KOSHER KOLUMN

Culled from the email answers of the Webbe Rebbe to Kashrut questions (with my own editorial comments)

"The policy of the OU is that it only stands behind the products where the OU symbol is printed on the package - printed, not stamped, not with a sticker, not with a sign on the wall."

Once in a while, the OU will announce that a product is under their supervision even without an OU on the package. These will be the exceptions to the rule. Furthermore, and off the record, the OU is usually not happy about allowing or accepting a product without a printed OU. Sometimes, it happens by accident. A largenumber of labels is printed without the OU, or before the OU came into the picture, and the company faces significant costs to replace the packaging.

A different problem to watch out for is the manufacture of a product in different countries, where only the U.S. product (for example) has a Hashgacha. It is not uncommon in Israel for us to see a familiar American product, produced somewhere in Europe. Be careful.

PIRKEI AVOT

In the course of the time between Pesach and Rosh HaShana, we read and learn Pirkei Avot four times. Not only that, but the sets of Avot work out neatly, as follows: The first run- through is between Pesach and Shavuot, the Omer period. The second time is from Shavuot until the Three Weeks, a sort of neutral time on the calendar. Then we read through Avot again during the Three Weeks and the remainder of the month of Menachem Avot. And finally, we double up some chapters to go through Avot during Elul. Each time we learn Pirkei Avot, there is something that its calendar-back drop contributes to the learning. Different nuances come out at different times of the summer.