Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: We needed to kasher our sink, and left it unused for 24 hours, then afterwards, before koshering it, we drained some boiling water from a pot of pasta into the sink. Do we have to wait another 24 hours?

A: No, whatever residual non-kosher flavor that was in the sink was already deteriorated when the 24 hours elapsed.

Q: Is it important to have the yud shaped knot on my arm Tefillin be pressed up against the cube shaped body of the Tefillin by a sinew thread?

A: The Shulchan Aruch states that it is something “to be careful” about (O.C. 27:2), and Mishna Berura explains that the practice originates not only in the Zohar but also, according to the Vilna Gaon, in the Talmud itself. Mishna Berura (10) also mentions that if the sinew used for this purpose interferes with the Tefillin making full contact with the skin of the arm, it should not be used.

Q: I saw a petition signed by Rabbis against the Iran nuclear deal with both Orthodox and non-Orthodox Rabbis signed on. Are Orthodox rabbis allowed to join with other rabbis?

A: Although some authorities have adopted a stringent approach to this issue and have ruled that official collaboration with non-Orthodox rabbis in any form must be limited since it legitimizes approaches to Judaism that are incompatible with traditional Jewish beliefs, nevertheless when it comes to matters of pikuach nefesh (threat to life) it would seem that they would agree that these concerns are outweighed and set aside by the need to preserve life. (See “Thy Brother’s Blood” by David Kranzler p. 146 regarding R. Aron Kotler’s collaboration with Reform Rabbinic leader Stephen Wise for Holocaust rescue efforts (as cited by R. Reuven Mann). Rabbi Kotler was a leading opponent of official Orthodox collaboration with non-Orthodox movements.) R. Soloveitchik and his son-in-law Rabbi Aron Lichtenstein who allowed and even encouraged collaboration in non-religious matters would certainly permit it in this situation.

Q: I am renting an apartment and I don’t know what the countertops are made out of. Can I kasher them?

A: If they are made out of stone or some type of synthetic material, they can be kashered via irui (pouring boiling water on every surface). Counters technically do not need kashering at all since they don’t intentionally come into contact with hot food. It is nevertheless customary to kasher them in case hot food does touch the counters. In addition, it is seldom practical to replace counters. Due to these factors, it is OK to kasher them even if we don’t know exactly what material they are made up of.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Apparently when it comes to giving tzedaka (charity), there is no neutral ground.  One might think that while giving tzedaka requires proactive generosity of the heart, refraining from giving merely lacks that added generosity.  The Torah, however, when discussing the mitzvah of tzedaka says that “thou shalt not harden thy heart and shut thy hand from thy needy brother” (Devarim 15:7).  “Shutting of the hand” seems not to result passively from a mere lack of generosity.  It results from a step in the negative direction, a “hardening of the heart.”  This would suggest that the Torah’s view of the human psyche assumes that our neutral state is one of giving and generosity of heart – unless it has been damaged by hardening of attitude and outlook.  Why would that be?

Perhaps this is further evidence (see here) that the Torah sees sin and negativity as deviations from our essential nature which is good, generous, and positive.  If we don’t harden our hearts, we will naturally be generous and give.  If left pure and uncorrupted, we would make good choices and do good things.  According to this philosophy, on some level growth isn’t about building and creating new skills, habits, and paradigms, but rather about tearing down and eliminating bad ones.  When we will successfully break out of the mire of bad and petty character, an innate light of goodness will shine forth on its own.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: If my housekeeper (who is not Jewish) bakes brownies in my kitchen, do I have to turn on the oven?

A: Yes, since the consensus of most authorities is that even people that are lenient to not require Pas Yisrael when purchasing factory produced bread, cakes, and cookies would nevertheless need to adhere to Pas Yisroel in this situation since it is relatively easy to implement (Shach, Chochmas Adam, Chelkas Binyamin).

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: I saw something labeled Rock Cod Steak at the Ranch Market in The Chinese Cultural Center Mall that had definite scales. It was fresh. Do you happen to know if that is a kosher fish? Thanks so much!

A: Yes, any fish with scales, no matter what it’s called, is kosher

Q: Is canned corn with a hechsher I don’t normally use OK?

A: Even according to some of the stricter national kashrus organizations, Del Monte, Kirkland (Costco), and Walmart canned vegetables with a Triangle-K may be used, as long as they have no natural flavors, tomato products, asparagus, potatoes, spinach, and beets.

Q: I noticed a kosher symbol on bottled water. Does bottled water really require certification?

A: All bottled water is acceptable.

Q: I heard some people don’t use vegetable peelers on Shabbat. what is the concern? And is it permissible?

A: They can be used on Shabbat.  Many authorities hold that a peeler is a specialized borer (selection) tool.  R. Moshe Feinstein (as quoted in The Shabbos Kitchen) permitted their use because he argued that it is also used for non-borer functions like making carrot strings and chocolate shavings.

Q: There is a rumor going around that any chewing gum is kosher. What are your thoughts?

A: It is customary to require certification for chewing gum even though it is technically permitted to chew it without certification. There are two main parts of gum, the chewy part and the flavor. The chewy part is not kosher but since it is inedible it is permitted to chew it. Regarding the flavorings, although it is customary to require certification for any flavorings used in a product that is produced under hashgacha, the halacha is that they are kosher (the vast majority of flavors are intrinsically kosher, and the minority that aren’t (or that are produced on non-kosher equipment) are always used together with other kosher flavors and therefore permitted – this is mentioned in part in the cRc Starbucks article in the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, footnote 12 on page 9).

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog