Some common NON-Kosher fish

24th of Av, 5770

Besides shellfish (shrimps, oysters, lobsters, etc) what other ‘popular’ fish are non Kosher and why?

Examples of non-kosher fish:

Catfish – it lacks scales entirely. Interesting for the kosher consumer to note, catfish (not Kosher!) is reported to have a similar taste to the increasingly popular tilapia (kosher!) Catfish and tilapia fillets look almost identical, though catfish is notably cheaper. It is therefore quite possible that an unscrupulous fish retailer might switch the two!

Basa or Tra (also called “China sole”) – (family Pangasiidae) are currently the subject of both nomenclature debates and antidumping litigation. Vietnamese importers were marketing them as catfish, to which they are nearly identical. Whether they are in fact catfish or not, they are not kosher.

Examples of NON-Kosher fish with ‘scales’

Swordfish has scales but they are embedded to such an extent that it is impossible to remove them without making a hole or that its scales would fall off during its development, rendering swordfish as non-kosher.

Sturgeon definitely has scales, but it is not kosher. Its scales are classified as “ganoid”, which means that they are covered with ganoin (similar in texture to fingernails) and cannot be removed without tearing the skin.

Burbot has cycloid scales (one of the types often referred to as “always kosher” ) yet because they are embedded, this fish is not kosher.

Sand lances may have tiny scales, but since they are not visible, this fish is not kosher.

Adapted from www.kashrut.org and www.ou.org



What makes a fish ‘Kosher’?

17th of Av, 5770

The Torah says that fish or any creature that lives in the water must have both scales (kaskekset) and fins (senapir) in order to be considered Kosher. The rabbis of the Talmud teach us that all fish that have scales also have fins, so in practice Kosher fish are identified simply by their scales. Obviously, crustaceans (such as lobster) and other shellfish (such as clams) are not Kosher because they lack scales.

Not all scales are considered Kosher by Jewish Law. It must be removable without damage to the skin of the fish. Sturgeon, although it has primitive bony plates on its sides, is not considered Kosher because the scales cannot be removed without damaging the flesh. Sharks are similarly not Kosher, because their skin is covered with tiny teeth-like armor, which are not considered scales at all.

Jewish Law requires only a minimum number of scales to accord a fish Kosher status. Tuna, for example, have very few scales, yet are nevertheless considered a Kosher fish.

There are a few more factors that complicate this determination. For example, a given species of fish may be known by five or more names, some of which are common to known Kosher species. “Rock Salmon”, for example, is a non-Kosher fish (otherwise known as Atlantic Wolfish), and bears no relationship to the common Kosher species of true salmon.

For a list of Kosher and non kosher fish see: http://www.kashrut.com/articles/fish/


Adapted from The Fortunes of a Fish by Rabbi Blech.



Should milk be Kosher certified?

Today is the 11th of Tamuz, 5770
2000 years ago the rabbis of the Talmud forbade buying cow milk from a non-Jewish milkman. Why? Because the non Jewish milkman would have other animals than cows in his farm. At the time of collecting the milk he would normally mix it with camel milk, donkey milk, etc. which obviously aren’t Kosher! The rabbis then forbade buying ‘milk’ from a gentile milkman unless the milking process was supervised by a Jew, making sure it is pure cow milk.

But, what happens today when the circumstances have changed? Should we still suspect that in today’s food industry companies would mix cow milk with non Kosher milk?

There are three opinions on this issue and as we have explained, given two or more opinions everyone should follow his community Minhaguim.

Opinion # 1: the Rabbis made a decree and ‘formal rabbinical decrees’ must be derogated to run out. They don’t expire by themselves, even when the circumstances have changed. Accordingly, milk has to be supervised.

Opinion # 2: The USDA inspection service serves the same role as the original ‘Jewish supervisor’, therefore any normal cow milk is permitted (R Moshe Feinstein z”l)

Opinion # 3: The Rabbis did not issue a ‘formal decree’ but a ‘warning’ (Rambam). Therefore, when circumstances change, the warning is not in effect anymore. The original warning assumed that the gentile milkman would have an extra profit from mixing milk (Chut haMeshulash). Today, non kosher milk would cost more than cow milk. No restrictions are necessary. Normal cow or goat milk is allowed.



What is a Minhag (tradition)?

Today is the 4th day of Tamuz, 5770

In virtually every Halakhic subject there are very often some controversies as to what the final application of the law is. The origin of these controversies is not the same for every case. Most of the time, they depend on different interpretations not of the Biblical commandment but of the Talmudic determinations.

Illustration: The Talmud said that between eating meat and dairy one should wait “from one meal to the next meal”. Most rabbis interpreted this Talmudic statement as related to ‘time’: after eating meat, one has to wait the ‘time’ that normally one waits from one meal to the next: 6 hours (Rashi, Rambam). Other rabbis interpreted ‘next meal’, literally: you cannot have meat and diary on the same meal, like beef and a dairy dessert, but you don’t need to wait full six hours (Tosafot).

In this context, Minhag means the interpretation each community follows in the case of Halakhic controversy. Both are totally valid, as they don’t refer to the core case (the prohibition of eating together meat and milk) but to the details of it.

In the area of Minhaguim, as long as a community follows a valid Halakhic opinion, even if it comes from a minority opinion, it is a valid Minhag.

EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW AND FOLLOW HIS OR HER COMMUNITY MINHAGUIM.

BH, in the next HOTD about Kashrut I will bring some examples of Minhaguim in this area.

By popular demand: link to reliable Kashrut symbols: . http://www.crcweb.org/agency_list.php.

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The CRC

27th of Sivan, 5770

cRc stands for “Chicago Rabbinical Council” the largest regional, not-for-profit, Orthodox organization in North America. Since its humble beginnings in the 1930’s, the cRc has developed into a universally accepted agency with a respected kosher certification symbol.

The cRc’s Kosher Division works with close to 800 food companies, producing tens of thousands of products across North and South America, Europe and Asia. cRc has gained a reputation for exacting standards, professionalism, personal attention, reasonable pricing and rapid response time.

The cRc is under the direction of HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, Shlit”a who is also the main rabbinical referent of the RCA (the Rabbinical Council of America).

Their web Site www.crcweb.org is a source of very useful information about Kashrut’s basics and modern issues related to Kashrut. See for example: “Understanding the Reliability of Kosher Agencies” http://www.crcweb.org/kosher_articles/reliability_of_agencies.php

BY POPULAR DEMAND, This is a very useful -although not exhaustive- list of reliable Kosher symbols and agencies in the US and overseas. http://www.crcweb.org/agency_list.php

Products that have been certified as kosher are labeled with kosher symbols. The symbols are printed on the food’s package. Kosher symbols are registered trademarks of kosher certification organizations, and cannot be placed on a food label without the organization’s permission.
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“KOF-K”

Today is the 20th of Sivan 5770

In our Wednesday’s KASHRUT section HOTD is introducing the reader to the world of reliable Kashrut certifications. We already talked about OU and OK, two major companies in the Kashrut world.

As all KASHRUT symbol, KOF –K symbol (see their web site: http://www.kof-k.org/) is protected under Federal law against unauthorized use.

Today we will discuss the KOF-K, one of the foremost Kosher certification agencies in the United States.

KOF (or KAF) is the name of the 11th letter of the Hebrew Alphabet and the first letter of the word KASHER in Hebrew. .

The Kashrus policies of KOF –K are governed by a Rabbinic committee who reviews and decide all questions of Halacha (Jewish law) which may arise in the course of food production

From KOF –K home page:

KOF-K is directed by a staff of Kosher food production specialists, each an expert in various aspects of the food industry. Always available for consultation are flavor chemists, dairy and bakery professionals, meat processing advisers and computer experts. The KOF-K has an international network of regional coordinators and Rabbinic representatives based in major American cities, Canada, South and Central America, Australia, Western and Eastern Europe, the Orient and Israel. These representatives conduct frequent visits to major manufacturers and their suppliers at every location where Kosher supervision is needed. Confidentiality of all proprietary information is assured.

Watch the KOF-K presentation video: http://www.kof-k.org/flash/index.html.



“OK” Kosher Certification(www.ok.org)

13th of Sivan, 5770

In the coming weeks -we’ve announced- on the Wednesdays’ Kashrut section I would like to present the readers the world of “Kosher supervisions”.

My goal is to promote a better understanding and observance of Kashrut. However, I’m not endorsing or sponsoring any specific Orthodox Kashrut certification over the other. Today I would like to introduce the readers to the probably second largest Kashrut organization in America. The OK.

Let me quote from their web site:OK Kosher Certification is one of the world’s most respected symbols of kosher approval…

Under the leadership of Rabbi Don Yoel Levy, the OK provides certification for food giants and products such as IFF, Kraft, ConAgra and Tropicana. Operating on six continents and supported by more than 350 of the world’s leading kosher experts, the OK certifies more than 300,000 products, produced by over 1,500 companies.

One of the most difficult problems in Kashrut certification today is the use of additives in the food industry. For a nice article about this and other challenges in the Kashrut world read the following text from OK:

…Hundreds of foods labeled “kosher” dot our supermarket shelves, but many factors that we cannot see complicate the process of guaranteeing a product as kosher. Over 2,800 additives not known fifty years ago are legally present in our foods, including colorings, flavorings, and preservatives. Huge factories manufacture enormous quantities of many types of food using processing techniques of which we know little or nothing…

Read the complete article here: http://www.ok.org/Content.asp?ID=116

Read a credible story about the fascinating world of Kosher supervision: “http://www.ok.org/Content.asp?ID=218″>http://www.ok.org/Content.asp?ID=218


OU “The Orthodox Union”

21th of Iyar, 5770 (36 days of Omer. 5 weeks, 1 day)

In the coming weeks –on the Wednesdays’ Kashrut section- I would like to introduce the readers of Halakha of the Day to the world of “Kosher certified foods”.

I get very often many questions on this area and I believe that we need to learn what a Kosher certification means, what do they certify, what are the more common and reliable Orthodox Kosher certifications, what products need and what products do not need a Kosher certification, etc, etc.

My goal is obviously to promote a better understanding and observance of Kashrut. However, I’ve no intention whatsoever to endorse or sponsor any specific Orthodox Kashrut certification over the other.During the following weeks I will introduce the readers to a few Kashrut organizations –limiting myself to a small sample of institutions, especially those who have a Web site- with a strict educational goal.

I would like to start by introducing the most popular Kosher certification in the US: the OU. O.U. stands for “Orthodox Union” an Institution whose mission statement goes way beyond Kashrut certifications.

See for yourself visiting their web site at www.ou.org I recommend this page to learn about Kashrut issues: http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/videosThe basics of Kashrut are here: http://oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/videos/kosher_kidz/OU also has a very effective Q&A link for Kashrut questions.

Try them and see if you get an answer. http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/ask



Making Kosher the grill and the oven

Today is the 7th of Yiar, 5770 (22 days of Omer. 3 weeks 1 day)

Last week we explained what happens with the food when we accidentally we cooked a meat food on a diary utensil or vice versa. Today we will see what we should do with the cookware.
As a general rule, most utensils or cookwares that were used with a prohibited food can become kosher again, but they need to undergo a process of “depuration/sterilization” to get rid of the absorbed particles of the forbidden food. Most people are familiar with the process called “Hagala” which basically means immersing a utensil in boiling water. For example, if one accidentally used a meat spoon to stir dairy food, the spoon needs to be immersed for a few seconds in boiling water.
There are some utensils that are not used with water or for “cooking”: for example, a grill or an oven. The food particles were absorbed there by direct fire or by heat; water therefore won’t be effective in getting the forbidden particles out…
So If one wants to make Kosher a non Kosher grill he needs to do a Libbun Chamur (heavy firing) which means, that the grill must be placed on the fire or heated with a torch until the metal changes its color to red/white.
A regular electric or gas oven needs Libbun Kal (heating) which consists on bringing the oven to its maximum temperature –the highest it might have reached when cooking the non Kosher food- for about half hour. The self cleaning function of most electric ovens is considered Libbun Kal.



What happens if one accidentally cooked a milk food on a meat pot?

30th of Nisan, 5770, ROSH CHODESH

Today is the 15tyhn day of the Omer (2 weeks,1 day)

If accidentally one cooked a milk food in a meat cookware sometimes the food is prohibited and sometimes is permitted.

If one for example fried a cheese omelet in a meat pan.

Case 1: if the pan was not clean and it had some visible leftover of meat, even though those were small leftovers, like meat fat etc, the omelet is forbidden because cheese got mixed with meat.

Case 2: if one fried the cheese omelet in a completely clean meat pan that was used with meat during the last 24 hours, the cheese omelet is forbidden because it absorbed the meat particles on the pan’s walls.

Case 3: If the meat pan was not used with meat for the last 24 hours, and one accidentally made a cheese omelet in that pan, then the omelet is permitted. Because the Halakha considers that after 24 hours the meat particles absorbed in the pan’s walls are decomposed (noten taam lifgam) and they are not considered meat anymore.

As for the cookware, in all cases, it requires Hag’ala (immersion in boiling water) or Libbun (firing) depending on the type of utensil. It will be explained BH in following Halakhot.