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I understand many Internet sites including MiYodeya use cookies during authentication and leave them on my computer. I find this highly concerning for two reasons

  • even if my computer is not Jewish, I am concerned one of my kids might walk in, find them and want to eat them. So how do I know if these cookies are kosher? Who certifies them? Is there a kashrut certificate somewhere?
  • what should I do on Pesach? Does MY change cookies to non-chametz during Pesach? Or should I clean all cookies from my computer before Pesach and not use MY? Or sell the cookies to a non-Jew?

I cannot understand why no one mentioned this before. Am I missing something?


This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.

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6 Answers 6

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The cookies aren't set by Mi Yodeya, but rather are required by Stack Exchange, the "parent" of Mi Yodeya. As such they're owned by the not-Jewish SE. I mention in case, chas v'shalom, you might have thought that the Mi Yodeya mods were engaging in an averah by using these cookie on Pesach.

The easiest thing to do is to sell your browser's cookie cache to a non-Jew for cryptocurrency. Some are machmir to sell all local storage. Remember all browsers when selling your cookie cache - I once forgot to sell my IE cache and it became chametz sh'avar alav ha'Pesach. I then couldn't use IE until all the cookie expired. Since it was IE that was no great loss, but remember to include both Chrome and Firefox.

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    So the cookies probably have a pas akum concern then. Feb 14, 2018 at 19:26
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    Also remember all your devices. I almost forgot my tablet last year. Feb 14, 2018 at 22:32
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Actually, it's an important part of remembering the miracle of leaving Egypt to use cookies on Pesach. The verse says that when they left Egypt,

ויאפו את הבצק אשר הוציאו ממצרים עגת מצות כי לא חמץ כי גרשו ממצרים ולא יכלו להתמהמה

They baked the dough that they took with them out of Egypt, matzah cookies which were not chometz, because they were chased out of Egypt and could not tarry

That's why we use cookies to save our login and session information, because we just don't have the time to re-enter that information every time we go to a different page!

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To answer your second question, having these cookies on Pesach is not a problem. The cookies are stored in your computer and are made up of either magnetic or electrical signals, depending on the type of storage drive you have. They have no chametz ingredients and would not be ראוי לאכילת כלב even if they did contain trace amounts of chametz.

As for the general kashrus of the cookies, Mi Yodeya's cookies are certified by O-C'mon as are all sites which are accessible through your typical blacklist internet filter.

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Yes, the cookies are kosher. All connections to Mi Yodeya (and all of StackExchange) are certified by DigiCert, one of the most reputable website mashgiachs out there. You can view the hashgacha by clicking on where it says "secure" in your browser's URL bar. The certificate's validity includes Pesach, so you can trust that they ensure all cookies are kosher for Pesach as well.

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    Nice! Says I have 39 cookies there - enough to last for 8 days of Pesach indeed!
    – mbloch
    Feb 21, 2018 at 10:58
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    I thought we were certified under the O-Cmon
    – Double AA
    Feb 21, 2018 at 15:04
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    @doubleaa you know how it is. Sefardim want one kind of hashgacha, Ashkenazim want another, and Chasidim want something totally different.
    – Daniel
    Feb 21, 2018 at 16:22
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The cookies are not kosher, because your computer generates heat. If your computer is not Jewish (how can that be? Ah - of course, even though you're Jewish, you forgot to tovel the computer, I guess) than your cookies are Bishul Aqum.

Regarding Pesach - it's irrelevant. The cookies are not kosher, so you should never eat them.

Why did no one mention this before? Hmmm .. I suspect that Monica, the only female moderator, here, might have been busy selling Girl Scout cookies around Purim time, and it seems that at least she might have been too busy. I can't speak for the other moderators.

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  • It's permitted to own non-kosher cookies. Pesach would still be a bigger problem due to the ownership problem.
    – Daniel
    Feb 14, 2018 at 18:10
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    I'm not convinced that cookies baked by a non-Jew would be bishul akum, as opposed to pat akum / pat palter, which comes with its own leniencies...
    – Joel K
    Feb 14, 2018 at 18:10
  • Even if they're cooked by your non-Jewish computer, you are definitely responsible for "additional heat". So Ashkenazim may eat the cookies, not sure about Sefardim.
    – LN6595
    Mar 1, 2018 at 2:23
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Rabbi Chaim Tryaina T'llya has a teshuvah in which he argues that on a site mostly moderated and used by Jews, it is safe to assume that homemade cookies are not bishul akum, but if the moderator is not Sabbath-observant you are required to assume the chocolate chips are not parve while also avoiding chillul hashem from your non Sabbath-observant moderator....a tricky balancing act indeed!

During Pesach, however, you are required to leave your computer and any other devices you use to access the site on your front curb for any passersby to grab and take home, much as we are commanded with the corners of our fields. If you live in Israel, you are required to tithe the hard drive during the schmita year but may keep the screen provided you don't plug it in.

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