Rabbi Yerachmiel Morrison
Director, Ingredient Approval Registry, OU Kashruth Division

In the conclusion of this two-part series on kosher spices, Rabbi Yerachmiel Morrison, Director of OU Kashruth’s Ingredient Approval Registry, discusses the red-flag issues surrounding spice-blends and seasonings. Could a blend with basil be basically traif? Would a dairy curry blend curry favor with G-d? Should a flesihig carraway blend be carried away? Don’t “leaf” your computer without listening in!

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Rabbi Eli Gersten
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

We don’t compare apples and oranges - but we’d better compare apples and onions! Join Rabbi Eli Gersten, the OU Kosher Rabbinic Coordinator charged with recording OU P’sak and Policy, in an exploration of strange creatures in the world of kashrus: the sharp foods (devarim charifim). Learn the ramifications of cutting an onion (or garlic, or radish, etc.) with a fleishig knife. Could YOUR milchigs end up traif? Find out now!If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Gersten please send them to:

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Rabbi David Bistricer
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth Division

Although we associate latkes and donuts with Chanukah, in actuality, the halachic questions they engender apply all year. Rabbi David Bistricer, an OU Kosher Rabbinic Coordinator, provides a clear and concise guide to the lesser-known issues. He explores such topics as: What does a potato have to do with intermarriage? Could you use donuts on Shabbos instead of challah? You’ll be sur-“fried” at the answers!

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Rabbi Chaim Loike
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

Sherlock Holmes meets the Shulchan Aruch! Join Rabbi Chaim Loike, a Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kashruth with special expertise in birds, as he describes the OU’s investigation into the kashrus of the partridge. Do partridges appear in the Bible? Is partaking of a partridge part of our patrimony? What precisely is the OU’s position? You’ll get the answers to these and other questions in this presentation. BONUS: Click here to see pictures!

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Rabbi Yisroel Belsky & Rabbi Hershel Schachter
Senior Halachic Consultants, OU Kashruth

In this priceless webcast presentation, OU Kashruth’s internationally-renowned Poskim again bring their immense knowledge and understanding to bear on practical issues in the kosher kitchen. Numerous relevant topics are discussed, such as: Do Insta-Hot faucets become “meat” or “dairy”? Does anything besides a utensil have to be designated “meat” or “dairy” in my kitchen? Does my baby need to wait six hours after eating meat? What do I do with heirloom non-kosher china? Tune in to this tour de force in which timeless halachos are applied to timely day-to-day questions. This webcast was recorded live at the OU’s headquarters in New York on November 25, 2008.

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YU at the OU: Seminars in Kashrus and Chemistry: A special VIDEO Tidbit. On 10/31/08, the OU was privileged to host a chemistry class from Yeshiva University (YU). YU has always emphasized the usage of worldly knowledge in service of the Torah’s goals, and this seminar epitomizes that lofty notion. Heat and Cooking in Halacha presented by Rabbi Eli Gersten, Rabbinic Coordinator OU Kashruth, Recorder of OU P’sak and Policy, is a discussion of the definitions and applications of heat in Halacha (e.g., kashering utensils). Extraction and Distillation in Halacha presented by Rabbi Nosson Neuberger, Rabbinic Coordinator OU Kashruth, Asst. Director, Ingredient Approval Registry, is an examination of essential oils and alcoholic beverages. Chemical Changes in Substances presented by Rabbi Gavriel Price, Rabbinic Coordinator OU Kashruth, Ingredient Approval Registry, is an exploration of the halachic definition of “change” and potential leniencies drawn therefrom.

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Rabbi Chaim Loike
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

In a special presentation recorded on Tzom Gedaliah [10/2/08] at Yeshiva University in New York, Rabbi Chaim Loike elucidates how we confirm the kosher status of a bird. Rabbi Loike is not only a Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kashruth: he is also an ordained shochet (ritual slaughterer) with vast expertise in this area. This seminar is richly illustrated and truly edifying. It even has an intoductory section about Kaparos. Don’t miss this “egg”-cellent chance to learn! Click here to download the source sheet.

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Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz
Senior Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

In this special VIDEO edition of Kosher Tidbits, you’ll be brought behind-the-scenes at one of the most complicated areas of kosher supervision: wine-making. Our host is Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, a Senior Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kashruth possessing vast expertise in this crucial area. Rabbi Rabinowitz uses lavish and rare graphics as he clearly elucidates all that goes into kosher wine production. You’ll surely be im”press”ed by “vat” what you see!

And for an in-depth examination of the halachos of kosher wine, click here to listen to the audio shiur, “Kosher Wine: What do the Rabbis Let us Put in Decanters?,” by Rabbi Hershel Schachter.

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