. Glass needs
    to be toiveled Derabanan. Earthenware
    poses a problem. Earthenware doesn’t have
    to be toiveled however, glazed earthenware
    is often glazed in glass. If it’s a thin layer,
    it’s not as big of a question as with a thick
    layer. I learned from my Rebbeim to toivel
    glazed china but everyone should ask their
    own Rabbi.