Meat and dairy and the oven.

19th of Shebat, 5770

Using the same oven for meat and dairy

If one has only one oven for meat and milk, it is forbidden to bake at the same time in the same oven meat and dairy products. However, if one of the foods is completely covered -food on an aluminum tray well covered with aluminum foil, for example- then the covered food could be placed to warm or cooked in a meat or dairy oven.

That is why we can eat Kosher food that was cooked or warm up on the airplane’s kitchen, because the food is hermetically covered, preventing an exchange of taste between the Kosher food and possible particles of non Kosher food absorbed on a non Kosher oven’s walls.

The same rule would apply in a case that we have a non Kosher oven and we need to cook or warm up in it Kosher food: Using hermetic aluminum cover (Some rabbinical authorities require a double cover in all these cases).

In normal circumstances, when you need to use the same oven for meat and dairy you need to:
1. Clean the oven thoroughly
2. Leave it without use for twenty four hours
3. Leave the oven on maximum temperature for 1 hour. After this process the oven is considered Parve because all particles of meat or dairy taste absorbed on its wall, disintegrated after this process and it can be used for meat or milk.



Microwave and dishwasher for meat and dairy

MICROWAVE: There are different opinions among the rabbis, for using the same microwave for meat and dairy foods. According to one opinion, one could use one single  microwave for meat and dairy, sealing or covering the foods in such a way that the steam cannot escape. Plastic wrap or a cardboard box –depending on the type of food- might be used for this purpose. Another opinion is that between meat and dairy or vice versa, one should boil water until the microwave is filled with its steam, so that the vapor penetrates the walls of the microwave rendering it Parve and suitable to be used for meat or dairy.  Other rabbis would require a 24 hours waiting period -same as the oven- before boiling the water.
DISHWASHER: Rab Obadia Yosef, Shelita, allows using the same dishwasher for meat and dairy utensils, provided one is certain no substantial food particles –food residue that can migrate from one dish to another-would be present on the dishes/pots/pans. Other rabbis require running an empty cycle in between meat and dairy utensils, to clean the dishwasher of all food residues. They will also recommend to change the dishwasher racks between the cycles or to use some kind of an added base to cover the racks, because unlike an oven or a microwave, where only the absorbed vapor has to be eliminated, in the dishwasher tangible food residues might be present which makes its cleaning more difficult.



FISH and milk

19th of Cheshvan, 5771

The Torah explicitly prohibits the mixing and consumption of meat and milk. The Rabbis extended this prohibition to include not only red meat but white meat (fowl) as well.

Last week we also explained the prohibition of mixing meat with fish, which the Rabbis forbade for a completely different reason: health concerns (see HOTD Wednesday Cheshvan 12).

What about fish with milk?

The Talmud (Chulin) states explicitly that fish and milk is a permitted combination.

However, Rabbi Yosef Caro (1488-1575), the famous author of the Shulchan Arukh, indicated in his book ‘Bet Yosef’ the custom to refrain from eating fish and milk.

There were two explanations given by later commentators as of why Rabbi Yosef Caro would prohibit milk and fish.

1. Health considerations, similar to meat and fish. Keep in mind that milk and fish are two common animal food allergens. (Newly discovered health considerations would, in principle, override an explicit ruling of the Talmud)

2. Most Ashkenazi Rabbis and some prominent Sephardic Rabbis, however, considered Rabbi Yosef Caro’s statement as a ‘misprint’ on the text of the Bet Yosef, where a copyist confused between ‘milk’ and ‘meat’.

As of today most observant Jews, including our own community members, would not refrain from mixing fish and dairy.

Some Sephardic Jews, mostly from Syrian communities, and some Chassidic Jews, would still avoid eating fish with milk. However, even they would acknowledge that the problem only exists in mixing fish with ‘fresh milk’, and not with dairy products.

So they wouldn’t abstain from consuming, for example, fish with butter, cheese with salmon, etc.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024



FISH and meat

12th of Cheshvan, 5771

Mixing fish and meat together is not restricted by Biblical law.

However, the Rabbis of the Talmud considered it a harmful mixture, and they forbade it for health considerations. The Gemara Pesachim (76b) teaches that one may not eat fish and meat together since this combination is considered sakana (harmful). Still, the Gemara is not explicit about what particular health hazard (dabar acher)meat and fish would trigger.

Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 116:2-3), following Rashi’s opinion, identifies this danger as tsara’at, traditionally understood as a type of leprosy. By the way, and public opinion notwithstanding, Maimonides explicitly mentions that sara’at should not be identified exclusively as leprosy. He hints that sara’at was more a category of a (infectious?) disease (T. Tsarat 16, 10) than a particular disease.

Modern Rabbis also disagree about the specific health issue involved in mixing fish and meat.

“The combination of these two foods [fish and meat]can have negative health effects that are not readily apparent. Even if modern medicine does not recognize these health concerns, we can never be sure that the concerns are outdated” .

It could have been allergy or even, as I’ve heard from one of my teachers, the risk of swallowing a fish bone hidden in a piece of meat.

In any case, the prohibition of eating fish and meat together remains intact today.

The Rabbis sentenced “Chamira sakanta me-isura”, when it gets to preserving one’s health (sakana), we should be stricter and more careful than when we are dealing with a religious prohibition (isur).

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

FISH and milk

19th of Cheshvan, 5771

The Torah explicitly prohibits the mixing and consumption of meat and milk. The Rabbis extended this prohibition to include not only red meat but white meat (fowl) as well.

Last week we also explained the prohibition of mixing meat with fish, which the Rabbis forbade for a completely different reason: health concerns (see HOTD Wednesday Cheshvan 12).

What about fish with milk?

The Talmud (Chulin) states explicitly that fish and milk is a permitted combination.

However, Rabbi Yosef Caro (1488-1575), the famous author of the Shulchan Arukh, indicated in his book ‘Bet Yosef’ the custom to refrain from eating fish and milk.

There were two explanations given by later commentators as of why Rabbi Yosef Caro would prohibit milk and fish.

  1. Health considerations, similar to meat and fish. Keep in mind that milk and fish are two common animal food allergens. (Newly discovered health considerations would, in principle, override an explicit ruling of the Talmud)
  2. Most Ashkenazi Rabbis and some prominent Sephardic Rabbis, however, considered Rabbi Yosef Caro’s statement as a ‘misprint’ on the text of the Bet Yosef, where a copyist confused between ‘milk’ and ‘meat’.

As of today most observant Jews, including our own community members, would not refrain from mixing fish and dairy.

Some Sephardic Jews, mostly from Syrian communities, and some Chassidic Jews, would still avoid eating fish with milk. However, even they would acknowledge that the problem only exists in mixing fish with ‘fresh milk’, and not with dairy products.

So they wouldn’t abstain from consuming, for example, fish with butter, cheese with salmon, etc.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

No comments:

Labels: Kashrut of Fish

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

FISH and meat

12th of Cheshvan, 5771

Mixing fish and meat together is not restricted by Biblical law.

However, the Rabbis of the Talmud considered it a harmful mixture, and they forbade it for health considerations. The Gemara Pesachim (76b) teaches that one may not eat fish and meat together since this combination is considered sakana (harmful). Still, the Gemara is not explicit about what particular health hazard (dabar acher)meat and fish would trigger.

Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 116:2-3), following Rashi’s opinion, identifies this danger as tsara’at, traditionally understood as a type of leprosy. By the way, and public opinion notwithstanding, Maimonides explicitly mentions that sara’at should not be identified exclusively as leprosy. He hints that sara’at was more a category of a (infectious?) disease (T. Tsarat 16, 10) than a particular disease.

Modern Rabbis also disagree about the specific health issue involved in mixing fish and meat.

“The combination of these two foods [fish and meat]can have negative health effects that are not readily apparent. Even if modern medicine does not recognize these health concerns, we can never be sure that the concerns are outdated” .

It could have been allergy or even, as I’ve heard from one of my teachers, the risk of swallowing a fish bone hidden in a piece of meat.

In any case, the prohibition of eating fish and meat together remains intact today.

The Rabbis sentenced “Chamira sakanta me-isura”, when it gets to preserving one’s health (sakana), we should be stricter and more careful than when we are dealing with a religious prohibition (isur).

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024

No comments:

Labels: Kashrut of Fish

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Buying Kosher fish from a local fish store

5th of Cheshvan, 5771

Can I buy fillet from a local fish store, which is not under rabbinical supervision? To answer this question, there are two issues we should bear in mind.

  1. Recognizing the fish/fillet as a Kosher (tahor) type.
  2. The knife.
  3. Recognizing a kosher specie is a Mitzva Min haTora.

However, modern rabbis discussed if and when is possible to recognize a fish fillet.

I quote here two opinions.

1) According to the standard Ashkenazi custom (as written in the CRC web, under rabbi Gedalia Shwartz, Shlita) fish fillet can only be identifiable if it still has the skin. When the fillet does not have any skin left, you cannot identify the fish, therefore, you cannot buy it. This is for fresh or frozen fillet.

2)According to Sephardic custom (as taught by rabbi Eliyahu Ben Hayim , Shelita) if a person can recognize the fish fillet as a kosher specie, if he/she would be able to recognize this fish among ten other fillet, then is permitted to purchase that fillet, even though the fillet does not have any more skin. This is for fresh or for frozen fillet.

  1. The knife.

1) Some authorities require to take your own knife to the fish store and to make sure they use that specific knife to cut the fish, in order to avoid any ‘contamination’ (noten ta’am) between Kosher and non Kosher fish by means of the knife.

2) Rabbi Ben Hayim allows using the sellers knife, provided:
a) The seller washes the knife with water from any eventual solid vestiges or traces (isur ba’ayn). The knife does not absorb (so there is no particles’ ‘contamination’ ta’am) because the fish is cold.

and

  1. b) at home, the fish must be washed with water to make sure there is no solid vestiges or traces of a non Kosher fish.

When buying frozen fillet from Costco or other reliable stores we can assume that the knives were clean.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024

No comments:

Labels: Kashrut of Fish

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

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

No comments:

Labels: Kashrut of Fish

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

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/



Buying Kosher fish from a local fish store

5th of Cheshvan, 5771

Can I buy fillet from a local fish store, which is not under rabbinical supervision? To answer this question, there are two issues we should bear in mind.

1. Recognizing the fish/fillet as a Kosher (tahor) type.

2. The knife.

1. Recognizing a kosher specie is a Mitzva Min haTora.

However, modern rabbis discussed if and when is possible to recognize a fish fillet.

I quote here two opinions.

1) According to the standard Ashkenazi custom (as written in the CRC web, under rabbi Gedalia Shwartz, Shlita) fish fillet can only be identifiable if it still has the skin. When the fillet does not have any skin left, you cannot identify the fish, therefore, you cannot buy it. This is for fresh or frozen fillet.

2)According to Sephardic custom (as taught by rabbi Eliyahu Ben Hayim , Shelita) if a person can recognize the fish fillet as a kosher specie, if he/she would be able to recognize this fish among ten other fillet, then is permitted to purchase that fillet, even though the fillet does not have any more skin. This is for fresh or for frozen fillet.

2. The knife.

1) Some authorities require to take your own knife to the fish store and to make sure they use that specific knife to cut the fish, in order to avoid any ‘contamination’ (noten ta’am) between Kosher and non Kosher fish by means of the knife.

2) Rabbi Ben Hayim allows using the sellers knife, provided:
a) The seller washes the knife with water from any eventual solid vestiges or traces (isur ba’ayn). The knife does not absorb (so there is no particles’ ‘contamination’ ta’am) because the fish is cold.

and

b) at home, the fish must be washed with water to make sure there is no solid vestiges or traces of a non Kosher fish.

When buying frozen fillet from Costco or other reliable stores we can assume that the knives were clean.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024



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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Watch and share. The new coming world order: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU



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.
BREAKING NEWS: Today, June Wednesday 9th, 12.30 PM Rally in support of Israel. Where? 2nd Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets.