COR Kosher CORner Passover Magazine

march 2018

passover 2018

‫פסח‬ ‫תשע”ח‬

|

‫ניסן תשע”ח‬

c o r - k a s h r u t h c o u n c i l o f c a n a da

k ashruth council board of d i r e cto r s C h a i r m a n: Dr. Ira Marder pa s t C h a i r m a n: Mr. Meyer Feldman pa s t C h a i r m a n: Mr. Marvin Sigler

RABBINICAL V AAD HAKASHRUTH C hai r man: Rabbi Yacov Felder C h a i r m a n E m e r i t u s: Rabbi Yitzchok Kerzner Rabbi Amram Assayag Rabbi Avraham Bartfeld Rabbi Chanoch Ehrentreu Rabbi Shlomo Gemara Rabbi Ovadia Haboucha

v i c e C h a i r m a n: Mr. Jack Feintuch v i c e C h a i r m a n: Mr. Shimshon Gross v i c e C h a i r m a n: Mr. Moshe Sigler S e c r e ta r y : Mr. Ari Messinger A s s i sta n t S e c r e ta r y: Mr. Michoel Klugmann Tr eas u r e r: Mr. Moshe Kesten E X E C UTIVE :

Rabbi Yossel Kanofsky

Mr. Daniel Bitton

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan

Mr. Nathan Bleeman

Rabbi Uri Kaufman

Mr. Pinny Kaufman

Rabbi Yaakov Kaufman

Mr. David Kleiner

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin

Mr. Michoel Klugmann

Rabbi Chaim Kulik

Mr. Naftali Winter

Rabbi Yisroel Landa Rabbi Rafi Lipner

Mr. Robert Benmergui

Rabbi Moshe Lowy

Mr. Cyril Braude

Rabbi Yirmiya Milevsky

Rabbi Neil Cohen

Rabbi Yosef Oziel

Mr. Yehoshua Czermak

Rabbi Dovid Pam

Mr. Shlome Goldreich

Rabbi Meir Rosenberg

Mr. Allan Gutenberg

Rabbi Mordechai Scheiner

Mr. Mark Halpern

Rabbi Dovid Schochet

Mr. Paul Jacobs

Rabbi Raphael Shmulewitz

Mr. Irving Karoly

Rabbi Chaim Strauchler

Mr. Shimshon Katz

Rabbi Yehoshua Weber

Mr. Jerrold Landau Mr. Brian Lass Mr. Elie Mamann Rabbi Eli Mandel Mr. Isaac Oziel Mr. Ronald Rutman Mr. Simon Schonblum Mr. Ben Shillow Mr. Avrum Waisbrod Mr. David Woolf Mr. Shmuel Zimmerman

k a s h r u t h c o u n c i l s ta f f C h a i r m a n , R a b b i n i c a l V a a d H a k a s h r u t h: Rabbi Yacov Felder D i r e cto r o f I n d u str ial Ko s h e r, K a s h r u s A d m i n i s t r at o r : Rabbi Sholom H. Adler D i r e cto r o f C o m m u n ity Ko s h e r: Rabbi Tsvi Heber R a b b i n i c L i a i s o n: Rabbi Yosef Oziel M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r : Mr. Richard Rabkin D i r e c t o r o f O p e r at i o n s : Mr. Jay Spitzer R a b b i n i c C o o r d i n at o r s : Rabbi Avrohom Lowinger Rabbi Joshua Norman Rabbi Dovid Rosen Rabbi Yechiel Teichman Senior Rabbinic F i e l d R e p r e s e n tat i v e s : Rabbi Dovid Laufer Rabbi Nachman Ribiat Senior Auditor & R a b b i n i c F i e l d R e p r e s e n tat i v e: Mr. Ronie Cowan D e v e lo pe r & F i e l d R e p r e s e n tat i v e: Mr. Chaim Ribiat H e a d M a s h g i a c h: Rabbi Mendel Brogna S e n i o r Mas h g i c h i m: Rabbi Mendel Gansburg Mr. Moshe Mayer Mrvic Rabbi Matis Stebben Pr o g ram D i r e cto r Liai s o n C o lle g e: Rabbi Avigdor Lowin A d m i n i st r at i v e A s s i s ta n t s & C u s t o m e r S e r v i c e R e p r e s e n tat i v e s: Mrs. Esther Scheer Mrs. Chana Durier O ffi c e S u ppo rt: Mrs. Barbara Bar-Dayan Ex e c u t i v e A s s i s ta n t & N e w C l i e n t R e p r e s e n tat i v e: Mrs. Judy Pister Acc o u n t S p e c i a l i s t s : Ms. Zahava Cohen Mrs. Miriam Kleiman Acc o u n ta n t : Mrs. Olga Sekiritsky

K o s h e r COR n e r E d ito r i a l Sta f f E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f : Richard Rabkin S e n i o r Halac h i c C o ntr i b uto r: Rabbi Dovid Rosen Production Manager & C o ntr i b uti n g E d ito r: Miriam Kleiman c o ntr i b uti n g e d ito r: Zahava Cohen senior staff writer: Mordechai Schmutter D e s i g n & L ay o u t : the design house C o v e r d e s i g n: RB Creative

Kashruth Council of Canada Presents

Making Pesach Like a Pro Join renowned Executive Chef Anthony Andrady and Chef Eran Marom as they do a live cooking demo, showing you how to prepare new and exciting Pesach dishes!

Wednesday, March 14th

|

Sephardic Kehila Centre

7:30 pm

Chef Tony

7026 Bathurst St., Thornhill

Tutorials

Stations

how to clean and check your Romaine lettuce

with COR Rabbis to answer all of your Pesach questions

Join us for an evening of sumptuous complimentary (non-Pesach) appetizers and desserts care of Ely’s Fine Foods! www.cor.ca

/

416.635.9550

/

questions@cor.ca

Kashruth Council of Canada

Live in Hamilton

For Answers & Appetizers

a Pre-Passover Hamilton Community Event Sunday, March 11th 7:30pm 8:00 pm

Appetizers Answers

Adas Israel Synagogue

125 Cline Ave S, Hamilton, Ontario Introductory remarks by Rabbi Daniel Green

This exciting multimedia presentation

by COR Rabbis will outline the most frequent Pesach questions and answers as well as provide a live demonstration on how to clean your Romaine lettuce to ensure it is bug free. Learn the techniques that COR’s professional mashgichim use every day!

Join us for an evening of complimentary appetizers and desserts!

www.cor.ca

/

416.635.9550

/

questions@cor.ca

TableOfContents welcome corner Message from Rabbi Yacov Felder....................................... 8

49

Message from Dr. Ira Marder..................................................10 Nissan Calendar.............................................................................12 Important Pesach Dates & Times......................................13

halachic corner Establishments & Services....................................................15 Product Guide................................................................................. 17 Kitniyot Guide.................................................................................26 Medicine Guidelines....................................................................29 Chametz Free Medications....................................................30 Kashering for Passover.............................................................37 Tevilat Keilim....................................................................................42

53

Shaimos Guidelines.................................................................... 45 Pet Food on Passover...............................................................46 Pesach Traveler Checklist......................................................48 Top 15 Pesach Questions.......................................................49

rabbinic corner Bones & Dry Bones.................................................................... 53 Obstacles of the Mind................................................................57 Time is Our Freedom..................................................................58 HIT Mediation Stories................................................................60

i n s p i r at i o n c o r n e r Shalom Brothman: Certified Mashgiach.......................64 Niagara Falls: Building a Mikvah & a Community.....66 Finding G-d Through Yogurt..................................................68 Marat Dreyshner: A Chef’s Jewish Journey............... 70 The Mikvah in Moncton: Like Splitting the Sea.........72

89

70

58 66

c o r p o r at e c o r n e r

64

Auleaf Cafe: A Home Not Too Far From Home............... 76 Bubby’s Bagels: Filling a Hole in the Community......... 78 Exlpure: Seeing the Forest for the Trees...........................80 Nature’s Mix: A Healthy Start...............................................82 Pure Greens: Turning Over New Leaves........................83 Tzafona: Wine of the North....................................................84 Who is Wise Bites? One Who Sees the Future...............86 WowButter: Fake It ‘til You Make It...................................88

nutrition corner Bubby’s Favourite Recipes....................................................89 Overcoming Nutritional Challenges on Pesach........96 No Horsing Around: The Inside Scoop on Horseradish.......98

kids corner Help is On the Way ................................................................... 101 Comic CORner............................................................................. 106 Activity CORner......................................................................... 109

84

Humour CORner........................................................................... 111 COR Company Updates..........................................................113

102 83

welcome corner

A message from Rabbi yacov Felder The guiding principle that was employed by Chazal in establishing the order of what we recite in the Haggadah at the seder is maschil b’gnus umsaymim bshevach, begin with discussing the shameful period, the enslavement in Egypt and that Terach, Avraham Avinu’s father, was an idolater, and then we conclude with praise. In order for us to thank and praise Hashem adequately for our Exodus from Egypt, we must initially feel the pain of the exile by discussing it in detail.

Another explanation of this principle is based on a thought of the Sfas Emes. The Sfas Emes writes that the mitzvah of eating marror demonstrates that we believe that our exile is for our ultimate benefit.

Therefore, we praise Hashem not only for the redemption, but for the bitter exile as well. As we endure the pains of golus, it is difficult to appreciate any potential good that may result from it. However, in hindsight, we can see how the events unfolded in our favour.

As Harav Gedalia Schorr zt”l explains, we can now understand why Raban Gamliel in the Haggadah places marror after matzah: Pesach, matzah,

marror. The marror, which symbolizes the bitterness of exile, should precede the matzah, which represents redemption. However, since the recognition that the bitterness of golus serves to benefit us cannot be recognized in the midst of the darkness of our exile, and is only appreciated after our redemption, the marror follows the matzah. In fact, matzah itself possesses both aspects–exile and redemption. The Haggadah begins with ha lachma anya, this is the poor bread that we ate in Egypt, yet we also ate matzah as we left Egypt, since the dough did not have time to rise. This demonstrates that what appears to us at one point as golus, difficult and challenging, can in fact turn out to be the contributing factor to our salvation.

This can shed light on the principle of maschil b’gnus umsaymim b’shevach. The reason we begin the Haggadah discussing our shameful period is that, in celebrating and thanking Hashem for our salvation, we also extend our praise for the difficulties that we endured during our exile as we now appreciate their integral role in the formation of

our nation. For this reason, our sages instruct us to recite the Haggadah after matzah and marror are placed in front of us on the table.

The Gemara relates that in this world we recite the bracha of hatov v’hameiteev on the good tidings, praising Hashem for the good, and on bad news we express the bracha of dayan emes, affirming our belief that Hashem’s judgements are just. In the future world, Olam Haba, we only recite hatov v’hameiteev. The Tzlach quotes a Maggid who explains that in this world we cannot see the benefit of tragedies, so we express our belief in saying that Hashem is a truthful judge, dayan emes. However, in Olam Haba, when all that transpired in our lifetime will be reviewed before us, we will have a clear understanding of the purpose and benefits of all that has occurred. We will then be able to say hatov v’hameiteev, thanking Hashem even for what we thought was bad news during our lifetime.

The Chasam Sofer explains a pasuk in Parshas Ki Sisa, v’roeesoh es achorai upanai lo yayro’u, you will see My back but My face may not be seen.

ails?

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alerts, Sign up for our kosher your email at www.cor.ca or send important information address to info@cor.ca

welcome corner

The Haggadah begins with ha lachma anya, this is the poor bread that we ate in Egypt, yet we also ate matzah as we left Egypt since the dough did not have time to rise. This demonstrates that what appears to us at one point as golus, difficult and challenging, can in fact turn out to be the contributing factor to our salvation.

Hashem says, you can see and appreciate what I did after it happened, in hindsight, from the back, however, when you face it, you will not see it.

Scientists have become increasingly interested in studying the positive life changes that people report in the aftermath of highly stressful life events. One scientific construct that strives to capture these positive transformations is called post traumatic growth (PTG), which may take a variety of forms, such as: improved relations with others, identification of new possibilities for one’s life, spiritual change, and an enhanced appreciation of life. These positive changes relate to the development of important qualities of character as well.

The Imrei Emes commented that a challenging situation that may befall us is divinely ordained; however, how we relate and react to it is our free choice. In other words, pain is unavoidable, suffering is optional. The Arizal writes that one can sweeten a harsh heavenly decree and transform it into a kind judgement through one’s belief that all that Hashem does is for the good. In life, our challenges are in fact our opportunities. How we relate to our challenges can define their ultimate

benefit. Many great institutions and organizations were created as a result of a need or even a tragedy. A tragedy for one person created a salvation for others. As Viktor Frankl wrote, when we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

The letters that form the word Mitzrayim also form the word mitzorim, which means borders. When we were taken out of Mitzrayim, we gained the ability to extend ourselves beyond our borders that limit us. This enabled us at the time to mature into the nation of Bnei Yisroel.

At COR as well, we view challenges as opportunities to improve ourselves and our organization to serve the community better. I express my sincere appreciation to our devoted staff, to all our mashgichim, to the Rabbonim of the Rabbinical Va’ad Hakashruth, and to the Executive and Board members, for their invaluable effort and support throughout the year in assisting us in our mission of providing quality kashrus to our wonderful community.

Chag Kasher V’Sameach Yacov S. Felder

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 9

welcome corner

A message from DR. ira MARDER It is my pleasure to welcome you to COR’s 2018 Pesach magazine, one of the more delightful aspects of my role as Chair of the Kashruth Council of Canada; our country’s largest and most-respected kosher certifier.

First of all, much thanks to the talented team that put together this issue of The Kosher CORner. This publication has consistently been of the highest standards and quality and that is due to the dedicated team at our COR office. We are lucky to have such devoted staff and, on behalf of all our readers, I wish them all a yeyasher koach on a job well done.

This issue’s theme is Kriyas Yam Suf and speaks to the challenges of overcoming

obstacles and building positives from negatives.

This edition highlights many individuals and companies that met their challenges head-on and emerged better for it. We salute you all and thank you for sharing your stories with us. It is an inspiration to read about you, and hopefully we can better ourselves because of it.

Closer to home, I would like you to consider COR’s own “Krias Yam Suf”. We are now 65 years old and growing stronger and better each year.

But Toronto and Canada 65 years ago were a long way from where we are today. Many, if not most, of the butchers and eateries sold meat that had no kashrus certification or rabbinic supervision. Unfortunately, it was common to discover that

10 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

“kosher” meat was not kosher at all. Fortunately, a determined group of Rabbonim and lay leaders banded together to form the COR and provide a basis for reliable kosher meat and food for our community and eventually beyond. It is due in large part to these “Nachshons” of their day that we enjoy the quality and quantity of kosher choices available today. As we recall the famous story of Choni HaMe’agel (Taanis 23a), those early pioneers may not have seen their carob trees fully bloom back in the 1950’s, but less than 70 years later, we are privileged to witness the fruits of their labours and benefit from the results of their efforts. We thank our COR founders and hope that we can continue to build on the roots

welcome corner

Fortunately, a determined group of Rabbonim and lay leaders banded together to form the COR and provide a basis for reliable kosher meat and food for our community and eventually beyond. It is due in large part to these “Nachshons” of their day that we enjoy the quality and quantity of kosher choices available today. of their foundation. (For more details on COR’s history please read “A Brief History of COR” on the COR website).

A few short updates on some of the exciting news at COR: The Executive completed our strategic planning sessions and are now working on implementing the results. We are looking forward to having more focused objectives and goals as we work hand-in-hand with our senior management team.

Our Mashgiach Training Program at Liaison College is now in its third year, and it continues to be very successful. At the conclusion of this year we will have our twelfth cohort of graduate students.

COR’s free community services remain very popular, especially at this time of year. These include: home kitchen kashering, pre-Pesach lectures, educational and hands-on sessions for schools, shuls and other organizations, and more.

As every year, our kosher hotline, email and texta-rabbi service are available for you to ask your questions. In the month before Pesach last year, our office answered over 10,000 questions! So feel free to call or e-mail us with your questions or concerns.

HIT, Halacha Institute of Toronto, is growing annually. HIT has a halacha line, provides halachically approved business contracts and solutions and has an active mediation division for both business and personal disputes.

COR continues its role in advocating for the kosher consumer, working (usually behind the scenes) with government and other agencies

on matters of shechita, kosher food production, imported products and many more.

COR’s bi-annual elections are being planned for this spring, so please join me in thanking the outgoing volunteers for their valuable support and input. While most of you do not witness their efforts first-hand, I can attest to their commitment and contribution to our Kashruth Council of Canada. So, yeyasher kochachem to the Executive composed of Dan Bitton, Nathan Bleeman, Jack Feintuch, Meyer Feldman, Shimshon Gross, Pinny Kaufman, Moshe Kesten, David Kleiner, Michoel Klugmann, Ari Messinger, Marvin Sigler, Moshe Sigler and Naftali Winter.

As well, thanks to our Board of Robert Benmergui, Cyril Braude, Neil Cohen, Shia Czermak, Shlome Goldreich, Allan Gutenberg, Mark Halpern, Paul Jacobs, Sruli Karoly, Shimshon Katz, Jerrold Landau, Brian Lass, Elie Mamann, Eli Mandel, Isaac Oziel, Ron Rutman, Shimon Schonblum, Ben Shillow, Avrum Waisbrod, David Woolf, Meyer Zeifman a”h, Shmuel Zimmerman and Leibel Zoberman.

As always, I thank my co-volunteers on the Executive and Board, the hard-working management and staff at our COR office, the many mashgichim and Rabbinic Coordinators in the field, our Rabbinical Vaad HaKashruth and all our valued clients.

On behalf of the Executive and the Board, as well as on behalf of myself and my family, I wish you all a Chag Pesach Kasher VeSameach and my very best for a happy and healthy summer season!

Sincerely, Dr. Ira Marder

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 11

welcome corner

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March/April 2018 SUN

18 MARCH

mon

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tues

19 MARCH

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wed

20 MARCH

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thurs

21 MARCH

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fri

22 MARCH

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23 MARCH

shabbat

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6 PM - COR Community Kashering at The Bayt

25 MARCH

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26 MARCH

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27 MARCH

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28 MARCH

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Pesach 2nd Day

Sefira 2

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Sefira 8

15 april

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Chol Hamoed

Sefira 1

08 april

02 april

09 april

Sefira 9

03 april

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Chol Hamoed Sefira 3

sf

04 april

10 april

Sefira 10

yh

Chol Hamoed Sefira 4

vf

11 april

29 MARCH

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Sefira 11

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Sefira 15

12 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

05 april

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Chol Hamoed Eruv Tavshilin Sefira 5

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24 MARCH

j

Shabbat Hagadol

Bedikat Chametz

01 april

17 MARCH

12 april

Sefira 12

30 MARCH

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Erev Pesach Taanit Bechorot First Seder Night

06 april

tf

13 april

Sefira 13

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Pesach 1st Day Second Seder Night

07 april

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Pesach 8th Day Yizkor

Pesach 7th Day Sefira 6

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31 MARCH

Sefira 7

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14 april

Sefira 14

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welcome corner

important Pesach Dates & Times Toronto

thursday Evening march 29

friday, march 30 Erev Pesach/ First Night of Pesach

shabbat, march 31 First Day of Pesach/ Second Night of Pesach

calgary edmonton

halifax

montreal

ottawa vancouver winnipeg

Bedikat Chametz Latest Time to Eat Chametz 10:47 AM 10:58 AM 10:23 AM 10:43 AM 10:22 AM 10:30 AM 10:37 AM 10:52AM Latest Time to Burn Chametz 12:04 PM 12:20 PM 12:16 PM 12:01 PM 11:40 AM 11:49 AM 11:57 AM 12:13 PM Candle Lighting 7:24 PM 7:48 PM 7:48 PM 7:21 PM 7:01 PM 7:10 PM 7:23 PM 7:39 PM Shkia 7:42 PM 8:06 PM 8:06 PM 7:39 PM 7:19 PM 7:28 PM 7:41 PM 7:57 PM Chatzot 1:21 AM 1:41 AM 1:38 AM 1:19 AM 12:59 AM 1:07 AM 1:17 AM 1:33 AM

Shkia Candle Lighting After Chatzot

7:43 PM 8:28 PM 1:22 AM

8:07 PM 8:52 PM 1:40 AM

8:07 PM 8:52 PM 1:38 AM

7:40 PM 8:25 PM 1:18 AM

7:21 PM 8:06 PM 12:58 AM

7:29 PM 8:14 PM 1:07 AM

7:42 PM 7:59 PM 8:27 PM 8:44 PM 1:17 AM 1:33 AM

Shkia Yom Tov Ends

7:44 PM 8:28 PM

8:09 PM 8:54 PM

8:09 PM 8:54 PM

7:41 PM 8:26 PM

7:22 PM 8:07 PM

7:30 PM 8:15 PM

7:44 PM 8:29 PM

8:00 PM 8:45 PM

thursday, April 5 Erev yom tov/ seventh night of pesach

Candle Lighting Shkia

7:31 PM 7:49 PM

7:58 PM 8:16 PM

7:59 PM 8:17 PM

7:28 PM 7:46 PM

7:09 PM 7:27 PM

7:18 PM 7:36 PM

7:32 PM 7:50 PM

7:48 PM 8:06 PM

friday, april 6 seventh day of pesach/eighth night of pesach

Candle Lighting Shkia

7:32 PM 7:50 PM

7:59 PM 8:17 PM

8:00 PM 8:18 PM

7:30 PM 7:48 PM

7:10 PM 7:28 PM

7:19 PM 7:37 PM

7:33 PM 7:51 PM

7:50 PM 8:08 PM

shabbat, april 7 eighth day of pesach

Shkia Yom Tov Ends

7:51 PM 8:36 PM

8:19 PM 9:04 PM

8:20 PM 9:05 PM

7:49 PM 8:34 PM

7:30 PM 8:15 PM

7:38 PM 8:23 PM

7:53 PM 8:38 PM

8:10 PM 8:55 PM

sunday, April 1 Second Day of Pesach

-Question Text-A word answers For one

tion”)

er for Passover certifica

(i.e. “Does this require kosh

text 647.402.1910

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 13

halachic corner

Halachic

corner

Establishments and Services For Passover or the airline. Meals in advance from your travel agent ls mea er sov Pas for her Kos t You must reques sach”. ly sealed and stamped “Kosher l’Pe prepared for Passover are special

Airline Meals

...................................... (416) 783-7200 ...................................................................... ....... ....... . . ppe Sho e Bak ets Swe y Eas ....................... (416) 487-7286 ...................................................................... ....... r)..... ere cat try (pas s sert Des Ellen Jane ......... (416) 787-1234 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .......

Hermes Bakery.. ......................................(416) 782-6788 ......................................................................

Kosher City Plus Bakery....................... .................................... (905) 763-6463 ...................................................................... ....... . . ery Bak Free ten Glu y’s Zaid My

Bakeries

..................................... (905) 731-6328 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ts....

Mea en Mag ................... (416) 665-3209 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... . . ore erst Sup n Real Canadia ............. (416) 663-7779 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... t......

Savours Gourme ..................................... (905) 764-3770 ......................................................................

Sobeys (Clark)............................................ .................................... (416) 633-9642 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ........ her Kos nto Toro

Butcher Shops

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 15

halachic corner

..................................... (416) 663-2665 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... . . her Kos Ace .................................(416) 628-9198 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... g..... erin Cat e Applaus ................... (416) 663-7779 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .......

BY DAVE............ ....... (416) 782-3231 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .......

Ely’s Fine Foods......... .....................................(647) 201-4970 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... . s. ight Del g’s Gre .......................... (416) 824-3317 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... or...

In The Man .................(416) 665-6662 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... . ak. tern pas a mon by (416) 650-5440 Koshertrends ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .......

Lechaim Caterers........... ..................................... (905) 731-6328 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ts....

Mea en Mag ...............................(416) 419-5260 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... g..... erin Cat her Kos n Mitzuya ............ (416) 763-6463 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... . . a 16) 787-9889 My Zaidy’s Pizz ..................................................................(4 ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .

09 PR Creative Caterers. ........................................ (416) 665-32 ...................................................................... ....... ....... . . ore erst Sup 70 n -37 adia 764 Can 5) l (90 Rea .............................. ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .......

00 rk)..

-99 (Cla 781 Sobeys ....................................... (416) ...................................................................... . (416) 633-9642 The Kosher Gourmet.............................. ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .......

Toronto Kosher............... ....................................(416) 636-9000 ......................................................................

Uptown Gourmet Catering................... ................................ (647) 206-6138 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .

Co. t Mea y Trul Yours .............(416) 386-1086 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... . . rs ere Cat y Dair & t Mea Zuchter Berk

Caterers & Take-Out Foods

.................(416) 782-6056 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ........

Fish h Friedmans Fres .........(416) 663-3474 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... .......

Nu Age Fish............... ..................................... (905) 764-3770 ......................................................................

Sobeys (Clark)............................................

Fish Markets

16 .........................................(416) 250-91 ......................................................................

56 -42 787 ) (416 Baskets n Stuf......................................... ....................................... ......................................................................

Chocolate Charm..................................... .......................(647) 897-5272 ....... ................................................. .............. ....... ....... ....... y..... pan Com ing Trad Hearthcraft ...... (416) 789-7173 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ........

Man dy Can Kosher N Natural The .....................................(416) 782-6788 ......................................................................

Kosher City Plus........................................ ...............................(905) 764-7575 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... . . use eho War d Foo Kosher ......................(647) 827-6275 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... . . ket Mar h Savours Fres ...... (416) 784-9092 ...................................................................... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... se...

The Chocolate Moo .....................................(905) 597-7022 ......................................................................

Zack’s Chocolates.....................................

Kosher Food & Novelty Stores

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Public/Private Institutions

binic authorities are erages certified by recognized rab bev h suc er oth and s eur liqu s, Wines, brandie d “Kosher l’Pesach”. e that the bottle has been prepare permissible. The label must indicat .................(416) 256-0440 Grafstein Wines..................................... .................(905) 761-9022 Simcha Wine Corp.................................

Wines

16 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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Passover Product Guide Requires Passover Certification

No Passover Certification Required

Kitniyot

Take Note!

APPLE SAUCE REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION BABY FOOD REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION BABY FORMULA The following baby formulas are produced in chametz-free facilities and

are acceptable when bearing the OU. They

are kitniyot and should be prepared with

designated utensils.

1. Enfamil

2. Enfapro

3. Isomil

4. Kirkland Signature

5. Life Brand

6. Nestle Good Start

7. Next Step

8. Parent’s Choice

9. President’s Choice 10. Similac BAKING POWDER REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION BAKING SODA

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

Beans, grains, seeds etc.: Buckwheat KITNIYOT Chickpeas KITNIYOT Edamame KITNIYOT Kasha KITNIYOT Lentils KITNIYOT Poppy seeds KITNIYOT Quinoa There are differing opinions as to the

kitniyot status of quinoa. Ask your Rabbi

for direction.

Rice KITNIYOT COR 2018-5778 passover guide 17

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Sesame seeds KITNIYOT Soybeans KITNIYOT Wild rice KITNIYOT

beverages: Almond milk REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Apple Juice REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Club soda REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Coffee: 1. all flavoured - beans, instant, decaf REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION 2. all decaf - beans or instant REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION 3. regular beans - whole or ground No Certification Required

(Year-Round including Passover) 4. regular instant REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Folger’s instant and Taster’s Choice No Certification Required instant - regular (Year-Round including Passover) not decaf or flavoured

Coffee whitener/non-dairy creamer REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Fruit juice REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Grape juice REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Milk

Preferable with Passover Certification if certified milk is unavailable, purchase regular milk before Passover

Lactaid milk If needed, purchase before Passover Orange juice: 1.fresh REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION 2. frozen concentrate, grade A 100% pure without No Certification Required additives or enrichments (e.g. calcium) (Year-Round including Passover)

Rice milk KITNIYOT and may contain chametz Seltzer REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Soda Stream Canister

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

Soft Drinks (i.e. Carbonated Drinks) REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Soy milk KITNIYOT and may contain chametz Tea: 1. instant, decaf, flavoured, and herbal REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION 2. pure black, green, and white (leaves or bags) No Certification Required

(Year-Round including Passover) 3. Lipton decaf tea bags No Passover Certification Required 4. Nestea unflavoured instant regular and decaf No Passover Certification Required Water, unflavoured

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

Wine REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION 18 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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CHICKEN see poultry

DAIRY: Butter REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Cheese (hard & soft) REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Milk Preferable with Passover Certification

if certified milk is unavailable, purchase

regular milk before Passover Yogurt REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION DESSERT GELS AND PUDDINGS REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION EGGS

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

Liquid eggs REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION

FISH: Fresh: with no added ingredients besides salt No Passover Certification Required All other varieties REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Tuna fish, canned REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Salmon: Fresh No Passover Certification Required Smoked, Lox REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Canned REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Frozen REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Kirkland Atlantic (Farm Raised) Salmon is acceptable as is for Passover when bearing the OU Kirkland Wild Frozen Salmon is acceptable when bearing the OU only after rinsing it off FOOD COLOURING REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: Canned fruits and vegetables REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Carrots Frozen/canned REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Baby carrots, raw No Certification Required

(Year-Round including Passover) Coconut (shredded) sweetened and/or toasted REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION unsweetened No Certification Required

(Year-Round including Passover) Corn KITNIYOT Dates REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Dried fruit REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Frozen Fruit: unsweetened, without additives (i.e. syrup, citric acid, ascorbic acid, vitimin C)

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

Garlic: fresh No Certification Required

(Year-Round including Passover) peeled REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION COR 2018-5778 passover guide 19

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Green beans KITNIYOT Mushrooms: canned REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION fresh, dried, pre-sliced No Certification Required

(Year-Round including Passover) Peas KITNIYOT Pickles REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Pineapple (canned) REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Popcorn KITNIYOT Prunes REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Raisins REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Salad, bagged REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Snow peas KITNIYOT Vegetables, frozen REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION GUM REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION HONEY REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION HORSERADISH: raw No Certification Required

(Year-Round including Passover) prepared REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION ICE (BAGGED)

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

ICE CREAM, SHERBERT, ETC. REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION JAM, JELLY, PRESERVES REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION KETCHUP REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION LACTAID CAPLETS, DROPS, TABLETS May contain CHAMETZ LEMON JUICE REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION

NOTE: ReaLemon Lemon juice (as well as ReaLime Lime juice) certified by the OU is

acceptable without Passover certification MARGARINE REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION MATZAH REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION MAYONNAISE REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION MUSTARD KITNIYOT

NUTS: If the package states that the product may contain an REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION allergen that is chametz and/or kitniyot

20 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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in shell Almonds Hazelnuts (Filberts) Walnuts

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

shelled: without BHT and BHA, AND NOT blanched or roasted No Certification Required Almonds (Year-Round including Passover) Hazelnuts (Filberts) Walnuts pecan pieces REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Peanuts KITNIYOT Sunflower seeds KITNIYOT

OIL: Canola oil KITNIYOT Coconut oil REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Cooking oil spray REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Grapeseed oil REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Olive oil: all olive oil varieties including: REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION pure olive oil, extra light and extra virgin Safflower oil There are differing opinions as to the

kitniyot status of safflower oil. Ask your Rabbi for direction.

Vegetable oil REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION POTATO CHIPS REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION

POULTRY: All raw unprocessed poultry from Marvid

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

All cooked and/or processed REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION

SALT: iodized REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION non-iodized / sea salt

No Certification Required (Year-Round including Passover)

SPICES REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION

SUGAR AND SWEETENERS Sugar, white granulated (i.e.: 2KG bags, industrial bags)

No Certification Required

Avoid plastic containers and sugar from discount retailers (i.e. Dollarama) as these are likely to have been packed by third party companies Sugar Packets - Redpath

No Passover Certification Required

Sugar Cubes - Redpath (White and Brown)

No Passover Certification Required

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 21

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Brown sugar REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Redpath: Dark and Light Brown Sugar Golden and Light Yellow Sugar

No Passover Certification Required

Redpath Demerara is NOT kosher for Passover Confectionary sugar REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Sugar substitute, artificial sweeteners REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION TOFU KITNIYOT VINEGAR REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION VITAMINS REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION

re Out shopping but not su er which products are kosh for Passover? @cor.ca Email passoverproducts to from your smartphone list of automatically receive a ucts.

Passover-approved prod

22 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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COR 2018-5778 passover guide 23

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Non-Edible Products Requires Passover Certification

No Certification Required Take Note!

Alcohol (isopropyl)

No Certification Required

Baby oil

No Certification Required

Baby ointment

No Certification Required

Baby powder

No Certification Required

Baby wipes Without ALCOHOL

No Certification Required

Balloons Without POWDER

No Certification Required

Charcoal

No Certification Required

Hydrogen peroxide

No Certification Required

Insecticide: sprays

No Certification Required

traps

Some baits contain chametz

Mineral oil

No Certification Required

Play Dough Chametz

Cleansers and polishes: All-purpose cleaner No Certification Required Ammonia Bleach Bowl and tub cleaner Carpet cleaner Dish soap, liquid & powder Drain/pipe opener Fabric protector Fabric softener Floor cleaner Furniture polish Glass cleaner Jewelry polish Laundry detergent Murphy Oil Oven cleaner Shoe polish Silver, metal polish

Cosmetics: Blush Cream, Topical Eye shadow Eyeliner Foundation

24 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

No Certification Required

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Lotion Mascara Nail polish Nail polish remover Perfume, cologne Lipstick, Lip gloss

No Certification Required

Should not have Chametz-derived Alcohol Should be Chametz-free

Disposables & Paper Goods: Aluminum pans and foil Coffee filters Contact paper Crockpot liner Plastic wrap Wax paper Plastic cups, plates, cutlery Styrofoam cups, plates

No Certification Required

Gloves (disposable) Without POWDER

No Certification Required

Napkins

Paper towels Paper plates - non-coated

No Certification Required, Not Recommended for Hot and/or Moist Foods

Note: Many napkins, paper towels, and paper plates contain corn starch, therefore it is not recommended to use these products for hot or moist foods unless they have Passover certification.

Sponge Towels Ultra Paper Towels do not have this concern.

Paper plates - coated

No Certification Required, Not Recommended for Hot Foods

Paper cups No Certification Required,

Not Recommended for Hot Drinks Note: Paper cups are sealed with glue that could be produced from corn. Dixie Hot Cups do not have this concern.

Parchment paper REQUIRES PASSOVER CERTIFICATION Toothpicks Without COLOuR

No Certification Required

Personal Care Products: Deodorant, spray Dry shampoo Hairspray Hand Sanitizer Contact lens solution Deodorant, stick Moisturizers & Hand Cream Ointment Shampoo Soap: bar, liquid

Should not have Chametz-derived Alcohol

Dental floss UNFlAVOURED

No Certification Required

Mouthwash

Should be Chametz-free

Toothpaste

Should be Chametz-free

Vaseline, petroleum jelly

No Certification Required

No Certification Required

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 25

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In addition to the Torah’s prohibition of chametz on Pesach, many people have the custom to refrain from consuming kitniyot as well.

Origins

The earliest literature regarding kitniyot dates back over 700 years. The Smak, Rabbi Yitzchak of Korbol, who lived in the 13th century, writes about the custom of kitniyot that had already been practiced for many generations.

Perspective

In order to appreciate the custom of kitniyot, let us first make an observation about the nature of the prohibition of chametz on Pesach.

Among the foods that the Torah has forbidden, there is a wide range of rules and regulations.

Some foods are only forbidden to be eaten (i.e. typical non-kosher); monetary and physical benefit is additionally restricted from others (i.e. milk and meat mixtures, and orlah - fruits from a tree that is not yet three years old). The penalty for violation and the rules of nullification vary from item to item.

The prohibition of chametz is unique in its broad applications and severity of violation. Chametz has the strictest restrictions of all forbidden foods in the Torah. Besides the prohibition of eating chametz, one is forbidden from even owning or benefiting from it as well. Many times, even a small drop of chametz that gets mixed into an otherwise non-chametz food would forbid the entire mixture.

The punishment of karet (spiritual excision) for consuming chametz is the most severe penalty that the Torah gives for forbidden food.

With this in mind, we can appreciate that halachah has a heightened cautiousness towards chametz and why extra safeguards have been set in place to avoid chametz. (In addition, since chametz is permitted throughout the year, mistakes are more likely.)

26 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

The custom of kitniyot is a well-known example of an instituted safeguard.

Reasons

The classic kitniyot products are rice, buckwheat, millet, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and mustard seed. Even though kitniyot products are not chametz, Chazal were worried that if we allow their consumption, actual chametz might be consumed as well. One concern is the realistic possibility that wheat or barley kernels, which are similar to kitniyot kernels, might be inadvertently mixed into the kitniyot, thereby cooking chametz with the kitniyot. Another concern was that, since one can grind kitniyot into flour and bake or cook them into items that resemble actual chametz, the uninitiated observer might assume that chametz products are permissible. Also, the harvesting and processing of kitniyot is done in a similar way to chametz grains, and again, that might lead to confusion. In order to prevent the grave sin of eating chametz, the custom of kitniyot was enacted.

To Whom Does the Custom Apply?

As the halachic nature of customs dictates, only those communities which have adopted the custom of kitniyot are bound by it. The Ashkenazi communities of that time certainly accepted this custom, while generally the Sephardic communities did not.

It is interesting that even within the Sephardic communities there are those who have this custom to avoid kitniyot to some extent. Many members of the Moroccan communities avoid kitniyot, and some Iraqis don’t eat rice. (There is a Persian custom not to eat chickpeas. The reason is not based on what is mentioned above, but for a different reason entirely. Chummus is a chickpea

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product, and since “chummus” sounds like “chametz”, that community had a tradition to avoid chickpeas on Pesach!)

Although kitniyot has the halachic status of a custom, its observance is in no way optional. There are two types of customs: instituted customs and developed customs.

Examples of developed customs include eating fried foods on Chanukah and hamantashen on Purim. These customs developed as their practices relate to the holidays. We cherish these customs, but there is no requirement to practice them. An instituted custom, on the other hand, once it has been accepted and practiced, has a similar status to a binding law. If one is of Ashkenazi descent, they are bound to adhere to the custom of refraining from eating kitniyot.

Types of Items Included

The original kitniyot products are rice, buckwheat, millet, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and mustard seed. As new products were introduced and discovered, their kitniyot status needed to be discussed. We find literature in regard to the kitniyot status of peas, corn, peanuts, quinoa, and others as well. Since there are many factors to consider, it is apparent that only a rabbinic authority can decide what is and what is not included in the custom.

Leniencies

Although kitniyot was prohibited out of a concern that it would be confused with chametz, kitniyot does not share the same strict applications of actual chametz. The custom was only enacted to forbid eating kitniyot. One is permitted to own, use, and benefit from kitniyot. Therefore, kitniyot products do not have to be sold with the chametz, and pet food containing kitniyot may be used. The laws of nullification are relaxed as well. In addition, when necessary, sick and elderly people may consume kitniyot products; someone suffering discomfort may take medication that has kitniyot ingredients; and a baby may be fed formula that has kitniyot ingredients.

Pesach is a holiday in which we cherish our heritage and our link back to the earlier generations. Adhering to one’s traditions in regard to kitniyot is a great demonstration of this appreciation.

COMMON KITNIYOT ITEMS Beans Buckwheat Canola Oil (Rapeseed) Chickpeas Corn Edamame Green Beans Lentils Millet Mustard Peanuts Peas Poppy Seeds Rice Sesame Seeds Snow Peas Soy Beans String Beans Sunflower Seeds

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 27

Canadian owned and operated Wishing all of our customers a Happy and Kosher Passover from Oceanfood Sales Ltd. Proudly producing Nanuk Kosher Smoked Seafood (Passover Certified) year round since 1984 Proudly COR Certified

Toll Free: 1.877.255.1414 www.oceanfoods.com

28 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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Medicine First and foremost, it should be stated clearly: no one should discontinue or avoid taking medications that have been prescribed to them without consulting their doctor and Rabbi.

Pleasant Tasting Medicine

Liquid medicines and chewable pills, which are flavoured to give a pleasant taste, have the same halachic status as regular food, even though they are only being taken for their medicinal benefits.

If these medications contain chametz, they are forbidden to be ingested on Pesach. In a situation where the patient is seriously ill (choleh sheyaish bo sakana), a rabbi should be consulted.

Bitter Tasting Medicine

Pills which are bitter are permitted for someone who is ill, even if the pills contain chametz. (If a pill has a thin, sweet flavoured coating, but the actual pill is bitter, the pill may be permitted as long as the coating is chametzfree.) This leniency is based on the principle that the pill is being eaten in an abnormal way, shlo k’derech achila, and is limited to one who is ill. Someone who is suffering only slight discomfort should not take pills that contain chametz. In addition, even if someone is ill, the halacha clearly states (Rama Y�D 155:3) that one may not take a pill that contains chametz if there is a chametz-free alternative.

Vitamins and Supplements

Since the allowance for taking medicines that contain chametz is limited to someone who is ill, it is forbidden to electively take vitamins or food supplements unless it is determined that they do not contain chametz.

Kitniyot

Medicine containing kitniyot is permitted for someone who feels ill.

Email passovermeds@cor.c a from your smartphone to automatically receive a list of chametz-free medication s.

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 29

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Chametz Free Medications IMPORTANT: No one should discontinue or avoid taking medications that have been prescribed to them without consulting their doctor and Rabbi.

ter when Medication which tastes bit ver, one chewed is permitted. Hothwe at contains should not take a pill cham etz-free chametz if there is a alternative. ns, as Liquid and chewable medicicatatioions that well as coatings of med not be used. contain chametz, should ments that Vitamins and food suppleno ed. contain chametz should t be us yot is permitted Medicine containing kitsniill for someone who feel . ed for Products that are only pebermusitted in medical reasons should separate utensils. ss the question of The above guidelines do not addreor Yom Tov. consuming medicines on Shabbat

30 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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The following is a list of basic over the counter products that are chametz-free but may contain kitniyot.

The list does not verify the general kashrut of the medications.

Items must be in exact format as shown and exactly as named.

Allergy and Cold & Cough Relief • Advil Cold & Flu • Advil Cold & Sinus Plus • Advil Cold & Sinus Nighttime • Aerius • Allegra 12 Hour 60 mg tablet • Allegra 24 Hour 120 mg tablet • Allegra-D • Benadryl Exilir • Benadryl Preparations Caplets • Benadryl Extra Strength Nightime Caplets • Benylin Cold and Sinus • Benylin Cold and Sinus Plus/Benylin Cold and Sinus Night • Claritin Allergy+Sinus Tablet • Claritin Allergy+Sinus Extra Strength • Claritin Kids Syrup • Coricidin HBP Antihistamine Cough & Cold • Dristan Tablet and Dristan Extra Strength Caplet • Eltor 120 • Reactine Tablets • Reactine Allergy & Sinus • Sinutab Nightime Extra Strength • Sudafed Decongestant 12 Hour • Sudafed Head Cold and Sinus Extra Strength

Analgesics/Pain • Advil Tablets/Caplets • Advil Extra Strength Caplets • Advil Muscle & Joint • Advil- Children Suspension [All Flavors], Infants’ Drops • Advil- Junior Strength Swallow Tablets (NOT Chewables) • Aleve Caplets • Aleve Tablets • Anacin • Aspirin Regular Strength Caplets • Aspirin Regular Strength Tablets • Aspirin Extra-Strength Tablets • Aspirin Stomach Guard Extra Strength

• Aspirin Stomach Guard Regular Strength •M idol PMS Complete •M idol Menstrual Complete •M idol Teen Complete •M otrin IB •M otrin IB Extra Strength •M otrin IB Super Strength •M otrin Suspensions and Concentrated Drops • Tempra Syrup • Tylenol Regular Strength Caplets & Tablet • Tylenol Extra Strength Caplets

Antacids • Alka-Seltzer • Pepcid AC • Pepcid AC, Maximum Strength • Pepcid Tablets • Zantac

Anti-diarrhea • Imodium Caplets • Pepto-Bismol Liquid • Pepto-Bismol Liquid Extra Strength

Anti-nausea • Diclectin • Gravol Filmkote Tablets

Laxatives • Metamucil Original Texture, Unflavoured Powder (non-kitniyot) • RestoraLAX • Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia Original • Senokot Tablets • Senokot•S

Prenatal Vitamins • PregVit • PregVit Folic 5

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 31

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Cosmetics and Personal Care Products

Cosmetics and personal care products are generally considered “totally inedible” (aino raooi leachilas kelev), and, therefore, according to the letter of the law, personal care products are permitted for use even if they contain chametz. However, in the categories discussed below, it is commendable to use only those cosmetics that are chametz-free.

Sicha Keshtia There is a halachic opinion from the Rishonim that applying products topically is considered ingesting, (sicha keshtia). Typically, we are not stringent in this matter and therefore, one may apply non-kosher products on the skin. However, due to the stringent approach toward chametz on Pesach (meshum chumra dePischa) some avoid using chametz in this fashion and are therefore meticulous in using only chametz-free cosmetics.

Lipstick and Toothpaste Due to the stringent approach toward chametz on Pesach (meshum chumra dePischa) it is advised to be stringent with regard to cosmetics and personal care products that are applied to the lips or that are used orally. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid using lipsticks and toothpastes that contain chametz.

Denatured Alcohol Denatured alcohol is inedible alcohol that can be derived from either chametz or non-chametz sources. It is commonly found in deodorants, perfumes, and mouthwashes. Although denatured alcohol is inedible, it could conceivably be distilled back to an edible state, and for this reason, many poskim (Rabbinic authorities) are of the opinion that denatured alcohol is considered edible and would be problematic if the alcohol was derived from chametz. Therefore, one must ensure that products used on Pesach do not contain denatured alcohol. In order to avoid this issue, ensure that the product in question is on a reliable “Chametz-Free” list or contact the COR. Deodorants, hairsprays, perfumes, and mouthwashes that contain denatured alcohol should not be used (or kept in possession) on Passover unless they are chametz free.

Lipsticks, toothpastes, and mouthwashes which contain chametz should not be used as they may be ingested.

All other personal care products, since they are not fit for consumption, are permitted on Passover. However, some have the practice of being stringent not to use products that contain chametz which are applied to one’s body.

The products listed below are chametz-free.

For any questions about products not listed you can contact the COR in one of 3 ways: 1. Call the COR’s Passover Hotline at 416-635-9550 ext. 100 2. Email the Ask The Rabbi - questions@cor.ca 3. Text the Text-A-Question – 647-402-1910 When emailing or texting, it would be very helpful to send a picture of the product and the list of ingredients (or a picture of the ingredient panel – if it is legible.)

Personal Care Products DENTURE CARE • Fixodent Complete Denture Adhesive Cream • Polident 3 Minute, Antibacterial Denture Cleanser, Triple Mint Freshness • Polident Overnight Whitening Antibacterial Denture Cleanser • Polident Partials, Antibacterial Denture Cleanser DEODORANT • Arrid Extra Dry Aerosol Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Regular • Arrid XX Antiperspirant & Deodorant Spray, Regular • Degree Men Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Sport Aerosol • Dove Dry Spray Antiperspirant • Dove Men+Care Dry Spray Antiperspirant • Nivea For Men Deodorant Aerosol Dry Impact Aero • Right Guard Sport 3-D Odor Defense, Antiperspirant & Deodorant Aerosol Spray

• Right Guard Sport Antiperspirant Deodorant Aerosol Spray • Right Guard Xtreme Cooling Aerosol Spray, Antiperspirant & Deodorant • Secret Aerosol Antiperspirant & Deodorant Stick • Arrid XX Antiperspirant & Deodorant Solid • AXE Antiperspirant &/or Deodorant Solid • Dove Antiperspirant &/or Deodorant Solid • Old Spice Antiperspirant &/or Deodorant Solid • Secret Antiperspirant &/or Deodorant Solid LIP CARE • Blistex - All with exception of the following: • Blistex Five Star Lip Protection - CHAMETZ • Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment - CHAMETZ • Blistex Ultra-Rich Hydration

32 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

Dual Layer Lip Protectant CHAMETZ • ChapStick Classic, Original MOUTHWASH • Crest - all Alcohol Free varieties • LISTERINE Zero - All varieties MOISTURIZERS & HAND CREAM • Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream • Glysomed Hand Cream • Jergens Daily Moisture Fragrance Free Dry Skin Lotion • Neutrogena Deep Moisture Night Cream • Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer • Neutrogena Liquid Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Formula • Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Body Emulsion • Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream • Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture Facial Moisturizer

• St. Ives Daily Hydrating Body Lotion • Vaseline Intensive Rescue Intensive Care Advanced Repair • Vaseline Men Body Lotion SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER • Axe Shampoo & Conditioner • Dove Damage Therapy Shampoo & Conditioner • Dove Nutritive Solutions Cool Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner • Down Under Natural’s Hypoallergenic Shampoo • Garnier Fructis Fruit Sensation Passion Splash Fortifying Shampoo • Head & Shoulders Shampoo & Conditioner • Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo & Conditioner • Herbal Essences Hydralicious Shampoo & Conditioner • Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampooå

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• Pantene Pro-V Classic Care Shampoo & Conditioner • Pantene Pro-V Normal - Thick Hair Solutions Shampoo & Conditioner • Pantene Pro-V Repair & Protect Shampoo & Conditioner • Pert Anti-Dandruff 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner • Pert Plus 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner Anti-Dandruff • TRESemmé Conditioner, Flawless Curls Curl Hydration • TRESemmé Shampoo, Flawless Curls Vitamin B1 HAIRSPRAY, GEL & MOUSSE • Dove Curls Defining Mousse • Dove Men+Care Define & Strong Hold Fortifying Styling Gel • Dove Men+Care Fortifying Styling Paste • Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Flexible Airspray Alcohol-Free Hairspray • Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Flexible Style Mousse • Herbal Essences Body Envy Volumizing Hair Mousse • Herbal Essences Curl Boosting Mousse Totally Twisted • Herbal Essences Curl Define Mousse • Herbal Essences Set Me Up Max Hold Hair Gel • Herbal Essences Set Me Up Mousse • Herbal Essences Set Me Up Spray Gel Extra Hold • Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curl Scrunching Gel • Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Tousling Mousse • Pantene Curl Perfection Scrunching Spray Gel • Pantene Pro-V AirSpray Alcohol Free Hair Spray Extra Strong Hold • Pantene Pro-V Airspray Hair Spray • Pantene Pro-V Airspray Strong Hold Hair Spray • Pantene Pro-V Curl Shaping Gel • Pantene Pro-V Extra Strong Hold Gel • Pantene Pro-V Smooth Airspray Alcohol Free Hair Spray • Pantene Pro-V Style Series Curl Defining Mousse • Pantene Pro-V Style Series Volume Texturizing Gel • Pantene Volume Body Boosting Mousse • Pantene Volume Root Lifting Hair Spray Gel • TRESemmé Expert Selection Make Waves Shaping Gel Cream • TRESemmé Expert Selection Pre-Styling Spray, Repair & Protect • TRESemmé Flawless Curls Curl Defining Spray Gel

• TREsemmé Sculpting 24 Hour Body Spray Gel • TRESemmé Used By Professional Climate Protection Mousse SOAPS & BODY WASHES • AXE Shower Gels • Dial Antibacterial Hand Soap • Dial Bar Soap • Dial for Men Hair & Body Wash • Dial Hibiscus Water Body Wash • Dial Kids Hair & Body Wash • Dial Spring Water Body Wash • Dove Bar Soap • Dove Body Wash • Irish Spring Bar Soap • Irish Spring Body Wash • Ivory Original Body Wash • Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash With Shea Butter • Old Spice Bar Soap • Old Spice Body Wash • Softsoap Bar Soap • Softsoap Body Wash • Softsoap Liquid Soap SUNSCREEN • Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Lotions • Coppertone Sport High Performance Sunscreen Lotions TOOTHPASTE • Arm & Hammer Complete Care Toothpaste • All Colgate Toothpastes • Crest Cavity Protection Toothpaste - Regular • Crest Cavity Protection Toothpaste Gel • Crest Kid’s Cavity Protection Toothpaste • All Sensodyne Toothpastes

Cosmetics

LIPS Lipstick • Bobbi Brown Art Stick Liquid Lip • Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color • Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte Lip Color • Bobbi Brown Lip Color • Bobbi Brown Nourishing Lip Color • Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks • Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Color • Clinique Almost Lipstick • Clinique Different Lipstick • Clinique High Impact Lip Colour • Clinique Long Last Soft Matte Lipstick • Clinique Pop Lacquer Lip Colour + Primer • Clinique Pop Liquid Matte Lip Colour + Primer • Clinique Pop Matte Lip Colour + Primer • Covergirl Colorlicious Katy Kat Matte Lipstick • Covergirl Colorlicious Lip Lava • Covergirl Colorlicious Lipstick

• Covergirl Colorlicious Rich Color Lipstick • Covergirl Continuous Color Lipstick • Covergirl Outlast All-Day Custom Reds Lip Color • Covergirl Outlast All-Day Lipcolor • Covergirl Outlast Longwear Lipstick • Covergirl Queen Collection Stay Luscious Lipstick • Esteé Lauder All-Day Lipstick • Esteé Lauder Lip Conditioner • Esteé Lauder Pure Color Envy Lip Volumizer • Esteé Lauder Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion • Esteé Lauder Pure Color Lip and Cheek MultiStick • Esteé Lauder Pure Color Love Lipstick • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Caresse Stick • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Collection Exclusive Lipstick • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Extraordinaire Lipstick • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche La Lacque Lipcolour • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Le Matte Lipcolour • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Le Rouge Lipcolour • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Last Color • MAC Lip Erase • MAC Lipmix • MAC Liptensity Lipstick • MAC Lustre Lipstick • MAC Matte Lipstick • MAC Matte Lipstick • MAC Metallic Lipstick • MAC Retro Matte Lipstick • MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour • MAC Satin Lipstick • MAC Viva Glam Lipstick • Maybelline Color Elixir Lip Color • Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick • Maybelline Color Sensational The Buffs Lip Color • Maybelline Color Whisper Lipstick • Maybelline Lip Studio Color Jolt Intense Lip Paint • Maybelline SuperStay 14HR Lipstick • Maybelline SuperStay 24 Lip Color • Maybelline SuperStay 24hr 2-Step Lipcolor • Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Lip Color • Revlon Colorstay Overtime Sheer Lipcolor • Revlon Colorstay Sheer Lip Color • Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Lipcolor • Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick

• Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick • Revlon Moon Drops Lipstick • Revlon Super Lustrous Creme Lipstick • Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick • Revlon Super Lustrous Pearl Lipstick • Revlon Super Lustrous Sheer Collection Lipstick • Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor • Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick • Rimmel Provocalips Lip Colour • Rimmel The Only One Lipstick • Wet n Wild Lipstick • Wet n Wild MegaLast Liquid Lip Color • Wet n Wild MegaSlicks Balm Stain • Wet n Wild Protest Velvet Matte Lip Color • Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick • Wet n Wild Wild Shine Lip Lacquer Lip Gloss • Bobbi Brown Crystal Lip Gloss • Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss • Bobbi Brown Rich Color Gloss • Bobbi Brown Sheer Color Lip Gloss • Bobbi Brown Shimmer Lip Gloss • Clinique Chubby Plump & Shine Liquid Lip Plumping Gloss • Clinique Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm • Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm • Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm • Clinique Long Last Glosswear • Covergirl Colorlicious Lip Lava Lip Gloss • Covergirl Outlast All-Day Intense Base Color & Color Gloss • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Le Gloss Lip Gloss • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lip Gloss • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Le Gloss • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro 8HR Gloss • MAC Cremesheen Glass • MAC Dazzleglass • MAC Lipglass • Maybelline ColorSensational High Shine Lip Gloss • Maybelline Vivid Hot Lacquer Lip Gloss • Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss • Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss • Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer • Rimmel Stay Glossy Oh My Gloss! Lip Gloss • Wet N Wild Diamond Brilliance Moisturizing Lip Sheen • Wet n Wild Glassy Gloss Lip Gel • Wet N Wild Megabrilliance Lip Gloss • Wet n Wild MegaSlicks Lip Gloss Lipliner • Bobbi Brown Art Stick • Bobbi Brown Lip Pencil

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• Clinique Quickliner For Lips Intense • Covergirl Outlast Smoothwear Lipliner • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lip Liner • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Never Fair Lip Liner • MAC Lip Pencil • MAC Lipliner • MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil • Maybelline Color Sensational Lipliner • Maybelline Color Sensational Shaping Lip Liner • Revlon ColorStay Lipliner • Wet n Wild Color Icon Lipliner Pencil • Wet n Wild Creme Lipliner Pencil FACE Foundation • Almay Clear Complexion Makeup Powder • Almay Line Smoothing Pressed Powder • Almay Nearly Loose Powder • Almay Smart Shade Pressed Powder • Almay Smart Shade Smart Balance Pressed Powder • Almay TLC Truly Lasting Color Pressed Powder • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Compact Foundation • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Foundation SPF 15 • Bobbi Brown Nue Finish Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 • Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Cushion Compact SPF 35 • Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 • Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick • Bobbi Brown Skin Weightless Powder Foundation • Clinique Almost Powder Makeup • Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation and Concealer • Clinique Chubby in the Nude Foundation Stick • Clinique Even Better Makeup • Clinique Perfectly Real Compact Powder Foundation • Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup • Clinique Redness Solutions Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 15 with Probiotic Technology • Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus All-Smooth Makeup SPF 15 • Clinique Superbalanced Foundation • Clinique Superpowder Double Face Makeup • Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer • Covergirl & Olay FaceLift Effect Firming Makeup • Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless 3-in-1 Liquid Foundation • Covergirl Advanced Radiance Age Defying Makeup

• Covergirl Advanced Radiance Age-Defying Pressed Powder • Covergirl Clean Liquid Foundation • Covergirl Clean Makeup • Covergirl Clean Matte Liquid Foundation • Covergirl Clean Oil Control Liquid Makeup • Covergirl Clean Sensitive Liquid Foundation • Covergirl Clean Sensitive Skin Liquid Makeup Foundation • Covergirl Clean Whipped Creme Foundation • Covergirl Outlast All-Day Finishing Powder • Covergirl Outlast All-Day Ultimate Finish 3-in-1 Foundation • Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 All Day Foundation • Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation • Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation • Covergirl Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation • Covergirl Queen Collection 3 in 1 Foundation + Ensulizole Sunscreen • Covergirl Queen Collection Oil Free Moisturizing Makeup • Covergirl Queen Natural Hue Compact Foundation • Covergirl Ready, Set Gorgeous Foundation Classic • Covergirl Smoothers AquaSmooth Makeup Foundation • Covergirl Smoothers BB Cream • Covergirl Smoothers Hydrating Makeup • Covergirl TruBlend Contour Palette • Covergirl TruBlend Liquid Make Up • Covergirl TruBlend Pressed Mineral Foundation • Covergirl TruBlend Pressed Powder • Covergirl TruMagic Skin Perfector Mattifier • Covergirl UltraSmooth Foundation & Applicator Buff • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover Camouflage Makeup for Face and Body SPF 15 • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Powder Makeup • Esteé Lauder Perfecting Loose Powder • Esteé Lauder Set + Refresh Perfecting Makeup Mist • L’Oréal Paris Hydra Perfecte Powder • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Makeup • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Powder

34 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

• L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation • L’Oréal Paris True Match Mineral Instant Shine Eraser Powder • L’Oréal Paris True Match Naturale All-Over Mineral Glow • L’Oréal Paris True Match Naturale Mineral Foundation • L’Oréal Paris True Match Super Blendable Makeup • L’Oréal Paris True Match SuperBlendable Compact Makeup • L’Oréal Paris True Match SuperBlendable Powder • L’Oréal Paris Visible Lift Serum Absolute Advanced AgeReversing Powder • L’Oréal Paris Visible Lift Serum Absolute Makeup • MAC Full Coverage Foundation • MAC Mineralize Foundation • MAC Mineralize Moisture SPF 15 Foundation • MAC Pro Longwear Foundation • MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation • MAC Studio Face and Body Foundation • MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation • MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation • MAC Studio Tech Foundation • MAC Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Foundation • Maybelline Dream Cushion Fresh Face Liquid Foundation • Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation • Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation • Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft-Matte Hydrating Foundation • Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder • Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth Foundation • Maybelline Fit Me Powder • Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free + Balance Stick Foundation • Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation • Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Foundation Powder • Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Liquid Foundation • Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation • Maybelline Pure Stay Powder Foundation • Maybelline Shine Free Oil-Control Loose Powder • Maybelline Shine Free Pressed Powder • Maybelline SuperStay 24Hr Makeup • Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer + Corrector • Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation • Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Skin-Transforming Foundation

• Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Skin-Transforming Powder • Revlon ColorStay Pressed Powder • Revlon Photoready Airbrush Effect Foundation • Revlon PhotoReady Powder • Rimmel 25hr Lasting Finish Foundation • Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation • Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder • Wet n Wild Coverall Pressed Powder • Wet n Wild Megaglo Dual-Ended Contour Stick Concealer • Bobbi Brown Face Touch Up Stick • Bobbi Brown Instant Full Cover Concealer • Bobbi Brown Retouching Wand • Clinique Advanced Concealer • Clinique Airbrush Concealer • Clinique All About Eyes Concealer • Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation & Concealer • Clinique Beyond Perfecting Super Concealer Camouflage + 24-Hour Wear • Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer • Covergirl & OLAY Balm Concealer • Covergirl Clean Invisible Concealer • Covergirl Outlast All-Day Soft Touch Concealer • Covergirl Plus Olay Eye Rehab Concealer • Covergirl Ready, Set Gorgeous Fresh Complexion Concealer • Covergirl Smoothers Concealer • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Waterproof All Day Extreme Wear Concealer • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Total Cover Color Correcting Kit • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Total Cover Concealing & Contour Kit • L’Oréal Paris True Match Naturale Mineral Powder Concealer • L’Oréal Paris True Match SuperBlendable Crayon Concealer • L’Oréal Paris Visible Lift Blur Concealer • MAC Chromagraphic Pencil • MAC Matchmaster Concealer • MAC Mineralize Concealer • MAC Select Cover-Up • MAC Studio Conceal and Correct Palette • MAC Studio Finish Concealer • MAC Studio Finish Skin Corrector • MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer • MAC Studio Fix Perfecting Stick • Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles

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• Maybelline Cover Stick Corrector Concealer • Maybelline FaceStudio Master Conceal • Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Spot Concealer + Treatment • Maybelline SuperStay 24HR Concealer • Revlon Age Defying Targeted Dark Spot Concealer Treatment • Wet n Wild Come Correct Celebrity Concealer • Wet n Wild Cover All Coverstick • Wet n Wild Cover All Liquid Concealer Blush • Almay Almay Powder Blush • Almay Natural Powder Blush • Almay Smart Shade Powder Blush • Almay Wake Up Blush + Highlighter • Bobbi Brown Brightening Brick • Bobbi Brown Cheek Glow Palette • Bobbi Brown Highlighting Powder • Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder • Bobbi Brown Powder Blush • Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush • Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush • Clinique Cheek Pop • Clinique Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm • Clinique Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher • Covergirl Advanced Radiance Pressed Powder • Covergirl Cheekers Blendable Powder Bronzer • Covergirl Classic Color Powder Blush • Covergirl Clean Glow Powder Blush • Covergirl Clean Glow Powder Bronzer • Covergirl Simply Powder Foundation • Covergirl TruBlend Baked Blush • Covergirl TruBlend Baked Bronzer • Covergirl TruBlend Pressed Powder • Esteé Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Blush • Esteé Lauder Pure Color Lip and Cheek MultiStick • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Paints Blush • L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Powder Glow Illuminator • L’Oréal Paris True Match Naturale Mineral Blush • L’Oréal Paris True Match SuperBlendable Blush • L’Oréal Paris Visible Lift Blur Blush • L’Oréal Paris Visible Lift Blush • MAC Bronzing Powder

• MAC Casual Colour Lip and Cheek Colour • MAC Cream Colour Base • MAC Cremeblend Blush • MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish • MAC Lustre Drops • MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural • MAC Pro Longwear Blush • MAC Satin Blush • MAC Sheertone Blush • Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush • Maybelline Expert Wear Bronzer • Maybelline FaceStudio Master Bronze & Highlight Kit • Maybelline FaceStudio Master Contour Face Contouring Kit • Maybelline FaceStudio Master Contour V-Shape Duo Stick • Maybelline FaceStudio Master Glaze Glisten Blush Stick • Maybelline FaceStudio Master Hi-Light Bronzer • Maybelline Fit Me Blush • Maybelline Fit Me Bronzer • Maybelline Mineral Power Blush • Revlon Matte Powder Blush • Revlon PhotoReady Sculpting Blush Palette • Revlon Powder Blush • Wet n Wild Bronzer • Wet n Wild Coloricon Blush • Wet n Wild Coloricon Ombre Blush • Wet n Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Palette • Wet n Wild Silk Finish Blush Primer • Almay Smart Shade Perfect & Correct Primer • Bobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powder • Bobbi Brown Cream Glow Highlighter • Bobbi Brown Extra Face Oil Rollerball • Bobbi Brown Glow Stick • Bobbi Brown Highlighting Powder • Covergirl Outlast All Day Primer • Covergirl TruBlend Primer for Dry Skin • Covergirl TruBlend Primer for Oily Skin • Esteé Lauder The Illuminator Radiant Perfecting Primer + Finisher • Esteé Lauder The Mattifier Shine Control Perfecting Primer + Finisher • Esteé Lauder The Smoother Universal Perfecting Primer • L’Oréal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base Face Primer • L’Oréal Paris Visible Lift Radiance Booster Brightening Primer • MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect Lotion SPF 50 • MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter • MAC Prep + Prime Skin

• MAC Prep + Prime Skin Refined Zone • MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder • MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder/Pressed • Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Face Primer • Maybelline Master Prime by Face Studio Blur + Smooth Primer • Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer • Revlon PhotoReady Skinlights Face Illuminator • Wet n Wild Coverall Primer EYES Liner • Almay Intense I-Color Defining Eyeliner • Almay Intense I-Color Eyeliner • Almay Intense I-Color Liquid Eye Liner • Almay Liquid Eyeliner • Bobbi Brown Ink Liner • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Liquid Liner • Bobbi Brown Perfectly Defined Gel Eyeliner • Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Kajal Liner • Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner • Clinique Cream Shaper For Eyes • Clinique High Impact Custom Black Kajal • Clinique Quickliner For Eyes • Clinique Skinny Stick • Covergirl Bombshell Intensity Eye Liner • Covergirl Bombshell POW-der Brow & Liner Eyebrow Powder • Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil • Covergirl Lashblast Intensify Me! Liquid Liner • Covergirl LineBlast 24hr Eyeliner • Covergirl LineExact Liquid Eyeliner • Covergirl LiquilineBlast Eyeliner Pencil • Covergirl Perfect Blend Eye Pencil • Covergirl Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner • Covergirl Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner Pencil • Covergirl Professional Brow & Eye makers Eyeliner • Covergirl Queen Collection Eyeliner • Covergirl Vivid Impact Eyeliner • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Infinite Waterproof Eyeliner • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Eye Pencil • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Gel Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Eyeliner

• L’Oréal Paris Color Truth Cream Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Color Truth Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche by Pencil Perfect Wood Pencil Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Double Extend Eye Illuminator Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Lacquer Liner 24H Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Matte-Matic Mechanical Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Never Fail Original Classic Mechanical Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Paints Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Smokissime Never Fail Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Pencil Perfect Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Pencil Perfect SelfAdvancing Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Precision Liquid Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Liner Noir Liquid Eyeliner • L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Smoldering Pencil Eyeliner • MAC Chromagraphic Pencil • MAC Chromaline • MAC Cremestick Liner • MAC Eye Kohl • MAC Fluidline Eye Pencil • MAC Fluidline Eye-Liner Gel • MAC Modern Twist Kajal Liner • MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil • MAC Pro Longwear Eye Liner • MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline • MAC Technakohl Liner • Maybelline Define-A-Line Eyeliner • Maybelline Define-A-Line Mechanical Pencil Eyeliner • Maybelline Expert Wear Twin Brow & Eye Pencils • Maybelline Eyestudio Master Kajal Eyeliner • Maybelline Eyestudio Master Precise Ink Pen Eyeliner • Maybelline Lasting Drama by Eyestudio • Maybelline Line Express Eyeliner • Maybelline Line Stylist Eyeliner • Maybelline Line Works Liquid Eyeliner • Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel Pencil • Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner • Revlon Brow Fantasy Pencil and Gel • Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner • Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen • Revlon Colorstay Skinny Liquid Liner • Revlon Photoready Eye Art Shadowith Sparkle Duo • Revlon Photoready Kajal Matte Eye Pencil • Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Liner

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• Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil • Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner • Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner • Wet n Wild Color Icon Kohl Eyeliner • Wet n Wild Color Icon Shimmer Eye Pencil • Wet n Wild Eyeliner Brow Pencils • Wet n Wild H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner • Wet N Wild H2O Proof Eye Pencil • Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Defining Marker • Wet n Wild Mega Last Retractable Eyeliner • Wet n Wild Mega Liner Eye Liner • Wet n Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner • Wet n Wild On Edge Creme Eyeliner • Wet n Wild On Edge Longwearing Eye Pencil • Wet n Wild Proline Graphic Marker Eyeliner Eye Shadow • Almay Intense I-Color Eyeshadow • Almay Intense I-Color Bold Eyeshadow • Almay Intense I-Color Everyday Neutrals All Day Wear Powder Eyeshadow • Almay Intense I-Color Shadow Stick • Almay Intense I-Color Shimmer-I Trio Powder Shadow Kit • Almay Shadow Softies Eyeshadow • Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow • Bobbi Brown Instant Long-Wear Makeup Remover • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick • Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Base • Bobbi Brown Metallic Eye Shadow • Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow • Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eye Shadow • Clinique All About Shadow • Clinique All About Shadow Primer for Eyes • Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes • Clinique Lid Pop • Clinique Lid Smoothie Antioxidant 8-Hour Eye Colour • Clinique Touch Base for Eyes • Covergirl Eye Enhancers • Covergirl Intense Eyeshadow Blast

• Covergirl Queen Collection Eyeshadow Pot • Esteé Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Eyeshadow Base • Esteé Lauder Magic Smoky Powder Shadow Stick • Esteé Lauder Pure Color Envy Defining Eyeshadow Wet/Dry • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Eye Shadow Quads • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche La Palette Eye Shadow • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Monos Eye Shadow • L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Pocket Palette Eye Shadow • L’Oréal Paris De-Crease Eye Shadow Base • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Eye Shadow • L’Oréal Paris Infallible Paints Eye Shadow • L’Oréal Paris Pocket Palette Eye Shadow Quads • MAC Cream Color Base • MAC Dazzleshadow • MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow • MAC Pigment • MAC Pressed Pigment • MAC Pro Longwear Eye Shadow • MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot • MAC Spellbinder Shadow • Maybelline Color Tattoo Eye Chrome • Maybelline Expert Wear 2-pan Eyeshadow • Maybelline Expert Wear 4-pan Eye Shadow • Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow • Maybelline Eye Shadow Palette • Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Pure Pigments Loose Powder Shadow • Maybelline Eyestudio ColorTattoo 24HR Cream Gel Eyeshadow • Maybelline Eyestudio ColorTattoo Concentrated Crayon • Maybelline The 24K Eyeshadow Palette • Maybelline The Blushed Eyeshadow Palette • Maybelline The Rock Eyeshadow Palette • Revlon ColorStay 16 Hour Eye Shadow • Revlon ColorStay Creme Eye Shadow • Revlon ColorStay Smoky Eye Shadow Stick • Rimmel Glam’Eyes Trio Eyeshadow • Rimmel Magnif’eyes Eye Contouring Palette • Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Paint • Wet n Wild Au Naturel Eyeshadow • Wet n Wild Color Icon Collection Eyeshadow

36 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

• Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio • Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow • Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Collection • Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette • Wet n Wild Color Icon Glitter Eyeshadow • Wet n Wild Idol Eyes Cream Shadow Pencil Mascara • Almay Intense I-Color Volumizing Mascara • Bobbi Brown Everything Mascara • Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara • Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara • Bobbi Brown Intensifying Long-Wear Mascara • Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara • Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara • Clinique Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara • Clinique Lash Building Primer • Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara • Covergirl LashExact Mascara Waterproof • Covergirl Professional Waterproof Mascara • Covergirl Queen Collection False Lash Drama Mascara • Esteé Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara • Esteé Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara • Esteé Lauder Sumptuous Knockout Defining Lift and Fan Mascara • L’Oréal Paris Lash Out Mascara • L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Mascara • MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash • MAC Extended Play Lash • MAC False Lashes Extreme Black • MAC False Lashes Maximizer • MAC In Extreme Dimension 3D Black Lash • MAC In Extreme Dimension Lash • MAC Upward Lash • MAC Zoom Lash • Maybelline Brow Precise Brow Mascara • Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Waterproof Mascara • Maybelline Illegal Length Washable Mascara • Maybelline Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Washable Mascara • Maybelline The Colossal Waterproof Mascara • Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Angel Washable Mascara

• Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies Waterproof Mascara • Maybelline Volum’ Express The Classic Mascara • Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies Washable Mascara • Maybelline XXL Volume + Length Mascara • Rimmel Extra Long Lash Mascara • Rimmel Extra Super Lash Mascara • Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara • Rimmel Lash Accelerator Serum • Rimmel ScandalEyes Retro Glam Mascara • Rimmel ScandalEyes Retro Glam Mascara, Waterproof • Rimmel Scandaleyes Show Off Mascara • Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara • Rimmel Volume Colorist Mascara • Rimmel Wonder’Lash Mascara • Rimmel Wonder’Lash Volume Mascara

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Kashering for Passover Any kitchen items, utensils, and appliances that were used for chametz during the year must be cleaned well in order to make them suitable for Passover use. Since we are taught that chametz is absorbed into the utensils used during certain cooking processes, often a thorough surface cleaning is insufficient.

In order to remove this absorbed chametz, the utensil must go through a cleansing process known as “kashering”.

Not all items can be kashered. An item must be made from a material that will extract absorbed chametz when it is kashered.

Below is a list of materials that can and cannot be kashered.

Items made of the following materials can be kashered: • Granite • Marble • Metal • Stone • Wood

Items made of the following materials cannot be kashered: • China • Corelle • Corian • Cork • Corningware • Duralex • Earthenware • Enamel Coating • Formica • Melmac • Nylon • Plastic • Porcelain • Pyrex • Synthetic Rubber • Teflon Coating In addition, items cannot be kashered where there is a concern that they might break or get ruined due to the kashering process.

The rationale is that a person may not kasher an item properly if he fears that he may break or damage it.

The following are five methods of kashering: 1. Libun gamur 2. Libun kal 3. Hagola 4. Irui roschim 5. Milui v’irui Each method has a different level of capability in removing absorbed chametz. (Libun gamur has the greatest capability; Milui v’irui has the lowest). The specific kashering method necessary for each item will depend on how the chametz was originally absorbed.

If an item was used in a cooking process that absorbs chametz more intensely, a more intense kashering method is necessary, while an item that was used for a less intense cooking process requires a less intense kashering method. With this being the case, if a specific item is prescribed a certain kashering method, one may use a more intense process.

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Kashering Overview Libun Gamur

complete glowing

Application: Items used directly on a stove top, or grill, or in the oven with food that does not contain liquid. examples: Baking pan, roasting pan, grill.

Method: The item must be heated (e.g. by a blowtorch) until every part of it becomes red hot.

Note: It is highly recommended that only one with experience should use a blowtorch for these purposes.

Libun kal

modified glowing

Application: This method can be used in place of hagola and as well, can suffice in certain circumstances when libun gamur is required. examples: Some types of ovens [see next page].

Method: The item must be heated until a piece of paper or straw, touching the other side of it, will burn.

Note: One can test to see if the item reached the necessary heat for libun kal by sprinkling water onto the item; if the water sizzles, the item has been kashered with libun kal.

Hagola

boiling

Application: Items used directly on a stove top or grill or in the oven with food that does contain liquid. examples: Pots, stirring utensils, flatware when used on the fire with liquid foods. (Regular flatware also generally requires hagola.)

Method: 1 Clean the item thoroughly to remove all dirt, labels, glue and tangible rust. Any part of the item that can’t be accessed to clean properly e.g. crevices, needs libun kal.

2 The item should not be used for hot for 24 hours [if this wasn’t done, ask your Rabbi].

3 If the pot used for kashering is not a Pesach pot, the minhag is that the pot itself should first be kashered.

This is done as follows: A. Make sure that the pot is clean and do not use it for 24 hours B. Fill the pot to the brim with water and heat it up to a rolling boil; C. Discard the water – at this point your pot is kosher for Pesach

irui roschim

D. F ill the pot and boil again. This pot is now ready to kasher items 4 Immerse each item, one at a time, in boiling water. If you are kashering several items, make certain that the water is still boiling before inserting each one.

5 When the water becomes murky, it must be changed.

6 If the entire item can’t fit into the kashering pot at one time, it may be kashered in sections.

7 After kashering the item, it should be rinsed off in cold water.

8 Once everything has been kashered, the kashering pot itself should be kashered if it will be used for Pesach. (This can be done right away; no need to wait another 24 hours.)

Just make sure the pot is clean and then follow steps B and C above

pouring hot water

Application: Items upon which hot chametz was poured. examples: Sinks, counters.

Method: 1 Clean the item thoroughly [see Hagola, above].

2 The item should not be used for 24 hours [if this wasn’t done, ask your Rabbi].

3 Pour boiling water onto every part of the item by using a kettle or a pot of water taken directly from the stove (see Hagola above concerning the type of pot).

milui v’irui

soaking

Application: Items used only with cold chametz. examples: Drinking glasses.

Note: If one is able to buy separate glasses for Pesach, this type of kashering should be avoided.

Method: 1 Clean the item thoroughly.

2 Immerse the item in water e.g. in a tub or basin or fill the item with water.

3 Change the water every 24 hours, for a total of 72 hours.

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Kashering & Cleaning Guide ovens A. Self-Cleaning Ovens • Clean any parts of the oven where the heat of the self-cleaning cycle doesn’t reach -- mainly edges and sides of the doors and the gasket.

• Run the self-cleaning cycle for at least two hours.

• During Pesach - don’t put any food on the door unless the door is covered.

B. Conventional Ovens • Use an oven cleaner to thoroughly clean the entire oven, including the racks and doors.

• Turn the oven on to its highest setting for one and a half hours (libun kal).

• Turn the oven on to broil for one half hour.

• It is preferable to cover the racks with aluminum foil so that no pots or pans touch them directly.

C. Continuous Cleaning Ovens • Despite its name, don’t assume that this type of oven is always clean • Clean the oven thoroughly. (Caution - check the manual for what type of cleansers you should use) • Kasher in the same way as a conventional oven.

D. Microwave Ovens • It is best not to kasher a microwave oven. If it must be used, it should be kashered as follows: • Clean the oven thoroughly to remove all dirt and food residue. If any part of the interior can’t be accessed to clean properly (e.g. crevices), then the microwave cannot be kashered.

• The oven should not be used for 24 hours.

• Place a container(s) of water in the oven and boil it until the oven fills with thick steam.

• The glass tray should either be changed or be completely covered with a material that is microwave safe.

• Some people also either cover the 6 walls of the microwave (Caution – do not block any vents) or completely double wrap any food before heating it.

stove tops A. Electric and Gas

• Clean the entire surface of the stove top and all its parts -- mainly the grates, burners, chrome rings, drip trays and knobs.

• Electric burners – Turn them on to the maximum setting (until they are glowing red hot) for approximately 10 minutes.

• Chrome rings should be immersed in a pot of boiling water. Alternatively, one can place a wide pot (with water so as not to burn the pot) on the element while the burners are turned to maximum heat in order to spread the heat to the chrome rings.

• Gas grates – Kasher them with libun kal by one of the following methods:

1. Placing them in the oven while it is being kashered.

(Caution - if the oven is being kashered by using the selfcleaning cycle, verify that the grates can withstand the heat).

2. Moving them around the flame until every part of them has been heated to libun kal. (Caution - use tongs and protective gloves). Alternatively, one can place a wide pot (with water so as not to burn the pot) on the grate while the burners are turned to maximum heat in order to spread the heat to the grates.

• Drip trays – Put them in the oven while it’s being kashered.

• Knobs – Kasher them with hagola or cover them (if they could come into contact with food or steam from pots).

• Surface – Cover the entire surface with heavy aluminum foil or a Pesach blech so that only the burners are exposed.

• Backsplash – Cover with heavy aluminum foil. (Caution be careful not to block any vents).

• Oven hood – Clean thoroughly. The oven hood does not have to be covered unless it is very low (to the point that the steam from the pot below reaches it, the steam is still yad soledet bo (113°).

B. Glass-topped Range (including Corning, Halogen, Ceran) • Burners: Turn them on to their maximum setting (until they are glowing red hot) for approximately 10 minutes.

• Cover the rest of the surface around and between the burners with material that will not easily tear (Caution: do not cover the stove with a Pesach blech as it can cause the glass to crack).

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dishwashers A. Enamel Interior These types of dishwashers may not be kashered.

B. Metal interior It may be possible to kasher a dishwasher with stainless steel walls, however, because of the various issues that are involved, this should only be done after consulting with, and under the direction of, your Rabbi.

sinks A. Stainless Steel Sinks • Clean every part thoroughly -- mainly basin, knobs, faucet, drain area. Be sure to clean the spout on the faucet.

• Pour a strong chemical cleaner down the drain and into any crevices that cannot be properly cleaned.

• Do not use the sink with hot chametz for 24 hours.

• Dry the sink prior to kashering.

• Kasher with Irui Roschim by pouring boiling hot water on every part of the sink, including the knobs and faucet. If the pot used for kashering is not a Pesach pot, the minhag is that the pot itself should first be kashered. (See above Hagola Step III.) • Some people move a preheated stone or piece of metal around the sink as the water is being poured.

• It may take a few refills of the kettle or pot to kasher the entire sink.

• Extendable faucets - An alternative way of kashering this part of the sink is to quickly dip it into the kashering pot (Caution – plastic parts could warp if kept in too long).

• Stoppers, strainers – replace for Pesach.

(If necessary, they may be cleaned well and kashered with boiling water) • Instant Hot Water Device - Pour boiling hot water over it while letting hot water run from it.

• Soap Dispenser – Empty it of all the soap, flush out any remaining soap with water and pour boiling water over the entire dispenser.

• Some people cover the entire area of the sink after kashering it or place an insert in the sink.

B. Enamel, Porcelain, Corian Sinks • Sinks made of these materials cannot be kashered.

• Clean them thoroughly and use a strong chemical cleaner • Line the walls and bottom of the sink with contact paper or heavy aluminum foil. Then, place a rack on the bottom and wash dishes in a dishpan placed on top of the rack.

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countertops A. Materials that can be kashered: Granite / Marble / Metal / Stainless Steel / Wood To kasher these counters: • Clean them thoroughly.

• Do not put anything hot on them for 24 hours.

• Kasher with Irui Roschim by carefully pouring boiling water on entire area from a kettle or from a pot taken directly from the stove. If the pot used for kashering is not a Pesach pot, the minhag is that the pot itself should first be kashered. (See above Hagola Step III.) • Some people cover these types of counters even after kashering them. Alternately, they move around a preheated stone or hot iron as they pour the hot water.

B. Materials that cannot be kashered: Corian / Enamel / Formica / Plastic / Porcelain / Surrel Before using these counters: • Clean them thoroughly.

• Cover them with a thick waterproof material that won’t rip easily while you are working on them.

• Some people kasher these counters as outlined above before covering them.

refrigerators & freezers

• Clean every surface and all parts thoroughly using a cleanser that will render inedible any tiny crumbs that may have been missed.

• Some have a custom to cover surfaces that will directly touch food.

cupboards , drawers & shelves • Clean thoroughly with a cleanser that will render inedible any tiny crumbs that may have been missed.

• Some have a custom to cover surfaces that will directly touch food.

flatware • Requires Hagola (see method above).

tables & chairs • Clean thoroughly. Cover tables with a thick material that won’t tear easily and through which spills won’t easily penetrate. Covers should be fastened securely.

ails?

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miscellaneous items A. Tablecloths and Dish Towels • Launder with soap and hot water. (Plastic tablecloths cannot be kashered.)

B. Highchairs • Clean thoroughly and cover tray.

• Some pour hot water on the tray before covering it.

C. Rings • Clean thoroughly and pour boiling water on them (Irui Roschim).

D. C andlesticks and Tray Clean thoroughly and don’t wash in a Kosher for Pesach sink (the same applies for flower vases that were on the table during the year).

items that cannot be kashered • Blech • Bottles with narrow necks • Ceramic • China • Colander/Strainer/Sieve • Crockpot • Food Processor • George Foreman Grill • Grater • Hot Plate • Mixer • Plastic Tablecloths • Sifter • Toaster / Toaster Oven • Warming Drawer • Wooden Cutting Board

Kashering Notes Kashering (with the exception of libun gamur) should be done before the latest time to eat chametz. If this was not done, ask your Rabbi.

Typically, it is not permitted to kasher a meat item in order to use it for dairy or vice versa.

However, once an item has been kashered for Pesach, it may be designated for either one.

Since kashering can involve boiling hot water, red-hot burners or even a blow torch, safety is an important concern. It’s best to use protective gloves and tongs while kashering. Children should be kept away from the area in which you are working.

When in doubt, ask your Rabbi. Although this is an important rule all year round, it’s crucial when it comes to Pesach when the laws are more complex and more stringent.

These guidelines are for kashering chametz items for Pesach use only. To kasher items all year round that may have become non-kosher (i.e. meat utensil that absorbed milk), consult your Rabbi as there may be more leniencies.

Due to the complexities of the kashering process, to the extent that it’s feasible, it’s best to have separate items for Pesach.

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Tevilat Keilim: Immersing Dishes and Utensils in a Mikvah In a kosher kitchen, many types of dishes and utensils must be immersed in a mikvah before they may be used. Tevilat keilim is independent from kashering. The basic difference between the two is that kashering refers to various methods of extracting or burning absorbed substances, while tevilat keilim is a ritual of sanctifying the utensil. Based on this discrepancy, tevilat keilim has different applications, requirements, and guidelines than kashering.

Ownership Requirements:

The function of tevilat keilim is to sanctify a vessel that is now owned by a Jew. Consequently, if an item was originally made by a Jew, and has always been owned by a Jew, the item would not require tevilah (immersion in the mikvah). Conversely, if an item is owned jointly or in a partnership with a nonJew, it would also not need tevilah. If later the Jew becomes the exclusive owner, the item would then need tevilah.

Tevilat keilim is required only on utensils that are considered klai achila, utensils used for food preparation or mealtime. Based on this classification, a storeowner who sells these utensils should not tovel them. This is because the storeowner relates to them as klai schorah, store inventory, and not as klai achila. Once the customer buys the utensil, the utensil is now considered klai achila, and the utensil could now be toveled.

Questions arise when sending a gift if the sender could do the tevilah. As the scenarios can be quite complex, one should consult their Rabbi or contact the COR, with the specific question.

Utensil Requirements:

We are required to tovel (immerse in a mikvah) items that come into direct contact with food both during preparation and at mealtime. Oven racks generally do not come into direct contact with food, and would, therefore, not require tevilah, but the racks from a toaster oven which do directly touch food would require tevilah.

To require tevilah, items must be made of metal (including aluminum, brass, copper, gold, iron, lead, silver, steel, and tin) or glass (including Pyrex, Duralex, and Corelle). Wood, plastic, rubber, and unglazed earthenware do not require tevilah.

Preparing the Utensil:

In order for the tevilah to be valid, the item must be immersed in the mikvah waters without any 42 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

interference. The item must, therefore, be prepared accordingly. All labels and stickers that one plans to remove when using the item must be removed before tevilah. After the sticker is removed, any residual adhesive that is left on the item must be removed as well. On a practical note, WD-40, nail polish remover, and Goo Gone are known to be effective in adhesive removal. Also, if there are many items to tovel, it is recommended to prepare the items before going to the mikvah.

Bracha:

Generally, one must make a bracha (blessing) before performing the mitzvah of tevilat keilim.

One should hold the item, or one of the items that is to be toveled while making the bracha. If one item is being toveled the bracha is “Baruch…asher kedishanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al tevilat keli.” If many items are to be toveled the bracha changes to “Baruch… asher kedishanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al tevilat keilim.”

There are a number of items that require tevilah, however a bracha is not said. This could be for a number of reasons. For example, if there is an uncertainty in halacha if an item requires tevilah, then tevilah would be done without a bracha. Many of these items are listed in the chart below.

Tevilah Procedure:

It is preferable to wet one’s hand before tovelling the item, and if possible to do this before making the bracha. The item being tovelled must be totally immersed with the mikvah waters touching the entire item both outside and inside. The entire item must be under water at one time and may not be immersed in stages. One must be aware when tovelling many items simultaneously that the pile is not weighed down in a way that water cannot reach all the items.

As with any matter in halacha, if a question arises or if you need further guidance, consult your Rabbi or contact COR.

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ITEM TEVILAH BRACHA REQUIREMENT REQUIREMENT Aluminum Pans to be used once No Tevilah Required to be used more than once Preferable to Tovel NO Barbecue Grates

Tevilah Required

Blech No Tevilah Required Blender

Tevilah Required

Can Opener No Tevilah Required

YES YES -

Ceramic Dishes (i.e.: coffee mug) Preferable to Tovel NO China Preferable to Tovel NO Cookie Cutters

Tevilah Required NO

Cooling Racks

Tevilah Required NO

Corkscrew No Tevilah Required Corningware

-

Tevilah Required NO

Crockpot: ceramic insert Preferable to Tovel NO metal insert Tevilah Required YES glass lid Tevilah Required YES Dish Rack No Tevilah Required

-

Earthenware, non-glazed No Tevilah Required

-

George Forman Grill

Tevilah Required

YES

Glass

Tevilah Required

YES

Hot Water Urn

Tevilah Required

YES

Meat Tenderizer Hammer

Tevilah Required NO

Meat Thermometer No Tevilah Required

-

Microwave - Turntable Only

Tevilah Required

Mixer beaters if to be used exclusively with not yet edible food (i.e. dough) already edible food (i.e. ice cream)

Tevilah Required NO if to be used at times with Tevilah Required YES

Oven Racks No Tevilah Required Peeler

Tevilah Required

YES

YES

Plastic No Tevilah Required Popcorn Popper

Tevilah Required

YES

Porcelain Enamel Preferable to Tovel NO Sandwich Maker

Tevilah Required

YES

Spatula

Tevilah Required

YES

Stoneware, glazed Preferable to Tovel NO Styrofoam No Tevilah Required

-

Tea Kettle

Tevilah Required

YES

Teflon Coated Pots

Tevilah Required

YES

Toaster Oven - Racks & Tray Only

Tevilah Required

YES

Some of the most common questions that arise pertaining to tevilat keilim concern tovelling small electrical appliances.

Typical sandwich makers, hot water kettles, and urns require tevilah. Discuss with your Rabbi or COR how to practically tovel these appliances. For example, how much of the appliance must be immersed?

Does the cord have to be immersed as well?

When it comes to appliances with a digital panel, i.e. a Keurig coffee brewer, there is a greater concern that these items would be ruined with tevilah. Taking this into account, there is a valid halachic claim that tevilah is not required. The best option in these situations is to free yourself of any question with regard to tovelling the appliance. As mentioned in the article, if an item is partially owned by a non-Jew, it does not require tevilah. Therefore, under the circumstances, it would be advisable to sell a percentage of the appliance to a non-Jew. To receive instructions on how to properly administer such a transaction, talk to your Rabbi or call COR to obtain a contract which has been designed specifically for this purpose.

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Shaimos Guidelines: Discarding Holy Objects As we clean for Passover, we tend to use the opportunity to de-clutter our homes as well.

We find that over the course of the year we manage to collect a sizeable collection of Torah and mitzvah related material.

Since the Torah requires us to treat holy writings and objects with dignity even when they won’t be used anymore, many of these items cannot be thrown out in the regular garbage. These items, known colloquially as shaimos, must be discarded in the respectful manner that is outlined in halachah. Many cities have an organization that deals with shaimos burial.

People collect their personal shaimos materials and place them either in a designated bin, or, as is the practice in Toronto, wait for a city wide shaimos collection. Just as it is important to clarify which items belong in shaimos, it is also important to know what is not considered shaimos, since there are times that it is considered disrespectful to bury non-shaimos with regular shaimos.

The following are special status shaimos and should be wrapped in plastic before being placed in shaimos:

• Tefillin, mezuzot, and megilot

The following are considered shaimos and should not be discarded into the regular garbage or the recycling bin:

• Chumashim, siddurim, benchers, mishnayot, gemara, Torah commentaries, Shulchan Aruch and Halacha seforim etc.

• Covers of the seforim mentioned above • Mezuza covers, tefillin straps, boxes and bags • Paper that contains Hashem’s name

The following should be placed in shaimos, or when difficult, it should be discarded respectfully by wrapping them before placing them in the recycling bin:

• Printed material which by their nature are not intended to be saved, i.e. weekly Divrei Torah flyers, Torah articles printed in newspapers and magazines. (The rest of the newspaper or magazine is not shaimos, and should not be placed in shaimos.)

• Children’s Lemudai kodesh homework and parsha sheets • Invitations that contain additional pesukim (verses) besides the standard Od Yeshama

The following should be discarded respectfully by wrapping them before placing them in the recycling bin (IF NOT ACCEPTED IN THE RECYCLING BIN THEN PLACE THEM WRAPPED INTO THE REGULAR GARBAGE):

• Tzitzis, tzitzis strings, and talleisim • Kippot • Lulav, esrog, schach • Tallis bags, tallis and tefillin plastics

The following are not shaimos and should preferably be discarded in the recycling bin (if not accepted in the recycling bin then place them into the regular garbage):

• CDs, DVDs, tapes, computer disks that contain Torah shiurim • Torah-themed projects and pictures – provided that no pesukim (verses) are displayed • Invitations that contain only the standard Od Yeshama and no additional pesukim (verses)

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Pet Food on Passover

A

(and Throughout the Year)

lthough one is allowed to feed pets non-kosher foods, there are still kashrut issues that one has to be aware of. Throughout the year, not only are we commanded not to eat foods that contain a meat and milk mixture, one is also not allowed to derive benefit from them. Feeding pets these foods is considered a derived benefit and, therefore, it is forbidden. On Passover, we are commanded not to eat chametz, nor may we derive benefit from or own it. Having pet food, which contains chametz, in one’s possession during Passover, transgresses this prohibition. On the other hand, it is permitted to derive benefit from non-kosher and, therefore, one is allowed to feed pets non-kosher food.

Fish, Birds, and Small Animals

Feed for fish, birds, and small animals have a unique challenge as many feeds are grain based. Reading the ingredient panel is imperative. Since some people have difficulty finding suitable pet food, there are those who make their own homemade “Kosher for Passover” pet food. It is recommended to speak with a pet food specialist for advice as to what to feed your pets. It is also a good idea to start acclimating your pet to its new Passover diet for a little while before Passover.

Also, beware that although some reptile foods are not a problem, the feed might be packaged with oatmeal or wheat flakes, which is chametz.

Below are a few chametz-free options:

Ashkenazi Jews who do not eat kitniyot are allowed to feed kitniyot to their pets on Passover. The Torah’s prohibition of eating, owning, and deriving benefit from chametz is limited to the five grains – wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt. As an extra safeguard, Ashkenazi Jews have been instructed to avoid kitniyot as well. (See our article on kitniyot in this guide.) This safeguard prohibits eating kitniyot, but does not forbid owning and deriving benefit from kitniyot. Therefore, one may feed kitniyot to pets on Passover.

What should one be aware of when buying pet food?

Spray Millet for birds

Alfalfa Hay and Cubes

Dogs and Cats

Throughout the year, one has to make sure that pet food with meat does not contain dairy. When it comes to regular food, we are forbidden to have dairy mixed with any sort of meat or poultry, however, with pet food it is only forbidden to have dairy mixed with beef. It is not a problem if dairy is mixed with poultry, fowl, or meat from a non-kosher species (i.e. pork). Therefore, if the label states “beef”, “lamb”, “meat”, or similar declaration it must not have dairy ingredients. “Animal fat” should be considered as an ingredient that cannot be mixed with dairy. Whey and casein are some of the not-so-obvious dairy ingredients that could be found in pet food.

For Passover, pet food cannot have chametz ingredients.

Ingredients made of wheat, barley, oats, rye, spelt, pasta, and brewer’s yeast are chametz. Also, note that “starch” could be wheat starch and should be avoided.

Kitniyot ingredients are permitted. Common kitniyot ingredients are: beans, buckwheat, corn, millet, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum and soybeans.

Be careful with pet foods that are “gluten free” as they still might have chametz ingredients. “Grain free” pet foods seem not to be a problem, but make sure to check the ingredient label.

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For Fish. (Please read ingredients to verify that the pet food is chametz-free. Similar looking items might contain chametz.)

For an extensive list of pet food products that are allowable on Passover please visit our website www.cor.ca While it seems like a good solution, it is not simple to halachically avoid the chametz issue by giving your pet to a non-Jew for Passover. If you wish to do so, you must discuss this issue with your Rabbi.

As always, if you have any questions about specific ingredients please call the COR and we will be pleased to assist.

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The Kosher Pet Food

10 Commandments food may contain non-kosher 1 Pet

ingredients.

uring Passover, pet food that is chametz 6 D should be sold with the rest of your chametz.

food may not contain a mixture of 2 Pet

meat (beef) and milk. This applies yearround.

Passover, avoid the following 7 During

ingredients: wheat, barley, oats, rye, spelt, brewer’s yeast, and starch.

food may contain a mixture of pork 3 Pet

and milk.

Passover, pet food may contain kitniyot.

8 During

food may contain a mixture of 4 Pet

poultry and milk.

Passover, pet food may not 5 During

contain any chametz.

Passover, be careful with foods for fish, 9 During

birds and small animals.

Passover, double-check the ingredient 10 During

panels even if the food is grain/gluten free.

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passover TRAVELER CHECKLIST Below is a list that addresses common scenarios for those people who are not staying home for Pesach:

primary residence If leaving more than 30 days before Pesach (and not returning until after Pesach): • No bedika required • Must sell chametz and must declare Kol Chamira before the latest time for owning chametz on Erev Pesach If leaving less than 30 days before Pesach: • Bedika required - Must be performed at night by candlelight during the night before you leave this location

- No bracha is said

- Kol Chamira is said, however, substitute bershusi (in my possession) with bebaisa hadain (in this house).

- One could also appoint a shaliach (agent) to perform the bedika on their behalf on Erev Pesach

- It is generally more appropriate to perform the bedika than to absolve oneself by selling the entire house on the 13th of Nissan. In case of need, speak to your Rabbi.

• Must sell chametz and must declare the regular Kol Chamira before the latest time for owning chametz on Erev Pesach

Destination (Hotel) If you brought in chametz: Bedika with bracha required If chametz was not brought in: Bedika without bracha required When selling chametz, make sure that it will be sold before the last time for owning chametz in the place/time zone where you are staying. Further, make sure that the chametz will be bought back only after Pesach is over in the place/time zone where you are staying.

when flying

Make sure that the kosher meal is certified Kosher for Passover, and that the double wrap of the hot airline meal is not pierced (this applies all year, not only for Pesach). One should not have any of the hot drinks, and should assume that the cold drinks are not Passover certified, unless clearly stated that they are.

in a hotel One should not use the coffee urn in the room (or anywhere in the hotel) unless it is clearly stated that it is certified Kosher for Passover.

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COR is pleased to answer questions from kosher consumers throughout the year.

This service is especially popular during the weeks leading up to Passover, as is evidenced by the over 10,000 questions answered last year prior to Passover.

This COR Passover magazine can be used as a reference guide for much of the information that is needed during Passover. However, many questions do come up and we are here to answer them.

To contact us, call the COR Passover Hotline at 416-635-9550 ext. 100 or email us at questions@cor.ca. You can also use our Text-A-Question service by texting your question to 647-402-1910 for yes/no questions.

1

Here is a list of the more frequently asked questions from Passover 2017:

Does sugar require Kosher for Passover (KFP) certification? Regular white sugar does not require Passover certification. However, some companies will re-pack sugar using the same filling machines as other products and there might be cross contamination. Therefore, avoiding plastic containers and sugar from discount retailers (such as Dollarama) is recommended as these are likely to have been packed by third party companies. So to clarify: A. 2 Kilo and industrial sugar - No Passover Certification Required B. Avoid plastic containers and sugar from discount retailers (such as Dollarama) as these are likely to have been packed by third party companies C. F or the following Redpath products – No Passover Certification is Required: Redpath sugar packets Redpath sugar cubes (white and brown) Redpath Dark and Light Brown Sugar, Golden and Light Yellow Sugar D. Redpath Demerara is NOT kosher for Passover COR 2018-5778 passover guide 49

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2

3

May extra virgin olive oil be purchased without certification? NO. We recently became aware of reports claiming that much of what is being sold as extra virgin olive oil is actually diluted with lower grade olive oil, sunflower, or canola oil. Indeed, an industry expert stated that “75-80% of the oil sold in the U.S. does not meet the legal grades for extra-virgin oil.� We are currently conducting a comprehensive study of the matter together with the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College. We will share the results as soon as we have conclusive evidence. In the meantime, we can only recommend extra virgin olive oil that carries Passover certification.

5 Do sliced raw mushrooms need KFP certification?

NO

Do lemon or lime juice products require KFP certification? YES. But ReaLemon Lemon Juice, and ReaLime Lime Juice certified by the OU are acceptable for use on Passover even without KFP certification.

4 Does toothpaste need to be chametz free? Since toothpaste is used orally, it should be chametz free. All Colgate and Sensodyne toothpastes are chametz free.

6 Do spray & liquid deodorant, hairspray and perfume need to be chametz free? Since it is theoretically possible to distil alcohol found in these products and restore the alcohol to an edible state, they should be chametz free. The same applies to dry shampoo. All stick deodorants, however, are acceptable.

7 Which alcohols that are found in personal care products are problematic on and which are not?

Alcohol that contains chametz could be referred to in any of the following ways: 1. Ethyl Alcohol, 2. Ethanol, 3. Denatured Alcohol, 4. Alcohol Denat., 5. SD Alcohol, 6. SDA or SDA Alcohol, 7. Alcohol The following are not sourced from chametz: 1. Benzyl Alcohol, 2. Cetyl Alcohol, 3. Isopropyl Alcohol, 4. Methanol, 5. Stearyl Alcohol.

50 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

8 Does frozen fruit need KFP certification? Any frozen fruit, whole or sliced, that is unsweetened and without additives (i.e. syrup, citric acid, ascorbic acid, vitamin C) is acceptable without KFP certification.

halachic corner

9

Which coffees do and don’t require KFP certification?

A. All regular ground coffees are acceptable for Passover use.

B. Decaffeinated coffee: Coffee is often decaffeinated by means of ethyl acetate, Kosher for which is derived from either kitniyot or chametz. Therefore, decaffeinated Passover coffees are not acceptable without Passover certification.

C. All flavoured coffee requires Passover certification.

D. Instant coffees often contain maltodextrin, which is derived from either kitniyot or chametz.

Therefore, all instant coffees require Passover certification. Nescafe Taste even without Passover certification.

Please note: Nescafe Rich Instant Coffee is not acceptable for use on Passover. The two products do look similar (see images).

11

10 Can I purchase a cup of black coffee at a non-kosher establishment such as Starbucks or Tim Horton’s on Passover? Definitely not. These establishments bake items such as muffins and donuts which are chametz and as such all of the utensils used are chametz.

12 Does frozen salmon require Passover certification? Frozen salmon requires Passover certification.

Frozen salmon that is acceptable even without Passover certification: 1. Kirkland Atlantic (Farm Raised) Salmon when it bears the OU symbol 2. Kirkland Wild Frozen Salmon only after rinsing it off (OU)

NOT Kosher for Passover

What medications are recommended for children during Passover? (The following are both acceptable on Passover and do not contain non-kosher ingredients) 1. Liquid Tempra is for children.

2. Advil- Children Suspension [All Flavors], Infants’ Drops 3. Advil- Junior Strength Swallow Tablets (NOT Chewables) 4. Motrin Suspensions and concentrated drops 5. Claritin Kids Syrup 6. (Although not a children’s medication - Benadryl Exilir is chametz free as well.)

14

13 Is Metamucil suitable for use on Passover?

Only the Original Coarse Metamucil is acceptable. It is also kitniyot free.

15

How about Benefibre?

Benefibre is acceptable for use on Passover in Canada. Please note Benefiber from the United States has a different formula and is not kosher for Passover.

From United States Not kosher for Passover

From Canada Kosher for Passover

And Restoralax? Restoralax is acceptable for use on Passover.

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 51

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Rabbinic corner

RABBINIC

corner Bones & Dry Bones What is the kosher status of gelatin, carmine and shellac?

By: Rabbi Tsvi Heber

Nissan is the time of year when we bring the final redemption1 and the resurrection of the dead to the forefront of our consciousness, culminating in the recitation of the chapter of the Navi Yechezkel which describes his vision of the atzamot yevayshot, the dry bones.2 The imagery of dry bones represents Jewish suffering throughout history, suffering which will end, with Hashem’s help, speedily, in our days.3 In the meantime,4 mention of dry bones in the context of contemporary kashrus takes on an entirely different connotation, prompting a fascinating discussion into the status of ingredients that are derived from the dried-out bones -- and other parts -- of non-kosher animals and insects. This article picks a bone with three ingredients used extensively in the modern food industry; carmine, shellac and gelatin.

Carmine In January 2006, the Wall Street Journal5 published an investigative article revealing the presence of “a bug” in Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice and Dannon Boysenberry Yogurt.

Both products are coloured with a distinctive red dye called carmine which is extracted from crushed female cochineal beetles. Carmine is also a common ingredient in candy,

ice cream, and cosmetics. Ingredient labels on products containing carmine refer to it as either carmine, cochineal extract or may even code it as “natural red 4”. Carmine is produced by heat-drying cochineal insects until they are completely dehydrated and subsequently crushing them into powder. The powder is then boiled in water which serves to extract carminic acid which is present in the

powdered insects. Use of added chemicals causes the colouring and animal matters present in the liquid to precipitate into a red pigment.6 Presumably, the consumption of carmine should be strictly prohibited, since it is tantamount to consuming crushed insects; or should it?

You may be surprised to learn that carmine is not a “new-world” discovery.

In fact, the first instance of carmine

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 53

Rabbinic corner

Carmine

appears in the Torah under the name Tola’as Shoni, loosely translated as scarlet wool, which was one of the dyed materials donated for use in the Mishkon.7 This particular wool was coloured red with a dye referred to in early sources as karmaz8 and kochanilya9 and was identified as being extracted from an insect.10 While use of carmine as a dye for materials in the Mishkon is not necessarily indicative of its kosher status,11 perhaps we can consider it kosher for another reason.

It is entirely clear that the Torah prohibition of non-kosher food applies to food in its edible state. Non-kosher food that sours or spoils to the point of inedibility is no longer Biblically prohibited.12 That said, such inedible food remains prohibited at the Rabbinical level to anyone who ventures to consume it, since the act of consuming something inedible designates it, albeit artificially, as an edible.13 However, should such inedible food subsequently be cooked into kosher food, the mixture would be permitted.14 For the sake of simplicity, we refer to these collective principles as “the rule of inedible food”. Perhaps the dehydrated insect is nothing more than the equivalent of an inedible piece of wood15 or dry bones16 that, once mixed into a kosher product, can be permitted according to the rule of inedible food?17 Notwithstanding the cited logic, halachic authorities are loath to rely on it. Who is to say that the blood of an insect can be dried to the extent necessary to be rendered inedible?18 Furthermore, why should dehydration create a permanent heter for the insect powder if, at the moment that it is placed in water, it is rehydrated and perfectly edible again?19 Finally, is it really a fact that the rule of inedible food applies equally to food

that was once edible and prohibited?

Perhaps the rule of inedible food is limited in scope to basar b’cholov such that it can prevent inedible kosher meat from becoming non-kosher when it mixes with milk, but cannot change the status of already prohibited non-kosher meat to become kosher?20 As a result of these questions, the policy of all national kashrus agencies, including COR, is not to grant kosher status on carmine.

Shellac Shellac or “confectioner’s glaze”, as it is referred to in the colloquial, is a resin that is secreted by the female lac bug. For commercial use, the resin is collected from trees, processed, and purified so that it does not contain any insect parts which may have stuck to it. The purified resin is dissolved in three to four parts ethanol to make liquid shellac used as a transparent food glaze which works well to maintain a long-lasting shine on a product.21 Shellac is used in jelly beans and rainbow sprinkles amongst other goodies. The female lac is obviously not kosher, so why do we commonly find confectioner’s glaze in products bearing reliable kosher certification?

Can you think of another sticky substance that is secreted from a nonkosher insect that we might consider similar to shellac? You are likely thinking of honey which secretes from a bee. So why is honey kosher? Two possibilities are considered in the Gemara. The first is based on logic that honey does not inherit non-kosher status from the bee, since honey does not extract any nutrients or proteins from its host. The second is based on a drasha, a way of reading the verse in the Torah that prohibits the consumption of a sheretz ha’oaf, a flying insect, while excluding the substance that the sheretz ha’oaf secretes. That

54 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

substance is identified by the rabbis as bee’s honey.22 The difference between the two cited possibilities is that the former is more inclusive and allows us to permit all secreted substances that do not extract nutrients or proteins from their respective hosts, while the latter is exclusive as it can only incorporate substances whose characteristics are most similar to those of bee’s honey.

Shellac is obviously quite different from honey as it is secreted from the lac which is not a flying insect at all, rather a sheretz ha’aretz, an insect that lives on the land, and does not fit into the drasha.

Many halachic authorities seem to indicate that they are comfortable with the former, more inclusive view which allows shellac.23 Furthermore, some say that since shellac is, from its inception, as dry as a bone and completely inedible, it should not take on the status of its host even according to the more exclusive view.24 Unlike carmine which is essentially the dried out insect itself, shellac is an inedible secreted substance which emanates from the insect and therefore should not inherit the kosher status of its host.25 Accordingly, while some are stringent, most kashrus agencies, including COR, consider shellac to be kosher.

Animal Gelatin Gelatin is a translucent, colourless, flavourless food derived from collagen.

Collagen is the connective tissue found in tendons, bones and skins/hides of various animals such as domesticated cattle, chicken, pigs, and fish. Cooking these animal parts serves to extract their collagen which dissolves in the pot. When the water or broth cools, the collagen will gel. This effect can be seen when cooking fish together with its skin which produces a familiar gel.

Rabbinic corner

On a commercial scale, gelatin is made from by-products of the meat and leather industries. Most gelatin is derived from pork skins, pork, and cattle bones, or split cattle hides.26 Fish by-products may also be used because, although their “bloom”27 is not as high, fish is an easy way of eliminating the kashrus obstacles which will be discussed. Gelatin is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, capsules, and cosmetic manufacturing.

Kosher Gelatin

By now, you are undoubtedly working on a possible heter for animal gelatin.

Perhaps animal hides, tendons and bones can be dried out to the extent of inedibility and permitted according to the rule of inedible food? We should be able to differentiate between bovine28 gelatin and carmine because gelatin comes from collagen in the skins, bones, and tendons which do not have the same halachic status as flesh and blood.29 It is possible that these parts of the animal are not even included in the Torah prohibition of non-kosher animals and therefore, once dried and processed, can be permitted.30 Practically speaking, the discussion seems academic, since gelatin production usually contains meat and bone marrow which is ultimately cooked together with bones and hides31 thereby infusing them with the taste of treif basar which is Biblically prohibited.

Furthermore, there are softer, fleshier parts of the animal skin that do, in fact, have the same status as its meat and are included in its Biblical prohibition.32 Ultimately, for these and other reasons, the greatest poskim of the generation did not accept animal gelatin as kosher.33 Accordingly, the policy of every major kashrus agency in both Israel and North America is not to grant kosher status on such gelatin.

1. Should kosher animal gelatin be considered fleishig such that it should not be used in yogurt or dairy ice cream?

Let’s turn the discussion over to kosher gelatin which is manufactured from dried out skins from kosher animals that have undergone the complete shechita process or from kosher fish. There are several such products on the market bearing reliable kosher certification. They are used to make kosher marshmallows, candy, yogurt, pies and even ice cream.34 There are several questions that we should ask:

2. Is it important to have a mashgiach temidi who can check each fish skin for kosher scales in order to authenticate their kosher status or is it sufficient to rely on a chazaka; for example, to purchase them from a company that purports to use only kosher fish which can be verified from time to time by a mashgiach?

3. Can kosher fish gelatin be used in a sauce that is cooked with meat or does it have to be kept separate from meat like all other fish?35 Kosher Animal Gelatin Not every mixture of meat and milk constitutes a Biblical prohibition of basar b’cholov. There are strict requirements that govern this prohibition; both pertaining to the technical definition of “meat” and “milk” that is included under its rubric as well as the method that is employed in “mixing” them together. For example, meat from a non-kosher animal such as a pig, poultry36 and blood37 do not fall under the category of “meat” for this purpose. Even kosher animal meat that is smoked,38 pickled,39 or simply mixed together with milk but not actually cooked40 together do not achieve basar b’cholov status. While consumption

of all such concoctions are certainly prohibited, it is relevant to understand that they are not basar b’cholov in the Biblical sense and are not subject to its unique ramifications, such as the additional issur hana’ah; the prohibition against deriving benefit or pleasure from the mixture.41 Kosher animal hides, tendons, and bones are also not categorized as basar under the Biblical rubric of basar b’cholov.42 Most halachic authorities, however, concur that they may not be mixed with milk at the Rabbinic level.43 Rav Moshe Feinstein, in a novel teshuva,44 posits that there is room to believe that hides45 are not considered basar even at the Rabbinic level and can, l’chatchila, be mixed with cholov. Although Rav Moshe does not rely on his novel position completely, he is absolutely comfortable to rely on it if the hides are completely dried out to the extent that they are inedible. This approach has become the basis for the manufacture of kosher pareve animal gelatin and is accepted by the major kashrus agencies, including COR. This is why you might see COR certified dairy pies, for example, that have gelatin listed in the ingredient panel. The gelatin is kosher and pareve, as we have discussed above, and thus does not conflict with the product’s dairy status.

An additional line of thinking shared amongst some poskim is that, even according to the aforementioned halachic authorities who do not agree with Rav Moshe, drying meat to the point of inedibility will still allow it to lose its basar status under the Biblical rubric of basar b’cholov.46 It must be said that this position is not unanimous as there are halachic authorities that consider any kosher animal gelatin as basar even as it pertains to the prohibition of basar b’cholov.47 COR 2018-5778 passover guide 55

‫‪Rabbinic corner‬‬

‫בס"ד‬

‫‪Kosher Fish Gelatin‬‬

‫‪ 1‬גמ' ר"ה [י"א‪ ]:‬רבי יהושע אומר בניסן נגאלו ובניסן עתידין להגאל‬ ‫‪ 2‬עי' שו"ע או"ח [סימן ת"צ סעיף ט] שבת שחל בחול המועד וכו' ומפטירין היתה עלי‬ ‫‪ 3‬רש"י יחזקאל [פרק ל"ז פסוק י"א]‬ ‫‪ 4‬לכאורה לפי מ"ש ב אור החיים הקדוש ויקרא [פרק י"א פסוק ג] שחזיר עתיד להחזיר להיות מותר‪ ,‬הרי במהרה בימינו יהיה מותר לאכל ג'לטין של‬ ‫חזיר‪.‬‬ ‫‪https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113833159673257881 5‬‬ ‫‪https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine 6‬‬ ‫‪ 7‬שמות [פרק כ"ה פסוק ד]‬ ‫‪ 8‬עי' רמב"ם פירוש המשניות פרה [פרק ג משנה י]‪ ,‬וברע"ב פרה [שם]‪ ,‬ובספר פרדס יוסף שמות [דף תקפ"ח]‬ ‫‪ 9‬שו"ת נודע ביהודה תנינא יו"ד [סימן י"ג]‬ ‫‪ 10‬רמב"ם הלכות כלי המקדש [פרק ח הלכה י"ג]‪ ,‬הלכות פרה אדומה [פרק ג הלכה ב] ואע"ג דשם משמע שתולעת שני בא מיתוש היוצא מן‬ ‫הגרגרים ע"ש ואינני יודע אם יתכן שזה שייך לקוקיניאל שלנו אפ"ל דכרמ"ז הוא שם כולל כל צבעים אדומים היוצאים מן התולעים וצ"ע‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 11‬עי' בשו"ת נודע ביהודה [שם] שדן באם צריכים "מן המותר בפיך"‬ ‫‪ 12‬עי' מנחת כהן ספר התערובות [פרק ט]‪ ,‬פרי מגדים משב"ז יו"ד [סימן ק"ג ס"ק א] מהא דעבודה זרה [ס"ז‪ ]:‬לא תאכלו כל נבילה לגר אשר‬ ‫בשעריך כל הראויה לגר קרויה נבילה וע"ש כל הסוגיא במח' ר"מ ור"ש‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 13‬עי' מנחת כהן [שם] דכ' טעם אחר דהא כל נטל"פ אסרו לכתחילה ולא התירו אלא בדיעבד כמו קדירה אב"י ‪ .‬ואני מה שנלע"ד כתבתי ע"פ מ"ש‬ ‫הרא"ש פסחים ריש פ"ב בענין חרכו קודם זמנו דאע"פ דבטלו דעת האוכל אצל כל אדם מ"מ כיון דאיהו קאכיל ליה אסור‪ .‬דהא אחשביה‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 14‬שלחן ערוך יו"ד [שם סעי' א]‬ ‫‪ 15‬עי' רמ"א [סימן פ"ז סעיף י] בשם שבלי הלקט שכ' עור הקיבה לפעמים מולחים אותו ומיבשין אותו ונעשה כעץ וממלאים אותו חלב מותר דמאחר‬ ‫שנתייבש הוי כ"עץ בעלמא" ואין בו לחלוחית בשר עכ"ל‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 16‬עי' בשו"ע [סימן צ"ט סעיף א] שעצמות של איסור מצטרפים עם ההיתר לבטל האיסור והיינו רק "עצמות יבשות" כמבואר בש"ך [שם ס"ק א]‪.‬‬ ‫והרמ"א שהחמיר לא להצטרף עצמות של איסור היינו רק מפני שהם דבוקים בבשר ומקבלים טעם תחילה מבשר איסור ונעשו נבילה כמבואר בש"ך‬ ‫[שם ס"ק ג]‪ .‬וע"ע בביאור הגר"א [סימן פ"ז ס"ק כ"ט] שמביא פירוש הר"ש כלאים [פרק ז משנה א] ד"ה אפילו הבריכה למקור לדברי הרמ"א‬ ‫ע"ש‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 17‬שיטת תפארת צבי הובא בפתחי תשובה [סימן פ"ז ס"ק כ]‬ ‫‪ 18‬פרי מגדים שפ"ד [שם ס"ק ל"ג]‪ ,‬שו"ת חת"ס יו"ד [סימן פ"א]‬ ‫‪ 19‬אבן העוזר [סימן פ"ז ] בשם כנסת הגדולה‪ ,‬ואף דמשמע דדעת ה חוות דעת ביאורים [סימן ק"ג ס"ק א] לחלוק על זה‪ ,‬מ"מ כבר כתבנו ב"כשר‬ ‫קארנער פסח תשע"ז" לענין קטניות שנשתנה‪ ,‬שדעת מו"ר הגרש"מ שליט"א הוא שרבינו יונה חולק על החוות דעת‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 20‬שו"ת נודע ביהודה קמא יו"ד [סימן כ"ו]‪ .‬אמנם כבר חלקו עליו הרבה פוסקים עי' ש"ך [סימן קי"ד ס"ק כ"א]‪ ,‬שו"ת מהרש"ם ח"א בהשמטות‬ ‫[סימן קי"ב]‪ ,‬שו"ת יביע אומר יו"ד ח"ה [סימן י"א אות ח]‬ ‫‪https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac 21‬‬ ‫‪ 22‬בכורות [ז‪].‬‬ ‫‪ 23‬מהא דסתם השלחן ערוך יו"ד [סימן פ"א סעי' ט] ומתיר דבש צרעין וגיזין ומביא דעת האוסרים בשם י"א‪ .‬אמנם ע"ש ברמ"א שמדבריו משמע‬ ‫שאם היה מצוי דבש צרעין וגיזין היינו צריכים לחוש לדעה שנייה‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 24‬שו"ת אג"מ יו"ד [חלק ב סימן כ"ד] שחידש דשעלאק מותר גם לדעה שנייה‪ .‬וכן שמענו ממו"ר הגרש"מ שליט"א שאע"פ שיש מקום להחמיר בזה‪,‬‬ ‫אפשר להתיר מעיקר הדין‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 25‬הרי שעלאק לא היה נחשב לאיסור אלא מטעם יוצא מן הטמא טמא וא"כ יש להתיר כל יוצא הדומה לאפרוח שנולד מביצת נבילה או טריפה‬ ‫שמותר עי' בתמורה [ל"א‪ ,]:‬ועי' בשו"ע [סימן פ"ו סעיף ז]‪.‬‬ ‫‪https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin 26‬‬ ‫‪The name of the measure patented by Oscar Bloom used to measure the strength of gelatin 27‬‬ ‫‪ 28‬לאפוקי עורות של חזיר דדינם כבשר חזיר עי' משנה חולין [קכ"ב‪ ].‬אלו עורותיהן כבשרן וכו' עור חזיר של ישוב‪ .‬ועי' בשו"ת אגרות משה יו"ד‬ ‫[חלק ב סימן כ"ג] שכ' שיש להסתפק בזה כשעיבדן ע"ש‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 29‬עי' חולין [ע"ז‪ ]:‬לענין טומאת נבילה‪ .‬ולענין אי ילפינן איסור אכילה מטומאה עי' ברמב"ם מאכ"א [פרק ד הלכה כ"א]‬ ‫‪ 30‬כ"כ בשו"ת אחיעזר ח"ג [סימן ל"ה אות ב] לענין ג'לטין מעצמות ועי' שו"ת אגרות משה יו"ד חלק ב [סוף סימן כ"ג] לענין ג'לטין מעורות ע"ש‬ ‫‪ 31‬כ"כ הרב זושא בלעך שליט"א במאמרו " ?‪"Will These Bones Live‬‬ ‫‪ 32‬רמב"ם מאכ"א [שם]‬ ‫‪ 33‬אגרות משה יו"ד חלק ב [סימן כ"ז] בסוף התשובה‪ ,‬שו"ת משנת רב אהרן יו"ד [סימנים ט"ז וי"ז]‬ ‫‪Those who suffer from fish allergies should be cautious with kosher products that contain gelatin. The author is aware 34‬‬ ‫‪of someone who has a mild fish allergy but suffered from a serious reaction after consuming a Haribo jelly worm candy.‬‬ ‫‪Also interesting is that the Vegetarian Resource Group published an article by its Research Director, Jeanne Yacoubou,‬‬ ‫‪which warns vegans against using kosher gelatin! It appears that vegans are not willing to rely on “heterim” when it‬‬ ‫‪comes to gelatin since it is derived from an animal.‬‬ ‫‪ 35‬שו"ע ורמ"א יו"ד [סימן קט"ז סעיף ב]‬ ‫‪ 36‬שו"ע [סימן פ"ז סעיף ג]‬ ‫‪ 37‬שם [סעיף ו]‬ ‫‪ 38‬שם‬ ‫‪ 39‬פמ"ג שפ"ד [שם ס"ק א]‬ ‫‪ 40‬שו"ע [שם סעיף א] שלא אסרה התורה אלא דרך בישול‬ ‫‪ 41‬ולענין איסור בישול יש מהם שאסורים ויש שאינם אסורים ואכמ"ל‬ ‫‪ 42‬שו"ע [שם סעיף ז]‬ ‫‪ 43‬ש"ך [שם ס"ק כ"ב]‪ ,‬פמ"ג שפ"ד [שם] וע"ש שמסתפק לענין אותן שעורותיהן כבשרן כגון עור השליל‪ ,‬עור תחת האליה ועור בית הבושת דהוה‬ ‫מה"ת כבשר אם זה גם לענין בב"ח שאפשר שאסור באכילה ובהנאה ע"ש‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 44‬שו"ת אגרות משה יו"ד [חלק א סימן ל"ז]‬ ‫‪ 45‬וע"ש שמסתפק לגבי אלו שעורותיהן כבשרן‬ ‫‪ 46‬שו"ת משנת רב אהרן יו"ד [סימן ט"ז] וע"ע בשו"ת שלחן הלוי [דף קפ"ה]‬ ‫‪ 47‬כשרות בהלכה‪ ,‬מאמרו של הרב אפרתי שליט"א אכילת ג'לטין העשוי מעורות דגים יחד עם מאכלי חלב או בשר בשם הגריש"א‪ .‬וכן שמענו‬ ‫שמחמירים ב"‪"Star-K‬‬ ‫‪https://oukosher.org/blog/consumer-kosher/gelatin-revisited 48‬‬ ‫‪ 49‬כשרות בהלכה‪ ,‬מאמרו של הרב אפרתי שליט"א אכילת ג'לטין העשוי מעורות דגים יחד עם מאכלי חלב או בשר בשם הגריש"א‪.‬‬

‫‪The cheapest way to produce kosher fish‬‬ ‫‪gelatin is to procure skins instead of dealing‬‬ ‫‪with the entire fish. It is nearly impossible to‬‬ ‫‪check every single fish skin for kosher scales‬‬ ‫‪for this purpose due to the way that such skins‬‬ ‫‪are transported and stored. How, then, can we‬‬ ‫‪be assured that all of the skins used in gelatin‬‬ ‫‪production are kosher? This question was‬‬ ‫‪posed to North American poskim who ruled‬‬ ‫‪that the aforementioned Rabbinic requirement‬‬ ‫‪to inspect every fish only applies to fish which‬‬ ‫)‪will be consumed intact (e.g. canned tuna fish‬‬ ‫‪where Chazal were concerned that someone‬‬ ‫‪might eat a bite-full of non-kosher fish. However,‬‬ ‫‪the halacha does not apply to cases like‬‬ ‫‪gelatin where the fish will be processed to the‬‬ ‫‪point that it becomes a liquid and any potential‬‬ ‫‪non-kosher fish will invariably be thoroughly‬‬ ‫‪mixed into the overwhelming majority of‬‬ ‫‪kosher fish. This position was brought to‬‬ ‫‪Gedolei HaPoskim in Eretz Yisroel, who‬‬ ‫‪approved of this approach.48‬‬ ‫‪Should we consider fish gelatin the equivalent‬‬ ‫‪of regular fish such that it may not be mixed‬‬ ‫‪with meat due to health concerns cited in‬‬ ‫‪halacha? Poskim who have weighed in on this‬‬ ‫‪question seem comfortable permitting it. This‬‬ ‫‪is because there is an underlying assumption‬‬ ‫‪that any significant deviation from the scenario‬‬ ‫‪presented by Chazal is not a concern. Chazal‬‬ ‫‪spoke about fish and meat. As you now‬‬ ‫‪know, kosher fish gelatin is dry as a bone‬‬ ‫‪and inedible, and therefore should not pose‬‬ ‫‪a sakana.49‬‬

‫‪Rabbi Heber is COR’s Director‬‬ ‫‪of Community Kosher‬‬

‫‪6‬‬

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Rabbinic corner

Obstacles Of The Mind

By Rabbi Chaim Strauchler

As we celebrate Pesach, let us cultivate the mindset of freedom.

Imagine the moment: millions of people are moving together to freedom. They have left their masters behind, and they look forward to a new and better life. Suddenly, they hear the sound of horses and chariots. They see what looks like hundreds of horses, chariots, and charioteers.

The awesome sound of beating hoofs and clanging wheels was surely terrifying. Yet, if the mass of former slaves were to look around, they’d realize a basic fact: While the oncoming forces were numerous, they were nowhere near the multitude of people whom Pharaoh sought to recapture. Why didn’t the slaves turn and fight?

Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra (14:13) was troubled by this very question, “Why didn’t the Jewish people fight the Egyptians at Yam Suf?” In answering, the Ibn Ezra shares an insight into human nature.

Newly freed slaves cannot fight. From the time of their birth, slaves are conditioned to carry the yoke of their masters. They do what they are told. They just do not have the mindset necessary to take up arms and defend themselves. Even if given the opportunity, they could not organize in battle. If not for Hashem’s deliverance, a small number of Egyptians could have easily subdued a vastly larger camp of Jewish slaves.

The Ibn Ezra indicates that freedom from oppression is more than something physical. Often when the iron chains are broken, the mind chains remain.

As we celebrate Pesach, we recognize the two stages of freedom. We speak of Hashem taking us from Egypt on the night of the Seder. When we read the Torah on the seventh day of Pesach, we describe the beginning of G-d’s work to free us from the mindset of a slave. As Moshe says, “As you see Egypt this day, you will no longer see them, forever.” The Ibn Ezra teaches that physical strength is not sufficient; we needed to develop strength of the psyche. He calls this nefesh gevoa.

The Ibn Ezra goes on to describe that the generation that first left Egypt was unable to leave behind their upbringing as slaves, even after they had crossed the sea. Their lack of confidence and faith as displayed in the story of the meraglim meant that it would have to be their children that ultimately entered the land.

Only the next generation would be capable of fighting for the land of Israel.

The insight of the Ibn Ezra is gaining currency in the field of education, today. Researcher Angela Duckworth has found that the most successful students aren’t always the ones with the greatest natural aptitude. Rather, the most successful students are the ones who display a combination of passion and perseverance for a singular important goal. What the Ibn Ezra calls nefesh gevoa, she calls grit.

In an interview she describes how to develop grit: “You cannot will yourself to be interested in something you’re not interested in. But you can actively discover and deepen your interest. So once you’ve fostered an interest, then, and only then, can you do the kind of difficult, effortful and sometimes frustrating practice that truly makes you better. Another thing is really maintaining a sense of hope or resilience, even when there are set backs.”

What Duckworth calls “hope or resilience,” we call emunah – faith. A crucial ingredient in shaking off the slave mindset is a hope that comes from knowing that Hashem is a part of our lives.

Freedom of the mind requires this connection to Hashem. When we cultivate emunah in ourselves and in our children, we give them one of the most basic ingredients for success not just as students, but in life more generally.

As a generation, we have challenges that past generations did not. We look back at the pure faith of our grandparents with envy. But as a generation, we also have opportunities that past generations did not. We have a nefesh gevoa. To be a Jew is something that the vast majority of Jews today take pride in.

Yet, this alone is not sufficient. We must add to this pride the ingredients of emunah in Hashem. We must approach our future as a people with passion and perseverance. As we celebrate Pesach, let us cultivate the mindset of freedom. Let us develop a nefesh gevoa to withstand setbacks and to overcome challenges, as our ancestors did many years ago.

Rabbi Chaim Strauchler is the spiritual leader of Shaarei Shomayim Congregation and a member of COR’s Executive Rabbinical Va’ad Hakashruth

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 57

Rabbinic corner

Time is our freedom By: Rabbi Levy Teitlebaum

As we get ready to celebrate this special Yom Tov, let us take a moment to think about what it’s all about.

In our tefilla we refer to Pesach as Zman Cheruteinu, the time of our freedom. There are two different Hebrew words for freedom: chofesh and cherut. The difference is significant.

Chofesh is the freedom a slave acquires when he is released from slavery. He is free from external restraints; there is no one to tell him what to do—kind of like moving out of your mother’s basement. But this kind of freedom alone is not enough to build a free society. If everyone is free to do as they please, the result will be anarchy. We cannot have a normal society if I am free to drive as fast as I’d like or free to steal from your home. Such freedom would actually be a harmful gift.

In the Exodus, the Jewish people acquired their chofesh. They were no longer slaves, but they were not yet a free people.

For seven weeks they prepared and refined themselves until, at Mount Sinai, the Jews acquired cherut: G-d’s Law. Says Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi; the Tablets were engraved, al tikra chorut ela cherut, don’t read “engraved”, but rather “free”, because a true free person is one who is involved in Torah.

This is the rest of what we needed to be free.

The Torah teaches us as a people how to be truly free. We need more than the absence of oppression; we must build a society that sits on foundations of justice, compassion, and righteousness. Our freedom consists not only of liberation, but of responsibility to others and certainly to our Creator.

The song of thanksgiving, Dayeinu, begins with gratitude for physical deliverance, but culminates with gratitude for the Torah. Freedom is not sufficient. The Exodus must lead to Sinai.

Imagine if the Jews would have traveled from Egypt straight to Israel without the revelation at Sinai. We would read about how they won their freedom and were led to a land of their own. Then we would read how all turned into anarchy and they

58 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

vanished, like the rest of the tribes of the ancient Near East.

But that’s not our story: We survived because we carried the Torah with us into Israel. We are who we are because we have preserved our sacred Constitution, the Torah, a Torah that has transformed the moral landscape of mankind and made us stronger than the greatest empires of history. The holiday of Passover is called Zman Cheruteinu, the freedom that leads to liberty to serve G-d and act responsibly.

Upon further reflection, we can see an even deeper level of freedom. Human beings, by our nature, are limited. Our thoughts are limited to the capacity of our mind. We have feelings, but only to the limit of our compassion. So no matter how free we are, we are limited by the boundaries of self.

To attain freedom in the truest sense, we must transcend our finite, intellectual, emotional, even spiritual self, we must access the “inner spark of G-dliness” that is infinite. It is the Torah that outlines the actions that enable us to express our divine, infinite potential and to connect to G-d who is truly infinite. On Pesach we celebrate the freedom to “pass-over” our boundaries, to draw on our divine, infinite potential.

Therefore we say, Thank you G-d…Who took us, “from slavery to cherut,” invoking cherut not chofesh. True freedom arrives when we practice it in a way that truly honours and respects the freedom of all. True freedom arrives when we leave behind our constraints, our Maytzorim (related to Mitzrayim) and embrace our Torah.

Thus we look to the Holiday of Pesach and remember our personal lives and how Torah keeps us as an Am Echad. We remember how each of us has a responsibility to each other.

And just as we appreciate the importance of lending a hand to someone in need, we also use our resources to infuse another with Torah. We need not be a giant in Torah to teach another, if I know Alef and Bet, and my friend only knows Alef – I have what to teach.

Rabbinic corner

With respect to teaching, I would like to share something beautiful that happened last year just a few weeks before Pesach. The Ottawa Jewish Community was honoured by a special visit of four leaders of the Toronto kosher community, Rabbi Adler, Rabbi Heber, Rabbi Rosen, and Mr. Richard Rabkin from the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR). They took time from their busy professional and personal lives to visit the

Ottawa Jewish community. Mr. Rabkin arranged a remarkable program to a well-attended audience. Rabbi Adler gave a Dvar Torah about the Chag, Rabbi Rosen answered many questions of the do’s & don’ts of Pesach, and Rabbi Heber gave a vegetable checking class. Mr. Rabkin, the MC, kept the evening flowing with his witticism. The evening ended with a beautiful dessert presentation. Thanks to the COR texting Rabbi, many attendees at the event are now regularly in touch with COR with their kashrut questions.

A special seminar was also arranged earlier in the evening where the Ottawa Vaad HaKashrut mashgichim were able hear Divrei Chizuk, and discuss kashrut queries.

On a personal note, my relationship with COR goes back more than 20 years, visiting kosher certified facilities with Rabbi Silver and have kept an amazing relationship with all the Rabbonim and staff. I, like so many of us, owe a great Hakoras Hatov to the Kashruth Council of Canada as it is with their help, along with many other kosher organizations around the world, that we can perform the holy mitzvot of kashrut that are enshrined in the Torah, thereby helping us achieve true cherut.

Rabbi Teitlebaum is the head of the Ottawa Vaad HaKashrut

COR Pre Pesach Event in Ottawa

We are proud to be measured by the highest standard of Kashruth Chag Kasher v’Sameach Beth Torah Congregation 47 Glenbrook Ave bethtorah.ca (416) 782 4495

416.787.4256 3541 Bathurst Street (across from Baycrest Hospital)

Kosher for Pesach Chocolates and Gifts!

www.chocolatecharm.ca COR 2018-5778 passover guide 59

Rabbinic corner

H.I.T. Mediation Stories The rabbis of the Halacha Institute of Toronto (H.I.T.) have been trained and certified as mediators through the University of Windsor Law School and the Stitt Feld Handy Group. Mediation is a powerful tool that helps parties settle their disputes outside of the traditional channels and H.I.T. rabbis are frequently asked to mediate such disputes.

Below are examples of two such cases. The names and the details have been changed to protect the anonymity of the parties. The cases below are examples of types of cases that are mediated by H.I.T. THE CAMP ACCIDENT Mr. and Mrs. Adlerstein dropped off their son, Chaim, at camp. Chaim loved camp and as soon as his parents opened the door, he was off with his friends. Mr. and Mrs. Adlerstein took a tour around the camp grounds and met the camp director Rabbi Rosenberg.

On their tour, Mr. Adlerstein noticed a large hole off to the side of the sports field next to the fence. “You need to get this hole fixed, Rabbi Rosenberg,” Mr. Adlerstein said. “Trust me, I used to be in construction, this is dangerous.”

Rabbi Rosenberg assured the Adlersteins that he would have it taken care of as soon as possible.

A few weeks later, the Adlersteins received a phone call from the camp.

Chaim had been in an accident. He tripped in the hole on the edge of the sports field and scratched his face quite severely on the fence. He required a number of stiches and, while the injuries were not serious, he will likely have some scarring on his face for life.

The Adlersteins were understandably very upset, especially because Mr. Adlerstein had pointed out the dangerous hole to Rabbi Rosenberg who had acknowledged the problem

and said that he would get it fixed.

Mr. Adlerstein spoke to his friend who is a lawyer who said that they would have a strong case in court. The Adlersteins also spoke to their rabbi who said that they have the right to bring an action in Beth Din, but the Adlersteins found both options unappealing. Someone suggested a mediation through H.I.T. and both parties agreed.

At the mediation, the Adlersteins and Rabbi Rosenberg took turns speaking and outlined their respective cases.

Mr. Adlerstein of course argued that he pointed out the dangerous hole to Rabbi Rosenberg who he felt was negligent in not fixing the hazard. He also bemoaned the fact that Chaim will have some permanent scarring. For his part, Rabbi Rosenberg explained that the camp is financially strapped and that he was planning to wait until the end of the summer to fix the hole when he was expecting to receive some grant money from the government. Also, he commented that getting scrapes and bruises is part of being a kid and it happens to them all, sometimes when they are at camp and sometimes when they are at home.

The rabbinic mediator asked both parties to describe what they thought

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their alternatives to the mediation were, and they both discussed either Beth Din or court. Rabbi Rosenberg admitted that he feared either because the costs could force the camp into bankruptcy. The Adlersteins said that camp was Chaim’s favourite thing and the last thing that they wanted was to be the cause of its demise.

Because they viewed these outcomes similarly, the rabbinic mediator asked the parties to brainstorm some alternate solutions. Rabbi Rosenberg said that he could try to raise some money to give to the Adlersteins for Chaim’s injury, but he wasn’t sure how much donors would give such a cause. At the same time, the government money did indeed come through, but it had to be earmarked for improvements to the camp. The Adlersteins were adamant that the money be used to cover up the hole, which Rabbi Rosenberg agreed, but they wanted more recognition for Chaim. The rabbinic mediator asked if there were any activities at camp which Chaim liked more than others, and the Adlersteins replied that basketball was Chaim’s favourite. The rabbinic mediator made a few suggestions, and the parties concluded that the money would go towards constructing a new

Rabbinic corner

basketball court that would cover over the hole. Chaim would have a hand in choosing the types of hoops and layout of the court and even give him naming rights should he choose to call it “Chaim’s Court”.

SNOW REMOVAL DISPUTE Sam Wiseman is in the residential construction business. He was hired by Stephen Goldman to build him a home and, as winter was approaching, Sam hired David Sherman to do the snow removal at the property which was almost complete.

Stephen and his family moved into the house and David’s company continued doing the snow removal. David sent the initial invoice to Sam who turned it over to the Goldmans for payment which was made in a timely manner. For the duration of the winter, David continued to send his trucks to perform the snow removal, but he neglected to send invoices as things had gotten quite hectic for him both professionally and personally.

As spring arrived David needed to collect his fees as he was out of pocket to his employees. He sent invoices to Sam, but did not hear back. He called Sam, who told him that he was pursuing the Goldmans and would try his best to get the money as soon as possible. One day when he was

driving by the property, David decided to knock on the door and see if he could speak to Stephen Goldman in person.

But someone else answered the door and advised David that the Goldmans had flipped the house and they were the new owners.

David went back to Sam and said that since Sam was the one who hired David, he technically owed David the money.

Sam felt differently and thought that if anything, the obligation to pay was entirely Stephen’s, but when he finally tracked down Stephen, he said that he never asked for the service and wouldn’t pay the money. Sam tried to argue, but Stephen wasn’t having any of it and said, “If you want to sue me – go right ahead.”

Sam and David are both observant and wanted to see if there was a way to resolve this dispute in a rabbinic framework, so they came to H.I.T. for a Rabbinic Mediation.

After presenting their respective cases, the parties asked the rabbinic mediator what he thought a possible result in Beth Din might be. The rabbi replied that this might be a case of hamotzee maychavayro alav hara’aya. After all, it was far from clear that Sam had taken any responsibility for payment to David. The rabbi explained

that even though Sam was the one who contacted and technically hired David, it had been understood that Sam was no more than an agent of the property owners. Furthermore, the Goldmans had demonstrated that they were responsible for the invoices by their payment of the first check which David had happily accepted. It is likely, said the rabbi to David, that the Beth Din will not be able to enforce payment without clear proof to indicate that Sam had taken financial responsibility. That said, the rabbi made it clear that Sam did owe it to David to help him pursue the Goldmans. After all, Sam had assumed the role of contact on the Goldmans’ behalf all along, and, in that role, it was understood that Sam would have to get the money to David.

After the rabbi provided his assessment, he asked the parties what they thought would be a fair compromise. Together they agreed that Sam would pay half of David’s invoice and David would write off the other half.

If you are interested in booking a mediation please contact H.I.T. at (416) 535-8008 or info@HalachaInstitute.com

Graduates of the Windsor Law School/Stitt Feld Handy Mediation Training Course

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inspiration

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The splitting of the Sea of Reeds, kriyat Yam Suf, has always been symbolic of overcoming great challenges. After all, Israelite slaves were running from Pharaoh’s charging army. They were boxed in by the Sea of Reeds. There was no way out. Hope was lost. Then, as we are taught in the midrash, Nachshon, the son of Aminadav, decided to start walking into the sea as an act of faith. It was not until the water reached his mouth that the sea finally split. Nachshon’s attitude that any challenge, even splitting the sea, can be overcome is one that Jewish people take inspiration from every day.

That is why we chose the theme of overcoming challenges for this year’s COR Passover Magazine.

In this section you will be privileged to read stories of people who experienced challenges, but like Nachshon, they started walking forward, moving one foot in front of the other, and they too were able to move mountains—or perhaps more accurately, split seas.

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Shalom Brothman: Certified Mashgiach

“ B e c o m i n g a m a s h g i a c h c ha n g e d m y l i f e ! ” Everyone loves Shalom Brothman. As a young mashgiach and recent graduate of COR’s college accredited mashgiach training program in conjunction with Liason Culinary College, Shalom’s easy-going personality and sweet demeanor charm everyone he meets, from customers to restaurant employees, as does his concern for everyone he works with.

Upon first meeting him, you would never know that he has a learning disability.

“Wait,” you’re saying. “Didn’t you just say he took a mashgiach training course?”

Yes. And in the words of Rabbi Tsvi Heber, COR’s Director of Community Kosher, “He aced it.”

We interviewed Shalom to see what makes him tick and find out why he’s the COR’s most-talked about new mashgiach.

What kind of learning disability do you have?

How does it affect you?

My learning disability does not really have a name. The way it affects me is in how I understand certain things. I learn better when I’m shown exactly what to do. For example, when I was being trained to check vegetables, I would shadow another mashgiach. He would show me, and then I would do it.

What was it like growing up with a learning disability? How did you survive school?

For primary school, I went to Yeshiva Bais Shalom – a small school for children with learning challenges. [The school is no longer in operation.] It took me a long time to learn how to read. But my disability affected me even more when I was older and went to Yeshiva. I found Gemara very difficult.

Chumash and Navi were much easier to understand, though.

My Rabbis in yeshivah were very special. They taught me many techniques that helped me to learn how to learn. I had one rebbe that I became very close with, and we’re still in touch today.

This rebbi taught me more than just Torah. He taught me how to live a frum life. He also taught me how to daven. I remember him saying, “Boys, one day you will need know how to daven for the amud.” Because of this rebbi, when I was 23, I was able to daven for the amud during the year of mourning for my mother.

The most important thing that my rabbis and teachers did was believe in my ability to succeed. Eventually, I began to believe in myself.

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What did you do once you graduated?

For the past several years, I have been learning Mishnah with my chavrusah several times a week. Right now, we are almost finished learning Mishnah Sota. Over the years, I have even made a number of siyumim (completion celebrations).

After yeshivah, with the help of the vocational program at the Reena Foundation, I began to work in a restaurant as a kitchen assistant – washing dishes, preparing vegetables, and doing other general tasks. During this time, I was awarded the “Employee of the Year” Award by the Reena Foundation.

How did you decide that you wanted to be a mashgiach?

I never planned on becoming a mashgiach. It picked me.

After working in the restaurant industry for 4 years, I got a call from someone at the COR. I really don’t remember who called me, but I do remember that he said that he had heard

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2018 Mashgiach Course Graduates

about the work I’d been doing, and he wanted to know if I was interested in being a mashgiach [and taking the COR’s mashgiach training course]. I said yes, and it all started from there.

Tell me about the mashgiach training course.

How long is it? What kind of things do they teach? Is there a lot of studying involved?

The course was once a week for about thirteen weeks. They talked about the different types of work that a mashgiach does. Most of the sessions were about the halachos of food preparation in industrial settings, catering halls, restaurants, and bakeries. They spent a lot of time teaching how to check vegetables, understand ingredients, slaughter animals, and kasher and tovel equipment. They also taught us about kitchen duties that can and can’t be done on Shabbos, and all about food safety.

If someone couldn’t come to class, he would have to catch up by reading the material that was given out. So I did not miss any classes. Reading the material was challenging for me. I had some job coaches who helped me read the material, take notes, and study for the test.

Did you find this course easier or harder than passing school?

I found the course very challenging – more than school.

This was college stuff I was taking. For me, the parts about checking vegetables and toveling were easier, because that is work that I had been doing in the restaurant. But I found the catering and slaughtering parts more difficult.

When did you graduate the mashgiach course?

I became a certified mashgiach when I passed the course in July 2017.

What are your duties now that you’ve graduated?

I work part time at DANI Dairy Delights, which is the restaurant and catering arm of DANI House. [DANI is an organization that provides vocational training and employment possibilities for adults with developmental disabilities, such as positions within its restaurant]. My duties involve washing and checking all the vegetables that need to be used and making sure that the entire kitchen follows

the COR policies. Once in a while, my senior mashgiach will give me a call and ask if I’m available to check vegetables or supervise in other restaurants.

Now that you’ve gotten through the learning part, are there any challenges you face on a dayto-day basis that you think most mashgichim don’t face?

Because I am blind in my left eye, it took me longer to learn how to check the vegetables. But despite my disability, I worked very hard to learn how to identify insects with one eye.

Are you glad that you became a mashgiach?

Yes; this job has really changed my life! Before, I felt that people concentrated on my learning disability. Now people see me as someone who is doing a very important job for the community. The COR has help me see myself in a much better way.

I would especially like to thank Rabbi Matis Stebben [the course administrator] and Rabbi Tsvi Heber for all the help and accommodations that they provided for me.

Is there any advice you would give someone with a learning disability who is wondering what to do with themselves?

You need to believe in yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something that you think you are able to do.

Yes, everyone has limits, but we need to work at overcoming our challenges and do the best we can do. Also, look for people who can encourage you and help you to reach your goals. The most important thing is to have faith in Hashem.

You can talk to Him 24/7. He is always there for you, and He would not give you anything you can’t handle.

“Shalom Brothman is a shining star. He confronts and even embraces his challenges and rises above them. We are incredibly proud of him and the work that he does.

We are proud that the COR can be a conduit to give Shalom the opportunity to show his greatness as a truly productive member of Klal Yisroel.” - Rabbi Tsvi Heber

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Niagara Falls:

Building a Mikvah and a Community Niagara Falls: It may be a vacation spot for you, but some people live there.

And if they do and they are Jewish, they rely on Rabbi Zalman Zaltzman and his wife, Perla – a family of Chabad shluchim (emissaries) trying to raise the Yiddishkeit level of the area.

Many are aware of the Chabad Jewish Center of Niagara on some level, but as comedian Eli Lebowicz says, “Chabad is like our parents. They’re always there for us, but we only call them when we want something.” We don’t really think about the fact that they’re there even when it’s not tourist season.

really the only Jewish phone call for tourists in the region.

But they are. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s shluchim in Niagara, their work is basically divided into three parts. They bring Yiddishkeit to the local community, do campus work at Brock University, and host tourists—mainly in the summer, as well as chol hamoed and Chanukah.

And Niagara Falls does have a need. “We have local residents who use the mikvah in Hamilton which is about an hour away, but we also have local residents who would use the mikvah if it was closer,” Perla explains. She recently suggested that someone go to a mikvah, but her reaction was that it’s too far.

“So there is always a need.”

Nine months of the year Rabbi Zaltzman starts his day by taking his sons to daven in Hamilton, Ontario, about 55 minutes away. Then he drops them off at the Hamilton Hebrew Academy and comes home. He gives a shiur in the morning, visits people in the hospital, does office work and fundraising, gives adult education classes for the JLI (Jewish Learning Institute), officiates at life cycle events, and is a chaplain in the three hospitals in the Niagara region and the Niagara Detention centre.

“In small communities like ours,” Mrs. Zaltzman adds, “there’s also a lot of one-on-one work where we build connections with the local families, and we’re there for them. We serve their needs.”

“If not for financial restraint, I would hire another couple to join our team,” says Rabbi Zaltzman.

But in the summer, everything speeds up. On a typical summer day, they have multiple packed minyanim in their building on Main Street. People are showing up at all hours of the morning and starting their own minyanim in the hallway. Even in the off season, their website has a program called “Minyan Maker”, through which people can register when they’re coming to town and how many people they’re bringing, and then receive an email if there are ten people lined up for that date.

And now, in addition to all that, they’re building a mikvah.

“In general, with shluchim,” Perla says, “if there’s a need, they try to build one.”

They also get thousands of tourists a year, and if those tourists want to use a mikvah, they have to travel – either to Hamilton or to Buffalo, NY, which is only 30 minutes away, but getting back and forth across the border, especially in tourist season, can be time consuming.

Three years ago, the Zaltzmans experienced the biggest tragedy of their lives. Their six-year-old daughter, Chaya Moussia, had a medical accident in their swimming pool, and was in the hospital, unconscious, for 13 days. While the Zaltzmans were in the hospital with her, keeping hope alive, some close friends and family began spearheading a Mikvah Building Campaign in order to merit her speedy recovery. And then Chaya Moussia passed away.

Her passing was very shocking.

“We didn’t even want to hear the word mikvah,” Perla says.

“And we couldn’t see a future for ourselves in Niagara. We had to figure out how to pick ourselves up.”

So on the first anniversary of her death, Perla started giving women’s classes. Her idea was to dedicate a class once a month in her daughter’s memory.

They also host two kosher restaurants in their building that are open during tourist season – one dairy, Top Nosh, and one meat, Taste. The restaurants are independently owned, but the Zaltzmans provide the hashgacha in conjunction with COR. And they’re available when people call, of course. They sell attraction tickets, give people directions, tell them where to buy food, connect them with local Jewish doctors… They’re Chaya Moussia Zaltzman a”h 66 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

“I still couldn’t think about the mikvah, though,” she says.

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But then Perla came across an inspiring letter the Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote in 1957 to the Chabad Village near Ben Gurion airport. The village was in shambles after the horrific terrorist attack that claimed the lives of five yeshivah students in the middle of maariv services. The Zaltzmans gained strength and encouragement.

The Zaltzmans started making plans to build the mikvah, only to realize that they’d have to basically take apart the building to make it happen, since it was so old. And once they were talking in those terms, they figured that, since they were outgrowing the building, they might as well expand it. So they had to start over with plans for a new extension that included a mikvah, which took even more time, especially since they had to get permits to extend. Now, finally, after three years, they have a plan to go forward. Their goal is to be up and running by summer 2019.

And now they’ve restarted the campaign. They have a lot of support from the tourists, who would like to be able to go on vacation and know there is a mikvah available.

“We know there’s money somewhere,” Perla notes.

“We just need a miracle to find it.”

And people definitely have the motivation to donate.

“Sometimes, if you live in a big city,” she says,

you’re doing something meaningful and impactful.”

When asked if they think this mikvah can become a reality, Perla points to their success in bringing Jewish education to the children of Niagara Falls. The Niagara Falls community itself is very small and has little connection to Judaism, but the Zaltzmans went bold a few years ago and arranged for a school bus to take children who used to go to public school and bring them to the Jewish day school in Hamilton.

“And now,” Perla says, “they know about tefillin, they know how to daven, and they have a love of Yiddishkeit that they wouldn’t get from a few hours of Hebrew school.”

It all started when Rabbi Daniel Green, the dean of the Hamilton school asked the Zaltzmans, “How do we get kids from Niagara to come to school here?”

And they said, “You have to give them access. They need a bus.”

Then Mrs. Zaltzman had to convince the parents. At first, the parents all said, “No way. That’s too far.” So she had to talk to them. She explained that we have to do whatever we can to fight assimilation, and that a Jewish education is the way to do so. And that by doing so, they are not only helping their own children, but the Jewish community at large. She explained what the Rebbe said – that a Jewish child is part of the royal family.

Just as a royal family goes to private school to learn certain values, so too, Jewish children should strive to attend private Jewish school to learn Jewish values.

They also had to raise money, over $50,000. They got some money from donors around the world, they ran a bike-a-thon, and within four weeks, they made it happen.

“And the parents are very happy,” Perla says. “The success was beyond what we could have anticipated. So much so that we helped arrange a few open houses in Kitchener, Waterloo, and Oakville, spending hours on the phone conveying to parents the importance of a Jewish education. Today, Baruch Hashem, there are three busses daily bringing children from Niagara, Waterloo, and Oakville to the Hamilton Hebrew Academy.”

The Zaltzmans revolutionized access to Jewish education for small towns in Southwest Ontario.

“you don’t feel like your little donation is doing anything. But if you’re donating in a place like Niagara Falls that has one Jewish Center and your donation is part of the whole infrastructure, it feels good – it feels like

“And I think the mikvah situation is the same way,” she says. “When we first came to Niagara, it didn’t have much infrastructure for Jewish residents or tourists. We’re dreaming big, this is the right thing to do, and we’ll get it done. I have hope for the future.”

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Finding G-d Through Yogurt How my family found our way back to Jewish observance through looking for kosher yogurt.

By Danielle Steinman with Chaya Silber “I have an interesting question to ask you,” I typed. “It’s Danielle, from the University of Western Ontario. Remember me?”

I hoped Richard Rabkin, the Managing Director of the COR, would remember my name.

It had been many years since we had both gone to the University of Western Ontario at the same time. I was married to Michael, now a mother of two beautiful boys, and, while we were not observant, we tried to keep a kosher-style home as that was how my husband had been raised.

I had recently heard that Richard, whom I remembered well, had moved on in life, and was the Managing Director at COR. I had recently been thinking more about keeping kosher, but I couldn’t seem to find any good kosher low fat yogurts, and the non-kosher ones all appeared to have gelatin. I figured I’d reach out to Richard and see if he could guide me.

A couple of hours later I checked my emails, and there was a reply from Richard. “Of course I remember you!” he wrote. “It has been a long time! How are you doing? There are some yogurts that are kosher but don’t yet have the COR symbol on the packaging. I will send you a list.”

We messaged back and forth updating each other on our respective lives. Richard concluded our back-and-forth by inviting my family to his home for Shabbat. “We’d be thrilled to come,” I wrote, after consulting with my husband, “but we are not Shomer Shabbat.”

and we would have never dreamed of a glass of milk with our steak dinner. We went to shul on the High Holy Days, but Saturday was just another day to do errands or go to the movies.

After university I moved on. I was working in the field of infection control and public health, met my husband Michael, got married, and was raising our two active sons, now eight and ten. Life was busy and fulfilling, with little time for delving into my roots and heritage.

I did keep what I thought was a kosher home, as Michael, who came from a more traditional background, was determined to eat what they call “kosher style”. This meant we had several sets of dishes, purchased our meat from a kosher butcher, and didn’t mix milk and meat. When we ate out, I relaxed my restrictions, but my husband didn’t.

Three years ago, when I discovered that my favourite yogurt had animal gelatin listed as one of its ingredients, the search was on for a replacement. After scouring the shelves of several supermarkets, I gave up in frustration. It was then that a mutual acquaintance recommended I reach out to Richard, who would be able to guide me. That led to the Shabbat invitation, opening the door to so much more.

For the next few days, as I anticipated our Shabbat meal, I took a walk down memory lane, recalling those long-ago days when I was an idealistic university student, one of the few Jews in my University residence in London, Ontario.

We arrived at Richard’s home, filled with anticipation. I brought a kosher dessert, and was looking forward to a pleasant meal.

I must say, I was blown away. The atmosphere, the warmth, the ambience, was something I’d never seen before. We ate around the table, enjoying the delicious food and a spirited conversation, while our children played and got to know each other. My boys, who were somewhat addicted to their electronics, were fascinated that the Rabkin children didn’t touch them on Shabbat but instead were playing with oldfashioned board games.

I had grown up in a traditional, if secular home. We didn’t keep kosher, but my parents were careful not to serve pork,

That Shabbat meal in 2014 was a watershed moment for our family. Though I’d been quite comfortable in my Jewish

“That’s okay,” Richard responded. “We love having guests!”

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identity, coasting along for years, I began to question my lackluster commitment to religious observance. Our children were getting older and were asking uncomfortable questions— what does it mean to be Jewish? Why don’t we keep Shabbat?

Why can Mommy eat steak out, but we can’t?

are ready”. Instead of being frustrated that I was going all by myself, I considered it my quality time. Now I had two precious hours each Shabbat morning to pray, learn, and participate in engaging classes on Torah, without anyone demanding food or entertainment!

At around this time, I had a serious health scare, and needed an urgent medical procedure. (Thankfully, I’m okay now). The surgery was scheduled for a Wednesday in October, the week after a local synagogue, Thornhill Woods Shul, was taking part in the Shabbat Project. When a friend called to invite me to join them at shul, I figured that this would be a perfect time to learn more about my own religion.

Sometimes it takes a health scare to recognize what’s really important in life.

When I got home from synagogue, I was torn. For my husband and kids, it was a regular day. They wanted to run errands and go out to eat, but I just wanted to be home and keep Shabbat.

So we made a compromise. Some weeks we stayed home and other weeks we went out. After a while I realized that when we all stayed home together, as a family, the children didn’t fight. They were much happier, content just to be with us, to eat a cozy meal together, play quietly, and play video games.

I wasn’t thrilled that they were playing with electronics, but I decided not to press the issue.

My family and I took part in the Shabbat, which was every bit as beautiful as I’d imagined it would be. When I told my friend who had invited me about my upcoming surgery, she and her friends were all very concerned and arranged a Meal Train, with a rotation of the Shul sisterhood making meals for my family every night. At first, I wasn’t comfortable taking meals, but they insisted – and it brought tears to my eyes that they were so kind.

I was overwhelmed with emotion. I’d never heard of something like this before. I felt so cherished, so taken care of, part of something greater than myself.

After my surgery and recovery, I forged a connection with the wonderful women of the Thornhill Woods Shul who had taken care of me and prayed for me. Michael forged a close connection with Rabbi Elisha Mandel, and I’d become especially close to Rebbetzin Fraidy Mandel. As the weeks went by, I began going to shul each Shabbat, and refraining from doing work, yet my husband and kids were not really on board. It was hard for them to get up early and go to shul, and even harder for my kids not to play with their electronic games.

Rabbi and Rebbetzin Mandel encouraged me to keep coming alone, not to pressure the boys, who “will come when they

Last October, Rabbi Mandel and AISH Toronto were taking some of the members of our shul on a JWRP trip. There were two trips, one for men and the other for women. Rabbi Mandel encouraged Michael to join, while Rebbetzin Fraidy told Michael he was going.

Michael sensed it would be life-changing. When he returned, I asked him if he would be joining me at shul every Shabbat. He responded that, if he was going to start davening, he wanted to do it right – three times a day! Michael also made the decision to start keeping halacha to the best of his ability.

A few months later we decided to fully kasher our home.

Rabbi Mandel connected me with his mother, Rebbeztin Leora Mandel, who came with ladies from our shul community to kasher our home. Ever since, we’ve enjoyed hosting community members and families in our kosher home and feeling complete —no more kosher-style.

Today, the highlight of our week is Shabbat, which we observe together, as a family, without any movies, work, electronic games or other distractions. It’s just me, Michael, our boys, and G-d… and a little COR certified yogurt Shabbat morning of course!

Sylvia Coretti Senior Account Manager

Direct: 416 759 3117 Email: sylvia@eventrentalgroup.com 210 Wickstead Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4G 2C3 Tel: 416 759 2611 Fax: 416 759 3342

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COR 2018-5778 passover guide 69 We are OPEN all Chol HaMoed!

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Marat Dreyshner: A Chef’s Jewish Journey Marat Dreyshner of Vancouver, BC, started becoming more observant while working as the executive chef of a non-kosher restaurant. At the time, he had several conversations with his new rabbis, discussing the viability of just working with the non-kosher food but not tasting it.

They explained to him that it would be better not to work with it at all, for various reasons.

But at that point, Marat was still in transition – he was slowly becoming more observant, little by little. Plus, he had to put food on his table, so he didn’t immediately quit his job.

He eventually started growing a beard and wearing a kippa and tzitzis to work, and of course the staff started asking questions regarding his changes and his new reluctance to taste what he was making. It was then suggested that he should probably wear a beard net or cut the beard off entirely. “It became a bit of a situation for me,” Marat says.

“I didn’t feel comfortable with their line of questioning, so I started planning to quit. But I had to find another source of revenue first.”

Marat and his wife, Ella, continued their Jewish learning process and, finally, in 2014, he quit his job and the two of them started iKosherbake – an artisan baked goods company.

A year later, he began working as the kosher manager at Loblaw’s Superstore.

Marat was born in Russia, in the communist regime, and his family didn’t know much about Judaism. When they immigrated to Vancouver in 1980, Marat was enrolled in the Talmud Torah kindergarten. His parents met a young Chabad family, Lipa Dubrawsky z”l and Dina Dubrawsky, who became their guides to Judaism, even convincing Marat’s parents to have a traditional chuppah in 1989. But although the Dreyshners observed Shabbos when in the Dubrawskys’ home, they were not shomer Shabbos, nor did they keep kosher in the house.

After Talmud Torah, Marat went to a public secondary school, Sir Winston Churchill, and didn’t have a lot of ties to Jewish events or even many Jewish friends.

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Marat always loved food preparation, baking in particular.

As a child, he remembers being inspired while helping his mother make sugar cookies. So after high school, he enrolled in a culinary program at the Vancouver Community College. After completing the program, he took a year off and backpacked through Europe, making it a point to concentrate on the diversity, cooking techniques, and presentation of all the foods he came across. His ultimate goal was to start a catering company upon his return to Vancouver.

By the end of that year, he’d started his first catering company, Fired Up Catering. He specialized in European cuisine, but also advertised catering for secular Jewish events. Over the course of his 10 years managing the company, he catered many bar/bat mitzvahs, shivas, weddings, brissim, and everything in between. He also catered some Orthodox events from the shuls’ kosher kitchens. Following his stint in the catering business, he spent a couple of years managing his own restaurant, Reflections Gastronomie, before closing its doors to work as the executive chef of another restaurant.

Meanwhile, he and his wife sent their kids to Talmud Torah, his alma mater. When his twins were in grade two, they often came home asking questions about keeping kosher, Jewish holidays, and other Jewish traditions. “I found that I really didn’t know as much as I’d thought,” Marat says, “I couldn’t really answer all of their questions.”

And so, as Marat and his wife were already thinking about having more Jewish observance in their lives than they had growing up, Marat decided to attend the Richmond Chabad shul on Sunday mornings.

“I took out my tefillin that I hadn’t used for years, eventually bought a tallis, and started going,” he says. The Dreyshners also got involved in the many volunteer opportunities at Chabad, and Marat offered his unique skills to the cause – setting up for various events, donating his culinary skills to prepare meals for the chagim, and cooking for the Sunday post-davening breakfasts and community summer BBQs.

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The whole family started going to classes and taking part in more traditional davening, while Marat spent more time with the Chabad shaliach, Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman. “I picked his brain about everything,” Marat admits. “But the more questions I asked, the more I took upon myself to commit to – keeping Shabbos, keeping kosher, and more.” But, Marat admits, it took him quite a while to get into the nuances of keeping kosher. As a chef, he had to spend extra time understanding how to use the kosher ingredients in recipes he was used to making and finding like-for-like ingredients in a city that didn’t have a large kosher selection.

At first, it felt like they were giving up a lot. It meant leaving the restaurant scene that they loved so much, no longer pairing a variety of foods that they were used to and, as someone who’d devoted his entire life to creating the perfect dishes, this was a huge deal to him.

He’d have to be more intentional in planning his menus.

It also profoundly affected their social lives. Enjoying international wines at the local liquor stores wasn’t something they could do anymore, nor was taking part in the many culinary events they used to attend throughout the year. Saturdays in particular were the most significant for specialty events in town. Friends’ and family’s invitations to restaurants now had to be declined, which meant that they’d miss out on many occasions. But, Marat notes, “Not eating at our parents’ homes was the most significant. That created quite a bit of tension within both families. We had a hard time seeing the beauty in what we were doing when our families were fighting with us for the life-altering changes that we were making, mostly in regard to food. Each side of the family thought that this was the fault of the other’s child, and it caused a lot of strain on the mechutanim’s relationship as well.”

It took Marat and Ella a couple of years to find their bearings living an observant life and figuring out how the things they loved could be continued, and which of their past interests they could replace with new or similar interests. “It took many conversations with our rabbis to help us better explain our reasoning to our family,” Marat recalls. “We had to have them understand that it wasn’t because of anything traumatic that was happening in our life, but because of what we wanted to gain.”

So what did they gain?

“Everything that we set out to create,” Marat says. “We needed to show our parents and friends the beauty in our decision.” The couple made a huge effort to invite people to their home for Shabbos and to see what traditions other frum families had surrounding Shabbos, as the Dreyshners didn’t have any to take examples from. Eventually, they saw that people were being inspired by their Shabbos table.

“Our guests started asking significant questions about living an observant life and about the details surrounding observing Shabbos and keeping kosher. As we were learning, we were now in the position of teaching and inspiring others. Everything we did seemed to have much more meaning and purpose.”

Looking back at how far he’s come, how does Marat view the changes he’s made? “It’s really not a question of being worth it. It’s a quality of life that’s presenting itself. We are all in Hashem’s army and are all challenged with tikkun olam. By choosing to live a more observant or traditional life we increase the energy available for thoughtful efforts to add to the world compassion, integrity, passion, and love.”

Today, Marat is the kosher department manager at Loblaw’s Real Canadian Superstore in Vancouver. He also acts as the on-site mashgiach. Although he gets to bake fresh bread every day in-house in a little kashered area at the back of the store’s bakery, his main purpose, he says, is to help people keep kosher – to help them find the ingredients they need with the hechsherim they require and to make the whole process easier for others than it was for him.

His mostly-retired father works alongside him three days a week.

“Customer service is a big part of my job,” Marat notes.

“Being able to come into the store and have access to someone who understands their needs and can answer their questions gives people a sense of comfort.” The customers feel at home, and Marat gets to bring people into that home and feed their souls, which, if you look at Marat’s journey from a deeper level, is probably what he’s wanted to do all along.

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The Mikvah in Moncton:

Like Splitting the Sea On his first Friday night as the new rabbi of a small town in Portland, Maine, Rabbi Yitzchak Yagod walked into shul to find that it was just him and an old man.

through Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, I received an unexpected call from the president of the shul, Dr. Weil, who said, ‘Rabbi Yagod, we had a vote last night, and we voted for you.’

“Where is everybody?” the rabbi asked.

“I almost went off the road.

The man said, “It’s just us two.”

“I said, ‘I wasn’t on the ballot! What happened to the rabbi I sent you? I have a job already.’”

“There’s no minyan?” the rabbi asked. “When I came for the tryout, there was a minyan.”

“Yeah, that was for the tryout. This congregation is done for.

Just bury the dead and visit the sick – that’s all you’re here for.”

The rabbi replied, “I didn’t come here to bury people. I came to bring life.”

“Mark my words,” the rabbi continued. “There’s going to be a minyan here next week.”

And there was. There was a minyan there every Friday night for 3 years until he left. In fact, for the third Yom Kippur, there were 600 people.

That’s what Rabbi Yagod does. Rabbi Yagod is not the kind of rabbi who leads a huge congregation in a large Jewish metropolitan area. His job, as he sees it, is to find a small, faraway place that needs a rabbi where other rabbis are not willing to come.

He’s currently the rabbi of three such congregations, while working as a mashgiach for kashrut agencies on the side such as COR. The largest and fastest growing congregation – by far – is the one in Moncton, New Brunswick.

At some point in 2007, he was doing hashgacha work in Maine, and Rabbi Fred Nebel, a friend of Rabbi Yagod who also took out of the way rabbinic jobs in Maine and Canada, asked if Rabbi Yagod could help out the shul in Moncton, Tiferes Israel, for Simchas Torah.

“So I went to look,” he says. “I spent three days there and saw that the shul was a fairly unique opportunity with great potential for the right rav. I spoke to them again after that, and I reached out to a young rav to come in there. I figured, ‘Get a young full-timer.’ I could help, but it’s all part time for me. What could I really do?

“But then one day, as I was driving on the busy Route 22

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But the president insisted. ‘Just come one or two weeks a month,’ he said, ‘and we’ll pay you nicely. We can work it out.

We really need a rav.’

“So I came for Shabbos again and thought about it,” he says.

“My sense was that they were having a hard time because rabbis didn’t want to come to such a faraway place. After all, the nearest Jewish community, Montreal, is 1,000 km away.

Fortunately, I’m a rav who is no stranger to travelling.”

So he took the job.

“When they first gave me the contract,” he says, “I saw that it said that the rabbi is in charge of all halachic matters including the mikvah. So I went into the mikvah, and it was gorgeous with wood paneling and a sauna – all donated in an earlier era by a devoted member, but something about it didn’t seem halachically right.”

And Rabbi Yagod was not there to be in charge of a mikvah that might not be 100% kosher. In this town that had nothing, he wanted the mikvah to be kosher according to all-- a mikvah that everyone could use without driving the ten hours to Montreal. After all, the gemara says that a town’s mikvah is more important than its shul.

“Finally, in June, almost a year later, I got somebody to come – a very fine chassid from Williamsburg named Rabbi Rosenberg, and he started helping me. He had a distinguished friend, Rav Moshe Weissman, head of the Brisker Kollel in Flatbush, who was spearheading a campaign for this mikvah through which he ended up raising a nice amount of money, a lot of which came from some fine businessmen in Montreal who have never been to Moncton and probably never will be. But they gave anyway.”

Rabbi Rosenberg got to work with vigor, and, after several months and some severe rerouting of water collection

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systems, the construction was done. By then it was the end of November, and Rabbi Rosenberg wanted to leave. He said, “I want to go home to my family; next week is Chanukah.”

And Rabbi Yagod said, “You didn’t come this far just to leave before we fill the mikvah.”

“But there’s no more rain,” Rabbi Rosenberg replied. “I’ll come back in April when the snow melts.”

Halachically, most mikvaos cannot be filled from scratch in the winter, as there’s not enough rain and melting down snow has its issues as well. So Rabbi Yagod said, “I’m begging you; stay a week. I’m telling you it will get warmer.”

The forecast called for rain that Friday, but it didn’t come. Shabbos too, but it didn’t come. “On motzei Shabbos,” Rabbi Yagod says, “we said ‘v’sein tal umatar’ in shul and there was a miracle. This is one of the reasons I’m still the rabbi here. That weekend, everywhere was cold and snowy – Maryland to Maine, all the way up the coast to Eastern Canada. It was a massive snowstorm. It happened to be that one tiny part of the storm was pulling in water, so that over one little spot in New Brunswick there was rain, and that spot was Moncton. That night in December it was raining.

Torrential rain. We were up all night. He spent all night watching the water, going up to the roof, coming back down, and the mikvaos are very big – over a thousand litres in each – but by the morning, the main bor was full.”

(Filling an average mikvah generally takes a few days’ worth of rain).

“Then Sunday night, during a dinner in which we were giving him a plaque for his services, it started raining again. And by the morning, the second bor was filled as well. He patched the hole at 9:00 the next morning. At 10:30, it started snowing, and it didn’t rain again. Winter was in and we had a 100% kosher mikvah!”

Rabbi Yagod gives all credit for the mikvah to the shul board, and especially to the president, Dr. Francis Weil, who was willing to do whatever it took to maintain a high kosher standard and support their new rabbi.

The town has only grown after that. New families moved in from Russia and Israel. The afternoon cheder, which had three students when Rabbi Yagod started, now has fifteen, and the town finally got its first all-kosher bakery.

The rabbi now has a home in Moncton, and, when he’s away working on kashruth, he gives classes through video conferencing. His wife is the mikvah lady and also runs the Moncton cheder.

“I always say that there are a lot of precious, rare mitzvos in this world that are there for the taking,” Rabbi Yagod says. “If you’re willing to do the running and you don’t need a lot of sleep, you can really chap arain (seize the moment) in this world.”

Case in point is what happened shortly after the mikvah was opened.

Rabbi Yagod got a call from a Russian Jew who lived in a different city in the Maritimes.

“I heard you have a kosher mikvah for women.”

“Absolutely!”

“Can we use it?”

“Sure. Come over.”

So the man came in with his wife that night, almost two hours each way. He did this again a month later. The third time, there was a major snowstorm, and it took him about three and a half hours to get there.

So the rabbi asked, “How did you decide to do this in such stormy weather?”

The man started crying. He said, “I can’t daven, I can’t read Hebrew, but I do know this one mitzvah, and whatever we have to do for it, we’ll do.”

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corner “Who is wise?” asks the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot. “He who learns from everyone.”

In this case, everyone includes our COR certified companies, who, like all of us, experience challenging situations and how they handle them is instructive. So in this section enjoy stories of COR certified companies that have encountered challenges, attacked them head on, and have become better for it. They have turned lemons into lemonade, and, as consumers, we have the pleasure of enjoying their lemonade.

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Auleaf Café:

A Home Not Too Far From Home Maytar Elgaza, Owner

At some point in her early years, Maytar Elgaza started picking up on the challenges that large families face when it comes to obtaining the basic necessities that living an Orthodox life demands. With multiple tuitions to pay, seminaries, kosher food, and simchas – not to mention all the expenses that everyone has, such as a mortgage, cars, and insurance, even with both parents working, it seemed like her family was drowning at times.

Being the eldest, she felt it was her duty to take on part of this burden. So she eagerly waited for the time that she could finally be independent, have the means to help anywhere she could, and ultimately build a secure foundation for herself and her future family. So she opened Auleaf Café – a dairy and health restaurant in Toronto.

We asked Maytar to give us some background on her dreams of opening a café and how they compared to the reality of managing one:

On how Auleaf was born: “Even as a child, I was always fascinated with the concept of supply and demand. Understanding what lacked in an area and striking a deal to fill that niche was always a thrill of mine. It started with me compensating my younger sister with candy in return for her cleaning my room, to selling popsicles on hot days at camp, to finally landing a sales job for a reputable company.

“When I exposed myself to a lifestyle of working full-time, there were many patterns that I picked up on. For example, I noticed how my most successful sales never took place in the office, but rather in places where I felt my happiest – in some quaint café, over a nice, hot latté, away from the corporate hubbub. Perhaps it was the environment that made the potential client feel at ease and more acknowledged, or maybe it was the strong coffee and the soft background hum that gave me the confidence to lead the conversation. Either way, it helped me thrive, thus becoming my signature.

“I became more and more selective each time when choosing the café to conduct my meetings. The coffee had to be perfect, the décor needed to be warm and inviting, and the ambiance had to be on point.

“But being at cafés for so many hours at a time and having almost zero kosher choices, it became seriously challenging to keep myself healthy and energized as I worked. I grew frustrated at the idea that I couldn’t find a comfy little spot in my area. I started daydreaming of ideal situations where I would find the coziest place within the kosher community – one that served coffee how I like it and offered healthy choices and quality food. A place where I would be welcomed and feel most at home, not too far from home.

“I explored that idea for quite some time until I knew exactly what I wanted to devote myself to. I dismissed the risks, threw everything aside, and started working on square one of building my business.”

On what Auleaf is: “Auleaf is an intimate café that offers fresh, healthy, quality alternatives to the standard kosher fare. We take pride in our premium-blend coffees, all-day breakfast, and the wide selection of ingredients that we offer our customers to choose from when building their entrées. When entering Auleaf, your senses are met with a welcoming, cozy décor, a warm greeting, carefully-selected music, an aroma of fresh food and coffee, and an overall home-like, inspiring atmosphere.

“Auleaf Café is about creating a community of people who care deeply

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accept and understand where I was on the pyramid. When it came to employees who were my own age, I made the mistake of making friends with them too quickly, and when discipline was crucial, it was exceptionally hard to say what needed to be said, as the respect wasn’t there. When it came to managing my older staff, I felt that since I hadn’t yet encountered life as much as they have, I was in no place to see them eye to eye. I felt uncomfortable giving orders and calling them out if I wasn’t satisfied with something.

about the food they fuel themselves with. From healthy salads and plant-based lunches to hearty breakfasts, cheesy paninis, pancakes and guilt-free frappes, Auleaf caters to everyone’s needs and cravings! We work hard on building the right meal for you, and just how you’d like it.”

On facing criticism and age stereotypes: “When I first opened, in fall 2016, I had only just reached my 20th birthday, and I was well aware that my age and lack of experience would be something exceptionally visible to everyone I was going to interact with. When I first started, there were those who doubted or second-guessed my desired outcome, or would evaluate everything that I’d done and proceed to tell me to no end how they would have done better. Some people that I needed to have business exchanges with wouldn’t take me seriously because of my age, and when an idea would fail, I was told that it was because of my obvious lack of experience, and that I should give it all up and look for something to do that was more traditionally expected. I had to constantly remind myself that all criticism is constructive, and I trained myself to take any negative word as motivation to prove my capabilities to the world and, most importantly, myself. I pushed myself to show results, since I’ve learnt that it becomes much easier to gain someone’s trust once you can demonstrate the value of what you’re doing, and I kept on going.

“As one can imagine, this made managing my business completely and utterly impossible. I had to pull myself together and start over; I approached my staff with a different attitude, and although it came out of the blue for them, they became accustomed to it and ultimately accepted it. I’ve also made it clear to anyone I’ve hired afterwards exactly where I stand in the business, and that my age does not play a role.

“One important lesson that I learnt is that reciprocity is the basis for confidence-based trust. I show my staff the utmost respect – I give them privileges, take their complaints and concerns seriously, prioritize their comfort, and make sure they feel acknowledged. I also understand that although I’m the boss, I do not know everything, and that at certain points I too am part of their team. I found that this system minimized my weaknesses and provided a healthy and peaceful atmosphere for my business and my staff.”

On working with the COR: “Just like foods have a nutritional value that fuels our body, so too does it have a spiritual element that infuses our soul. I couldn’t feel more blessed, knowing that I’m in a position where I can feed holiness to Am Yisrael. Seeing benchers on every table right after the breakfast rush, I get all the more strength to do what I’m doing. I genuinely believe that the more effort I dedicate to making my café as kosher as can be, the more G-dgiven blessing I will receive in return.

So ‘What is the kosher program’s importance to my company?’ you ask?

“It’s everything.”

“But I must point out that there were only a handful of times that I ran into these issues. I’ve received an overwhelming amount of support from my friends, family, and the general community, and I chose to listen to that instead, which in turn was what helped me believe in achieving this dream. I am forever indebted.”

On managing, hiring, and being a boss: “When I was younger, ‘Be your own boss’ was a glamorous phrase to me, and I wanted to live by it. Now that I’m here, it is far from glamorous. When I became a boss for the first time, I did not have the slightest idea of what the responsibility consisted of, and what the word ‘authority’ actually meant. I’d hired some staff that were my age, and some that were 20 to 30 years my senior. In the beginning, it was hard for me to

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Bubby’s Bagels: Filling a Hole in the Community

Simcha Breslow & Sruli Portowicz, Owners

For such a big Jewish community, it was always so surprising that Toronto didn’t

“Sruli and I came together from separate places to make this happen,” he says.

have a real, authentic kosher bagel place.

What food is more Jewish than bagels?

“I’m a big foodie, and I’m super passionate about bagels. I was 26 when we started, and, up until that point, I’d never had a real bagel in Toronto. All we could find were ‘rolls with holes’.

Enter Bubby’s bagels.

Bubby’s, which launched in May 2016, prides itself on being the only place in Toronto where you can get an authentic New York-style bagel – in 30 different flavors – baked fresh on the premises every day. They specialize in breakfast and lunch foods, such as eggs, coffee, sandwiches, salads, soups and Paninis.

They also produce Shabbat dips and an extensive line of almost 20 different varieties of herring. They pride themselves on the fact that anyone, regardless of income level, can leave the store feeling satiated without breaking the bank.

We sat down with Simcha Breslow,

“I had never really understood this, considering the size of the Toronto’s Jewish community. I married a girl from the U.S., and every time we’d go down to visit her family, I’d buy roughly 6 dozen bagels, it was all we had room for, and bring them back to keep in the freezer.

“I had recently returned to Toronto after five years living in Israel, and I was trying to find a job that I was passionate about. Sruli Portowicz and I had been friends for years, and he approached me about opening a breakfast joint and having me manage it. I was nervous about going into the food industry, because Toronto has a bit of a checkered past in terms of supporting food establishments, but I was intrigued by the prospects.

“Sruli was more focused on the breakfast angle, but I didn’t think that was enough. I told him that if we were going to do this, we had to go all out; we needed to have the best bagels known to mankind. And we set out to accomplish that.

“Sruli Portowicz is a true entrepreneur at his core. He’d moved to Toronto a few years before I did and almost immediately started opening various businesses that the community had a need for. He started out with a homemade salad-and-dips service out of his kitchen, launched the Toronto

co-owner of Bubby’s Bagels, to find out where the business came from and what the challenges are in keeping it running:

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Family Magazine, and opened The Hat Box Toronto. During this time, he also became a certified Hatzoloh member and a wellknown figure in the community.

“But Sruli wasn’t done. From the perspective of a frum guy from Brooklyn, it made no sense to him that in a city as big as Toronto, there was nowhere he could go to grab a quick breakfast. But considering how many baskets he had his hand in, he knew he needed someone to run the business with him. That’s where I came in.

“A lot of thought went into choosing the name Bubby’s Bagels, but we wanted something Jewish, traditional, and catchy. Also, my Bubby’s maiden name was Beigel.

“We hit a lot of challenges at the beginning: “CHALLENGE #1: Neither of us knew anything about making bagels, let alone truly great bagels. We had to learn everything from recipes and production to designing and operating a fast-paced takeout restaurant. We tried getting local bakeries to produce quality samples for us, but that didn’t go anywhere, so we took a trip down to the U.S. to personally meet some people who’d had success in the industry, and with a lot of help from G-d and the COR, everything came together.

“The COR, by the way, is excellent to work with. They are reliable and reachable anytime, day or night, if we have any questions.

They’re very supportive of the kosher establishments, and we’re grateful for everything they do for the community at large.

“CHALLENGE #2: The store took longer to set up than we’d initially wanted, so we were pretty eager to get started even though we weren’t fully ready. Better to just get moving than to keep endlessly pushing off our opening date. We set out to start with a sort of ‘soft launch’ where we would practice our operation and work out the kinks so we could implement permanent systems for when we’d actually open to the public. We teased our soft launch a bit to get the community excited, but we intentionally chose not to advertise it so as to not overwhelm ourselves with a deluge of hungry Jews.

“The first day we opened was the first time I’d ever baked a bagel in my life. While at that point I was well-versed in how to make them, I had never tried it myself. But the minute we opened the doors, we had a line out the door with people freaking out that we had no schmears to put on the bagel, no real system for serving the customers, and employees that were learning to use the digital payment system for the very first time. We had to run out, with people standing there, and buy a lot of cream cheese.

“In the days that followed, we quickly produced a bunch of different schmears and sandwiches and released a trial menu while we got our feet wet. We tried explaining to every customer we served that we were in a soft launch and weren’t fully set up, but I know for a fact that many people didn’t understand what that meant. We owe the deepest gratitude to Hashem and to the community’s patience and understanding, because without it, we probably wouldn’t be open today.

“CHALLENGE #3: We’d finally gotten things in gear and were

settling in, when one day, about seven weeks in, the fire department was called to the plaza about an issue at one of the apartments above the strip mall.

A tenant that lives above our restaurant claimed to be having medical symptoms of a respiratory nature. This same tenant, we later found out, had been calling every possible government department to lodge false complaints about us in an attempt to have us shut down.

“We’ve since confirmed that we were not actually causing an issue at all and that her ‘symptoms’ were an act. But in the course of their due diligence, the firefighters looked around all the shops in the plaza for irregularities, and they found that our store’s ventilation system was not properly set up for the types of equipment we were using.

“The fire department called in the building inspector, who immediately shut us down and locked our gas meter. It turns out that the contractor we’d hired had badly misled us as to what we required and cut corners everywhere, and we couldn’t have known about such a thing without someone bringing it to our attention. We thought it would be a simple, relatively quick job and that we’d be up and running again within a week or two. We had no idea what we were in for.

“In short, we were closed for nearly four painful, worrisome months as the engineers, building permits, equipment, and contractors slowly came together to fix what was a massive job. We had to completely redo our entire ventilation system. The ordeal nearly bankrupted us, and all the while, we were inundated with questions from everyone we knew about why we were closed and what was going to happen to Bubby’s Bagels. The daily rumor mill had us concerned at first, but eventually it became a source of comedic relief as the theories regarding our sudden closure devolved into utter absurdity – fires, partnership infighting, building issues, and so on. None of it was true.

“But we did learn a lot from our challenges. We learned that simply being open for business is a major blessing. When we had to close down for a few months, I spent many weeks working in the storefront on paperwork, planning the construction and logistics, temporarily halting all of our subscriptions, and even though I knew in my heart that we would be okay, it was depressing to sit there and look out at the people who would peer through the front door wondering what was going on and what had happened to us. And now, any time we have a tough day at the store or a challenge arises, I simply look out that front door and remember when it was shut and all the lights were off and the store was silent, and how truly difficult a challenge that was. Once you overcome a challenge like that, everything else pretty much pales in comparison.”

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ExlPure:

Seeing the Forest for the Trees Guy Paillard, President & Bernadette Maillet, Sales Manager

From the beginning, ExlPure’s entire business model was set up to overcome challenges.

It was 2010, shortly after the recession, and like everywhere else, the small community of Northwestern New Brunswick was hit hard. Many people had lost their jobs, and everyone was looking for something to do.

At the time, a group of retired gentlemen who had been successful in that community were looking for a way to give back, and they agreed that the best way would be to form a cooperative, which would employ people from the area, and in which everyone – workers, producers, and investors – would share ownership of the company. The idea was to use raw materials and assets that were found in the area, creating a sustainable company that would carry the community forward for many years to come. Their biggest asset, for starters, was their sense of community and cooperation.

But what would they sell?

So they looked to the maple leaf.

What do small Canadian communities have a lot of? Trees. Specifically, they noticed that there were a lot of maple syrup producers in the area, and figured that might be a good direction to take.

But no, everyone sold maple syrup.

So what could they produce that was unique? That’s when they hit upon maple sugar.

A Little Background: Maple syrup is made by boiling down maple water to thicken it and concentrate the sugars. In fact, thirty-five litres of maple water makes about a litre of maple syrup. But if you boil it down further – until all the liquid is gone – it becomes a golden maple sugar. In fact, maple sugar has a rich history in Canada, and before the 1930s, with the advent of refrigeration and metal storage cans, maple sugar was what people bought. It had a longer shelf life.

So they decided they would make the best maple sugar in the country, which wasn’t hard, because not a lot of companies make it anymore.

Another thing that would set them apart was their idea to use materials solely from their area, in order to provide greater economic development for the benefit of the community. Their product would be pure – it had one ingredient, grown with no pesticides or fertilizers, and free of all known allergens.

But there were challenges. Challenge #1 was that it had to be kosher.

“There’s not a huge need for kosher in the region,” says ExlPure sales manager, Bernadette Maillet, “but for everywhere else if you’re looking to sell an industrial product to manufacturers you have to have a kosher product. You won’t be able to sell industrially if your product is not kosher.”

But as a small, close-knit community, they didn’t even know what kosher was. How do you make something kosher? Where could they even find a rabbi? So they looked it up and stumbled across the Kashruth Council of Canada – the COR. And they never looked back.

“The service was amazing, without exaggeration,” says Bernadette. “It was a great partnership. The whole team at the COR is absolutely informative and supportive in every way possible. To me, that was a great find. There could have been other agencies, but never would I want to look for them.”

But that wasn’t the only challenge. Challenge #2, once they were in business, was explaining to people what maple sugar even was. Time had forgotten this product, and everyone wanted to know why they should buy this new sugar, and why it was orange. So ExlPure had to go around educating people and providing demos.

“But once they taste our products, they’re hooked,” says Bernadette.

“Our products are that amazing.”

In the two and a half years since ExlPure opened its doors, they’ve come out with a few other products. The first, once they had their own unique sugar, was to make it into cotton candy. Why not? It’s still just the one ingredient – basically just a cloud of maple. In fact, that’s what they called it: “Cloud O’ Maple.”

They also looked around for another local product they could bottle and sell, and they came upon haskap juice. Haskap, also known as

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blue honeysuckle, is a super fruit – like a blueberry, but with way more antioxidants and able to grow in cold temperatures. ExlPure crushes the berries and sweetens them with their own maple syrup, giving them yet another all-natural product solely using the resources they already have.

“It’s not hard for us to be kosher,” Bernadette points out, in retrospect.

There are only two ingredients in the entire plant, and they’re both all natural. Nowadays, she says, the company is not chasing customers so much as customers are already understanding what they’re doing as well as the benefits of their products and coming to them. They also don’t have to explain to people what maple sugar is anymore and have finally gotten over that hump.

Now all they have to do is explain to people what on earth a haskap berry is.

ExlPure was borne of challenges, but the solution, they found, is that G-d gives you everything you need, right in front of you. Everything they use – the maple syrup, berries, and the people – were right there all along. You just have to be able to see the forest for the trees.

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Nature’s Mix: A Healthy Start

John Gaya, President The year was 2011, and Waterloo father John Gaya had just lost his IT job due to layoffs. His wife, Crystal, who was a homemaker at the time, decided to sell her homemade granola at the local farmers’ market to earn an extra couple of dollars.

“My wife is an excellent cook,” John says, “and her granola was always a hit with our family and friends.”

It was the kind where people sputter, “You should sell this!” between mouthfuls.

So she did. Crystal hadn’t found any granola in the health markets that were made with ingredients that were as healthy as the ones she was using, yet tasted as good. The plan, the couple figured, was to let shoppers taste the granola and see if people who were not Crystal’s family and friends would recommend she sell it too. Basically, all they wanted was some feedback as to whether this would hypothetically be a viable business, and they figured that the farmers’ market – where people are always on the lookout for healthy foods – would be a good testing ground.

She sold out on day one. The only thing that customers were upset about was that she hadn’t brought enough. John and Crystal had to run back to the farmers’ market the next week with more. They continued to sell out every week, and the feedback they received from their customers was so motivating they decided to turn this into an actual business.

It turns out that even in a bad economy, health food sells— especially when it tastes good. Their granola is made from locally-sourced oats, honey, and maple syrup, contains no added sugar, and is one of the few companies that uses olive oil rather than the canola and other oils used by some manufacturers. And it helped that all of the granola was made manually – as opposed to machine made – giving it a fresh, home-baked taste.

From there the business exploded, faster than the couple could keep up with.

Huge orders came in that were very hard to meet on time. Sure, they were great at making the granola, but the packaging process, especially for large volumes, was very time-consuming. No one gets into this job because they’re great at packaging loose granola by hand. It’s a whole process: scooping the granola in, making sure it weighs what the package says it does, pouring some out, pouring some back in, sealing it…

So they had a dilemma. In order to increase the size of their business, they would have to take large orders, but the only way to do so was to invest in a packaging machine, which was far too costly for a fledgling business that was growing faster than they could keep up with. But if they wouldn’t have the machine, they’d have to package by hand, and wouldn’t be able to fill the large orders they were receiving in time, and therefore not be able to earn the money to pay for a packaging machine.

It was a vicious cycle.

So they decided to apply to the Ontario government funding program for assistance in purchasing the machines they needed. Their application was approved, and with that, they were able to grow. What started with one flavour, honey almond, at one farmers’ market soon became eight flavors at over 170 stores across Ontario.

One thing that was not a challenge was making their products kosher.

“It was not a hard decision to make our products COR certified,” John says.

“Everything we use in our granola is already natural and kosher.” They didn’t actually have to change anything. John adds that getting the certification was important because even non-kosher consumers see the COR symbol as an indication of a quality product.

John counts the COR as easier to work with than he expected, what with the COR’s “CORporate Kosher” online kosher-management program, which he found very intuitive and easy to use. The manufacturers simply enter the ingredients that they’re putting into a new product, or they update an entry if they suddenly change suppliers for an existing product, the COR verifies it, and the system provides them with a kosher certificate. Then, when the Rabbi performs his inspection of the plant, he just has to verify that they’re using the ingredients that are in the CORporate Kosher database, all of which have already been verified at COR headquarters.

What John and Crystal learned from this whole experience, though, is that sometimes the key to your livelihood lies in a talent you weren’t expecting to monetize. Chances are you’re good at more than one thing. Today might have been rough, but tomorrow’s another day, and all you need is a healthy start.

They also learned that if a homemaker decided to start charging for what she does, she could probably start an empire.

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Pure Greens: Turning Over New Leaves Estee Gestetner, Owner “Who’s scared of a few little bugs?”

This is a question we used to ask as children, before we became adults who love salad. When it comes to vegetables, bugs are the terror of kosher consumers and entomophobes everywhere— especially ones who are trying to eat healthy.

For years, Canadian Jews had very few options for obtaining fresh, prechecked, bug-free produce. It’s not hard to get frozen vegetables around here, but what if you just want a salad?

Of course there is vacuum-sealed Iceberg and Romaine, but, up until recently, if you wanted fresh lettuce that you knew was properly checked by a mashgiach, you would have to go to a COR certified restaurant or wedding hall, and those places aren’t great for dieting. Sure, you could check your vegetables yourself, if you wanted to go through the whole process every time you wanted a healthy snack, but there was always the fear that maybe you didn’t do it properly.

But then last year, Toronto resident and cookbook author, Estee Gestetner, decided to do something about it. Estee runs Kosherco, a business which creates food products that she feels are a missing need, such as sauces and healthy snacks; and she felt that this was definitely a missing need.

Estee, who often summers in Upstate New York, had occasionally journeyed to the large Jewish municipalities in the States and always found herself drooling over the gorgeous pre-packaged, pre-checked, certified vegetables. So she said, “Why can’t Toronto have something like this?”

“Why can’t Toronto have something like this?” she asked Rabbi Tsvi Heber, COR’s Director of Community Kosher.

And Rabbi Heber said, “What a great idea! Go for it!”

COR offered to help Estee get the business up and running and that’s how Pure Greens was born. “They were a lot of help,” Estee says. “All the mashgichim and staff of the COR have been very supportive, because they’re all about improving the kashrus of the city.”

COR even advised her in training her bug-checkers. “We actually sent two mashgichim to the Seasons superstore in New York to see how they do the washing there,” she says.

Estee had to build her own kitchen for this, including a custom-made sink with 3 compartments for the various stages of soaking and checking, as well as 3 separate drains.

Kosher City, Kosher Gourmet, Savours, and Sobeys North), and even to Montreal (in The Fooderie Market). The company checks cauliflower, whole Romaine leaves, baby kale (seasonally), baby spinach, arugula, purple cauliflower, and, on occasion, herbs. They’re also thinking of branching into strawberries in the spring, and are constantly taking suggestions for more products. They also do some work for caterers.

“A lot of commercial kitchens are tight on space,” Estee points out, “and washing and drying produce makes a big mess. So outsourcing the washing of some vegetables to us is a great option for them.”

As for her biggest challenges?

“Money,” says her son, Lippy, who, at 17, is the company’s CFO. Estee did not get into vegetables to make money, but to do a service for the community.

“Financially, it’s not great,” she says. “I did it for the klal, and the reaction from the klal so far has been tremendous.”

But she does note two major challenges: The first is the quality of the produce. Pure Greens has no control over how the produce is grown, and sometimes, Estee notes, when the produce is grown with too much moisture, it can go bad faster. When the produce is great, it can last for 2 weeks without a problem, which is a great shelf life. If not, it doesn’t last long, which can be very frustrating.

She points out that Pure Greens checks using the same method and at the same speed every time. But, she says, “We have no control over the produce. We have no way of knowing in advance that it will come in less than perfect.”

Her second issue is price fluctuations.

Pure Greens was started as a service to the community, and not to make money (“although a little bit of money would be nice,” she jokes, her son clearing his throat in the background), and they try to keep the prices down as much as possible. But, they buy their produce from the market, and, as anyone who tries to eat healthy knows, produce prices fluctuate wildly—especially when you’re buying a metric ton of it. “Some weeks Romaine lettuce will cost us $20 a case,” she says, “and some weeks it will cost $60.” The same with cauliflower, yet she can’t just keep bringing her own prices up and down like that – it doesn’t work.

“People assume I do it all at home,” she says. “I do not.”

“The first week the business started,” she notes, “Romaine was $80. But we can’t say, let’s not wash Romaine lettuce this week. Then everyone asks, ‘Where’s the Romaine?’”

One big difference between checking at home and getting pre-checked produce, she says, is that even if you really know what you’re doing, each leaf of pre-checked greens is washed under an extremely high-pressure stream of water – higher than what you have at home.

And what about Pesach?

According to Estee, she should probably have given up on this whole thing already if not for all the enthusiasm from the community. That’s what gets her through the day, she says – the positive feedback.

“A lot of people don’t realize how difficult it is to check produce,” she points out.

“I really feel very privileged to have started something that affects so many people in such a positive way. It really is way more challenging than I thought. If not for all this enthusiasm from the people, and I’ve even had rabbis call and say how much good we’re doing for the city, I would have given up months ago. People hug me in the street and tell, ‘You’ve changed my life. Now every time I buy vegetables, I think of you.’”

Pure Greens’ business model is to buy the produce wholesale, wash it, check it, package it, and have it on store shelves, all within 24 hours, thus guaranteeing the best-tasting vegetables with the longest shelf life possible. They currently ship their produce all over Toronto (Hermes,

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Tzafona: Wine of the North

Avraham Gislason & Toby Berkel, Owners Hashem created the world in a way that every spot is ideal for growing or producing different things. The northern regions of the world, for example, are colder than most, and are good for producing products such as maple syrup – a fact that we advertise on the Canadian national flag – and for producing ice wine.

Ice wine is a type of dessert wine that is produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine, which can only happen in a region that dips below negative nine degrees Celsius. The sugars and dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine.

The Niagara Peninsula is the principal appellation of Canada’s ice wines, as the cold Canadian winters are perfectly tempered by the waters of Lake Ontario.

And therein lies the home of Tzafona wine cellars, which, aside from being the only regular producer of kosher wine in Canada, is also one of the only producers of kosher ice wine in the world. (The other one is in Austria).

Tzafona was started four years ago by Avraham Gislason and Toby Berkel of Toronto. Both appreciated good wine, but were disappointed that the Niagara region, which produces some world-class vintages, had no kosher representation. So they decided to produce high-quality kosher wines that would show the unique character of the area. Together, they purchased a make-your-own-beer facility and went about getting all the proper permits.

“Baruch Hashem you only have to start a winery once!” says Avraham.

“We’re required to have four different licenses in order to operate a winery, and each one of them is tremendously difficult to obtain. It literally took more than a year just to deal with all of the licensing requirements.”

They finally got started for the 2014 vintage, making a brand called Tzafona, which means “northward”, highlighting the unique appeal of their wines. Tzafona is a group of high-end, non-mevushal wines, with grapes grown at Diamond Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In 2016, they began producing another brand, Nava, in their own facility in Thornhill.

Nava wines are mevushal, and can therefore service the wedding, bar mitzvah, and restaurant market.

This year, they’re introducing Nava Blanc, a slightly sweet, fruity white blend, and Nava Red, a nice, easy-to-drink red blend. They’re also offering a Tzafona Riesling, which is one of their most popular wines. Last year, they produced the world’s only kosher Cabernet Sauvignon red ice wine.

But running a winery is not all drinking and having a good time. It also presents its fair share of challenges. One of the biggest, Avraham says, is scheduling.

“We purchase grapes from farmers in the Niagara region,” he says, “and the harvest doesn’t happen based on our preference. When the grapes are ready to be picked, they’re picked, and we have to be ready to process them. Since we’re a relatively small producer, we often have to be ready to receive our grapes when a larger winery decides it’s time to pick them, and they don’t care if it is Friday or Shabbos or Yom Tov!” The immediate processing to which he’s referring involves de-stemming and crushing the grapes, and additionally, in the case of white wine, pressing them to separate the juice from the solids. If these steps are made to wait for a day or two, the juice could oxidize and give the wine a bad taste. And as it is, the grapes are generally picked in the morning and not delivered to their Thornhill facility until that night.

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“One time we actually received grapes on Thursday evening,” Avraham says, “and we stayed up all night processing them to avoid being in a difficult situation on Erev Shabbos.”

The two have had to come up with strategies to deal with this.

For one, they always have all their systems sanitized and ready to go. They’re also constantly working on new systems to process the grapes that the non-kosher wine producers would not have to develop, such as: 1. Holding the grapes over Shabbos at a certain temperature.

2. Finding a way to crush them in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where they’re grown, and then shipping the juice to Thornhill. Whereas fresh-picked grapes are shipped in open-air containers, juice is shipped in airtight containers, thus preventing oxygen contact.

They also credit their tremendous relationship with COR, an organization that they find to be tremendously flexible – not in halacha, but in accommodating their strange hours.

“I work directly with Rabbi Yehoshua Norman, who is the COR’s wine expert,” Avraham says. “He is really the perfect person to work with in the kashrus field. He is friendly and personable, always trying to be as helpful as possible, and always available for questions and ideas. This, in combination with his attention to detail and his broad knowledge of halacha, makes him a valuable asset.”

But above all, they’ve learned that that worrying about the situation isn’t going to accomplish anything.

“When things seem to be difficult and potentially impossible to deal with due to our specific requirements,” Avraham says, “we’ve learned to not be stressed. Whatever happens is the will of Hashem.”

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Who is Wise Bites?

One Who Sees the Future Cathline James, Owner

When Cathline James was nine years old, her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Six years later, her mother passed away.

In Cathline’s mind, she decided that cancer is caused by what a person eats. She was convinced that her mother’s rich diet was what poisoned her body. Based on that, Cathline tried to formulate a healthy diet for herself – avoiding those foods – carrying that philosophy until this day, well into motherhood. She raised her children on nutritious foods and, like all good mothers, is always there for her kids and they are there for her too.

She’s also a serial entrepreneur. Cathline has moved several times in her life, and with each time, she’s tried her hand at a new business, from farming in Alberta to women’s clothing retail in Victoria to being a training consultant in Switzerland.

But her mind kept coming back to healthy eating. She noticed that, as healthy as she tried to be, news stories kept rolling in about obesity and food being full of harmful chemicals that are not technically food. She learned that the diets of Canadian children are – despite everyone’s best efforts – still on the decline.

She wondered, “Why are there so few healthy options in grocery stores?” Prepared foods in particular. There are always raw materials, such as fruits and vegetables and nuts and cheese. But what if you’re allergic to nuts or dairy? What if you want something quickly on the go? Being healthy doesn’t have to mean that every time you want to eat something, you have to allow for prep time. And what if you’re just craving cookies? Even most of the bars out there, while rooted in healthy grains and good intentions, are sweetened with corn syrup.

Sure, people say, “Let them eat junk food once in a while; they’re just kids.” But doesn’t what they eat today stick with them tomorrow?

“Why can’t we see the connection,” Cathline asks, “between how we reward our children today and the illnesses they may have to endure in the future?”

After all, she herself changed her diet as a kid.

So she started Wise Bites, based in Richmond, British Colombia, which makes cookies and bars – but healthy ones, designed to accommodate your sweet tooth and your chocolate craving. Instead of sugar, she sweetens them with fruits, such as date paste, and the base of her products is quinoa flour, which has amino acids, plus minerals and protein.

Her goal, she says, is to give everyone healthy choices. It has to be healthy, and it has to be free of the top 11 allergens – no nuts, wheat, eggs, soy, sesame, shellfish, dairy, and so on. It also had to be kosher, obviously, because if you’re going to work extra hard to make sure everyone could eat it, “everyone” should include “people who keep kosher.”

But even doing so was not without its challenges. For example, although this was Cathline’s fifth start-up, it was her first in the food industry. She had to learn fast and work extra hard to stay in business. She had to wear way more hats within her company than she thought she would – production, procurement, sales, quality control – and that was on top of keeping up with all of the certificates she had to maintain: gluten-free,

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vegan, non-GMO, HACCP, and kosher.

Some of those were easier than others, she says. She commends COR on being very supportive and patient with companies that don’t understand the ins and outs of kashrut.

“Being involved with COR has been a positive experience,” she says. “In his visits on-site, Rabbi Adler makes that human connection that we all appreciate.”

By this point – five years in – she has scaled up and has a staff to help her, to the point where her company cranks out over 2,100 cookies in six minutes. But, she says, she never would have made it through those early days if not for the fact that, as she points out, “I love what I do.” If it’s a job that your heart is in, it makes things easier.

But she looks back on her past challenges as having made her what she is today. “In a way,” she says, “my challenges called upon me to be more creative, and that’s the biggest coup for me – it’s what I am – an entrepreneur, really. Entrepreneurship allows you, on a daily basis, to think about what you can do better tomorrow.”

Cathline is also all about how, if something happens to you, you learn from it and strive to not let it happen again – you use the difficulties in your past to help you decide what’s important to you and to make yourself a stronger person in the long run.

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WOWBUTTER: Fake It ‘til You Make It Scott Mahon, Owner It’s not socially acceptable to eat peanut butter anymore. At least in mixed company.

For many, the peanut allergy is an airborne thing, so it’s not just about being careful not to eat anyone else’s lunch – it’s about being careful not to be in the same room as someone eating his own lunch. Those with the allergy can have severe anaphylactic reactions from ingesting even the smallest trace amount of peanut protein left behind on a table or on the hands of a person who just finished consuming a peanut product.

And as such, many institutions – and schools in particular – don’t allow it. You can’t eat peanut butter in public anymore.

So for many people, it’s always a challenge to ty to look for something pareve to put on sandwiches that is shelf stable and does not smell like fish.

Enter WOWBUTTER. WOWBUTTER is the brainchild of the Mahon family of Staffa, Ontario, who, when they had allergy problems within their own family, turned their oat-processing plant, Hilton Toasted Oats, into a venue to try to find a suitable peanut butter replacement. Their goal was to create something that was basically indistinguishable from peanut butter, except in terms of allergies— just as tasty and maybe even a little healthier.

What they developed was a multiple-award-winning peanut and tree-nut free spread called WOWBUTTER, using mostly soybeans that they grow themselves. WOWBUTTER is made from only five ingredients: toasted soy, pressed soy oil, cane sugar, palm oil, and sea salt. Their product is a complete protein source, containing all 9 essential amino acids necessary for building and maintaining muscle mass. (Peanut butter itself only has 6). It’s also a natural source of Omega-3 (which peanut butter is not) and is made without the use of hydrogenated oils, colours, flavours, or preservatives.

As Scott Mahon, president of WOWBUTTER, says, “I could never sell something that I wouldn’t feel good about providing to my own children!”

Their main goal was to develop a product that was safe for schools and that tasted like peanut butter. According to Connie, one fan of the product, “I made cookies with WOWBUTTER because I am allergic to peanuts. I also made some with peanut butter because my kids and hubby can eat it. Wouldn’t you know, they ate mine because they said it tasted better!”

“I can’t believe it’s not peanut butter!” people are saying.

Not COR though. We’re mashgichim, and it’s our job to verify ingredients. So we believe it.

One of the company’s biggest challenges, Scott says, is that it’s dwarfed by other companies with more products and larger marketing budgets. WOWBUTTER has no other products. Instead of diluting their limited resources toward making multiple products that are just “adequate”, they have one product, and they’re constantly working on perfecting it. For example, they recently switched from clear jars to colored jars, which keeps more light off their product and helps it retain freshness for longer. Their goal is to do one thing and do it well, and they’ve succeeded—to the point where initially, some schools started banning WOWBUTTER because it looks too much like peanut butter!

So the company figured out a solution. They created a dual-layer label for their jars, the inner label consisting of smaller “Made with WOWBUTTER!” stickers to stick to your child’s lunch container, showing that there are no nuts in your child’s lunch. Their own little hashgacha stickers, if you will. They’re also creating a “To-Go Cup” containing one serving of WOWBUTTER, pre-sealed, that can be taken to school without making anyone nervous.

Their product also has COR certification too, of course. “Due to the fact that our entire facility is dedicated to only making WOWBUTTER and that we only have 5 simple ingredients, there isn’t a significant amount of time needed to maintain kosher certification,” Scott says. “There are many consumers who are actively looking for kosher products, and it’s always been important to us that we could make WOWBUTTER available to them.”

Sometimes it pays to be simple. Less is more.

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nutrition corner

NUTRITION

corner Passover is about tradition. Not only religious traditions, but culinary traditions as well. And where do our traditions come from if not from our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. That’s why this year we decided to feature recipes that have been in families for generations. And who better to ask than Bubby! So these recipes have either been passed down from a Bubby or are cooked by a Bubby. The recipes are diverse, yet practical. Indeed, our Bubbies use ingredients that are readily available keeping in mind how busy women are in the kitchen this time of year. Since the theme of this year’s magazine is “overcoming challenges”, we wanted to make sure that these recipes weren’t overly challenging. We hope you enjoy these wonderful recipes.

nutrition corner

Vegetable Soup S ubmitted by: D aniel & S ammy S chechter B ubby ’ s N ame : J udy P ister

We like the small pieces of vegetables in the soup. This is really a chicken soup, but Safta wanted to leave out the meat part because our daddy is vegetarian. Then we had other vegetarian guests too.

1 Large sweet onion peeled and chopped 1 - 2 Stalks of leak, chopped 4 to 6 Carrots, peeled and chopped 2 Large parsnips, peeled and chopped 1 Small rutabaga, peeled and chopped

1. Place all vegetables in a large soup pot and sauté for a few minutes in a bit of oil. Add water and boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for at least 2 hours. Close to the end of cooking add bouquet garni (remove and discard before serving). * Tips: For a Chicken Soup - If you prefer to add chicken pieces or bones, place them in a separate pot and add water to cover. Boil and skim the top.

Discard the water. Wrap the chicken pieces in cheese cloth and add to the vegetable soup.

Alternatively, place the wrapped raw chicken bundle in the pot and then add water. When it reaches a boil, skim well, add the vegetables, reduce heat and simmer at least 2 hours.

1 Sweet potato, peeled and diced

If adding chicken, reduce the chicken soup mix or eliminate per taste.

12 – 15 Cups water – to fill a large pot. If using a bigger pot then add more vegetables)

When soup is cooked, remove the bones. If using pieces of chicken, cool and remove bones and skin.

Cut chicken into small pieces and add back to soup.

Salt to taste 1 Teaspoon turmeric 3 – 4 Tablespoons pareve chicken soup mix 1 Bouquet garni using parsley and dill (wrap in cheese cloth for easy discard)

ails?

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alerts, Sign up for our kosher your email at www.cor.ca or send tion rma info ant ort imp address to info@cor.ca

nutrition corner

Alice’s Macesc Gomboc (Matzah Balls) S ubmitted by: E rsze L ukocs B ubby ’ s N ame : A lice S v ed , B udapest, H ungary

This Passover recipe is so tasty, we make it year round. My mother-in-law, Alice, who is 96 years old and a Holocaust survivor, passed it to me.

Note: This recipe was originally sent in Hungarian to relatives in Toronto who translated it for the magazine.

6 Large sheets of matzah 6 Eggs To taste Salt, black pepper and ginger powder 4 Tablespoons fat (you can substitute margarine or oil) 3-4 Tablespoons matzah meal 16 to 20 Cups water 1. Break the matzah into about 40 mm (approx. 1.5 inch) pieces. Place them in a large bowl and cover with water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and press gently to squeeze out the remaining water.

Pesach Noodles (Lokshen) for Chicken Soup S ubmitted by: E sther S cheer B ubby ’ s N ame : M ina R osenwald a” h

Every Pesach, all of us looked so forward to these delicious noodles for chicken soup. The secret of this delicacy was in the slicing/chopping of the very thin pancake type shells into noodles… my mother made them to perfection!!!! Mother had a special small wooden chopping board that was only used for these lokshen every Pesach. We all knew that when we saw the chopping board on the counter, Mother was going to make lokshen. Now, I am the proud owner of this chopping board. I follow this recipe every Pesach and my children and grandchildren look so forward to eating them! As a matter of fact, one of my grandsons, Nathan, asks me many times to make Pesach lokshen during the year. I told him that if I made these noodles during the year then they wouldn’t be so ‘special’ at Pesach.

2. Beat the eggs and add to matzah. Add salt, pepper, ginger. Mix by hand and add matzah meal.

6 Eggs

3. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 6 hours or preferably overnight.

1 Eggshell of water

1 teaspoon Potato starch Oil to fry

4. Wet hands and make medium sized balls.

5. Boil water. Can add a bit of salt or soup mix (chicken/ beef).

6. Gently lower the balls into the water and boil until they all float to the surface (approximately one hour). Carefully remove with a slotted spoon. * Tips: You can optionally boil one matzah ball to make sure that it does not fall apart before doing the rest.

Variation 1: Rather than making the matzah balls for soup, they can be served as a side dish: Top with sautéed onion.

1. Mix together all ingredients. Wipe frying pan with oil and heat. Pour small amount of batter to thinly cover frying pan. Fry until dry and edges separate from pan. Stack on plate or clean dishtowel. Roll up jelly roll style and cut into strips. * Tips: Always try to pour the mixture to make a very thin pancake….once you have all the noodles sliced then make sure that you shake all the sliced rolls so that the noodles are all separate…also, it will take less time to make if you have more than one frying pan. Enjoy!

Variation 2: Served as a dessert: Sprinkle with cocoa and sugar.

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Roast Chicken with Vegetables S ubmitted by: I lana S chechter B ubby ’ s N ame : R ose R osenzweig

My grandma has always made sure that we ate lots of vegetables. As a pediatrician, I look for ways to prepare well balanced meals that are both easy to make and simple to clean up. This is a great one dish meal.

8 - 12 Pieces chicken (drums, thighs, breast with skin) if using breast cut in ½ 1 Large sweet Onion 5 - 6 Carrots and parsnips combo, peeled, sliced on a diagonal 4 - 6 Medium potatoes or sweet potatoes cut in chunks 3 Stalks celery, (use carrot peeler to remove strings), slice on diagonal

1. Lightly oil the bottom of large roasting pan or casserole dish. Place chicken, skin side up in pan. Sprinkle with paprika and black pepper and shmear with some oil.

2. Place cut vegetables in a large plastic bag and add 1 Tbsp oil, a bit of salt, black pepper and paprika. Close bag and shake well to coat the vegetables. Place vegetables around chicken.

3. Place fresh herbs on top of chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle a bit of paprika and oil all over.

1 Tablespoon paprika

4. Preheat oven to 350°F and roast for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours. Check a few times and baste with pan juices. If not enough pan juices, you can add a few tablespoons of white wine or orange juice to the pan.

4 Cloves garlic (whole)

5. About 10 minutes before done, add the grape tomatoes.

Salt and black pepper to taste

* Tips: Variation: Drizzle with a tablespoon of honey before baking, yum!

6 Mushrooms, quartered and peeled (peeling is optional)

3 Sprigs fresh herbs (Rosemary or Parsley) 1 – 2 Tablespoons oil

Call the Kosher Hotline

Questions

at 416.635.9550 x100 or email us at questions@ cor.ca

We have answers.

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Matzo Brei S ubmitted by: O lga S ekiritsky B ubby ’ s N ame : H ainda ( E lena ) G aisinsky ( R osenbaum ) a” h

It was my grandmother’s recipe, and I have made it ever since 1978 when she taught me how to make. It is special for my family because it was her recipe and everyone likes it.

4-5 Pieces matzos Hot water 1 Eggshell of water 2 Eggs Salt and black pepper to taste 2 Tablespoons butter (optional) 2 Tablespoons oil

Goulash with Potatoes, Hungarian Style S ubmitted by: N echama M otzen B ubby ’ s N ame : N echama M otzen

My mother-in-law made this recipe every erev Pesach for lunch.

This goulash kept the family members, who were non-gebrucht, full and nourished until the Seder. It was a tried and true way to keep people from starving or noshing on erev Pesach. I began making this recipe for my children, and now my grandchildren ask me to make it whenever I visit.

3 Pounds beef cubes for stewing

Salt and black pepper to taste

3 Medium size Onions

3 Tablespoons oil

1 Red pepper

1 Tablespoon chicken soup mix

9 Medium potatoes 1. In a mixing bowl, break the matzo into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Bring the water to a boil and pour over the matzos.

3. Quickly toss the matzo, and then drain off any excess water.

4. In a bowl, beat the eggs with a fork. Mix the eggs, salt and pepper into the matzo.

5. Over high heat, heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan.

6. Add the matzo and fry until crisp. Flip over to fry the other side. Instead of one large frying pan you could take two small ones and split the mixture in the two pans. This makes it easier to flip and keep the shape. * Tips: For those with a sweet tooth, or if you want to get creative, add sugar to the mix and drizzle some chocolate on top. After it cools you can store it in a zip lock bag for the rest of the day.

1. In a heavy pot, heat the oil. Cut the onions into small chunks and add to the oil. Sautee the onions until translucent, mixing them a few times, until they begin to brown.

2. Then add the minced red pepper. (Alternatively, grate the inside of the red pepper over the onions. Save the skin of the red pepper and add to the goulash. Remove the large pieces and discard before serving).

3. Rub the meat with a little salt and pepper to taste and add to the onions.

Mix with the onions for a minute. Then add water to cover. When it comes to a boil, add the chicken soup mix. Cook for 2 hours on a low flame.

4. Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks. You can add them to the goulash during the last hour so that it will cook together and absorb the taste of the meat.

5. Add water almost to cover. Mix so that the potatoes are fully covered. Or you can cook the potatoes separately in another pot for about 30 minutes until soft enough for a fork to pierce easily. * Tips: This recipe can be made a day in advance. Serve with chrein. Serves 6 people.

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Baked Apple S ubmitted by: L eanne Wasel B ubby ’ s N ame : S ylv ia ( S hifra ) L abo v itch a” h

It was always special to sit around the Seder table with my grandparents, Sam and Sylvia Labovitch, and the rest of our family. My Baba Shifra always made delicious food and my Zaida Sam (Simcha Meir) led a beautiful Seder B”H. The best part of the Seder was dessert!!! This is when Baba Shifra would serve compote along with many other delicacies.

I’ve adapted my bubby’s amazing compote recipe to fit my style of cooking which is…”easy, simple and healthy”, although I’m sure my bubby’s compote must have been super healthy…it was full of fruit after all!! This recipe is embarrassingly easy but always a huge hit with every age group. Plus it’s always welcome on Pesach when the food can tend to be heavy at times.

Use your favourite type of apples in any amount that you wish to bake (Spartan works well, so does Golden delicious).

1. Core each apple 2. Remove the skin around the top of the apple (just a small circle at the top) 3. Pour apple juice around the top of the apples (to cover the top) 4. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the apple (really no need to add sugar!)

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (you can bake at higher temperature for a shorter time or bake at a lower temperature for a longer time) * Tips: Once we left the apples in by accident overnight at a very low temperature and they were incredibly delicious the next morning…great with yogurt!

Use enough Kosher for Pesach Apple juice to sprinkle over the apples. (Kosher for Pesach apple juice is super easy to find).

Sprinkle Kosher for Pesach cinnamon to taste. (Kosher for Pesach cinnamon is also easy to find…even in Edmonton where I live!!).

Sprinkle chopped walnuts to taste (Optional).

Pesach Pink Lemonade S ubmitted by: R ochelle W einberg B ubby ’ s N ame : R ochelle W einberg

For this recipe the ingredients are always on hand. It could not be any easier to prepare and is so pretty to look at. The kids love it so much that they are now asking me to make it for Sukkot!!

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1 Cup grape juice Lemon juice or lemons to taste 4 Cups water Sugar or sweetener to taste * Tips: You can double or triple the recipe, just use 4 cups of water to each 1 cup of grape juice.

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Saba Zolty’s Pesach Nut Cake S ubmitted by: P hyllis F reidman B ubby ’ s N ame : S aba Z olty a” h

Our family was always blessed (or you could say cursed!) with a sweet tooth. We would always look forward to this cake to finish off our meals on Passover. It is also great all year round!

BOTTOM LAYER

TOP LAYER

12 Egg whites

12 Egg yolks

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup sugar

1 Pound nuts

½ Pound margarine

Chana’s Birthday Cake (Chocolate Cake) S ubmitted by: T he N ormans B ubby ’ s N ame : B ubby N orman

8 Ounces chocolate 2 Teaspoons vanilla sugar Bottom Layer: 1. Beat the egg whites until stiff then slowly add in the sugar. Once the sugar has been incorporated, slowly add the nuts.

For many years when Zaidy a”h and Bubby Norman were by us for Pesach together with the Marcovich branch of the family, we made this recipe from Bubby as a birthday cake for our cousin, who was born on Chol Hamoed - to the extent that to this day we still call it Chana’s Birthday Cake recipe.

2. Bake at 3750 for 20 to 25 minutes in a 10 x 13 inch pan. Let cool before putting on the top layer.

CAKE

FROSTING

8 Eggs separated

1 Egg white, beaten lightly

Top Layer:

2 Cups sugar

7/8 Cup sugar

¾ Cup potato starch (or ½ cup of matzah meal)

Pinch salt

1. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, margarine, chocolate, vanilla sugar and coffee together.

2. Pour this mixture over the baked mixture.

3. Bake again for 20 to 25 minutes at 3750 for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool. Once the cake has cooled put it in the freezer until ready to use. * Tips: Take the cake out of the freezer 15 minutes before serving

3 Tablespoons cold water

½ Cup cocoa 1 Tablespoon vanilla sugar ½ Cup oil Drop orange juice 1 Teaspoon coffee Cake: Beat egg whites with 1 cup of sugar. Beat other ingredients together and fold into whites. Bake at 325oF for 1 hour in a 9” tube pan.

Frosting: Combine ingredients in order in the top of a double boiler.

While the water in the lower pot is boiling, beat the ingredients in the upper pot with a fork or a rotary beater for 7 minutes or until it is thick enough to spread on the cake.

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Overcoming Diet-Related Challenges on Passover…

You can do it!

By Miriam Leibowitz, MHSc, RD

Passover can be a stressful time when it comes to what to eat, how much to eat, and the cost of what to eat. From late night wine consumption to all the matzah we eat during the sedarim, maintaining your typical diet can be difficult, not to mention expensive.

Especially if you have a medical condition or are just worried about putting on additional weight, the fear of what to eat on Passover can be overwhelming. Here are some simple strategies to help you overcome those food related obstacles head on.

Worried about the cost of making Passover?

Keep it simple by using basic ingredients like oil, salt, pepper and other spices. Sit down and make a budget, keeping in mind seder meals and guests you will be hosting. Plan in advance by writing out your Passover meals and menu and stick to your grocery list when you shop. Avoid impulse buying as those items are most likely to be expensive. Try to stay away from processed foods that are Kosher for Passover (KFP), such as many cookies, mixes, and cakes. These foods tend to be quite expensive and high in fat, sugar, and calories. When you can bake from scratch, it won’t break the budget and will be a lot healthier. Finally, become familiar with and refer to this COR Passover magazine for items that do not require any special kosher certification such

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as some oils, nuts, and sugars. Frozen fish is a good option and when you can buy it at a place like Costco it keeps costs down. Frozen fish does require a hechsher but, as stated in the COR Passover magazine, the following brands are acceptable without a hechsher: A) Kirkland Atlantic (Farm Raised) Salmon is acceptable as is for Passover when it bears the OU symbol B) Kirkland Wild Frozen Salmon is acceptable only after rinsing it off (OU) Worried you may put on weight?

Keep in mind that if you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle through the year, eight days of Passover in the grand scheme of things shouldn’t set you back too much.

That being said, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan ahead or try to make the best choices possible. If you have worked hard improving your eating habits and exercising, keep the momentum going during the holidays. While it may be difficult to lose weight during the holidays, maintaining your

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weight may be a more realistic goal. In fact, SMART goal setting is a successful strategy that you can use when it comes to making positive eating behaviors. Make “SMART,” specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-specific goals.

When possible, choose whole wheat or spelt matzah for the sedarim, keeping in mind that it’s not a mitzvah to overeat. Small meals are recommended during the seder days. For the two sedarim meals, try not to eat from 4 p.m. until the evening meal because the seder meals are particularly rich and heavy. This can help balance your daily calorie intake. Keep in mind that the seder meals don’t need to be “unhealthy” as many of the foods typically eaten are nutritious items (eggs, romaine lettuce and boiled chicken). It’s usually the quantity of food and extra-large portion sizes that get us in trouble.

Another good strategy is to limit Passover nosh to a minimum. Are you feeling stressed with all the cooking or cleaning? Stay out of the Passover kitchen! If you are feeling overwhelmed, you might be more likely to nosh on things if they are right there in front of you. Change your environment by going for a refreshing walk to clear your mind. If you do need a quick fix, choose some healthy snacks like fruit, vegetables, yogurt, low-fat cheese, and nuts.

Worried because you are Diabetic or watching your sugar intake?

It is important to be conscious of the amount of matzah consumed and wine you drink during Passover, especially during the seder meals. Carbohydrates in starches like matzah as well as those in sweetened grape juice/wine can cause increases in blood sugar if they are not consumed in an appropriate amount. You might also consider using dry wine for the four cups of wine during the seder meal as they typically have lower sugar content.

It is also imperative to control your blood sugar by not skipping meals or starving yourself the day of the seder. Eating every 4-6 hours will help curb potential overeating at a meal. Incorporating physical activity, specifically after a large meal, is a great strategy to keep your blood sugar within appropriate targets. Choosing green vegetables in soups, sides, salads, and appetizers is a great strategy to incorporate as these foods are low in calories, low glycemic index, and high in fibre.

Many year-round recipes with vegetables can be duplicated or slightly modified during Passover. Spend time the weeks before Passover flipping through magazines and cookbooks for your favorite vegetable dishes.

Cutting down on the amount and type of fat, specifically saturated and trans fats, are important dietary strategies. Substitute snacking on potato chips with almonds or using egg whites instead of whole eggs. Limit your portions of high fatty meats and briskets and balance those meals out by eating salads and vegetable sides.

Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy and kosher Passover!

Miriam Leibowitz is a Registered Dietitian in Toronto who runs a private nutrition counseling practice. She has an office in the Bathurst & Glencairn area and does home visits as well. She can be contacted at miriamleibowitz@gmail.com or 416-937-7411 to book an appointment. Most extended health care plans cover the services of a Registered Dietitian.

Happy H appy P Passover assover FFrom rom Natura Natura Foods Foods Canada’s Le Leading Non-Dairyy Kossherr Parve Be Beveraages w www.natur-a.com w w. n a t u r- a . c o m

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No Horsing Around The Inside Scoop on Horseradish

By Judy Pister

Throughout the world, horseradish is a popular condiment. In Jewish homes, it is especially prominent during the Passover holiday both as a symbolic part of the festive seder, used by many as the maror or bitter herb as well as during meals. The horseradish root, the edible part, is probably one of the least attractive members of the vegetable family. As far as taste, it is very bitter. During preparation, it irritates the mucus membrane and eyes.

Given all that, it has still earned a high approval rating among various palettes.

A short account, mostly real, some legend follows…

Based on various dictionary sources, horseradish is defined as follows: horse·rad·ish 1. a coarse white flowered herb, Armoracia rusticana, cultivated for its thick white pungent root, belonging to the Brassicaceae family which also includes mustard, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.

2. the root of this plant, ground and combined with vinegar or other flavours to make a condiment The Brassicaceae family includes vegetables that are among the healthiest and best for fighting disease. This also includes horseradish which was used for thousands of years in traditional herbal medicine as a remedy for many ailments from respiratory and urinary problems to headaches.

What’s in a Name

In the 1500’s the horseradish was native to central Europe. In German, it is called “meerrettich” or sea root. “Rattish” means root in German, coming from the Latin word for root, Radix. “Meer” refers to the region it was grown, by

the sea. Many believe the English mispronounced the German word “meer” and began calling it “mareradish”. Over time, marer became mare which eventually changed to horse. The “horse” component of the name is also thought to be attributed to the

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large size and coarseness of the root.

Although similar in sound to the German meer, the Hebrew word used is maror, coming from the root mar, which means bitter. The Talmud includes horseradish in its list of vegetables that are permitted

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for use as maror for the seder. The qualifications include: it should be bitter and be a vegetable that grows from the ground (pri adama) and not from a tree (pri eitz).

I also found a story or perhaps a legend that the name is derived from using horses to stomp on the roots in order to soften them up before grating them.

It is interesting to note that when a horse ingests horseradish root, a component in the plant, called sinigrin, is converted into mustard oil which is especially toxic for horses. Most sources concur that when the components (vitamin C, asparagine, resin and sinigrin) are ingested by humans, albeit in small quantities, they can have positive medicinal effects.

Other names given to horseradish in the late 1500’s were mountain radish, German radish, red cole and stingnose – to denote it’s hot-spicy taste and effect when eaten.

Origins

The Egyptians knew about horseradish as far back as 1500 BCE. Early Greeks used it as a rub to combat lower back pain. According to Greek mythology, horseradish was described as being worth its weight in gold for its therapeutic properties.

Pliny the Elder, (BCE 23-79) a Roman naturalist and author of Encyclopedic Naturalis, mentions horseradish under the name Amoracia and recommended it for its medicinal qualities.

Although horseradish has been cultivated for thousands of years and thought to cure various ailments from bronchitis to influenza to the common cold and even headaches, it was only in the 16th century that it became a more common food item.

It was given the Slavic name chren which in Yiddish it is still referred to today – chrayn. The gastronomic element of horseradish is thought to have begun in Central Europe. From there it later spread to Scandinavia, Western Europe and England where it became quite a popular condiment by the mid 1600’s.

Coming to America

Horseradish arrived in America with the European settlers in the 1800’s. Beginning in the Boston area it was grown in various regions until it found its future home in the Midwest in 1850. By the end of the century, horseradish became a booming industry in Illinois and Wisconsin, the plant thriving in the potash rich soil.

After the World War II, farmers in California also began to grow horseradish commercially but to date the horseradish capital of the world remains Collinsville, Illinois where at least 60% of the world’s supply is grown.

The “Bitterness” factor

When horseradish is grated, or cut, its cells rupture, releasing an enzyme known as myrosinase. This enzyme quickly reacts with another compound to form allyl isothiocyanate, the chemical that provides

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horseradish with its characteristic sharpness. If it is left in this form, this reaction quickly ends and the horseradish loses pungency. With the addition of vinegar, commercially prepared horseradish can last much longer without losing its punch.

Acetic acid preserves the root’s sharp flavour by slowing down the activity of the myrosinase, therefore creating in a more constant and gradual production of the potent compound allyl isothiocyanate.

It is worth noting that allyl isothiocyanate, has been found to kill E. coli, Listeria and other food-borne pathogens.

Wasabi Substitute

Outside Japan, it is rare to find authentic wasabi growing. Due to the high cost of the wasabi plant (in the range of $150 per kilogram) and difficulty for growers to satisfy commercial demand, horseradish is the natural substitute in wasabi production. The horseradish gives the wasabi its kick while spinach powder or food colouring adds the green. Various different recipes exist with mustard, soya sauce, and starch among the other added ingredients. With wasabi’s increased popularity, horseradish has grown to be a high demand vegetable with about 95% of the world wasabi production made from the easily grown stand in.

Purchasing and Preparing Horseradish for Passover

Horseradish stirs up fond memories in my personal life as well.

Until the last decade or so, the job of preparing the maror for our Pesach seder belonged to my father in law, Paul Pister z”l.

I never really paid attention to the difficulty and importance of this function until the duty was passed to us.

The first step was to purchase a horseradish. Figuring I could manage this easy task, I went to the grocery store and discovered that is was not so simple to select which ugly, dry root to purchase, so I randomly chose one. The result was a rather mediocre maror. It certainly did not taste like the one Zaidy always made.

The following year, back at the grocery store, I decided to watch an elderly Eastern European Bubby select her horseradish and then asked her how she was going to store it and grate it.

She showed me how to pick a root that had a long stem so that you have something to hold while you grate it. “Don’t pick one that is too large and don’t pick a short one or you will cut yourself grating it.” She also told me (this was echoed by my mother in law) to store it in the bottom drawer of the fridge in a plastic bag with a few sprinkles of water to retain the moisture.

“But don’t seal the bag tightly so it should grow mold!”

Unfortunately, it’s still hit and miss to actually pick a sharp horseradish. Sometimes all the effort still results in a rather mild flavour.

Although we have tried to grate the horseradish using a food processer, the best results are attained by using the manual

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approach. Peel back the horseradish and grate by hand using a sharp hand held grater. Some people select to do this outdoors and wear eye goggles. My husband’s tears are mixed with the emotion of remembering his loving father as well as the irritation caused by the released enzyme.

It is advisable to grate the maror as close to Yom Tov as possible so that the strong taste is retained as long as possible. Once grated, place the maror in a glassbowl, covering it with plastic wrap, wrapping it as tightly as possible to eliminate as much air as possible. Finally, place the entire bowl in a plastic bag, seal tightly and store in the fridge until ready to use. If making enough for two days, use two glass bowls so one remains closed until it is needed.

Commercial Horseradish

Standard commercial horseradish is available in white and red varieties.

There are several brands available under COR supervision. Year round horseradish is produced with grated horseradish root plus the addition of vinegar. The red variety is created by the addition of beet root.

During special Passover supervised horseradish productions, in addition to ensuring that the production area is thoroughly cleaned for Passover, the added ingredients are replaced

by Passover certified versions.

Although the kosher for Passover horseradish is available for use during the holiday, it is not halachically accepted for use as maror since other ingredients are added.

A Hidden Gem

From its humble subterranean existence, the ugly, dirty, eye irritant horseradish root has attained much popularity as a culinary delight throughout the world to enhance the flavour of many dishes.

Along the way it has also managed to attain respect as having medicinal qualities and health benefits. It feels fitting to give homage to the innocuous horseradish with the popular saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

Judy Pister is an Executive Assistant and New Client Representative at COR.

kids corner

KIDS

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Help is on the Way! “OKAY,

By Richard Rabkin

EVERYBODY OUT OF THE HOUSE!” It was the morning of erev Pesach and Mrs. Himmelman had a lot of cooking left to do and with 8 Himmelman kids in the house – let’s just say that she needed a couple of hours to work in peace and quiet.

“Where are we supposed to go?” asked six year old Esti.

“Can we go to the zoo?” asked four year old Pinchas.

“We’re not going to the zoo, Pinchas!” sixteen year old Ahuva sighed. “It’s erev Pesach!”

“Can we go swimming?” asked Pinchas.

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Ahuva looked at the twins Meira and Tamar, fourteen, and they all laughed.

“I hate swimming,” shouted nine year old Leah.

“We’re not going swimming and we’re not going to the zoo” said Rabbi Himmelman. “We still have about an hour left before we have to stop eating chametz. Why don’t I take you kids to the store for a final chametzdik treat.”

The “Himmelman Eight”, as they were known, piled into the van and off they went.

While the kids were choosing their treats at the store a lady rushed up to Rabbi Himmelman in a panic. “Rabbi Himmelman! I just found out that the frozen blueberries and mangos that my husband bought didn’t have a hechsher for Pesach and I used them in my compote!

What do I do!? If my dishes are all treife now then I’m not making Pesach!

Marvin’s going to have to take me to that Pesach hotel in Costa Rica!”

“Well Mrs. Applebaum, I’ve got good news and not as good news,” Rabbi Himmelman said. “The good news is that nothing is treife.

Frozen fruits that don’t require checking like blueberries and mangos don’t need a hechsher for Pesach or year round.”

“Rabbi Himmelman, that’s wonderful news!

What’s the bad news?”

“Not as good news,” Rabbi Himmelman corrected. “You’re not going to Costa Rica.”

“That’s okay. Marvin never would have gone for it. He’s afraid of the Zika virus.”

“Chag kasher v’sameach…and enjoy the compote!”

The kids made their choices and filed back into the Himmelmanmobile.

“So, where do we go now?” asked twelve year old Tova.

“Swimming!!!” said little Pinchas again.

“We’re not going swimming!” everyone replied in unison.

“We’re never going swimming!” added Leah “I hate swimming!”

Just then, Rabbi Himmelman’s phone rang.

“We’ve got an emergency,” said Rabbi Mendel Brogna, 102 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

COR’s Head Mashgiach.

“What is it?” asked Rabbi Himmelman.

“Beth Israel Congregation is having their communal seder at the shul tonight, but one of their office staff baked a birthday cake in the ovens a couple of days ago and used a bunch of cooking utensils and dishes. Don’t ask me why, but a bunch of stuff needs to be kashered. Immediately. If we don’t, the whole shul doesn’t have their seder.”

“Where’s Shloimie, the mashgiach?” asked Rabbi Himmelman.

“He’s got chronic traumatic encephalopathy.”

“What is that?”

“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor! Apparently he gets concussions really easily. He hit his head on a jar of chraine. I don’t know the whole story, but he’s out cold.”

“Can you do it?” asked Rabbi Himmelman “No chance,” replied Rabbi Brogna. “I am dealing with a caterer who wants to make matzah ball soup with bread crumbs. Can you do it?”

Rabbi Himmelman thought for a moment.

Usually he dedicates erev Pesach to answering questions from the community, but, in this case, a whole shul could miss their seder. And he’s supposed to occupy the kids for a while anyway…

“Guess what kids, I’m taking you somewhere…really interesting,” said Rabbi Himmelman, forcing a smile.

“Swimming!” said Pinchas.

“WE’RE NOT GOING SWIMMING!” said the other seven Himmelman kids in unison.

“We’re going to the Beth Israel shul,” Rabbi Himmelman explained. “There’s an emergency. They need me to kasher a bunch of things, and you kids get to help.”

The Himmelmans arrived at the shul to find Shloimie passed out on the kitchen floor.

“Oy, Shloimie, are you okay?!” asked Rabbi Himmelman.

“I’m okay,” Shloimie said as he got up, groggy. “I hit my head on a giant bottle of chraine. They say that you’re really supposed to take Pesach to heart, but I took it to my

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head!”

Rabbi Himmelman looked at his watch and saw that he didn’t have much time, so he got moving. The kids cleaned out the ovens and Rabbi Himmelman turned them on to the self-clean mode to kasher them. He filled up a few of the biggest pots with water and put them on the stove.

The kids washed the utensils and passed them to Rabbi Himmelman to kasher in the boiling water. They had a good system and all of the kids were helping. Well, all of them except for little Moshe.

Moshe had just learned to walk, and he was getting into everything. He wandered off and found himself in the food cellar. He was touching things and opening things and dumping them out – you know what little kids do.

“Where’s Moshe?” Rabbi Himmelman asked, sensing little Moshe might be up to trouble. “Leah can you go find your brother? He’s too quiet…”

“Moshe, where are you?” Leah called as she looked around. She heard something all the way down the hall in the food cellar and, sure enough, there was Moshe. And what a mess! It looked like he had opened nearly every package of food and dumped in on the ground.

“Moshe, no!” Leah said as her brother looked up at her with a mischievous grin. Leah tried to pick him up and take him back to the others, but he refused – he was having way too much fun. So he struggled and Leah struggled back and suddenly they both fell into one of the big shelving

units. Then, like a game of dominos, one shelving unit fell over and hit the next until they all fell on the ground – one of them right in front of the door. They were stuck.

“Help! Somebody help!” Leah screamed. Rabbi Himmelman and the rest of the girls rushed down the hall.

“What happened?” shouted Rabbi Himmelman through the small open window in the cellar door.

“The shelves all fell and …” Rabbi Himmelman tried to open the door, but it was completely stuck.

“Don’t worry Leah, I will get you out of there,” Rabbi Himmelman promised.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to call Chaim.”

“Chaim who?”

“Chaim Ribiat, from work. He can open any door. Don’t worry.”

“You are going to help me by calling someone else?”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll get over here right away,” Rabbi Himmelman said as he called Chaim.

And just when things looked like they couldn’t get much worse, they got worse.

“Why am I getting wet?” Leah asked herself. She looked around and noticed that the room was slowly filling up with water. “ABBA, WHY AM I GETTING WET?!”

Rabbi Himmelman looked into the cellar and saw that one of the shelving units had fallen onto a small sink that was in the cellar and broke a big water pipe. Water was coming out everywhere, and quickly.

“CHAIM!” Rabbi Himmelman screamed into his phone.

“How long is it going to take you?”

“A few minutes, I’m driving as fast as I can!”

Chaim replied.

“Leah, do you see that big box?” Rabbi Himmelman pointed. “Can you push Moshe onto it so he’s out of the way?” Leah was able to push her baby brother just high enough for him to make it onto the box.

“Why is he laughing?!” Leah screamed. Moshe was having the time of his life!

The water was rising and by now it was up to Leah’s shoulders. “Why is this happening to me of all people? I hate swimming!”

“Try not to think of it as swimming,” said Shloimie the mashgiach that had COR 2018-5778 passover guide 103

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made his way over to the commotion. “Think of it as standing in a lot of water.”

“Thanks Shloimie,” said Rabbi Himmelman, “But I don’t think that’s helping.”

“Yeah, sorry, I usually don’t say things like that,” said Shloimie. “That must be because of the chraine.”

Suddenly, Chaim rushed into the kitchen. “Okay, I’ve turned off the water to the building,” Chaim said nearly out of breath. He approached the cellar surveying the scene.

“I can’t take the door off until we drain some of that water.

The water is putting too much pressure on the door.”

“So am I going to be spending Pesach underwater?!” Leah asked.

Just then, Chaim noticed something. “In the middle of the floor there’s a drain, but there’s a box that’s covering it. If you can get down there and remove it, the water will drain, and then we can get you out of there. “ “You mean you want me to swim?” asked Leah. “I hate swimming!”

“Try not to think of it as swimming” Rabbi Himmelman said to his daughter. “Think of it as moving around in a lot of water.”

“How is that different than what I said?” asked Shloimie

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the mashgiach.

“But Abba, I really don’t like when the water gets in my ears. It hurts,” Leah said. “I just…hate swimming.”

“I know that you don’t like swimming, Leah,” Rabbi Himmelman said, trying to calm his daughter. “We all have things that we don’t like, or things that are hard for us, or even things that we are afraid of, but the only way we can get over those things is to just jump in and do them, even if they are hard for us.”

Leah asked Hashem for help, took a deep breath, and dove underwater. When she got to the drain she pushed the box with all of her strength, and… she did it! She came up for air, and the water started draining.

But then, something unbelievable happened—something that, unless you would have been there to see it with your own eyes, you never would have believed it. The water didn’t drain in a normal way. Instead, it drained only in the middle of the room first, with the water on the sides seemingly forming a wall as if the water was parting for her like the Yam Suf. Leah grabbed little Moshe from on top of the box and walked on the dry floor in the middle of the water. Now Chaim was able to pop off the door and Leah and little Moshe walked out of the cellar to freedom!

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Rabbi Himmelman hugged Leah and Moshe as did the rest of the siblings. Rabbi Himmelman even gave Chaim a big hug for all of his help.

“If everyone’s okay, I have to get back to my house right away,” Chaim said as he packed up his tools. “One of my daughters swallowed some magnets. She thought they were chocolates.”

After everything settled down Rabbi Himmelman turned to his kids and said, “Maybe we should wait a few days before we tell Mommy what happened today?” ******* That night at the seder, the Himmelmans recited the Haggadah as they do every year.

“Each person is obligated to see himself as if he is redeemed from Egypt” Rabbi Himmelman read from the Haggadah.

“Can anyone think of something that happened to them that made them feel like they were part of yetzias mitzraim?”

Mrs. Himmelman asked.

“Um, yeah, I think I could come up with something,” Leah said with a smile on her face. The rest of the Himmelman 8 started laughing.

“Did I miss something?” asked Mrs. Himmelman.

“You wouldn’t believe us even if we told you.”

THE END

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Comic Corner THE BUNNY RABBI So I hear you’re going to your in-laws for Pesach.

To your relatives?

Tell him to stop!

By: Mordechai Schmutter

Not looking forward.

Illustrated by: Yishaya Suval

Ma, he’s copying me.

Ma, he’s copying me.

No, to sitting in the car with my kids.

Tell him to stop!

… Okay. Mommy, I’d like to wear a pink frilly dress to the Seder.

Mommy, I’d like to wear a-Hey!

Gotcha.

Gotcha.

Can we pass back food or something?

I think we burned all our crackers.

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THE BUNNY RABBI Is it just me, or does this Weight Watchers meeting really fill up after the yomim tovim?

By: Mordechai Schmutter I don’t know why we need this. None of us wants to even look at food anymore.

Illustrated by: Yishaya Suval

My wife made me come.

Mine too. I finally came just to get away from her hocking me.

Is that brisket?

Why are you here? You seem pretty fit.

What?

How does he talk us into these things?

I don’t know. It happened pretty fast.

If we had an easy time saying “No” to things, we wouldn’t need to lose weight.

Whatever. It’s for tzedaka.

Which tzedaka wants a bunch of fat guys to die in running shorts?

Let’s go.

Everyone’s way ahead.

So I’m thinking that if we slow down, we can wait everyone out ‘til the next lap.

There’s only one lap.

This has all been the same lap?

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 107

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THE BUNNY RABBI

By: Mordechai Schmutter

Illustrated by: Yishaya Suval

“There are lots of divrei Torah…”

It must be nice having all those kids at the Pesach Seder.

...because angels don’t understand Aramaic.

Your brother just said that one.

So did I.

Yeah, and my parents are here too! The house is, um, hopping.

I have one now.

It’s about Aramaic.

Oy.

“I get to hear the same Mah Nishtana 100 times, but in different languages.”

Rabbi Goatstein taught us how to ask it in Goat.

“They also ask lots of questions…”

How can someone not know how to ask?

Let’s hear it.

Why does my hagaddah have coffee samples in it?

Okay. Mehhh…

Good so far…

Nishtana.

Oh.

“lots of questions…”

Does Abba have to ask you the Mah Nishtana too?

“…afikoman gets very expensive, though.”

A coffee maker! I don’t know why.

No. Bunny bunnim harei hein k’bunnim.

I think I need a new hagaddah.

Who stole my afikoman?

108 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

I did. I need some help here.

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COR 2018-5778 passover guide 109

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30 cells diameter theta maze

Copyright © 2017 JGB Service, http://www.mazegenerator.net/

110 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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r e n r o C r u o m u h Put a Cork in It

By Mordechai Schmutter

You ask COR all of your Pesach questions, so why not ask them which wines to buy for your Seder?

Congratulations! You’re hosting a seder! That means you’ve managed to convince several relatives to come to your house and listen to your kids repeat the same divrei Torah immediately after their siblings do!

So these relatives are going to need something to drink.

Unfortunately, you don’t really understand wine, and you have a lot of questions. So you think to yourself, why not ask COR? I ask them all of my other Pesach questions. So you ask: Why are there so many varieties? There are a lot of varieties of salad dressing, for example, but what you usually do is buy one of each flavor. You can’t do that with wine. Some wines cost a lot of money. What are they making it from? Matzah?

And then you realize that as helpful as COR is, they probably can’t help you with these questions. So you just think about buying something that you know you like because someone at a Shabbos table at some point said, “Try this one, you’ll like it.”

On the other hand, that might not work, because you’ve been informed that you have no taste in wine, because most of

the wines that you like come in bottles with screw tops. You can’t even uncork a bottle of wine without breaking either the corkscrew or the cork.

Also, you’re wondering: If red wine is made from red grapes, and white wine is made from white grapes, then what happens to green grapes? Also, what does the garbage man think of us after Pesach with all these bottles of wine in the recycling bin?

Bear in mind that this is after several weeks of basically filling up his entire truck on our block alone.

So, how do you pick a wine?

There are several methods:

METHOD #1: What does it pair with?

One thing you’ve heard is that certain wines are best paired with certain foods – like some wines go with meat, and some go with fish. Pairing a food and a beverage might sound crazy, but how good is coffee with donuts, right? So you pretty much assume that fancy wine people are actually dunking their fish into white wine at the table. But that is none of your business.

So the key here is to figure out what wine pairs well with marror, for example. You could also do this by the cup: A Wet Potato

Matzah, then marror, then matzah and marror, then an egg, in a way that won’t give you unbearable heartburn that leaves you wandering the neighbourhood in the dark in your kittel. This may be how the Eliyahu Hanavi thing got started.

Complaining that there’s too much food at Shulchan Orech

Drinking songs

COR 2018-5778 passover guide 111

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METHOD #2: Stare at the bottles.

Go to your local wine store and ask where they keep the kosher wines. This is an especially dumb question in a kosher wine store, but if you live somewhere that doesn’t specifically have a kosher wine store and your selection is limited, you can use that to your advantage.

“This is all they had,” you can tell your guests.

Of course, one confusing thing about wine is how come they all have different names? Some of them are named after cities, some are named after last names, and some are named after great Rabbis. When did all these Rabbis have time to make wine? If you buy a bottle of Or Haganuz Amuka series, is that a segulah for a shidduch? And what exactly does it take to be a Baron?

Personally, I like to choose a wine with a name I can make fun of, as that’s a good conversation topic in case we run out of things to talk about at the Seder.

Or to talk about when we’re face down on the street with heartburn.

METHOD #3: Go by the picture.

Ideally get one that has a picture of grapes, so you know what’s in it. Anything with a lion is going to be good too. Or a picture that looks like it was taken from Google maps. Like you’re going to find the vineyard yourself by driving around Italy and staring at the bottle until you get pulled over.

“Are you driving with a bottle of wine?”

“No, I’m using the map. I don’t even know how to open this.”

METHOD #4: Just pick something already!

At the end of the day, you should probably just be honest with yourself and pick the second cheapest wine you can find. You also want to look for a year that’s not the current year.

PRESENTING YOUR WINE Before you drink your wine, open the bottle and allow it to breathe. If it doesn’t look like it’s breathing, give it mouth-to-mouth.

If you’re not sure how to pronounce your wine, just leave it on the table when your guests show up and don’t say anything. The guests will say the name, and you can pronounce it however they do.

They’ll say, “Oh, Sweet!” (Or, “Oh, dry!”) “You bought blahblah!”

And then you’ll try to pronounce it like that for the rest of the meal—even if it’s wrong. You’re buying them wine, the least they can do is tell you how to pronounce it.

We hope this guide was helpful in helping you pick out some acceptable wines. Your garbage man will be impressed.

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Taste www.tasteniagarakosher.com Niagara Falls, Ontario

Daiter’s Kitchen Outlet www.daiters.ca Toronto, Ontario

Top Nosh Niagara Kosher Pizza www.niagarakosherpizza.com Niagara Falls, Ontario

Dr Laffa Promenade www.drlaffa.com Thornhill, Ontario

Two13 Kosher Food Design www.213Kosher.ca Toronto, Ontario

Kitchen 24 www.Kitchen24.ca Toronto, Ontario

Whippy Cakes www.whippycakes.ca Thornhill, ON

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Direct NutriScience Cambridge, Ontario www.directnutrisciences.com

Les Jardins la Palmeraie Sherbrooke, Quebec www.palmeraie.ca

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MDI Dairy Winnipeg, Manitoba

Empire Cheese Co-Op Campbellford, Ontario www.empirecheese.ca Fgf Brands, Ormont Toronto, Ontario www.fgfbrands.com Hans Dairy Mississauga, Ontario www.hansdairy.com Hatch Beverages Toronto, Ontario www.hatchcrafted.com Hearthcraft Trading Co Toronto, Ontario www.hearthcrafttrading.com

One Fresh Cup (Lariat Partners) New Taipei City, Taiwan www.onefreshcup.com Production Maraicheres Mailhot Saint-Alexis-de-Montcalm, Quebec www.pmmailhot.com Prunus Consulting (Almondia) Toronto, Ontario www.thealmondia.com Spirit of York Toronto, Ontario www.spiritofyork.com Sweet Maple Candies Toronto, Ontario www.sweetmaplecandies.com The Good Grain Toronto, Ontario www.thegoodgrain.com

Montmartre Foods Toronto, Ontario

VG Gourmet Montreal, Quebec www.vggourmet.com

Nature’s Mix Cambridge, Ontario www.naturesmix.ca

Well Juicery Mississauga, Ontario www.drinkwell.ca

Naturizon Mississauga, Ontario www.naturizon.com

Weston Bakeries Kitchener, Ontario www.westonfoods.ca

New Wave Global Services Mt Prospect, Illinois www.newwaveglobal.com

Wheels (Radiant) Delta, British Columbia www.wheelsgroup.com

Nu Gale Pharmaceutical Toronto, Ontario www.primenutrisource.com

Wiberg, Downey Downey, California www.wiberg.ca

Olimega St-Edouard, Quebec www.olimega.com COR 2018-5778 passover guide 113

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“I feel like I’m home.” ~ Fay Rosenberg, Kensington Place Resident

Fay Rosenberg had two choices when she needed help last winter: she could hire someone and stay bored and lonely at home, or come to Kensington Place. She was initially nervous about the move but the quality of the kosher food and the fact that she had friends living here helped ease the transition. So did the atmosphere.

“It would have been strange to go from my home to a place that felt cold. The staff and people are very friendly. They make it feel like home.”

CALL TODAY TO LEARN ABOUT HOW YOU COULD BE LIVING THE KENSINGTON PLACE LIFESTYLE. (416) 636-9555 | thekensingtonplace.com 866 Sheppard Ave. West, Toronto, ON Independent Living • Assistance When Needed

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114 KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA | 416-635-9550 | WWW.COR.CA

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did you know...

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT …THE KASHRUTH COUNCIL OF CANADA OR “COR” IS CANADA’S

LARGEST KOSHER AGENCY,

CERTIFYING APPROXIMATELY 1000 FACILITIES IN CANADA, THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD

…COR OFFERS A

FREE COMMUNITY KASHERING EVENT PRIOR TO PESACH

… COR OFFERS A FREE HOME KASHERING SERVICE, HELPING COUNTLESS FAMILIES IN THE TORONTO AREA MAKE THEIR KITCHENS KOSHER

… COR WORKS WITH SMALLER COMMUNITIES IN CANADA AND HOSTED PRE PESACH COMMUNITY LECTURES & TRAINING IN HAMILTON, EDMONTON AND OTTAWA

…COR WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE OTHER MAJOR KOSHER ORGANIZATIONS AND IS AN EXECUTIVE MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF KASHRUS

ORGANIZATIONS (AKO)

… COR DEVELOPED NORTH

AMERICA’S ONLY COLLEGE ACCREDITED MASHGIACH TRAINING COURSE THAT ALL OF ITS FOOD SERVICE MASHGICHIM ATTEND

… COR IS A NOT FOR PROFIT REGISTERED CHARITY WITH A BOARD OF LAY PROFESSIONALS FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO PROVIDE OVERSITE AND GUIDANCE

@CORKOSHER

@COR_KOSHER

…COR ANSWERS QUESTIONS VIA TEXT, PHONE, EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND LAST YEAR, IN THE MONTH PRIOR TO PESACH, WE COLLECTIVELY ANSWERED OVER

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… COR CERTIFIES 53 LOCAL RESTAURANTS INCLUDING 26 DAIRY RESTAURANTS, 16 MEAT, 3 SUSHI AND 8 BAKERIES

@CORKOSHER WWW.COR.CA / QUESTIONS@COR.CA