Dear Reader,
A rabbi was once asked a peculiar question: “Is it permitted for me to drink milk instead of wine for the Four Cups at the Pesach Seder?” The rabbi asked if the man was prohibited from drinking wine for health reasons. The man replied, “No.”
The rabbi immediately went to prepare the Yom Tov meals and the entire Pesach Seder for the man. The rabbi understood: If he is asking to use milk at the Seder, he obviously cannot afford meat, because he would never eat dairy and meat at the same meal.
Oftentimes, when a situation is presented to us, we must deal not only with what is in front of us, but we have to look beyond the explicitly given information and read between the lines. The rabbi used common sense to deduce that someone who is asking to use milk for the Seder is so poor that he cannot afford any of the other parts of the Seder either. So, too, when it comes to situations in kashrus, there are many times that we have to look beyond the given information and read between the lines.
In this issue, you will find many examples of common sense approaches to kashrus, halacha, and Pesach preparations. In an extremely informative article on Mechiras Chometz, Field Mashgiach Rabbi Yosef D. Chanowitz explains how Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi helped us arrive at our current method of Mechiras Chometz by reading between the lines to implement the best method of sale. Another feature article, Ins and Outs of Eating Out discusses various situations where experience has led the OK to implement new methods of restaurant supervision, in order to ensure the highest standard of kashrus supervision and prevent kashrus disasters.
5 Nissan is the twentieth yahrzeit of Rabbi Berel Levy, ob”m, a man who took on the world of food manufacturing and slowly, one by one, gave food manufacturers guidance and encouragement to provide kosher products for all of us to enjoy. His mission and work continues today at the OK, under the leadership of his son, Rabbi Don Yoel Levy, from its New York headquarters to hundreds of rabbis around the world and hundreds of thousands of kosher certified products available across the globe.
In the merit of OK Kosher Certification’s continued commitment to the highest standard of kosher supervision, may Rabbi Berel Levy’s neshama have the highest aliyah.
Best wishes for a kosher and freilichen Pesach from the entire staff of Kosher Spirit and OK Kosher Certification,
Rabbi Chaim Fogelman
Editor-in-Chief