Rabbi Eli Gersten
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

This year (5768), Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos. How do we address the unique needs of both special days? Tune in to Rabbi Eli Gersten, a Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kashruth charged with recording OU halachic policies, and hear a lucid, thorough, and systematic examination of the issues. Among the topics addressed are: Siyyum Bechoros; Mechiras Chometz; and Shabbos meals. Not to be missed!If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Gersten please send them to:

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Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

It’s even widely-known that within kosher law there is a waiting period required before eating dairy after eating meat. But whoever heard of waiting 6 hours to eat meat after cheese??? Join Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, a Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kashruth specializing in the dairy industry, as he explores the Ashkenazic practice of waiting for an extended period before eating meat after eating hard cheese. Why must one wait? How long exactly must one wait? What is the halachic definition of hard cheese? Tune in and be informed by this comprehensive and comprehensible seminar. If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Gordimer please send them to:

Click here to see the lengths of time for which some common cheeses are aged.

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Rav Yisroel Belsky
Rav Hershel Schachter
Senior Halachic Consultants, OU Kashruth

In this extra-special video, the Orthodox Union’s prominent Poskim, Rav Yisroel Belsky, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah V’Da’as, and Rav Hershel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchok Elchanon, focus on issues of practical halacha related to Pesach. Topics include: Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbos; which inedibles (e.g., paper towels and plates) require Pesach certification; Kitniyos; the Seder; Mechiras Chometz; and kashering. Questions were drawn from OU Rabbanim and from e-mails sent in by interested consumers. Tune in and be awed and enlightened by the Poskim for OU Kashruth.

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Rabbi Menachem Genack
Rabbinic Administrator and CEO, OU Kashruth

Erev Pesach is always a busy day. Imagine combining it with Shabbos! In 2005, at an OU-RCA Pesach conference, Rabbi Menachem Genack, Rabbinic Administrator and CEO of OU Kashruth, tackled the subject from the perspective of the Rishonim (early Talmudic commentators), also citing his great mentor, the Rav - Rabbi Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik, Zatzal. Join Rabbi Genack in an exploration of the conceptual underpinnings of the halachos that govern what we eat when Erev Pesach is on Shabbos.

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Rabbi Yaakov Luban
Executive Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

Everyone knows that bread is a strict no-no during Pesach. But what about after Pesach--no problem, right? Wrong! Join Rabbi Yaakov Luban, Executive Rabbinic Coordinator of OU Kashruth, for a thorough and lucid discussion of the issue of Chometz SheAvar Alav HaPesach. When exactly is chometz prohibited, even after Pesach? Does ownership of the chometz have anything to do with this? Would sale of chometz through a rabbi automatically eliminate all of the problems? Tune in and hear an amazing amalgam of contemporary halacha, OU policy, and market realities.

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Rabbi Eliyahu W. Ferrell
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth Division

There you are: stuck in a hotel where room service is only too happy to provide shrimp and cheeseburgers. There you are: a returnee to Jewish observance, visiting Mom and Dad and wondering how you'll avoid starving. In this presentation, Rabbi Eliyahu W. Ferrell, a Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kosher as well as with OU Kosher's educational programs, offers some points of guidance for kosher navigating in a non-kosher kitchen. How do I kosherize a stove? How do I use a nonkosher microwave? What do I do if the dishes weren't ritually immersed? Join Rabbi Ferrell and learn some invaluable helpful hints. If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Ferrell please send them to:

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Rabbi Moshe Elefant
Executive Rabbinic Coordinator and COO, Kashruth Division, Orthodox Union.

5768 is a Shemittah (Sabbatical) year in the Land of Israel...could that affect Diaspora Jews? Indeed, yes! Tune in to a thorough presentation of Shemittah issues by Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Executive Rabbinic Coordinator and COO of OU Kashruth. Are there red-flags for Diaspora Jews? What is the Hetter Mechira? What does ownership of the land have to do with Shemittah? What do we do if we end up with fruit that bears the sanctity of Shemittah? Is growing botanicals in a hot house sufficient to obviate Shemittah concerns? Rabbi Elefant elucidates these issues with the clarity that has made his OU Daf Yomi so popular. If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Elefant please send them to:

This seminar was recorded live on February 2, 2008, at Congregation Talmud Torah of Flatbush in New York City. It was sponsored by Keren Hashviis.

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Rabbi Yisroel Meir Paretzky
Rabbinic Coordinator and Group Leader, OU Kashruth Division

Your local bakery can be a dangerous place - for your Jewishness. Flour and water may be kosher, but so much more than that goes into contemporary baked goods. What would an animal derivative be doing in your apple turnovers and danishes? How could the lowly raisin lead to serious problems? Join Rabbi Yisroel Meir Paretzky, a Rabbinic Coordinator who serves as OU Kashruth's Group Leader for baked goods, as he clearly and thoroughly elucidates the surprising issues. If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Paretzky please send them to:

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