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The idea of giving an item that is difficult to immerse in a mikvah to a non-Jew and then borrowing it back is known to me (see for example the answer from “Lechayam” to the related question Electric Appliances and Mikva) .

But Star-K only allow it for one day:

“Another suggestion would be to give the utensil in question to a non-Jew as an outright gift and borrow it back from the non-Jew. However, this procedure only helps for one day, such as for Shabbos.”

I have heard another idea – to give the utensil in question to another Jew as an outright gift and borrow it back from him.

Is there a source for this idea?

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  • Why should it only help for one day? Is there a source that you can't borrow something from a non-Jew for a longer period?
    – Yitzchak
    Commented Aug 18, 2014 at 19:45
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    This might not be an ideal solution judaism.stackexchange.com/q/12514/759
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Aug 18, 2014 at 19:55
  • Logically, if another Jew aquires it, he would be required to take it to the mikvah. Thus, nothing has been accomplished.
    – sabbahillel
    Commented Aug 18, 2014 at 21:19
  • @sabbahillel Even if he does not intend to use it?
    – Avrohom Yitzchok
    Commented Aug 18, 2014 at 21:52
  • @AvrohomYitzchok but you said it would be used when a Jew borrows it.
    – sabbahillel
    Commented Aug 18, 2014 at 22:58

1 Answer 1

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Tosfos says explicitly (A"Z 75b sv אבל שואלין לא) that a utensil borrowed from another Jew would still be obligated in tevila - once the object is owned by a Jew, it becomes obligated in tevilas kelim, unlike a case where it's still owned by a non-Jew.

Not sure why the star-k article linked to in the question says that, as long as the item still belongs to a non-Jew there's no obligation to tovel it. It could be that it's best to avoid "borrowing" since it could lead to problems, and people might accidentally "steal" their utensils back, but technically as long as the non-Jew owns it there's no obligation to tovel.

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  • +1, great answer! ....I hope you don't mind that I edited your answer, but I thought that some links might make it look prettier.....if you don't like something I did you can always fix it here
    – MTL
    Commented Sep 17, 2014 at 3:18
  • And welcome to Mi Yodeya!
    – MTL
    Commented Sep 17, 2014 at 3:19
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    But what if it never became obligated under the ownership of the first Jew because it wasn't Klei Seudah at the time?
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Sep 17, 2014 at 3:20
  • Thanks @Shokhet! Looks much better.. @doubleAA According to the Gemara above, only obligated to tovel the kli if it was a kli seuda when acquired from the non-Jew. If a Jew makes it into a kli seuda, then not obligated to tovel.
    – Oysergevaintlach
    Commented Sep 18, 2014 at 3:59

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