Winter 2016

As the cold winter months settle in, nothing can beat good old-fashioned chicken soup. It warms the soul and even heals the body. Then people came around and said that oil and fat are not so good for you…so they cut out most of the oil. Some animal-rights groups said that we should not eat chicken…so they cut out the chicken. Then others said that salt is not healthy…so out went the salt…

Dear Kosher Spirit,
I just read the Q&A article on
“Does beer require a hechsher?”
Why is domestic light beer different?

I have a few questions about
Bishul Yisroel.

The mitzvah of Chanukah is to warm and brighten the cold outdoor darkness by spreading the holy light of the candles. The cold winter is tough in many ways, especially on our skin. Here are 8 ways to keep your skin warm and glowing.

Centuries ago, one of the staple items that was found in most homes was olive oil. Olive oil was used to light up the house, to soften and perfume skin and of course for human consumption. Often meals in those days consisted of bread dipped in olive oil.

In 1978, an enterprising young man named Des Fitzgerald started Ducktrap as a trout farming operation. After graduating from college, Des was interested in aquaculture so he secured suitable land in Lincolnville, Maine and established a fishery. The land was on the Ducktrap and Kendall Brook Rivers, hence the company’s name, “Ducktrap River of Maine”.

Vegetable oil is oil that is extracted from various types of fruits, seeds, grains, and nuts (all considered vegetables for this purpose). The most popular oils are made from canola, coconut, corn, cottonseed, olive, palm, palm-kernel, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower.

Food production has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past century. Commercial production is much more than mixing basic ingredients together to create a product. Just like food coloring is added to many products to add or enhance the color, today most commercial food products rely on manufactured flavors, both “natural” and “artificial” to make the product taste great.

Interview with Rabbi Yisroel Selwyn

here are three different ways that people view the Torah. Some say that the stories in the Torah are merely symbolic and should not be taken as truth, chas v’sholom. The traditional opinion is that every story in the Torah is absolute truth and is an actual record of events. The third view is that of Chassidus.

There is a debate as to how one is to light the Chanukah menorah. Beis Shammai says every day one should light one less, beginning with 8 candles and working down to 1 candle. Beis Hillel says every day one should add one more candle, beginning with 1 and working up to 8.