Tevilas Keilim Guidelines

By: Rabbi Mordechai Frankel

Updated March 2024

GENERAL GUIDELINES

The utensil to be immersed must be completely clean – i.e., free of dirt, dust, rust, stickers, labels or glue. (Practical Tip: WD-40 is very effective in removing adhesive.) One should wet their hands in the mikvah water, hold the vessel in the wet hand and say, “Baruch…asher kid’shanu b’mitzvosav v’tzivanu al tevilas keili” – keilim for multiple utensils – and immerse the vessel(s).

If one forgot to make the bracha, the immersion is valid.

The water of the mikvah must touch the entire vessel, inside and out.

The entire vessel must be under water at one time, but does not have to be submerged for any prolonged period of time.

A vessel’s lid or cover can be immersed separately if it is removable.

If a basket or net is used to hold small utensils, the basket should be immersed in the water, the utensils placed in the basket, and […]

Who Has Whom…Over the Barrel?

By: Rabbi Tzvi Rosen

Kashrus Kurrents, Spring 2023

The immortal words of Koheles, “l’kol zman va’eis” – there
is a time and a place for everything – rings true in all of life’s twists and turns
and is certainly relevant in the world of kashrus and kashrus standards. Kosher
food certification has grown exponentially, and standards have improved with
age. Who would have dreamed that pas Yisroel, bishul Yisroel, and
cholov Yisroel would be available to the wider kosher marketplace?

Forty years ago, a can of tuna with bishul Yisroel and hashgacha
temidis was a rare commodity. Many a yeshiva would resort to stam cholov
when cholov Yisroel wasn’t available, something that would be
unheard of half a century later. Yoshon was an anomaly, except for the
meticulous few; today, yoshon is a kosher household term and it
continues to proliferate.

These amazing developments across a variety of industries are a
testament to the tireless diligence of kashrusagencies who strive to
provide the kosher consumer with the finest […]

Tu B’Shvat 5783

February 2023

This year, Tu B’Shvat (15 Shvat) will occur on Sunday night, February 5 and Monday, February 6. Please refer to the STAR-K Checking Fruits Chart for guidance.

If you wish, you can also review STAR-K’s full guide to Checking for Bugs, the Shemita Primer for Chutz La’aretz, and the Shemita dates of common fruits imported from Eretz Yisroel, since Shemita periods include fruits one might purchase for Tu B’Shvat.

STAR-K FOOD SERVICE KASHRUS TRAINING SEMINAR IS WORTH THE TRIP…EVEN FROM ISRAEL AND COSTA RICA

08 | 12 | 2019

Shai and Maayan Ben-Eli traveled the farthest – 5,863 miles from Yerushalayim – to attend the STAR-K Food Service Kashrus Training Seminar, held in the agency’s Baltimore offices, August 5-7. The Ben-Elis are being groomed not only as STAR-K mashgichim for their upcoming move to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, but as the agency’s emissaries to the once-thriving Jewish community.

There has been a Jewish presence in Kolkata since 1798, when a Syrian jewel trader, Shalom Cohen, migrated there. Other Jews followed, mostly from Iraq and Syria, who opened businesses and exported silk, indigo, and opium. By the last half of the 19th century, the city was bustling with 3,000 Jews. During World War II, the Jewish population peaked with those seeking refuge. The community teemed with Jewish amenities for its nearly 5,000 Jews until that number rapidly diminished when India gained independence from the British in 1947 and, again, with the […]

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Pesach Webinar 2016

A “TAIL” OF TWO CITIES: Worldwide Fish Production

By: Joel Weinberger, Star-K Field Supervisor

The following article describes the saga of two diverse Star-K fish productions in two very different parts of the world – Kodiak, Alaska, and Sarong Irianjaya, Indonesia. Salmon is produced in Alaska, and tuna is produced in the Far East. Traveling to both locations is equally arduous and each location presents its own set of challenges to the traveling Mashgiach.

Electronic Letters of Certification Available

In keeping with Star-K’s commitment to providing prompt, efficient service, Star-K companies will now have the option of receiving their Letter of Certification (LOC) electronically. This enhancement is especially useful for companies that send multiple LOC’s to each of their customers. For example, rather than faxing a five-page LOC to a long list of customers, Star-K companies will be only a click away from electronic LOC distribution. All their customers can receive the data they need in seconds.

Furthermore, because the LOC is in a “read only” Adobe file, security is assured. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is a commonly used program, easily downloaded from the internet.) An electronic LOC helps maintain the integrity of important information such as, “kosher for Passover” certification, or “when bearing the Star-K symbol”. This is most beneficial for kosher certification agencies.

This most recent change represents Star-K’s ongoing effort to maintain a state-of-the-art computer system in order to […]

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