In my last post, I left a number of issues unanswered. These may seem very minor, but, in fact, have far reaching implications.
In our dairy frying pan, we acknowledged that if the pan had been used for hot dairy in the last 24 hours, and i put a steak in it, both steak and pan are non-kosher. if more than 24 hours have passed, the steak will be kosher, but the pan is forbidden, and needs to be koshered. But what if the pan is not completely clean, and residues of dairy remain? Here we have varying views, but first some background information.
The question is raised in the Talmud if soil is considered non-kosher. After all, every bit of it contains the decayed remains of innumerable insects and other animals. The conclusion is that once they cease to be in an edible form, there is no prohibition. Now, we must distinguish between two situations. A non-kosher animal is forbidden unless totally inedible. If edible with difficulty, it remains forbidden to eat, but will not make something else non-kosher. Most Sephardic rabbis consider it only a problem if it imparts a GOOD taste. If it imparts NO taste, it isn't a problem. Most Ashkenazic rabbis feel that it is forbidden unless a BAD taste is imparted. This is the background of debates about non-kosher ingredients in a food which give no taste, such as colorings, stabilizers, thickeners, etc.Some rabbis consider these tasteless, chemically altered substances as of no significance. Others say hey, it's a non-kosher product, which doesn't negatively affect the taste, and hence still a problem. The major kashrut services in the U.S. do not permit these products to be used. The ones in Israel do, with the exception of the Hareidi (so called "Ultra Orthodox") groups. Some companies in Israel actually put out two lines of products, one "kosher" and one "mehadrin" (extra strict, literally "beautified"). So getting back to our pan, some rabbis would take the view that as long as the residue was edible, it is still a factor. Others would say that once it is dried out and tasteless, it could not render anything else non-kosher. Some of the latter even go so far as to say that if it has been washed with soap or detergent, that it can be assumed to impart a bad taste.
A related debate concerns gelatin. Most gelatin is made from calf skins and pig bones. In some countries, horse skin and bones are used. (Please note that there is kosher gelatin that is made from fish or sea weed). The forbidden substances are placed in an acid bath. At that point they are tasteless, odorless and colorless. Some rabbis consider them permissible at that point. Even if later made edible by the addition of sugar and other flavorings. we are simply making a non-food into an indigestible item. Two major Israeli rabbis. Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank (long time rabbi of Jerusalem) and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (former Chief Rabbi and leader of most Sepharadic Jews worldwide) both permitted gelatin. Rabbi Ovadia even called the non-consumption of gelatin an "excessive stringency". The policy of the Israeli rabbinate is to permit gelatin, except on products labeled "mehadrin". In the United States, however, nearly all Orthodox Ashkenazi rabbis forbid gelatin. Rabbi Aaron Kotler, the dean of the renowned Lakewood (N.J.) Yeshiva, forbade it completely. His primary argument was that it is a component of the original animal (collagen), which has been little changed. He compared it to a concept called "achshaveih" ("he considered it"). In the laws of the great fast of Yom Kippur, when no food or water may be consumed for nearly 25 hours, the questioned is raised, what if a person, in an attempt to assuage his hunger, ate a non-food item,. like pebbles or wood? The Talmud answers that even though these items are not food, his thoughts of considering it food make it so, and therefore he has transgressed the rules of Yom Kippur. Rabbi Kotler reasoned that it is the same with kashrut. If I took a pig, and burned it to a crisp, it is indeed not food. But if I proceed to eat it, I an CONSIDERING it as food! Most Hareidi rabbis accepted this reasoning, and forbade gelatin. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, considered by many to be the outstanding halachic decisor of the 20th century, considered this doubtful. But it is a doubt in a Biblical law, which requires us to be strict. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchic, the doyen of Modern orthodoxy in the U.S., agreed with this reasoning, except in regard to medications, where one is not "considering" it to be food, and therefore it is permissible. The bottom line is that very few American Orthodox rabbis, whether Hareidi or Modern, approve the use of gelatin. No major American kashrut agency approves it. Many American Sepharadic rabbis do permit it, deferring to the opinion of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. One prominent American Sephradi rabbi, Rabbi Yitzchak Abadi, has written and spoken extensively that gelatin, and other animal derivatives that have lost the status of food, are totally permissible. (Full disclosure: I am related to him, as one of my son-in-law is his great nephew). His sons even run a website promoting his viewpoints. However, when travelling to different countries, one encounters different stances from the local rabbis, on this, and many other questions.
Again, I am not writing all of this to take sides (although you can probably guess where I stand). I am merely trying to show that seemingly simple questions are actually complex, and that all opinions rely on sources and their interpretation. Occasionally, we will encounter rabbis who are NOT source based, but rely on local tradition, or even their "gut feelings". I do not consider these valid approaches, and such rabbis should be avoided. We must bear in mind the admonition of our sages "Make for yourself a teacher...", and remember the Biblical injunction "Know Him in all your ways". Every aspect of life is to be sanctified by the awareness of G-d.
In our dairy frying pan, we acknowledged that if the pan had been used for hot dairy in the last 24 hours, and i put a steak in it, both steak and pan are non-kosher. if more than 24 hours have passed, the steak will be kosher, but the pan is forbidden, and needs to be koshered. But what if the pan is not completely clean, and residues of dairy remain? Here we have varying views, but first some background information.
The question is raised in the Talmud if soil is considered non-kosher. After all, every bit of it contains the decayed remains of innumerable insects and other animals. The conclusion is that once they cease to be in an edible form, there is no prohibition. Now, we must distinguish between two situations. A non-kosher animal is forbidden unless totally inedible. If edible with difficulty, it remains forbidden to eat, but will not make something else non-kosher. Most Sephardic rabbis consider it only a problem if it imparts a GOOD taste. If it imparts NO taste, it isn't a problem. Most Ashkenazic rabbis feel that it is forbidden unless a BAD taste is imparted. This is the background of debates about non-kosher ingredients in a food which give no taste, such as colorings, stabilizers, thickeners, etc.Some rabbis consider these tasteless, chemically altered substances as of no significance. Others say hey, it's a non-kosher product, which doesn't negatively affect the taste, and hence still a problem. The major kashrut services in the U.S. do not permit these products to be used. The ones in Israel do, with the exception of the Hareidi (so called "Ultra Orthodox") groups. Some companies in Israel actually put out two lines of products, one "kosher" and one "mehadrin" (extra strict, literally "beautified"). So getting back to our pan, some rabbis would take the view that as long as the residue was edible, it is still a factor. Others would say that once it is dried out and tasteless, it could not render anything else non-kosher. Some of the latter even go so far as to say that if it has been washed with soap or detergent, that it can be assumed to impart a bad taste.
A related debate concerns gelatin. Most gelatin is made from calf skins and pig bones. In some countries, horse skin and bones are used. (Please note that there is kosher gelatin that is made from fish or sea weed). The forbidden substances are placed in an acid bath. At that point they are tasteless, odorless and colorless. Some rabbis consider them permissible at that point. Even if later made edible by the addition of sugar and other flavorings. we are simply making a non-food into an indigestible item. Two major Israeli rabbis. Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank (long time rabbi of Jerusalem) and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (former Chief Rabbi and leader of most Sepharadic Jews worldwide) both permitted gelatin. Rabbi Ovadia even called the non-consumption of gelatin an "excessive stringency". The policy of the Israeli rabbinate is to permit gelatin, except on products labeled "mehadrin". In the United States, however, nearly all Orthodox Ashkenazi rabbis forbid gelatin. Rabbi Aaron Kotler, the dean of the renowned Lakewood (N.J.) Yeshiva, forbade it completely. His primary argument was that it is a component of the original animal (collagen), which has been little changed. He compared it to a concept called "achshaveih" ("he considered it"). In the laws of the great fast of Yom Kippur, when no food or water may be consumed for nearly 25 hours, the questioned is raised, what if a person, in an attempt to assuage his hunger, ate a non-food item,. like pebbles or wood? The Talmud answers that even though these items are not food, his thoughts of considering it food make it so, and therefore he has transgressed the rules of Yom Kippur. Rabbi Kotler reasoned that it is the same with kashrut. If I took a pig, and burned it to a crisp, it is indeed not food. But if I proceed to eat it, I an CONSIDERING it as food! Most Hareidi rabbis accepted this reasoning, and forbade gelatin. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, considered by many to be the outstanding halachic decisor of the 20th century, considered this doubtful. But it is a doubt in a Biblical law, which requires us to be strict. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchic, the doyen of Modern orthodoxy in the U.S., agreed with this reasoning, except in regard to medications, where one is not "considering" it to be food, and therefore it is permissible. The bottom line is that very few American Orthodox rabbis, whether Hareidi or Modern, approve the use of gelatin. No major American kashrut agency approves it. Many American Sepharadic rabbis do permit it, deferring to the opinion of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. One prominent American Sephradi rabbi, Rabbi Yitzchak Abadi, has written and spoken extensively that gelatin, and other animal derivatives that have lost the status of food, are totally permissible. (Full disclosure: I am related to him, as one of my son-in-law is his great nephew). His sons even run a website promoting his viewpoints. However, when travelling to different countries, one encounters different stances from the local rabbis, on this, and many other questions.
Again, I am not writing all of this to take sides (although you can probably guess where I stand). I am merely trying to show that seemingly simple questions are actually complex, and that all opinions rely on sources and their interpretation. Occasionally, we will encounter rabbis who are NOT source based, but rely on local tradition, or even their "gut feelings". I do not consider these valid approaches, and such rabbis should be avoided. We must bear in mind the admonition of our sages "Make for yourself a teacher...", and remember the Biblical injunction "Know Him in all your ways". Every aspect of life is to be sanctified by the awareness of G-d.
No comments:
Post a Comment