Kosher Spirit Nissan 5772

‫פסח תשע"ב‬

PESACH 5772

CERTIFIED SOUL NUTRITION

IN HONOR OF THE 25TH YAHRTZEIT OF

Rabbi Berel Levy, ob”m

‫חג כשר ושמח‬ WE WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A

FEEDBACK

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SHARE YOUR SPIRIT

Dear Reader,

QUESTIONS FOR THE ~

t often seems that Pesach is like the Rosh Hashanah for kashrus – a time when many people strengthen their commitment to kashrus and take on additional stringencies.

Although sometimes a person might not be as scrupulous throughout the year regarding kashrus, when Pesach comes everyone has his traditions and minhagim. Some only eat homemade, unprocessed food from scratch that is prepared before Pesach, while others rely on a reliable Kosher for Passover insignia on the package.

No matter one’s stringencies or level of kashrus observance, the kosher consumer must be aware that just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so to a hechsher is only as good as the rabbi who stands behind it. Let me explain…

I recently read an article about a Rav HaMachshir (Kashrus Adminstrator) who was in an unfamiliar city. After a whole day of inspecting the facilities he certified, he was tired and quite hungry. The rabbi heard that there was a kosher eatery in town but did not know if it was a reliable place to eat. He arrived at the restaurant and asked a few questions, then saw a frum man with his family enter and sit down to eat, so he sat down, placed his order and had a nice meal. Only after finishing his meal did he get to talking with the other frum customer. The rabbi said to him, “I’m sure happy I met you here. You reassured me that this place was really kosher…” The other man frighteningly replied, “Oh…I only ate here because I saw you!”

Today, food production is not as simple as your grandmother’s chicken soup and Pesachdik borsht. It takes extensive knowledge of kashrus halachos, practical know-how, and lots of real world experience to know the ins and outs of modern kosher production and a hechsher is useless if it doesn’t have the manpower to implement the kashrus protocol it requires.

The strength of a hechsher is not measured by the amount of products it certifies, but rather how it certifies those products and how it deals with the kashrus challenges that inevitably happen. After all, the kitchen that never has a kashrus question is the kitchen with the biggest kashrus questions.

This year, investigate for yourself, ask more than just four questions and make sure the kashrus agency you trust gives you kosher without compromise.

HEALTHY SPIRIT Why Wine is Wonderful

KEEPING KOSHER IN...

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POST-COMMUNIST UKRAINE

By Chaim Brod

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RABBI BERNARD LEVY

By Mr. Beni Pollet

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN

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KOSHER CERTIFICATION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

By Rabbi Yitzchak Hanoka

12 17 18 20 22 23

THE LAWS OF A KOSHER

MEZUZAH

By Rabbi Yitzchak Gornish

PESACH RECIPE Tri-Melon Granita

SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA REVISITED

By Rabbi Don Yoel Levy

WHO’S BEHIND THE ~

Interview with Rabbi Elisha Rubin

CHASSIDIC INSIGHTS Compiled by Dina Fraenkel

SOUL NUTRITION

KOSHER SPIRIT Pesach 5772 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

Rabbi Chaim Fogelman EDITOR:

Dovi Scheiner ASSOCIATE EDITOR:

I

Dina Fraenkel DESIGN & ILLuSTRATION:

Spotlight Design We welcome your comments, submissions and letters to the editor.

Mail: 391 Troy Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11213 Email: editor@kosherspirit.com © 2012. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without written consent from the publisher.

Share Your Spirit Readers share their thoughts...

Dear Kosher Spirit, I write on behalf of the Ani Maamin Foundation. The foundation gives presentations on emunah in the frum community, and has been speaking of and giving demonstrations about how we can see Hashem through His creations. One of the demonstrations includes cutting open fruit to display how they resemble specific organs of the body.

In your Tishrei 5772 Kosher Spirit, you published a beautifully presented article entitled: Healthy Spirit – Hashem’s Pharmacy and we would like permission to make copies of this for schools to give to their students. One specific school in the UK would love to use this for a Tu B'shvat emunah project...

Best, C.M. Ani Maamin Foundation

That’s the Spirit!

Kosher Spirit and ~ Kosher Certification would like to commend one of our longtime mashgichim, Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein on the major accomplishment of leading 25 Mayanot-Birthright Israel trips!

Is it Kosher For Pesach?

Download the Kosher Food Guide app and get the most updated list of the Kosher for Passover products that ~ Kosher certifies.

Rabbi Klein is the Executive Director of the Tannebaum Chabad House at Northwestern university in Chicago, Illinois. Rabbi Klein has (bli ayin hara) brought more than 2,000 Jewish students to Israel through the Mayanot-Birthright Israel program!

It’s like having a rabbi at your side whenever you go shopping...

Wishing you a kosher and happy Passover!

Rabbi Chaim Fogelman Editor-in-Chief follow us on Twitter

@KosherAlerts Kosher Spirit and ~ Kosher would like to wish a Mazel Tov to our Associate Editor Dina Fraenkel, and her husband, on the birth of their daughter, Gittel Chana. May she bring them much joy and nachas!

Visit our website: follow us on Facebook

www.OK.org/Pesach

facebook.com/okkosher www.KosherSpirit.com 3

The ~ receives many letters/emails with kosher questions...

Dear Kosher Spirit, This is my first time observing Passover fully.

I have a dog and I was wondering if the dog’s food needs to be kosher for Passover.

~

The ~ responds:

~

Wine is Wonderful!

Why

et food definitely needs to be chometz free during Passover.

One may not derive any benefit from, or have any chometz in his home during Passover. This is an issur d’oraisa. In addition, one cannot derive benefit from meat and milk mixtures (year round), so it is important to make sure that pet food does not contain both meat and dairy products.

P

Two interesting notes: 1. The stringency of kitniyos does not apply to animals.

2. According to government regulations, pet food needs to be edible for humans because sometimes very poor people eat it.

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Ways Wine is Beneficial to Your Health

‫והוצאתי • והצלתי • וגאלתי • ולקחתי • והבאתי‬

A French study showed that moderate wine consumption (2-3 glasses per day) is associated with a 30% reduction in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease and cancer among men. (Epidemiology, March, 1998)

A study at the university of California, Davis in 2000 showed that even nonalcoholic red wine is good for the heart. When the alcohol is removed, the flavonoid catechin is still present in the wine and provides heart-health benefits.

A Harvard university study showed that moderate wine consumption among women reduced the risk of kidney stones by 59%.

Resveratrol, found in grape skins and seeds, increases HDL (good) cholesterol and prevents blood clotting.

Polyphenols – compounds in grape skins and present in red wine – decrease the production of a protein that causes blood vessels to constrict and reduces the flow of oxygen to the heart. The protein, endothelin-1, is believed to play a key role in the development of heart disease, according to a study at Queen Mary university of London.

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www.KosherSpirit.com 5

for Pesach KEEPING KOSHER

IN...

POST-COMMUNIST UKRAINE

S e d e r in F e o d o s i a

By Chaim Brod

en Gurion Airport, April, 1998. The airport was abuzz with activity as thousands of yeshiva and seminary students headed home for Pesach, and finding a minyan was as easy as finding a falafel stand in Jerusalem. We looked like many of our fellow travelers; ten American rabbinical students clad in black hats and jackets, dragging battered suitcases through the terminal.

But unlike our peers, we were not headed home to enjoy the holiday with family. Our destination was Crimea, Ukraine.

B

It was almost a decade since the Iron Curtain had fallen and the tens of thousands of Jews in the former USSR were now free to practice their religion. But years of religious persecution under the Communist regime had taken their toll and while the Ukrainian Jews may have been fluent in the works of Pushkin, Stalin had seen to it that they were ignorant of their own rich history and culture.

We were sent to Crimea through Merkos Shlichus, a program in which Lubavitch rabbinical students visit communities with little or no formal Jewish infrastructure in order to meet the religious needs of the local Jewish residents. This is how my friends and I found ourselves on the way to Ukraine,

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the very country where my grandfather sat in prison for simply being a yeshiva student. There, we would celebrate the Festival of Freedom with those that had personally experienced their liberation.

The flight from Ben Gurion to Simferopol Airport was a mere two and a half hours. Simferopol, too, was teeming with travelers, but both airports were polar opposites. While conversation and laughter flooded Ben Gurion, here there seemed to be an unwritten rule forbidding the passengers from speaking. It didn’t take long for us to start attracting strange looks. Maybe it was our openly Jewish garb, or maybe it was because we were the only ones with enough chutzpah to talk while under the hostile scrutiny of the security guards.

But hey, Communism was a thing of the past.

Upon arriving at the Chabad Center we met with the shaliach, Rabbi Lipscyz, and were introduced to some of the Chabad House employees. We met the friendly driver named Sasha, a cheerful secretary named Sasha, and a paintbrush-wielding handyman named... Sasha. Our plans were straightforward. We would be split into pairs and travel to our allocated Crimean cities. Our responsibilities would include cleaning and kashering a commercial kitchen, preparing the

menu, purchasing the produce, preparing the meal, and finally conducting the Pesach Seder. Shmuel and I were to go to Feodosiya, a quaint resort town on the Black Sea coast. We were a pair of eighteen year old rabbinical students living the carefree dorm life, and our culinary talents were limited to brewing a cup of coffee, but that didn’t bother us. At eighteen, you’re still invincible.

The matzah and wine were packed and we departed for Feodosiya. After being welcomed by our translator and the local Jewish community representative, we settled into our hotel room for a brief rest. We then began what would be a two and a half day kashering process that would make the kitchen and utensils fit to prepare food for the seder. Immediately we began challenging stereotypes. Teenage boys are not particularly known as being overly concerned with cleanliness, and our Ukrainian friends were quite baffled when we entered what they thought was a perfectly clean kitchen and proceeded to scrub the kitchen with an obsessive vigor. They were not quite sure what to make of us; two eighteen year-old religious Americans cleaning obsessively while our mothers were several thousand miles away.

Once the kitchen was scrubbed to our satisfaction, it was time to kasher the gas ranges. This was done by igniting the fires under the grates until they became red hot. Huge pots were then filled to the brim with water and placed on the ranges to boil. Upon reaching boiling point, hot bricks that were heating up on the ranges were dropped in causing boiling water to overflow from the pots. Smaller pots and utensils were kashered by submerging them into a boiling pot of water. The stainless steel sink was kashered by pouring even more boiling water over it. We boiled what

seemed like enough water to fill a canal, and immersed every single utensil. The process seemed endless.

It was quite a workout, too.

Finally it was time to kasher the stainless steel counter. This was done by running a blowtorch over the entire surface. We were proud of how quickly we were picking up the Ukrainian language; our vocabulary was almost in the double digits. Unfortunately the word for blowtorch was not yet part of that vocabulary.

And even more unfortunate was the fact that neither was it in the vocabulary of our translator. Our numerous descriptions and hand gestures for “blowtorch” were fruitlessly rewarded.

A pack of matches, a lighter and a cigarette...Our translator was becoming increasingly exasperated. We would have gone down to Home Depot to pick one up ourselves, but alas there is no Home Depot in Feodosia. And so we decided to resort to Plan B: We would call the Chabad House in Simferopol and have someone explain it in Russian. Simple. It was not that simple we soon found out. There was no phone on the premises, so we had to trek to the closest phone station. We prepaid for our call at one of the counters and then proceeded to our booth.

A short while later we had our precious blowtorch. And for anybody else planning on making this trip, the word for blowtorch is паяльна лампа. If only we had Google Translate then…

After a two and a half day boot camp of extreme cleaning, the kitchen was kosher for Pesach and our muscles were aching. With our menu in hand we hit the Feodosia market. There, we instantly made ourselves popular. Vendors vied for our attention as we purchased in minutes more food than they sold all week. After piling our carts high with sacks of potatoes, onions, carrots and beets, and even

fresh kosher fish, we headed back to the hotel. Now all we had left to do was prepare the food.

We didn’t have much experience catering large-scale events, so we hired a cook and kitchen staff to prepare the food according to our specific guidelines, using only the ingredients that we provided. In accordance with the Kosher for Pesach ingredients available, our menu was simple but delicious - eggs, vegetable soup, potatoes and fish... Actually, it was not that different to many Pesach menus back at home. Cooking for 150 people requires peeling a lot of potatoes. We helpfully offered the cook a potato peeler to tackle the mountain of spuds, but she shook her head adamantly.

Her loyalties belonged to her knife, not this strange American contraption. I don’t know how she did it but she managed more than fine without a peeler. Shmuel and I made the maror and charoses and washed the lettuce for the seder plate.

The Seder night arrived. Shmuel and I celebrated with family, conducting the Seder for 150 of our Jewish brothers and sisters. Together we sang the timeless Pesach classics, crunched on matzah and enjoyed the holiday meal. With the help of our translator we went through the Haggadah, recounting the story of our Exodus from Egypt, one sentence at a time. The story was one I had learned every year since kindergarten. I made the arts & crafts as a five year old, proudly read from my own Haggadah at seven, and studied dozens of commentaries throughout my years in yeshiva. But watching the Feodosian Jews drinking in the story of our liberation as they heard it for the first time, I realized that their appreciation for Pesach went deeper than eighteen years of study.

For them Yetzias Mitzrayim was more than just a story. It was reality.

www.KosherSpirit.com 7

YAHRTZEIT OF

Rabbi Bernard Levy, ob”m

By Mr. Beni Pollet, Barry-Callebaut Barry Callebaut is a Belgium-based worldwide producer of gourmet cocoa products. Barry Callebaut has been certified kosher by ~ Kosher Certification since the 1960s.

all man, white hair, white beard, black long overcoat — a proud man, a very gentle person, a friendly face.

T

The first contact between Rabbi Levy, ob”m, and Callebaut was established through Mr. Witte (Callebaut’s representative living in Chicago) at the end of the 1960s.

The first contact person in the Callebaut factory at that time was Mr. Willy De Schepper. My contact with Rabbi Levy intensified strongly in 1983 when Mr. Richard Callebaut moved to the United States and took over the American business from Mr. Witte. During that period the development of the business in the United States began and the importance of kosher certification greatly increased.

At the same time, kosher compliance was transferred to the product management department, so I, Beni Pollet, came into contact with Rabbi Levy. My knowledge and understanding of kosher was very poor but Rabbi Levy taught me step by step. Along with the activities of Richard Callebaut in the United States, my involvement with kosher compliance was the real start of a booming kosher business for Callebaut.

Rabbi Levy’s visits were always a special event for Callebaut. There was no Internet or mobile phones at the time, so the rabbi informed us when he was in Antwerp and requested a driver to take him to the factory for his inspections. Mr. Honoré Ledegen (formerly the private

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Co

25TH

n Between o i t ela r r

The

IN HONOR OF THE

chauffeur of Mr. Charles Callebaut) was always sent to Antwerp to meet the rabbi and drive him to the factory.

I remember Honoré always being very nervous when he had to pick up Rabbi Levy, although there was absolutely no reason to be. On the contrary, Rabbi Levy was always very kind. But it was the “unknown”.

As we were not aware of all kosher practices we welcomed the rabbi with coffee and milk and wanted to offer him a meal. We were very surprised that he gently refused to drink or to eat unless it was bottled water or coffee in a plastic cup. It took a really long time before we understood this practice!

I remember the many times I had to give instructions (plastic cup, can of soda, bottled water) to the personnel of the canteen who prepared the food and drinks for the visitors to Callebaut. They thought we were not treating him very well by only offering basic refreshments!

There is one experience I will never forget during which my respect for the rabbi grew considerably. It was during an inspection round in the factory and the rabbi wanted to inspect the milk powders and the preparation of the chocolate mix. I wanted to go the usual way, by elevator, but to my surprise the rabbi said, “No, no, no, lets go this way,” and we took a stairway that I had never seen before and did not even know of its existence. The result was that we entered through the storage place behind all the bags of milk powder, which allowed him to check that nothing was hidden behind the bags. This proved to me that he was the perfect inspector.

By

Ra

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Y bbi

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During his many visits we learned from Rabbi Levy about kosher dairy, kosher pareve, Passover, and gradually we better understood what it meant to meet a certain kosher qualification. This allowed Callebaut to improve both the production standards and specifications for the different ingredients used in our products.

I hold very good and dear memories of Rabbi Bernard Levy and will always remember his smiling face and his special way of being a gentle, but nevertheless, very strict and correct teacher.

s the ~ Kosher Tri-State Area Rabbinic Coordinator, I do most of my kashrus work in the New York and New Jersey area. Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since I last spent time in Chicago, IL. Back in the late 1980s, I spent a summer as a staff member in the local Jewish day camp. Flying in to Chicago twenty-five years later, I could not help but reminisce and relive the wonderful experiences I had back then, but this time I was in Chicago for a different purpose – ~ Headquarters regularly receives requests for lectures from companies and organizations and this time I was chosen to address a group of Quality Assurance professionals who meet regularly to discuss recent developments in the food industry.

The group regularly discusses issues such as Private Label matters (when a product is produced by a company and then another company’s label is affixed to the product),

third party audits, product development, novel approaches to product evaluation, etc. This was the first time a rabbi was asked to address this audience and I had a daunting task

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nok

a ak H

ahead of me. The topic was “Using the Kosher Certification Process to Enhance the Overall Quality & Safety of Products.”

Due to the high demand for kosher products and the need to teach staff members about the basics of kosher, the ~ is often asked to give lectures on the basic laws of kosher and its application to modern food production.

In 25 minutes or less I had to provide a summary of the laws of kosher in general and how the kosher dietary laws affect kosher audits and quality control. In the short time given, we only had the opportunity to cover the basics. The discussion was based on my experience with quality control as a Rabbinic Coordinator at ~ Kosher Certification.

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It is a basic idea in Jewish thought that everything in the spiritual realm has its counterpart in the physical dimension as well. Just as the laws of kosher and their application address the safeguarding of the soul from harmful substances and harmful mixtures, so too Quality Control addresses the safeguarding of one’s physical health and ensuring the product is manufactured in the way it was intended.

grains. “What could go wrong with raw grains and seeds other than the possibility of infestation if the product is not stored properly or is old?” I wondered. Upon my arrival at this facility, I immediately recognized that there were no Quality Control systems in place.

I discovered quite a few kosher issues at this facility. The company had no record of what they repacked and when they repacked any particular

officially trained in all the rules and regulations of Quality Control, due to the extensive field experience we have with visiting hundreds of manufacturing facilities, we do develop a basic understanding of the fundamentals of Quality Control and utilize this to further enhance the quality of our kosher work.

Efficient documentation systems and production log procedures are also crucial for providing the trace-

Just As the lAws of kosher Address the

sAfeguArding of the soul from hArmful substAnces ... so too QuAlity

control Addresses the sAfeguArding of

one’s physicAl heAlth

We focused much of the discussion on the critical need for control systems in order for a manufacturing environment to be suitable for kosher certification. For example, a receiving log of all products that enter the facility is often needed in a kosher environment to ensure all ingredients are kosher compliant before entering a facility. The Quality Control personnel and the visiting rabbi can then review the receiving log to verify the kosher status of all ingredients entering the facility. Written approval for all raw materials from the kosher agency is necessary for a kosher receiving system to be set up.

I recall an incidence when I was invited to visit a small facility that applied for ~ Kosher Certification for the repacking of a selection of raw

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item (and they were repacking over 50 items!) I thought to myself, “If they do not have control over what they are producing, then how can I possibly monitor this?” In addition, product was directly touching the floor and the facility was not kept very clean. There was a large, 3-inch gap between the bottom of the front door and the floor, leaving plenty of room for unwanted visitors (i.e. rodents and bugs) to enter. After concluding my visit, I thanked the people for accompanying me and let them know that I would be in touch.

When I got back to the office, I wrote this company a letter stating that the ~ cannot certify them for the following reasons and went on listing the Quality Control issues present.

While my colleagues and I are not

ability that is often needed for kosher products. Cleaning procedures used for equipment may also need to meet certain requirements in order to satisfy kosher standards. A knowledgeable visiting rabbi who is familiar with the plant generally inspects facilities on a frequent basis to assist with the implementation of kosher procedure and to ensure the process is running smoothly. All these procedures ensure that the products satisfy specific standards and that production processes are traceable, protecting the quality and integrity of the manufacturer’s products.

A new facility seeking certification from the ~ is set up for kosher in a distinct way. It is necessary for a supervising kosher agency to be completely familiar with manufacturing

processes in order to monitor them.

Our Rabbinic Coordinators are there to evaluate the facility and create custom tailored kosher protocol to meet the needs of the particular plant.

These systems and procedures are designed to be practical for the customer and simulataneously meet the high kosher standards of ~ Kosher.

Often, used equipment will require a kosherization procedure. This process is very much dependent on cleanliness as all vessels must be spotlessly clean before kosherization can take place. The actual kosherization process is geared to purge the vessel of its absorbed taste, often using water and various types of heat.

During the conference, I also described how technology is a vital tool that ~ Kosher uses in managing the kosher data we keep on file for each customer. All information is multi password protected and stored on secure servers. In addition, the latest

and highest rated security software is engaged to protect the security of individual recipes. Our database contains a list of all ingredients and all products used in each kosher certified facility. Whenever a kosher certificate for an ingredient is due to expire, every company that uses the particular ingredient is automatically notified that they need to submit an updated certificate. When one company submits the updated certificate, it is automatically updated in every single facility database in our system, regardless of the parent company. It is the harmonious blend of cutting edge technology, timeless Jewish Law, and genuine relationships that creates our successful kosher operation. These are just some of the procedures that are used at ~ Kosher to ensure proper compliance and enable the kosher certified product to be fully traceable.

It was enlightening for me to dis-

cuss all of these kosher systems in a quality control environment. The experience solidified my understanding of how complementary kosher is for Quality Control and vice versa. Both systems are essentially there to maintain a certain standard – kosher and Quality Control work hand in hand. I walked out of the conference with a positive feeling that these Quality Control personnel gained a new appreciation for kosher and really understood and admired the kosher systems that the ~ has in place in the plants that we certify.

The net result of a product with high kosher standards and high Quality Control standards is a wholesome, high quality product for body and soul. This is directly in line with what the Torah teaches, as we see many times in Torah we must guard our health to be able to keep our bodies in good physical shape so that we can use this energy to better serve G-d.

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Illustration photo, not a real mezuzah.

By Rabbi Yitzchak Gornish

T

he mitzvah of mezuzah is one of the most universally known mitzvos among non-observant and observant Jews alike. It is of such importance that it is mentioned twice in the recital of the Shema prayer, which we say multiple times daily.

In fact, since it is the actual written Shema prayer that makes up the substance of the mezuzah, the mitzvah is doubly interrelated with the Shema — the description of the essence of a Jew.

The actual mitzvah of mezuzah is to write the first two chapters of the Shema on a kosher parchment scroll and attach it to the doorpost of one’s home.1 This mitzvah requires great adherence since one who is diligent in its observance will extend the lives of oneself and one’s family, while one who neglects it could G-d forbid do the opposite.2 One who constantly passes a mezuzah will be reminded of the oneness of Hashem and refrain from sinning. Mezuzah is also one of the only mitzvos that can be observed constantly, even while sleeping.

In addition, a dwelling with a mezuzah is guarded by our King in Heaven as He protects us from the outside of our homes, as opposed to the custom among mankind where the king remains indoors while the guards watch the doorway.

However, one should not use the effect of protection as motivation to affix a mezuzah – it should be done

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because it is a commandment from Hashem.3 Others disagree with the notion that a mezuzah cannot be affixed with protection as the motivation since this is not the actual reward for fulfilling the mitzvah but a side (and natural) benefit.

However, those authorities require that the person acknowledge that they would fulfill the mitzvah of mezuzah with the same enthusiasm even if it did not provide protection.4

of

s w a L er e sh h T Ko a

...‫וכתבתם על מזוזות ביתך‬

And You Shall Write Them On The Doorposts of Your House and On Your Gates

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the Mitzavh When one leaves his home, it is proper to place his hand on the mezuzah and some say, “G-d watches my leaving and entering.”5 Others place the third finger on the word Shin Daled Yud (‫ )שד”י‬written on the outside of the scroll and then kiss this finger. One ought not to touch the scroll unless in a case (as with a Torah) and should not remain in a house if one discovers there is no kosher mezuzah if alternative arrangements can be made.6 The mitzvah of mezuzah is incumbent on both men and women since it is constant, not time bound.7 In addition, one who fulfills the mitzvah of mezuzah is promised the reward of a long life, which applies to both genders.8 Although the mitzvah is also incumbent on women, a woman should not affix the mezuzos. If she did, they should not be taken down and put up again.9

Requirements All types of buildings are subject to the mitzvah of mezuzah, the exception being “non-honorable” edifices, like an outhouse or bathhouse).10 In addition, gates around cities and towns require mezuzah at the entrance if the population is only comprised of Jews.11 In the days when Jewish people were required to live in walled ghettos they did not place mezuzos on the entrance so as not to antagonize the non-Jewish population of the city.12 However, with the exception of the aforementioned examples, all buildings require mezuzos; even barns and chicken coops, provided there is not an overpowering stench.13 Shuls that are strictly utilized for prayer do not require mezuzos unless they contain a room for dwelling.14 In fact, in the Bais HaMikdash, none of the gates

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had mezuzos except for the one that led to the room that housed the High Priest during his Yom Kippur preparations, and this requirement lasted only during that week.15 The source for this is that the verse states “your house” needs a mezuzah, not the house of G-d. However, a Bais Medrash which is also used for learning should have a mezuzah that is affixed without a brocha.16 A dwelling needs four walls in order to require a mezuzah.17 However, as stated, a gateway also needs a mezuzah even though it does not have four walls. Both a sukkah and rooms on a ship do not require mezuzos.18 A room must have a minimum area of four cubits in order to require a mezuzah (16 square feet).19 The ceiling must also be more than 10 handbreadths (approximately 40 inches) from the floor.20 All inner rooms require mezuzos on the doorways, even if there is no actual door, as long as the doorway has both a doorpost and a lintel.21 This requirement comes from the Exodus from Egypt when the Jewish people were required to place sacrificial blood on these areas to be protected from the plague of the Death of the Firstborn.22 The height of both sides of a doorway do not need to be even, but the doorway only requires a mezuzah if the right doorpost is taller.23 If the left side is taller a mezuzah is affixed without a brocha.

The doorpost of an archway needs to be at least 10 handbreadths tall in order to require a mezuzah.24 A lintel that is not straight still requires a mezuzah because it is similar to an archway. A doorway that is split by a pole in the middle is counted as two separate doorways if both doors open to the pole. If the pole is only erected for decoration, and not for structural integrity, only one mezuzah is required.25 One who rents a house or room for

...One who fulfills the mitzvah of mezuzah is promised the reward of a long life...

less than 30 days outside the Land of Israel or one who stays in a hotel outside of Israel does not need to affix a mezuzah, but one who rents in Israel, even for less than 30 days is required to have mezuzos on the doorposts.26 This even refers to a situation when one rents from a non-Jew. A hotel owned by a Jew needs mezuzos on all of the rooms up for rent, even those that will be rented to non-Jews, since the mitzvah is incumbent on the owner.27 One who rents a room must affix a mezuzah at his own expense and cannot remove it when he leaves (although the Jewish owner must reimburse him).28 However, if the owner or new tenant is not Jewish he may remove the mezuzah unless the owner asks him to leave it for a new Jewish tenant.29 If one rents a home from a Jew who is not Torah observant, one should not leave the mezuzos when moving out, because the apartment might be rented to a non-Jew.30 If a

non-Jewish tenant insists on having a mezuzah, one can affix a mezuzah for him.31 A garage that is only utilized to park cars does not need a mezuzah. If it is also used for storage and connected to a house, or there is no public street that separates it from a house, then one should affix a mezuzah without a brocha. If the garage is separated by a public street and is not used for storage, it does not require a mezuzah.32 An elevator does not require a mezuzah33, but a walk-in closet does require a mezuzah without a brocha.34 A walk-in freezer or refrigerator does not require a mezuzah.35

the Writing A mezuzah must be written on parchment produced specially for writing mezuzos (there is no minimum or maximum size) and should preferably be written on one piece of parchment with a margin of ½ a fin-

gernail width on all sides.36 The first two parshios of Shema must be written in order and not be missing a single letter or the mezuzah is possul with no remedy.37 The letters must be written like those of a Sefer Torah with the appropriate togim on the designated letters.38 There are several accepted styles – Bais Yosef, AriZal, the Baal HaTanya and Vellish (which is utilized exclusively by Sefardim and should not be used by Ashkenazim).39 The guidelines must be pre-etched in the parchment and all of the written lines should be evenly spaced.40 It is customary to write a mezuzah in 22 lines with only the last two words written on the last line.41 The line separating Shema and V’haya should have the words written from beginning to end, without a larger margin.42 The mezuzah should be written with the right hand and rolled from left to right.43 On the outside one should write the name ‫ שד”י‬opposite

the separating line on the inside.44 Also the letter following the holy name of Hashem are written on the outside.

BUYING guide Due to unfortunate occurrence of unscrupulous proprietors of mezuzos, one should be careful to purchase mezuzos only from a reputable sofer to be sure they were written correctly.

When purchasing a mezuzah, one should see it unrolled in order to tell if it is shiny, which is a sign of a problematic, cheap mezuzah.

The minimum price for a reputable mezuzah is around $30. Otherwise, the mezuzah might be sold by an unauthorized dealer, written by a child who is not obligated in the mitzvah, written out of order, or the sofer might not have been mekadesh Hashem’s name before writing the mezuzah or did not prepare the parchment or ink with the proper intentions.

www.KosherSpirit.com 15

How to install a mezuzah:

2. Measure your doorway from top to bottom.

Make a pencil mark one third of the way down.

3. Place the Mezuzah at the bottom of that highest third.

4. You can now gather your family and recite the blessing.

5. Place the Mezuzah at an angle with the top facing inward. The “ ‫”ש‬ on the outside should face up and out.

How-to install One places the rolled up mezuzah in a case and fastens it to the doorway with a brocha that encompasses all mezuzos attached in the house at that time.45 The mezuzah is attached on the outside handbreadth of the doorpost at the beginning of the top 1/3 of height, but the placement is valid as long as the mezuzah is more than a tefach from the top on the right side facing the entrance.46

1. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:1.

2. Ibid.

3. Oruch HaShulchan 288:3.

4. Likkutei Sichos 19, Parshas Eikev.

5. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:2, Rama.

6. Oruch HaShulchan 288:5.

7. Minchas Chinuch, Mitzvah 423:1.

8. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:1.

9. Be’er Moshe, Volume 2, 100.

10. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:1,4.

11. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:3.

12. Shach 186:7.

13. Taz 286:1.

14. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:3.

15. Oruch HaShulchan 286:17.

16. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:10.

17. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:6.

18. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:11.

6. Attach the Mezuzah in place on the doorpost using nails or double-sided tape.

The doorpost must be attached before the mezuzah is attached.47 One should attach the mezuzah on an angle with the top pointing inwards48 and a mezuzah can be affixed with glue provided it is strong enough to hold the mezuzah securely.49 Mezuzos should be checked twice every seven years50 and many have the custom to check their mezuzos before the birth of a child or when one is G-d forbid experiencing a serious illness or problem, and some have the custom to check them yearly in

19. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:13.

20. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 287:2, Rama.

21. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:17.

22. Oruch HaShulchan 287:2.

23. Oruch HaShulchan 287:4, Tur. 24. Oruch HaShulchan 287:11, Rambam.

25. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:21.

26. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 286:22.

27. Oruch HaShulchan 286:48.

28. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 291:2.

29. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 291:2, Rama.

30. Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 1:182.

31. Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 1:184.

32. Be’er Moshe, Volume 2, 82-85.

33. Be’er Moshe, Volume 2, 88.

34. Be’er Moshe, Volume 2, 93.

35. Ibid.

36. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:1-5.

Pesach Recipe

1. Make sure there is a scroll inside the case.

the month of Elul.51 Since the mezuzah protects our spiritual atmosphere indoors, it is essential to have a mezuzah on every entry. In contrast, the menorah influences the outside world, so we place it at the exit of our homes where it can be noticed from the outside.52

PASSOVER There is a very strong parallel between the mitzvah of mezuzah and the holiday of Passover, when G-d commanded us to paint our doorposts with the sacrificial blood of the Paschal lamb to protect our homes from the plague of Death of the Firstborn.

Once we left Egypt, we were protected from the outside by Hashem’s Cloud of Glory, just as Hashem stands guard outside our homes when our doorways are adorned with mezuzos.

May it be in this season of redemption, in the merit of adherence to the mitzvah of mezuzah, that we, too, will be led out of our current exile in a miraculous manner with the immediate coming of Moshiach and the ultimate Redemption.

37. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:3.

38. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:7.

39. Chabad Sefer Torah style.

40. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:8.

41. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:1.

42. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:13.

43. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:12.

44. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 288:15, Rama.

45. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 289:1, Rama.

46. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 289:2.

47. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 289:4.

48. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 289:6, Rama.

49. Minchas Yitzchok 7:70.

50. Shulchan Oruch, Yoreh Deah 291:1.

51. Chabad custom.

52. Shem MiShmuel 5674

Tri-Melon Granita This is a refreshing, elegant end to any meal. You can make the recipe using your choice of melon. using three different melons provides for various tastes and color making for a sophisticated presentation.

3 cups cantaloupe

1. Make simple syrup by combining 3 cups water and 3 cups sugar. Simmer until sugar dissolves into water.

3 cups honeydew

2. Process each melon in a food processor on its own and add the juice of two lemons and ¾ cups simple syrup to each melon as it is being processed.

3 cups seedless watermelon 6 lemons 3 cups simple syrup Serves: 16

3. Place each processed melon in separate shallow pans.

4. Place pans in freezer.

5. Scrape melon ices every hour for about four hours. Scraping the ice every hour or so, allows the ice to become fluffy and maintain a slushy consistency.

6. Place in airtight container. Freeze until ready to serve.

7. Serve in a martini glass and spoon each color granita on its own for desired effect.

Tip: Pop lemons in microwave for a few seconds to help juice the lemons with greater ease.

Recipe and photograph submitted by Bitayavon Magazine

16 www.OK.org

www.Kosher-

expenses to separate the productions since much of it was done the same equipment.

At that time a company called Acidchem in Penang, Malaysia started producing these chemicals from the palm fruit, which is found in abundance in that region. Due to the fact that there is an abundance of this fruit and the fact that Malaysia is a Muslim country where Halal is observed (which limits the use of animal fats) there is no use of animal fats there. In order to get to the facility when my father traveled to Malaysia, one had to take a primitive ferry to get there. Today there is a modern, wide bridge spanning the water passage, but in those days it was some-

Singapore and Malaysia R E V I S I T E D

PART 1

his year is the twenty-fifth yahrzeit of my father, Rabbi Berel Levy, ob”m and I am moved to reflect on his unique approach to kashrus. He was the pioneer and foremost expert in kashrus during his tenure as Kashrus Administrator of the ~. My father was the first to realize that reading ingredients was not sufficient to establish the kashrus of a product. One needed all of the technical information to really understand the kashrus concerns, including knowledge of the actual ingredients and their origins, as well as technical knowledge of production equipment.

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My father was the pioneer in kosher certification of flavor factories where there are thousands of ingredients. He was self-educated in the fields of chemistry and food production. I have heard many times over the years from various professionals about how they marveled at his vast knowledge of chemistry and food science. He also realized that he must have knowledge of the machinery used for the production of the products and he wanted to inspect the equipment himself.

I thank Hashem that I had the priv-

18 www.OK.org

ilege to receive most of my kashrus education directly from my father. My father learned kashrus from the bottom up, meaning he spent countless hours in factories as a mashgiach until he became extremely familiar with the technicalities. My father insisted that I learn the same way, not from behind a desk, but by spending countless hours in the field.

One of his innovations was to investigate ingredients back to their source. Because of this he became a world traveler. First he visited Europe where many ingredients were pro-

duced. This is how, for example, the ~ became involved with Callebaut Chocolate (today Barry Callebaut), one of the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers. My father was also the first rabbi to visit the Far East (in the early 1970s) to investigate the sources of ingredients for kashrus purposes. He visited Japan to investigate macrobiotic foods at the request of Meir Abehsera. He was the first rabbi to visit China at the request of Hunt Wesson (now Conagra) to investigate the kashrus of Chinese vegetables. In fact, his last visit to China was right before his unfortunate and untimely demise.

My father also was the first rabbi to visit Malaysia for kashrus inspections.

At that time he visited an oleo chemical plant. Oleo chemicals are chemicals called fatty acids and glycerin, which are produced from fats or oils.

In those days it was very common to produce these chemicals from both animal fats and vegetable oils in the same factories. This, of course, created tremendous kashrus issues and

tefillos. I left Saturday night flew the European route, so, thank G-d, I didn’t lose any davening. I also landed early enough Monday morning that I was able to take a taxi directly to the local shul and partake in the daily minyan and listen to Krias HaTorah.

When I first visited Singapore there was an established Jewish community there with two shuls. Now, however, due to the efforts of the local Rav/Chabad Shaliach and the Jewish population the community has really developed and grown. At that time you had to bring your own food as there was little kosher food available in Singapore. Today, they have a kosher store stocked with meat, kosher food and a vast variety of

...Over the years, I visited this area many times and watched as it slowly built up to where it is today...

Singapore c. 1980s

By Rabbi Don Yoel Levy

uously visiting this part of the world for many years now. Recently, we also hired a local representative to visit the facilities. He speaks the local languages and understands the local mentality. We have several other rabbis visiting during the year, as well, to help cover the large amount of facilities in the area.

Earlier this year, I made a visit to the South Pacific after a hiatus of several years. Every part of this trip was quite an experience — even just getting there. The flight to Singapore alone takes 18-22 hours, if not more!

There are basically three ways to fly there — the Pacific route, the polar route and the European route. Why is this important? When one flies the

thing of an adventure to get there.

When my father first went there, he only certified one plant. When I first visited Malaysia in 1987, we were only certifying three plants in that whole area. With the Hashem’s assistance we now certify 79 plants in the South Pacific region. This, of course, is due to the merit of my father’s innovation and desire to present the public with kashrus at its best. Over the years, I visited this area many times and watched as it slowly built up to where it is today.

At present the South Pacific is monitored by one of our Rabbinic Coordinators and he has been contin-

Singapore today

Pacific route going westward, if you depart during the day, it remains daylight for the entire travel time. If one departs during the night, it remains night for the entire travel time. If you travel and pass the dateline, you lose a day. For example, if one leaves on Saturday night it is dark the whole way, but when you land it is already Monday morning! The same goes for the polar route. Travel in this manner causes an issue of missing Sunday’s tefillos (and it gets even more complicated during sefira). When one travels via the European route day and night occur as usual and you land on Monday morning without missing any

Cholov Yisroel products. There is even an established local chicken shechita. There is also a kosher restaurant where you can get three kosher meals a day. What a delightful change.

Much of this in the zechus of Jacob Ballas, ob”m, who left a fund to build the Jacob Ballas Center, which includes a beautiful mikvah and a shul which is used every day. The fund also helps with the upkeep of the building. Mr. Ballas has the special zechus have this building built in his name.

Stay tuned for more details about my trip to the South Pacific in my next article, b’ezras Hashem.

www.KosherSpirit.com 19

~ BEHIND

“Rabbi Rubin immediately accomplishes any task he is given, no matter how difficult, with great expertise...”

ME ET OUR STAFF:

WHO’S BEHIND THE ~

– Rabbi Don Yoel Levy Kashrus Administrator, ~ Kosher Certification

Rabbi Elisha Rubin

What Other People Say About Rabbi Elisha Rubin

Rabbi Elisha KS: Where did you grow up? Where did you go to yeshiva?

RER: I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. My parents actually lived in Crown Heights, right around the corner from where the ~ is now located, but they moved to Boro Park before I was born. I went to elementary school at Yeshiva Torah Temima and for high school and Bais Medrash I went to Yeshiva of Philadelphia (Rabbi Levy’s alma mater). I also learned in Eretz Yisroel at Mir – Yerushalayim and then in Lakewood at Bais Medrash Govoha.

KS: What did you do after yeshiva?

RER: I married my wife Dena in 1994 and learned at Bais Medrash Gevoha for about 7 years. During that time I started dabbling in kashrus and then got a full time job in the kashrus field.

Rubin

agency and was given the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of kashrus. In addition, I strive to keep up with the latest developments in kashrus and network with other kashrus professionals.

KS: What is best thing about working at the ~?

RER: The best thing about working at the ~ is Rabbi Levy’s constant drive to improve and focus on kashrus without compromise. I also like visiting the factories I am responsible for and getting to know the staff and production processes. Finally, the exceptionally knowledgeable, warm and involved staff at the ~ make it a great place to work.

KS: What is your current position at the ~?

RER: My current position at the ~ is Rabbinic Coordinator focusing on companies in Japan and Germany and flavor companies.

KS: How would you describe the ~ today?

RER: The ~ is a kashrus organization that first and foremost focuses on maintaining the highest standards of certification on all of the products that bear the ~ symbol. The ~ also strives to provide the best customer service to its clients and kosher consumers, aiming to provide the best to those on both sides.

KS: What prepared you the most for your current position at the ~?

RER: I was initially trained as a mashgiach through a specialized internship program. After I completed my training, I went on to work for a major kashrus

KS: Can you share an interesting experience that you had while working at the ~?

RER: On a recent trip to Europe, I managed to daven with a minyan in 5 countries in one week. It was certainly an interesting (if not ironic) feeling to

20 www.OK.org

“

Interview with

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be walking down the street in Munich and Barcelona with my hat, jacket and tzitzis (hanging out) while holding my tallis and tefillin.

On a recent trip to China I was doing an initial inspection at a potential new company. I asked them the source of their ingredients and they dutifully provided me with a list.

I asked, “Do you have any other sources?” and they said, “No.” I asked them for copies of their most recent receiving records for the potentially kosher sensitive ingredients, and again, the company supplied them without a problem.

However, they only supplied the information in Chinese. Then I said, “You know, I can’t read a thing in Chinese, but of the 1.3 billion Chinese in the world, quite a few know English, including the official translator at the ~’s China Office and the receptionist in my hotel.” Suddenly, they “remembered” a few alternate sources that they sometimes use for ingredients.

horoughness, attention to deta il, technical knowledge and Yiras Shamayim are natural attributes of Rabbi Rubin and make him a perfect fit in our young guard of Rabbinic Coordinators. Althoug h he received his training from a different agency which is sometimes detrimental to fitting into our unique system, Rabbi Rubin easily became a part of our team. He immedia tely accomplishes any task he is given, no matter how diffi cult, with great expertise.

His contributions to the ~ are greatly appreciated. We are proud to have him as a member of our Rabbinic team.

Rabbi Don Yoel Levy

Kashrus Administrator, ~ Kos

her Certification

T

horough, organized, and easygo ing – with no agenda and no airs about him. Elisha is proficient in all facets of kashrus, from halacha through processing. Rabbi Rubin has a great general knowledge of the kashrus world and all areas of evaluation. His reports and plant descriptions are a pleasure to read and easy to understand.

Rabbi Leizer Teitelbaum

~ Kosher Certification, New York

Office

I

have worked closely with Rabbi Rubin for the last few years, and it is a total pleasure to work with him. He is very efficient and devoted to the job. Every issue that comes up is seriously reviewe d, and immediate action is taken. Reb Elisha is in total com mand of the companies he is responsible for and he raises the levels of kashrus wherever possible.

Rabbi Shimon Lasker

~ Kosher Certification, European

Office

www.KosherSpirit.com 21

CHASSIDIC INSIGHTS

SOUL NUTRITION

TRANSCENDING

LIMITATION Compiled by Dina Fraenkel

t is written in the Torah, “On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”1 Our Sages infer from this posuk that a bris milah may only be performed during the day and not at night.2 Before Matan Torah, however, bris milah could be performed at night because this law was not yet given to the Jewish people.

According to the Midrash, while the Jews were in Mitzrayim many of them had not been circumcised.3 After Hashem caused the scent of Moshe’s Pesach offering to permeate the air across all of Mitzrayim, the Jews came to Moshe and asked him to join in his offering. Moshe told them that only the Jews who were circumcised could take part in the sacrifice, so all of the Jews who were still uncircumcised agreed to have a bris milah right away that very night.

This Midrash shows that many Jews had a bris milah on the night of Pesach.4 Although it was permissible at that time to have a bris milah at night, why did Hashem make a circumstance that motivated them to have a bris at night rather than during the day, and why even before Matan Torah when it was required?

It is written that the night of Yetzias Mitzrayim was such a holy and special time5 that the “night shone like the day”6, so there are those Sages that say that it was as if the bris milah actually took place during the day.7 Even so, why was it so important that the circumcisions took

I

22 www.OK.org

place when the “night shone like the day”, when the men could have also circumcised themselves when it actually was daytime?

The entire Yetzias Mitzrayim was in a manner of “Pesach” – “leaping,”8 going above and beyond the physical limitations of nature. According to nature and the physical condition of the Jewish people in Mitzrayim, it

fore Matan Torah, when it was truly boundless, and at a time when the night was like day, a time completely outside the normal realm, enabling the Jewish people to propel themselves out of Mitzrayim and into a place of holiness where all physical and spiritual boundaries disappeared.

May we all be blessed to know no

The real “leaping” of bris milah could only take place before Matan Torah, when it was truly boundless, and at a time when the night was like day... was impossible for them to escape from Pharoah. Even more so, the Jewish people were stuck in a deep spiritual rut as well, where they were so encumbered by the depravity and immorality of the Mitzrim that they were chained to their current situation.9 It was only through G-dliness that illuminated and transcended the limitations of the physical world, where day and night were one and the same, that the Jewish people could break free of Egyptian bondage, both of the body and the soul.10 This is why the Jewish people had to escape Egypt, rather than leave, after making both the Pesach sacrifice (meaning “leaping”) and performing bris milah (a mitzvah that that is everlasting with no limitation).11 The real “leaping” of bris milah could only take place be-

esach brings freedom and the way it came was in two ways. The first was by all of the Jewish men having a bris milah, and second by B’nei Yisroel receiving the Torah. This can be seen by spelling out the individual letters that make up the word “Pesach”- ‫פסח‬:

P

‫פ‬ ‫ס‬ ‫ח‬

The letter “peh” is spelled “peh-hey” – ‫פה‬, which is gematria: 85 is also the gematria of “milah” (bris) – ‫מלה‬. First everyone needed bris milah.

“Samach” which is spelled “samachmem-chof ” – ‫סמך‬, is gematria: “Ches” is spelled “ches-taf” – ‫חת‬, which is gematria:

85 120 408

613 True freedom is accomplished only by following the Torah and doing the mitzvos.

World’s Largest Matzah Ball

physical or spiritual bondage and embrace the “leaping” and limitless connection to Hashem that He has given to the Jewish people and may we be released from our current golus with the revelation of Moshiach b’karov mamash.

1. Vayikra 12:3.

2. Toras Kohanim, Tazria; Megillah 20a.

3. Shmos Rabbah 19:5; ShirHaShirim Rabbah 1:12.

4. Also Rashi, Shmos 12:6; Baal HaTurim, ibid.

5. Zohar II, 38a.

6. Tehillim 139:12.

7. Responsa Yad Eliyahu, sec. 51; Simchas HaRegel (of the Chidah), sec. beginning Maaseh beRabbi Elazar.

8. Rashi, Shmos 12:11; Mechilta (and Rashi) ibid., v.

13; Likkutei Torah, Tzav, p. 13d; Toras Chayim, Shmos, p. 191a ff.

9. Zohar Chadash, beginning of Yisro.

10. Likkutei Torah, Tzav, p. 13d.

11. It is interesting to note that both of these commandments carry the punishment of kores if one fails to observe them. Something not found with other positive commandments. (Mishnah, beginning of Kerisus.)

85 + 120 + 408 =

ade in a New Jersey kosher restaurant in 2009, it weighed 267 pounds and measured 29.2" in diameter!

M

The World’s Oldest Haggadah he Sarajevo Haggadah is the oldest Haggadah in existence. Printed in 1350 in Spain, it is handwritten on calfskin and has 34 pages of illustrations.

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The Haggadah was saved from the Spanish & Italian Inquisitions and was sold to the Bosnian government in 1894. Sometime before it was acquired by the government, the Haggadah was owned by a private citizen whose daughter scribbled her school notes on some of the pages. The Nazis (ym”s) tried to seize the Haggadah during WWII, but it was hidden by a Muslim museum curator who later returned it to the Bosnian government.

The Haggadah is on display in the National Museum in Sarajevo and is valued at $700 million.

World’s Largest Hand-made Matzah ade in Yerushalayim in 2010, it measured aprox. 9.8 feet tall and 10.5 feet wide! The giant matzah was baked at the Irenstein Matzah Bakery in Ashdod, and was kosher for Passover.

Forty people participated in the baking, including two rappellers who made the allimportant matzah holes.

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It weighed 132 lbs., and was made of 110 lbs. of flour and 23.2 quarts of water.

www.KosherSpirit.com 23

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