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The Tricky Nature of App-Controlled Appliances It may not be so smart to use your Smart Appliances. Join us as we listen in to a conversation between R’ Shmuel Fuerst, Dayan of Agudas Yisroel of Illinois and Rav of Agudas Yisroel of Peterson Park, and R’ Yitzchok Hisiger.

Breaking down chicken for the kosher consumer Join an insightful conversation between Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger and Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, Director of Kashrus for the Chicago Rabbinical Council ,and the Executive Director of AKO. Enjoy the conversation regarding the Kashrus of chickens and broken bones.

A Deeper Look into Deep Fryers Everyone‘s favorite side dish might not be so pareve. Join us as we listen in to a conversation between R’ Shmuel Fuerst, Dayan of Agudas Yisroel of Illinois and Rav of Agudas Yisroel of Peterson Park, and R’ Yitzchok Hisiger.

The Importance of Mashgichim Part 3 What does a Mashgiach look for when certifying an event? Let’s listen in to Rabbi Sholey Klein, Kashrus Administrator at Dallas Kosher as he discusses the job of a Mashgiach, with Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger.

The Importance of Mashgichim Part 2 What does a Mashgiach look for when certifying an event? Let’s listen in to Rabbi Sholey Klein, Kashrus Administrator at Dallas Kosher as he discusses the job of a Mashgiach, with Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger.

The Importance of Mashgichim Part 1 What does a Mashgiach look for when certifying an event? Let’s listen in to Rabbi Sholey Klein, Kashrus Administrator at Dallas Kosher as he discusses the job of a Mashgiach, with Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger.

Spirits at your Simcha Part 2 At simchas and events, a well-stocked bar is often a prime attraction. Are there any kashrus concerns with the beverages served in such venues? In this installment of Let’s Talk Kashrus, Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger is joined by Rabbi Tzvi Haber, Director of Community Kashrus at the COR Kashrus Council of Canada, to discuss this fascinating topic. Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger: Thank you, Rabbi Haber, for joining us. Rabbi Tzvi Haber: It’s a great pleasure. Rabbi Hisiger: There are a number of other issues regarding bars. Let’s talk about those. Rabbi Haber: One serious issue with bars that people may not be aware of is that the bartender, who is provided by the venue, is usually accustomed to going into the non-kosher kitchen where his lemons and limes are stored and taking them from there. Most bartenders like to use their own knives. They will cut the lemons and limes in the non-kosher kitchen with those knives and then bring out the slices to the bar. At that point, the Mashgiach is going to be very busy with many things happening at the event. He's not a Mashgiach Temidi at the bar. So, it’s going to be very difficult to determine where and how these lemons and limes were cut. According to halacha, lemons and limes are a davar charif. Even though the knife isn’t hot, the lemons and limes absorb the bliyos from a non-kosher knife because of the rule of “duchka d’sakina”, the knife pushes the bliyos into them. If the knives were previously used for non-kosher food, the lemons and limes absorb that residue and could become not kosher. Especially in bars where there is no kashrus supervision, this could happen all the time. Rabbi Hisiger: Would the easiest solution be to ask the bartender not to put a lemon in one’s drink? Rabbi Haber: Definitely. When people go on a date in a hotel lobby and ask for a cup of water, they should say to hold the lemon because it might not be kosher. Rabbi Hisiger: The message I am getting is that it is absolutely imperative to have a Mashgiach at any event. Besides for all the other reasons, just for the bar alone it is necessary to have someone supervising. Rabbi Haber: That’s 100% true. At unsupervised events, many things can go wrong. I’ll tell you a story to illustrate that: A fundraising event was held in the community that had no kashrus supervision. A Mashgiach was there as a guest, and a man walked over to him holding a hamburger in one hand and a can of Canada Dry ginger ale in the other. The ginger ale had no hechsher on the can and the man asked the Mashgiach if he knew if it was kosher. The Mashgiach replied, “Silly, you’re eating a hamburger at an unsupervised event. Do you know where it came from? Do you know whose kitchen it was prepared in? You’re eating that but you’re worried about the ginger ale?” There are a lot of issues at unsupervised events in general, but today’s topic is bars. The first thing a person has to realize is that if there is no Mashgiach, then he is his own Mashgiach. You are responsible for what goes into your mouth. You have to know what your standards are. Are they serving scotch that was aged in sherry casks? If so, are you comfortable with that? Did you ever discuss that with your Rov to understand what his opinion is on the matter? What about beer? A lot of people think that nothing could be wrong with beer. Rabbi Hisiger: We always hear that if it’s a domestic beer it is fine even without a hashgacha. Rabbi Haber: That may be the case but there are some things to be concerned about. For example, today there are a lot of microbreweries. People make beer in their own homes and basements. They do lots of creative things like making flavored beers. People make oyster, bacon, clam, and lobster flavored beers. And they use the same pots and processors that these maachalos assuros were in to make unflavored beers that people assume are kosher. How about dairy beer? Have you ever heard of dairy beer before? There is such a thing. Rabbi Hisiger: What do you think the reason is that so many people assume that alcoholic beverages are automatically kosher? Rabbi Haber: It’s not just a misconception. Alcoholic beverages have traditionally always been standardized. The manufacturing processes have always been the same. In many countries, the ingredients and the processes are even enshrined in law. There is a legal definition of what you can call scotch. The same is true for bourbon. There’s a limit on what you can do with those drinks. Rabbi Hisiger: So we are relying on FDA enforcement? Rabbi Haber: It’s even more than that. It’s a definition of what the drink is. That is why people always assumed that most alcoholic beverages were fine. We do find this concept in the Shulchan Aruch and Rema in Yoreh Deah, where they say that we are allowed to assume that some things have a chezkas kashrus. There’s even a Rema that says that people used to use barrels that were smeared with lard and he gives a reason why it’s permitted to drink beer from such barrels. Having said this, you have to understand that in the contemporary world everything has changed. The dynamics of the industry have changed a lot. Even though a lot has stayed the same and you can still sometimes rely on in the industry of alcohol, a lot has changed and many of the different drinks out there have become problematic. Even many brands of Canadian whiskey now have non-kosher wines mixed into them. Rabbi Hisiger: What about other things like cappuccino machines. What problems do they present? Rabbi Haber: Cappuccino machines are usually provided for events and parties by third-party vendors. It might not take that much to kasher them but you have to know how to do it. They might have been used for cholov akum. Also, they are milchigs and your event might be fleishigs. You have to at least know if the machine can be koshered. The bartenders often mix use Worchester sauce into drinks. Even if its kosher, it is made of fish and you have to be careful not to drink it together with meat. A lot of bartenders have their own metal containers that they mix drinks in. is that kosher? That’s not glass. You can’t use metal that has bliyos of devarim assurim or that was washed in non-kosher dishwasher. They even use fresh mint, which is known to be infested with insects. Whose checking it? So, as you can see, many issues come up. Rabbi Hisiger: You’ve given us tons of information and insights. What’s the Let’s Talk Kashrus takeaway that can help us keep the bar high in kashrus, specifically in regards to spirits and bars? Rabbi Haber: If there is one message that I’d like consumers, guests and baalei simcha to take home from this talk its that they are ultimately responsible for what they put in their mouth. The world today has gotten very used to kashrus agencies certifying restaurants and hotels and all types of venues. When people go to those events, they rely fully on the kashrus agency. However, when you go to a venue that has no hashgacha and you don’t know what your putting into your mouth, then you are ultimately responsible. So, get on the phone. Speak to your Rov. Go the bais medrash and learn some of these sugyos. Go and research some of these topics and what you find will likely surprise you.

Spirits at your Simcha Part 1 At simchas and events, a well-stocked bar is often a prime attraction. Are there any kashrus concerns with the beverages served in such venues? In this installment of Let’s Talk Kashrus, Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger is joined by Rabbi Tzvi Haber, Director of Community Kashrus at the COR Kashrus Council of Canada, to discuss this fascinating topic. Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger: Thank you, Rabbi Haber, for joining us. Rabbi Tzvi Haber: It’s a great pleasure. Rabbi Hisiger: I’m very excited to discuss today’s topic with you: “Raising the Bar” by adhering to higher standards at our simchas. Specifically, we will be discussing bars at simchas and events. Can you start with a story from the trenches that displays the potential pitfalls related to bars? Rabbi Haber: Let me tell you a story that happened recently. There is a beautiful banquet hall in Toronto that doesn’t directly have certification from the COR but a lot of caterers love using this hall. Unfortunately, at one recent event there was some mistreatment of a Mashgiach by the banquet hall owner’s staff. We decided as a kashrus agency that even though the owner of the hall is not a direct client of ours, we have to call him into the office and talk with him to find out if this could reoccur, which would mean that we would not continue to allow our caterers to make events at this hall. We arranged the meeting, introduced ourselves got him talking a little bit. We were going to discuss how to treat a Mashgiach and what we expect from his staff but during the conversation it was discovered that the owner is actually Jewish. He has an Italian surname, so we assumed that he isn’t Jewish, but he explained that his father is Italian, while his mother is a Jew. This created a whole new dynamic to the conversation. I realized that we have other problems that we have to deal with, such as tevilas keilim and chometz she’var alav hapesach. I’m not sure if people are aware of this, but when kashrus agencies oversee an event at a hotel or banquet hall, they allow them to use the glasses from the venue. Some may find it hard to believe that we permit the use of the non-kosher hall’s glasses at a kosher event but the truth is that Shulchan Aruch rules that glass does not have bliyus and does not absorb anything non-kosher. Therefore, you can use these glasses for anything. The Rema in Hilchos Pesach is stringent and rules that glasses do absorb but our Poskim feel that the minhag is to be lenient. I believe that all kashrus agencies across the board have the policy that it is permitted to use these glasses for cold drinks. Accordingly, if the owner would not be Jewish, we could use the glasses at the banquet hall and there’s no issue of tevilas keilim because non-Jews do not have to be tovel their vessels. If he’s Jewish, however, there is an obligation to be tovel the glasses before using them. Rabbi Hisiger: Would a caterer like that allow you to pick up the glasses, take them to a mikvah, tovel them and bring them back? Rabbi Haber: There is zero possibility of that. He doesn’t even know what tevilas keilim is and he’s never heard of a mikvah before in his life. So that would not be possible. There are solutions. There is a halacha that when someone is in a “shaas hadchak” (pressing circumstance), such as if he lives in a city where there is no mikvah, he can sell or rent his vessel to a non-Jew and thereby avoid the obligation to be tovel it. That, however, is a very short-term solution, as even if the owner would sell his glasses to a non-Jew before one event, it is very likely that he will buy new glasses before the next one, which would necessitate the entire sale to be made over and over again. Therefore, this solution would be very difficult to implement. If it can’t be done, the caterer would have to bring his own glasses to the events, which would be a real challenge. Rabbi Hisiger: When we discussed the idea of speaking about bars, I honestly didn’t expect to discuss tevilas keilim. But now that you mentioned it, what if someone goes to hotel lobby on a date or for any other reason? Does he have to be concerned about the issue of tevilah? Rabbi Haber: 100%. If he knows that the hotel is owned by a Jewish person, there is an obligation of tevilah and one is not supposed to drink from glasses that are not toveled. I don’t know how common it is for hotels or lounges to be owned by Jews. It happens to be that in Toronto, one hotel is owned by a Jewish person but that’s probably not the norm. According to halacha, you probably don’t have to suspect that a hotel is owned by a Jew unless you otherwise know that. But this is something for people to be aware of. You can’t drink from a glass that is not toveled. Rabbi Hisiger: You mentioned that there are solutions for tevilas keilim. What about the other problem of chometz that was owned by a Jew on Pesach? What can be done about that? Rabbi Haber: Since many alcoholic beverages are chometz, this is problem after Pesach if the owner of the hall is a Jew. Those who have made a simcha might know that the caterer doesn’t supply the drinks at the bar. Rather, the bar is part of the package provided by the banquet hall. Thus, the owner of the hall owns the drinks. If he had them in storage over Pesach and he is Jewish, that would present a problem. In the particular story that I mentioned, it didn’t end up being a problem because the owner’s business model was that he doesn’t stock the bar in advance. For each specific event, the client places an order for whatever drinks he wants and the hall buys them from a store. So, we just needed to make sure he was using new bottles that were bought after Pesach, which the Mashgiach confirmed by asking for invoices that stated when the drinks were purchased.

The Kashrus of Vitamins Part 3 You care for the health of your Neshoma as well as the wellness of your ruchniyus. Join Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Administrative Rabbinical Coordinator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council as he discusses medicines in Halacha together with R’ Yitzchok Hisiger in this 3-part series.

The Kashrus of Medicine Capsules Part 2 Never underestimate the Kashrus pitfalls with over the counter medicines. It can really be a tough pill to swallow. Join Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Administrative Rabbinical Coordinator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council as he discusses medicines in Halacha together with R’ Yitzchok Hisiger in this 3-part series.

The Kashrus of Liquid Medicine Part 1 The Kashrus of children’s medications is truly no child’s play. Join Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Administrative Rabbinical Coordinator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council as he discusses medicines in Halacha together with R’ Yitzchok Hisiger in this 3-part series.

Let's Talk Kashrus Episode 17, Part 3 The Third chapter in the Home-based enterprise conversation. In the awakening of a recent call for home-based food business to have their operation certified under a reputable Hashgacha, Rabbi Fishbane sheds light on the feasibility of this call to action with tips on how to go about it