38
votes
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What makes a smart phone "kosher"?
A good question, let me outline the situation in Israel:
20 years ago everyone used the same 2G Nokias, Sonys, etc. Some 15 years ago, with the latest developments in phone technology, namely SMS, ...
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37
votes
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Why does my bottle of Kosher grape juice say that it's 'for sacramental purposes only'?
The reason is to exempt it from Value Added Tax.
See the regulation at this www.gov.uk site.
The important bit says:
4.7 Food and drink for religious and sacramental use
The existence of ...
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26
votes
Why does Torah consider Bats as birds?
Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin, director of The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh has an article on this in his Rationalist Judaism blog, here.
The paragraph that probably answers your ...
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21
votes
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Why does medical marijuana need a kosher supervision?
Rather than guessing, read it directly from the source.
Some have also suggested that a natural product, derived from the
Cannabis plant, for a life-threatening condition, does not require
...
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21
votes
Are there multiple levels of treif?
Yes, there are multiple levels.
In the Laws of Forbidden Foods 14:16-17, the Rambam writes:
"When a person is overcome by severe hunger, he may be fed forbidden food immediately until his ...
- 41.2k
21
votes
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Are all French baguettes intrinsically kosher?
That is correct and many observant Jews eat this bread (I lived in France for five years). The same is true for many sorts of plain bread, not just baguette.
However one has to check that the oven is ...
- 45.5k
20
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Why does Torah consider Bats as birds?
The Passuk (Vayikra 11,13) uses the phrase ואת אלה תשקצו מן העוף לא יאכלו when describing all birds bats and insects
The word עוף essentially means "a being that flies"
This is proven from Tehilim ...
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19
votes
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Why is meat only kosher if a Jew slaughters the animal?
It is explained in the gemara that if a nonJew slaughters an animal, it is as if the animal died by itself. This is because the non-Jew is not subject to the commandments, which include ritual ...
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19
votes
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16
votes
Are dik-diks kosher animals?
The animal is part of the antelope family and has split hooves and chewes the cud. I would always consult a rabbi, as this answer is not a halachic dictation. Based on the information in your link ...
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16
votes
Does dividing bulk Kosher items make them no longer Kosher?
When you open the sealed bulk carton, they can no longer know that it has been certified. It is the same reason that an airline kosher meal must be served to the passenger still sealed. Once it has ...
- 42.8k
16
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Why would muscovy duck be treif?
The kosher status of birds differs from that of animals and fish, in that there are no biblically based physical indicators and thus today the determination is made based on tradition (mesorah). Rabbi ...
- 176
15
votes
Is it permitted to bring bottled water from an outside source into a kosher dining hall?
My best guess is that it's the policy of the kosher dining hall to not allow outside food or drink to cut down on the amount of non-kosher food which comes in. To my knowledge, there's nothing wrong ...
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15
votes
Would Noahides be required to eat kosher meat?
Your question seems to be predicated on understanding Bereishit 9:4
אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ דָמ֖וֹ לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃
You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it.
as a ...
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13
votes
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Is there a problem with eating Gummy Bears and Meat together?
Here is an answer from The Star-K.
Similarly fish gelatin in order to be considered kosher must be produced from kosher species of fish. The use of fish gelatin with meat foods poses an interesting ...
- 37.6k
13
votes
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If all ingredients are kosher, is the entire dish kosher?
It is a start. However it must be cooked in Kosher pots & pans. Meat & Dairy, Meat & Fish should not be combined. There are other rules such as Bishul Yisrael, Pas Yisrael, Yayin Nesech ...
- 138k
13
votes
Is AquAdvantage salmon kosher?
Kosher speciation
Generally speaking, we have a rule that "kol hayotzei min hatahor tahor, vichol hayotzei min hatamei tamei" ("that which comes from a kosher species is kosher, and that which comes ...
- 17.6k
13
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Can 'cruelty to animals' render an animal not kosher?
R Moshe Feinstein (Even HaEzer IV:92:2) is against raising veal in inhumane ways. He doesn't say the meat is not kosher (see e.g., this answer on MY). Nevertheless, some (e.g., R Moshe Dovid Tendler, ...
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13
votes
During Temple times, who can butcher a kosher animal?
Any Jew, not necessarily a kohen or levi, can slaughter an animal, with few exceptions (Chullin 1:1):
הַכֹּל שׁוֹחֲטִין וּשְׁחִיטָתָן כְּשֵׁרָה, חוּץ מֵחֵרֵשׁ, שׁוֹטֶה, וְקָטָן, שֶׁמָּא יְקַלְקְלוּ ...
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12
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If one makes a bracha on something not Kosher should he eat it to avoid saying G-d's name in vain or not?
He already said God's name in vain since non-kosher food doesn't warrant a blessing. Eating the food now isn't going to help that.
אכל דבר איסור, אף על פי שאינו אסור אלא מדרבנן, אין מזמנין עליו ...
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11
votes
Is there a problem with Triangle K? If so, what?
The OU has (at least) two specific problems with Triangle-K:
1- While halakhah has no minimum bound (shiur) for how often an establishment must be spot-checked (yotzei venichnas = someone who goes ...
- 9,298
11
votes
Accepted
Are "Kosher Salts" Kosher?
Salt in and of itself is inherently Kosher. In most consumer and industrial applications, no kosher-sensitive ingredients are added to salt, so it can in fact be used without Kosher certification.
"...
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11
votes
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How to suggest a kosher restaurant for a meeting?
In most cases, when this sort of thing comes up I say something like: "I have some dietary restrictions and wouldn't be able to eat there; could we meet at $other_restaurant instead?".
For someone ...
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11
votes
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Are we permitted to trust the shechita of a shochet who doesn't keep kosher?
The Rambam in Hilchot Schechitah 4:14-15 appears relevant to your case
A Jew who is an apostate because of his transgression of a particular
transgression who is an expert slaughterer may ...
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11
votes
Why is a Shechitah Knife termed a Chalaf?
A few possibilities.
Ezra 1:9 מחלפים. Rashi says that מחלפים is knives and it comes from בית החלפות where the knives were kept in the Bais Hamikdash.
Even Ezra and Metzudas David in Ezra 1:9 also ...
- 138k
11
votes
What makes a smart phone "kosher"?
For Israel and the USA:
TAG certifies individual phones in the USA with a holographic sticker. Israel has a vaad that prints their hechsher directly on the phone (as is appropriate to their stricter ...
- 5,302
11
votes
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What is this "vvk" or "AAk" hechsher?
It is the hechsher of Rabbi A Adler of Gateshead UK, see
http://www.hechshers.info/kashauth/147.htm
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10
votes
Is AquAdvantage salmon kosher?
I'd asked Rabbi Hershel Welcher of Queens a similar question, about goats that were given a bit of spider genes so they would produce gossamer in their milk. He felt the concept of "zeh v'zeh gorem, ...
- 130k
10
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Does dividing bulk Kosher items make them no longer Kosher?
While I can't comment specifically on the issues involved with powdered milk and splitting them into single servings I can make a few suggestions:
Look into kosher single serving packets ( I don't ...
- 1,348
10
votes
How to kill Kosher grasshoppers
They don't need any particular sort of killing. (Okay there's also a concept of bal teshaktzu, "don't do gross things", that would include swallowing a live insect, but from a kosher ...
- 130k
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