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Chometz In Disguise. “What can be wrong with…?” That’s a question that is fairly common when it comes to kashrus. But when it comes to Pesach, the answer to that question changes drastically. Let’s listen in to Rabbi Avraham Juravel who is a Rabbinic Coordinator at the OU, as well as being in charge of their ingredient division, who explains in great detail what can be wrong with seemingly innocuous products.

The Forbidden Formula Back in the day, Hamantashen were much simpler. There were a few basic fillings, such as raspberry jam and poppy seed. Today it is much more complicated, as they can range from dairy caramel filled Hamantashen, to pulled beef stuffed Hamantashen. How does this affect the Halacha? Do they need special simanim? Let’s listen to Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, Kashrus administrator at the cRc, and Executive Director of AKO, as he walks us through this complex sugya.

In It For The Long Haul Most commercial products nowadays have some sort of liquid in their ingredient panel. The complexities of transporting liquids and keeping them kosher while being transported, falls directly under the watchful eye of Rabbi Yochanan Schnall - a Rabbinic Coordinator at the cRc in charge of their transportation industry. Let’s listen in as he takes us on a tour behind the scenes of the tanker trucking industry.

To Eradicate The Pests Hydroponics. Aeroponics. Vertical farming. These are just a few of the terms of recent innovations in the world of agriculture. How do these various methods of planting produce affect the levels of infestation? Let’s listen to Rabbi Sholom Tendler - Kashrus Administrator at the STAR-K as he addresses these timely issues and more.

Shabbos Mode Redefined How has Shabbos mode been refined to avoid the newer shailos that have arisen? Let’s listen to Rabbi Tzvi Ortner - Director of the Technology Department at the OU as he walks us through ovens and other appliances.

The Shabbos Keeper. Technology has come a long way since the refrigerator has been invented. Together with the advancements in technology come many complications in Halacha. Whether it involves sensors, compressors, defrosters, or the good old shaila of the light bulb, a group of Rabbonim have strived to find a heter to all of these shailos that is 100% lechatchila to use. Let’s listen to Rabbi Tzvi Ortner - Director of the Technology Department at the OU as he provides us with a detailed background on the various shailos and their solutions.

Some topics need to be revisited as technology evolves. Food delivery service apps such as Door-dash and Uber-eats definitely fall in that category. So even though we already covered the basics last year, let’s find out what’s new in this field with Rabbi Sholom Tendler a Kashrus Administrator at the STAR-K.

Purity In A Sour World The key ingredient in all vinegars is wine. The key ingredient in most wines are grapes. For this reason many vinegars are very kosher sensitive. Let’s listen in to Rabbi Dovid Cohen - Administrative Rabbinical Coordinator at the cRc as he details each type of vinegar and their kashrus concerns.

A Guide To Chodosh In The Digital Age For those who are makpid on eating only yoshon, it always involved a paperback booklet that listed various products and at what date they started being problematic. Let’s listen to Rabbi Sholom Tendler - Kashrus Administrator at the Star-K as he guides us through advancements in technology, and what that means for the consumer.

Bishul Yisrael Sefaradi One of the biggest and often the most complicated chumros that sefardim are makpid on is the criteria to have bishul yisrael. Let’s listen in to R’ Hayim Arking - Administrator at the JSOR as he explains the complexities of restaurants dealing with bishul yisrael Sefaradi requests, and the ingenious ideas that are implemented.

Nusach Sefard Most kashrus agencies rely on the psak of the Rem”a for ashkenazim, because that is the base of their clientele. Let’s listen in to R’ Hayim Arking - Administrator at the JSOR as he explains the complexities of certifying kashrus according to the Mechaber. He goes through, one by one, the various challenges that need to be addressed to ensure kashrus lemehadrin for sefardim (in addition to ashkenazim).

Kashrus 101 Sometimes when we think of certain products we assume that they are very basic simple products, so what can go wrong with them. We will focus on 2 such products today, olives, and olive oil. Rabbi Menachem Fishbane - Rabbinic Coordinator at Kof-K explains to us what goes into these 2 products.