Tag Archives: pesach

The Kashrus of Tea—With No Strings Attached!

By: Rabbi Baruch Beyer

Summer 2013

Americans generally do not drink as much tea as the rest of the world. This may have something to do with a certain party they had in Boston a while back. That being the case, you might be surprised to learn that tea is second only to water in worldwide beverage consumption. In fact, some estimates place tea consumption in the billions of cups daily. That’s a lot of tea. However, with recent health benefits being ascribed to tea, its popularity in this country is definitely on the rise. In this article we will explore the world of tea vis-a-vis kashrus and halacha. First, a little background is in order.

BACKGROUND

Tea is a processed leaf. It is grown on a tea tree which, if allowed to grow wild, would reach 30 or more feet in height. On tea plantations, the main trunk of the seedlings is cut to produce a […]

A Brief Intro to “Kosher for Passover” and the Pesach Holiday

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

January 2025

Passover is a joyous eight-day holiday celebrated in early spring. The name Pesach is derived from the Hebrew “to pass over,” since G-d “passed over” the homes of the Jews during the tenth plague on the Egyptians.

Passover commemorates the redemption of the enslaved Israelites from Egypt and the forging of the new Jewish nation. It has a distinctive set of laws and customs, the highlight being the Seder, a festive meal on the first two nights (only one in Israel) that includes many symbolic foods – matzah, bitter herbs, charoses – and four cups of wine. This family-centered holiday is widely observed, albeit with a diversity of beloved traditions passed down from generation to generation. Passover’s popularity is reflected in the kosher marketplace where, by some accounts, 40% of sales revolves around this holiday.

Passover involves a unique set of kosher laws, chief among them the prohibition to eat any […]

Quinoa, the Grain That’s Not: Then Why the Need for Passover Certification?

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

January 2025

Tired of potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes on Pesach? Maybe give quinoa a try.

Quinoa is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet – cooked like rice, is gluten-free and loaded with vitamins and minerals. Even NASA has considered quinoa for its long-duration planetary space flights. Quinoa has become increasingly popular in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Japan, where the crop is not typically grown.

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced kin-wa) is a species of seeds of the Chenopodium (or “goosefoot”) family, which includes sugar beets and beet root, and is botanically related to spinach. It was first brought to the United States from South America in the 1980s. Seeds range in color from pink and orange to blue-black, purple, and red. However, once their natural saponin coating is washed off, the seeds are pale yellow.

Quinoa has been cultivated in the Andes Mountains for thousands of years, growing […]

Feeding Your Pet: Barking Up the Right Tree

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

Reviewed January 2025

Click HERE for the Pesach 2024 Pet Food List. (2025 List TBD)

To some people, the concept that there are restrictions regarding what can be fed to animals may seem amusing. They wonder, “Really now, must dogs also eat kosher?” Of course, animals don’t need to eat kosher food. However, Halacha clearly instructs people regarding what, how and when to feed them.

The Talmud Yerushalmi1 states that before acquiring an animal, one must be sure he will be able to properly provide for it. Certainly, the owner must also know the applicable halachos. The following is a discussion of some of these halachos, including the subjects of meat and milk mixtures, Pesach, buying and selling non-kosher pet food, feeding animals on Shabbos and Yom Tov, and feeding animals before you eat.

STAR-K is not necessarily recommending ownership of pets; rather, we are providing information for those owners who […]

Halachos of Taking Medicine on Pesach

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

Reviewed January 2025

For many years, Rav Gershon Bess prepared a Guide for Pesach Medications and Cosmetics which was published and distributed by Kollel Los Angeles. A partnership with STAR-K and the Kollel to make this information more widely available to the general public is still going strong after more than a quarter century. The Medications and Cosmetics Guide, available in Jewish bookstores nationwide, serves as an invaluable resource for kosher consumers seeking to purchase these items for Yom Tov.

Sefer Kovetz Halachos (Hilchos Pesach 12:4) states in the name of HaRav Shmuel Kamenetzky, shlit”a, that lechatchila one should take a medication approved for Pesach and mentions the availability and use of reliable Pesach lists and guides (see Hilchos Pesach, ibid., footnote 5).

The halachos pertaining to medication and cosmetic use on Pesach are based on the joint psak of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, shlit”a, and Rav Gershon Bess, shlit”a.

THE MEDICINE LIST DOES NOT […]

The Kashrus, Shabbos, and Pesach Guide to Cosmetics

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

Updated January 2025

Ezra Hasofer established ten takanos (laws) covering a wide spectrum of Jewish life.1 The purpose of these takanos was to enhance Torah study, Shabbos, the Jewish communal court system, and the sanctity of the Jewish home and marriage. One of the takanos was that salesmen should travel from town to town to supply perfume and fragrances to the women of each community.2 It is clear that these items were important in Jewish life since ancient times.

The STAR-K hotline receives numerous inquiries relating to cosmetics and halacha. One must know the answers to questions regarding these products that are commonly used. Does lipstick require kosher certification? During Pesach, may one use perfume or makeup that contains chometz? Are any cosmetics permissible for use on Shabbos and Yom Tov?

Because these halachos are complex, it is important for consumers to have a clear grasp of the numerous issues and […]

The Rise of Oat Matzos

By: Rabbi Moshe T. Schuchman

January 2025

The advent of baking oat matzah for Pesach is a relatively new phenomenon. As one of the Five Grains, oats qualify as an ingredient for matzah. Until circa 5740 (1980s), however, it never appeared in recorded halacha as something that was done in actual practice.

If someone with a wheat allergy can tolerate spelt, matzah made from spelt is an ideal alternative. Spelt and wheat are closely related both structurally and halachically. Additionally, some suggest that the order of grains in the Mishnah has significance. Thus, spelt, which appears third in the list, takes precedence over rye or oats. Others reject this notion and hold that position on the list does not indicate hierarchy for matzah.

What are the options for people who suffer from celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disorder identified in the 1950s as being triggered by gliadin peptides (small proteins) in gluten? If the severity of the […]

The Traveler’s Halachic Guide to Hotels

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

Spring 2010 | Reviewed January 2025

Yosef chose the hotel he was staying in for its many amenities, not the least of which was the free Continental Breakfast it offered its guests. Surely, when kosher symbols on products are becoming more and more prevalent, he wouldn’t starve! The breakfast menu included cereals, pancakes, waffles, muffins, pre-cut fruits and vegetables, hardboiled eggs, as well as hot coffee and juices. Can Yosef eat anything offered on the Continental Breakfast menu, or should he prepare his own breakfast using the microwave and coffeemaker in his hotel room?

Chana’s brother’s bar mitzvah, held in a hotel during Shabbos, turned out to be a real nightmare! The closet light went on automatically when she opened the closet door; the housekeeper had turned off the light in her room, preventing her from reviewing her parsha notes; she drank a bottle of water from her room’s ‘refreshment bar’ which […]

Navigating the Ins and Outs of Renting an Airbnb

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

Winter 2024 | Reviewed January 2025

Who would have imagined, just a few years ago, that you could go on vacation and rent a stranger’s private home? But that is exactly what people now do every day, with the rise of Airbnb and similar short-term rental platforms that list millions of units in over 100,000 cities.[1]

A Torah-observant individual who enters into such an arrangement will encounter numerous halachic challenges when signing up as an Airbnb “guest.” This includes properties listed as “kosher” – even ones in Israel – since an owner usually cannot vouch for every renter who has used the kitchen, nor for each renter’s kashrus standards, which can vary widely. Likewise, one who owns and is the “host” of an Airbnb property will have to address his own set of halachic concerns. Let’s analyze some of the more common ones.

Kashrus Concerns During the Year (Excluding Pesach)

The primary […]

Going Away for Pesach? Guidelines for Hotel and Airbnb Guests

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

January 2025

Many people leave home to celebrate Pesach with extended family. If that entails staying in a hotel or an Airbnb, there are specific halachos to keep in mind. See below for a brief summary of these halachos.1

Kashering Guidelines

A hotel kitchenette or Airbnb requires the same method of kashering for Passover as a home kitchen. One should secure permission from the hotel or Airbnb owner before kashering.

Ideally, all kashering should be completed before the end time for eating chometz on Erev Pesach.

Sometimes, one might not arrive until later on the day of Erev Pesach, or on Chol HaMoed. If that is the case, then:

► If one arrives on Erev Pesach after the end time for eating chometz where the property is located: the oven and stovetop grates may still be kashered. A sink may be kashered if one can ascertain that the sink is aino ben yomo (i.e., has […]

The Kosher Conversation Episode 3: Pesach Hotels

By: Rabbi Chananya Jacobson

Pesach Hotels with Rabbi Zvi Holland

Pesach hotels are a long-standing, much maligned institution in Jewish communities in America and around the world. Rabbi Holland takes us behind the scenes and gives us his insight into what it takes to plan, prepare and run a Kosher for Passover program.