Special Features Yom HaAtzma'ut Reflections In the year 5708, on the 5th of Iyar, there arose men of the seed of Yaakov, and they stood upon the soil of the Holy Land and declared: this land upon which we dwell and cling to with all our might belongs to us, to us alone, and to our children afterwards forever! No sovereignity or rule shall prevail in this land savethat of her sons, the children of Israel, who are reclaiming their stolen inheritance. Let them all come from the four corners of the Earth and inherit their eternal possession. When you see people of Israel who are thankful for all the good, but who still pray for G-d's redemption to be complete, join them! But if you see people of Israel whose heart is divided and who are unable to recognize the goodness that has been bequeathed them, pray for them to be granted clarity of vision to see G-d'ssalvation, and for yourself to be rescued from the blindness and ingratitude into which they have fallen. Let your mouth be filled with song and praise to G-d for what He did, for what He does, and for what He will do... These have been the words of HaRav Eliyahu KiTov on Yom HaAtzma'ut. Don't look for them in your Hebrew editions of Sefer HaToda'a. He was pressured to omit them from that work. They are in the Book of Our Heritage in English. And in a separate pamphlet in Hebrew. Says something, no? If a person acquires a new garment and asks a Rav if he should say a She'he'che'yanu on it, the Rav cannot answer without finding out how the person feels about the garment. Different people have different criteria for defining real joy. Jews have a quota-free home in Eretz Yisrael since the establishment of the State of Israel. Torah flourishes here. Israel's army is kosher and Shomer Shabbat. Shabbat and Chagim are national. Regardless of the many problems that still plague us, and the resistance to our aspirations for a Torah State, there is so muchto be thankful to G-d for. And while we thank Him and praise Him, we ask for the Geula Sh'leima, BB"A. KOSHER KOLUMN OU Kashrut Israel, Ltd. is the official name of the OU's Kashrut operation in Israel. It deals with certification of products made in Israel by companies which primarily export their products. The OU is generally not involved with companies who products are sold only locally. OU Kashrut Israel, Ltd. has just moved intoits new offices at 10 Straus Street, Jerusalem. (NCSY-in-Israel has also moved into 10 Straus. Together with the Israel Center, all Orthodox Union activity in Israel is headquartered under one roof - 10 Straus.) OU Kashrut Israel, Ltd. does not directly deal with American products with an OU that are sold in Israel, except as a conduit of Kashrut information Therefore, if you have Kashrut Kwestions dealing with any OU product, you can call us at 500-3333 and we'll try to get you answers. You can also email your questions to theOU's Webbe Rebbe - kosherq@ou.org. The following kashrut notes are taken from answers to kashrut queries put to the OU's Webbe Rebbe. Dairy Equipment Food cooked in dairy utensils cannot be eaten with meat. Products that bear an OUD are made on dairy equipment and may or may not contain dairy ingredients. The OU does not use a DE designation for fear that it will be misunderstood (and misused) by those among its broad spectrum of Jews who might not be familiar with theramifications of a DE status. It is important to add that an OUD product that does not contain actual dairy ingredients can change its recipe without a change in the OUD designation. It is best then, to consider OUD products to be dairy. Liquor This is a complex issue; here are some -not all - statements of the Webbe Rebbe on the topic. The following brands are OU certified when an OU appears on the label - Carmel, Hiram-Walker, Leroux, and Sabra products. Kahlua produced in Mexico, Ameretto by Bartenura and Di Sarono - all with OU. Grand Mariner is not recommended. J&B Select brand of Scotch is not acceptable. Single Malt Scotches require a Hechsher because of the casks in which it is usually aged (specifically, the flavor it is meant to pick up from the casks). Only blended Scotches are acceptable without a Hechsher. So are Gin and Vodka - unflavored only. (In other words, flavored vodka does need a Hashgacha.) Chadash The OU's policy is as follows: Products made with grain from Chutz LaAretz are not required to be Yashan. Any products made with grain from Eretz Yisrael must adhere to the strict rules of Chadash-Yashan. Chalav Yisrael The insistence on Chalav Yisrael came about to handle a situation of farmers mixing in the milk of non-kosher animals with cow's milk. To avoid the risk of "halachically contaminated" milk, a ban on non-Jewish milk was instituted. In the U.S. and other developed countries, there are two main factors that work against thatproblem. Milk is produced on farms that do not have animals other than cows present. And governmental regulations prohibit this kind of contamination, and strictly enforce the prohibition. The OU's policy is to rely on the psak of Rav Moshe Feinstein z"l who said that government regulations, as well as the standard proceduresof dairy farming are considered equivalent to "being supervised by a Jew". As such, unless specifically labeled Chalav Yisrael, OU dairy products from outside Israel should be assumed to be Chalav Stam. On the other hand, products made in Israel under the OU are Chalav Yisrael, unless labeled Chalav Stam. Clean your silver candlesticks and jewelry for Shabbat & Chag Available at fine jewelers, Viznitz, Shivook HaShikma, Cheaperkol, Express Market Geula To order, call (07) 688-4889 • New polishing mitts • E.g. Apple Cider Part of an answer from the Webbe Rebbe to a question about apple cider, included the following statement: "Our rabbi... based on his familiarity with apple cider processing, was of the opinion that due to the additives that are put into the cider... a Hechsher is most certainly required." Using this as an example, let'smake a general statement. There are many products that seem very straightforward. Apple cider is apple cider. It's made from apples. What problems can there be? This kind of question comes from simpler times. Today, most simple products aren't simple anymore. Because of a myriad of additives - flavors, fragrances, enhancers,emulsifiers, stablizers, colorings - one cannot assume that anything can be acceptable without Hashgacha, unless specifically stated so by reliable parties in the field of Kashrut supervision. "Lost in translation" Ever notice a descrepancy between the kashrut information on the actual label of the product (in English) and the details on the Hebrew label? There shouldn't be any descrepancy. When there is, you should consider the package's original labeling to be more reliable. Usually. Problem. Better to bring it to our attentionand get a clarification from Kashrut-Israel. This way you will be sure and we will be able to pursue the inaccurate label-culprit. For example... Quaker Instant Oatmeal: Look for OUD on individual packets even though the outside label of the variety pack states (in Hebrew) that it is parve. Nestles/General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios: This one's even more problematic. It says KOSHER-DAIRY on the English panel and ********* on the Hebrew panel. This product is produced on dairy equipment and should NOT be eaten with meat. There are no dairy ingredients in the product, but OU policy (as stated above) is to labelsuch products OUD. This example of mislabeling in Hebrew is being pursued by the OU Kashut-Israel staff. Although people generally eat cereal with milk and not with chicken soup, there are recipes for meat dishes that include crushed cereal as a bread-crumb-like topping or ingredient. OUD, even when there is no dairy content, warns us against using the product with meat. Can one eat this cereal as a snack after a meat meal?Well, a qualified yes. Food that is made on dairy equipment but has no dairy ingredient may be eaten after meat (within the time period). But remember that the manufacturer can change over to an actual dairy ingredient and we would necessarily know. It is safest to consider OUD products as dairy. Hopefully, KOSHER KOLUMN will resume being a weekly feature in Torah Tidbits, bringing you general and specific kashrut information. Once again, we ask you, the concerned kosher consumer, to be on the lookout for potential labeling problems, especially - but not exclusively - in the area of translations from English to Hebrew. And, once again, we welcome the team of OU Kashrut-Israel Ltd. (and of NCSY-in-Israel) to 10 Straus. We wish them much continued success in their operations.
PIRKEI AVOT - 3 Let's take a new look at an old comment about the first Mishna in Perek 3. Akavya b. Mahalalel says: consider three things and you won't come into the clutches of sin. The Mishna, at first glance, looks cumbersome. Know from where you came. From where do you come? Answer. To where. To where? Answer. Before whom. Beforewhom? Answer. Why the double phrasing? The answers in the Mishna to the 3 questions relates to the BODY component of the person. It came from the fetid drop, goes to the grave, and stands judgment beforeG-d. The first set of statements before the questions can relate to the SOUL. From where does it come and to where does it go — the Divine. And who is present when our body, so to speak, will give its reckoning? The Soul. And we must ponder that too and stay clear of sin. [The Acharei-K'doshim
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