Temple Bnai Israel 

Kashrut Policy

USERS’ GUIDE TO THE

TEMPLE BNAI ISRAEL KASHRUT POLICY 

RAV JEREMY'S SUMMARY      THE PARTICULARS      WHAT IS NEW       GLOSSARY        Return to Home Page

RAV JEREMY'S QUICK SUMMARY OF THE POLICY

• All veggie/dairy industrially produced foods are ok. Everything with a hechsher is ok.   

• All veggie/dairy foods that are not cooked are ok.  

• Cooked foods that come into contact with metal, glass, or wood that has been washed in scalding water are ok.

The only restrictions are: 

• If a plastic or ceramic utensil has ever come into contact with burning hot meat (or meat product), it cannot come in contact with burning hot food that is to be brought to the  Temple.

• If a wood, glass, or metal utensil has ever come into contact with burning hot meat (or meat product), it must be washed in scalding water before contacting burning hot food to be  brought to the Temple

.
These restrictions do require thought and attention, but it was the hope of the Ritual Committee that food could be relatively easily brought from home.

 Bottom line, people should make food according to our kashrut standard, avoiding hot, treif plastic and ceramic, and hot, treif, dirty wood, metal, or glass.

Return to Top                                    Return to Home Page

THE PARTICULARS 

THE BASIC POLICY:

The basic policy has two components: 

(1) Our synagogue kitchen is generally dairy-parve; i.e. no poultry or mammalian meat products are allowed, except in the particular case explained below. (Note that a glossary follows the main text of this guide.)  

(2) We honor the separation of non-kosher from kosher utensils in maintaining the separation of our kitchenware from outside utensils, and by maintaining certain modern, Jewish rules concerning the cleansing/kashering of dishes used in food preparation.  These are explained below.  Note that the rationales for this policy are explained in a separate document. 

Hechsher: A fool-proof way of knowing something is Kosher according to Bnai Israel practice. A “hechsher” is a certificate of Kashrut, such as the “OU” (a ‘U’ inside of an ‘O’, or the letter ‘K’ incorporated into a distinctive design, or the Hebrew letter Kaf incorporated into such a design.  These certificates are found on many food labels and guarantee that the product is ok for Temple use.  The purchase of such products is encouraged.

If not purchasing a product with a hechsher:

Again, the basic policy is to have everything strictly dairy/parve, and to honor concerns about the utensils things are prepared with.  Here are the possibilities and things to be aware of:

I. Industrially produced products

When buying industrially produced products, if the listed ingredients are all dairy/parve, the product is ok.  We have no concerns about the utensils used in preparation.  Note the following, though.

A..  Some ingredients are prohibited that you may not realize aren’t parve:

·        “Shortening” that is not specified to be “vegetable shortening” is often animal fat and not kosher.

·        Some “natural flavors.”  Some of these are meat-based.  For example, prepared French fries or pasta sauce may include “natural flavors” that are meat-based and therefore not kosher for Temple Bnai Israel.  Natural flavors found in sweets should be ok.  If unsure, don’t buy the product or consult with the rabbi.  “Natural coloring,” and “artificial flavors and colors” are all ok.

·        “Free-range” eggs.  Because these are often fertilized, and therefore include blood spots, they are not allowed in a kitchen such as ours that maintains the traditional prohibition against eating blood (unless certified as being unfertilized or kosher – which would indicate that the eggs were checked).
 

B. Some ingredients that are allowed even though they are animal products (again, reasoning is in the separate document:

·        Rennet.  Animal rennet does not render cheese unkosher for Temple Bnai Israel.

·        Gelatin. But please note: While our policy allows gelatin in principle, we ask that you either refrain from using it or label products that contain it, because Rav Jeremy and his family do not eat gelatin in their practice of kashrut. 

II. Home-made or small/local shop-made

When preparing something at home, or purchasing something produced in a smaller/local shop, there are a few considerations in addition to those listed in (1) and (1a) above.  These are:

·        Eggs.  We maintain the traditional prohibition of eating blood.  In particular, eggs with blood spots are not traditionally considered kosher and we wish to maintain this restriction at Temple Bnai Israel.  If cooking at home, please use the traditional method of checking each egg for bloodspots in a separate glass before adding to the food being prepared. 

·        Utensils.  While this policy is intended to make it possible and relatively easy for people to bring food from home to the synagogue, we do ask that you observe some restrictions concerning cooking utensils – all those items from mixing spoons to plates that come in contact with the food.  These rules apply as well to purchased items not industrially produced.

o       Anything prepared in dairy/parve utensils in a home that has separate meat and milk dishes may be brought into the synagogue, as may anything prepared with utensils that are only used with dairy/parve in a vegetarian household.  Newly purchased or disposable bakeware is certainly allowable.

o       Any utensil that is only used cold (more exactly: not burning hot), or that only comes into contact with the food being prepared for synagogue use when both the utensil and the food are not hot, is ok.

o       Utensils that come into contact with food being prepared for the synagogue while it is hot, and that have been used with meat or other non-kosher food, (a) must be “kashered” as follows: thoroughly cleaned and either run through a dishwasher or immersed in boiling water, and  (b) must not be ceramic or plastic – these cannot be kashered. 

A Word About Fish 

Fish are not considered “meat” in our system of kashrut, in accordance with traditional usage.  So they are allowed, but only species of fish which had fins and scales while alive are kosher.  This excludes shellfish and other seafood, as well as shark and catfish, among the more common food fish.   

How to eat meat at the synagogue:

Get a certified kosher caterer or consult with the rabbi about ways to make sure that no mixing of meat and milk dishes can occur.

Rules for synagogue events not held at the synagogue:

You are encouraged to observe the above rules for synagogue events held away from the synagogue as well.  At a minimum, please observe the following:

·        If serving meat, meat with a hechser is preferred and please do not serve meat from traditionally unkosher animals (i.e. no pig, rabbit, bear, catfish, or seafood)

·        Please refrain from mixing meat and milk in a single dish  

WHAT IS NEW ABOUT THIS POLICY? 

·        Hechsher is an encouraged certification, but does not define kashrut.

·        Industrially-produced goods need only be “ingredient-kosher.”

·        All wines are kosher.

·        Most cheeses are kosher.

·        Gelatin is kosher, though discouraged while Rav Jeremy is here.

·        Requirements for home-cooked foods are less restrictive.

·        explicit guidelines for synagogue events away from the synagogue

GLOSSARY