R’ Heinemann Recap: Part 2
Here are the last of my notes from Rabbi Moshe Heinemann’s talk last night on cutting-edge issues in kashrut (part one here). Errors are mine, and consult your rabbi before applying any of this information to your own life.
FRIDGES
For a refrigerator to operate properly, it must occasionally remove any frost that has built up along its refrigeration coils. Until recently, fridges would activate a heater on a uniform cycle, a specific number of minutes every so many hours, to melt the frost. Of course, this is quite inefficient — why heat the coils if the fridge hasn’t been opened all day? Federal regulations have since been enacted to decrease appliances’ overall energy use, and fridge manufacturers have responded with more delicate heating algorithms. A new fridge today will measure the amount of time the compressor has run, and the number of times the door has been opened, before activating the heater.
Obviously, this has serious implications for Shabbat usage — it’s not just a matter of unscrewing the light bulb anymore. Since a refrigerator’s sensors are directly affected by opening the door and the ensuing change in temperature, it would be prohibited to access the fridge on Shabbat. You might ask how this differs from halacha’s view on a home’s heating and air conditioning. The short answer is that outside air introduced through a door or window diffuses rapidly and is thus indirect enough not to be a concern — what halacha calls a “koach sheni.”
So, along with your oven and stove, your next refrigerator may require a certified Sabbath mode to force it into 20th-century, heat-every-eight-minutes operation.
PROPYLENE GLYCOL
Propylene glycol is an industrial emulsifier, commonly used by soda manufacturers to keep a beverage’s coloring from separating out of solution and migrating to the bottom of the bottle. It has always been considered an unproblematic ingredient from a kashrut standpoint, since it’s a delicious petroleum product.
Fortunately, our friends at Dow Chemical have found a way to use glycerin to manufacture propylene glycol. Glycerin can be refined from petroleum, vegetable oil, or animal fat, the cheapest source being animal (since it’s the least desirable from a marketing standpoint). When glycerin producers compete for customers, they’ll often sell animal-based glycerin to undercut the next guy’s price. To assure that the propylene glycol which emerges at the end of this process is kosher, the glycerin must now be certified.
Moral of the story — when a product “all of a sudden” requires kosher supervision, when it never did before, forces like this are likely afoot.
AGA OVENS
Star-K has recently certified for Shabbos/Yom-Tov use ovens produced by AGA. AGA ranges are unique in that they maintain at all times very specific temperatures in each of their separate oven compartments, utilizing lots of cast iron and lots of insulation to keep the heat in. The four-chamber model, for example, contains baking, simmering, roasting, and warming ovens, plus boiling, simmering, and warming plates on top. There are no dials. Obviously, this makes Shabbat and holiday use extremely straightforward, and even alleviates bishul akum issues since the heat source is always lit. Don’t call up your local appliance retailer just yet — AGA ovens go for between $6,000 – $15,000.
BISHUL AKUM & CANNED FOOD
(This one’s complicated, so I apologize again.) The prohibition of bishul akum applies to “prestigious” foods only, or foods that could be “served on a king’s table.” Industrial canning of vegetables naturally involves the use of heat, so the question arises of whether a Jew must be involved in the production. Of course, one must first ascertain whether canned foods are “prestigious.” The Star-K contacted a chef at the White House and asked if they’d ever use canned vegetables, like asparagus. The chef answered with a resounding “no.” But was the chef’s problem that the food wasn’t fresh, or that it had a poor taste? If freshness was the main issue, then the fresh asparagus would have been fit to serve before canning, and bishul akum prohibitions might remain. So that route was inconclusive, and they were left with more questions: do we consider a food’s prestige where it’s made, where it’s marketed, or where it’s used? Returning to our Chinese mushroom scenario, we have mushrooms canned in China … for a US company … which is shipping them for sale in Israel. In the end, the Star-K is machmir on bishul akum in every locale along the chain.
CUT FRUIT & FISH
One can assume that varieties of cut fruit sold year-round in a supermarket or other similar setting are probably cut with a dedicated knife, leaving the fruit kosher. Seasonal fruits, like watermelon, though, may be cut with knives also used in other areas, so when purchasing a watermelon portion, one should trim a small amount off the edges to maintain kashrut. Fish, too, may be considered similarly. If, for example, a whole, kosher fish has had its head and tail removed in a non-kosher fish market, we may trim away the cut edges with a kosher a knife and use the fish. (Since scalers can only be used on fish with scales, i.e. kosher fish, there are no kashrut concerns about the scaler’s use on non-kosher fish.) Most interestingly, we may assume that kosher fish which is cleaned and filleted in an (unsupervised) industrial setting is being manipulated with dedicated equipment only used for such (kosher) fish. (To learn how this material might apply to your own fish-buying practices, consult your rabbi.)
About the fridges, I believe R. Heinemann said 8 minutes every hour, not every eight minutes.
Hmm, maybe I got it wrong. I’ve just found a more detailed description of the “frost-free” refrigeration process: the heater activates for 18 to 30 minutes every 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. I’ll amend the posting to be more general.
Am I correct in understanding that, according to Rabbi Heinemann, I can purchase a filet of tuna from my local non-kosher supermarket and just trim the cut edges? I don’t need to purchase fish with the scales still on it to ensure that the fish really is a kosher species of fish? I can trust the supermarket when it says that the filet I am purchasing is in fact tuna?
I am pretty sure there must be more to that last fish comment. Its pretty clear cut halacha that unless the fillet still has scales you cannnot use it since you cannot be sure the species of fish is the one advertised, even in packaged fish products. Consumer studies confirm a high rate of improper labeling of fish. Thus, if I had to guess, this heter would only apply to a fillet which still had visible scales or scale marks. Please check with Star-K and let us know…
It seems according to this article by R’ Heinneman from Star-K’s website that the fish must have its scales still attached.
http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-ttts-spring06.htm
I am an Aga Specialist. Anyone requiring literature on Agas please contact me at 973-379-9111 Domain. Domain is an Aga company. Although the ranges are pricey, they are made of cast iron. Indestructible and with only 1 part that can wear out, the thermocouple, (which can be replaced by the homeowner for a cost of about $25) virtually maintenance free. In the UK they are handed down through generations. I give personal demonstrations of the cooking method at which you can taste the difference radiant cooking makes. It’s an obvious advantage over conduction and convection.
Yeah, but they’re ugly, imo.
That article makes mention of an exception for fish like salmon with obvious distinctive characteristics (like color). The Star-K does not hold by this exception, but your rabbi might. I’ll try to make my notes sound less lenient, but, as always, talk to your rabbi before changing anything you do at home.
I do not understand the problem with the new type of refrigerator defrosting. There is still no `pseek resiha`. It is doubly confusing to me since no mention is given to the digital readouts that a lot of new refrigerators have now adays.
Jon,
Thank you SO much for these notes. I was very disappointed to have missed Rabbi Heinemann’s talk due to a schedule conflict. These EXCELLENT notes are really helpful.
All the best,
CLKL
I’m confused — I thought the “no work” rule on Shabbos applied to you, not your appliances. So if the fridge is going on and off during the day, that’s not you…you’re not making it go on and off, it does it by itself. So how does this violate any commandments?
SeePea– Here’s how the Star-K defines psik reisha:
Opening a refrigerator X number of times, and as a direct result activating the heater to melt the coils, seems to qualify. I believe the rabbi focussed on this matter because it is more inconspicuously pernicious than the lights and digital readouts.
Curious– If you set up an appliance to do something automatically over Shabbat without your interaction, like using a timer to enable a hot plate or turn on a light, that’s just fine. But if you interact with an appliance and directly cause it to perform a prohibited labor, that’s prohibited. Some actions are obviously in violation, like flipping a light switch – you flip it, the light goes on. Some are less obvious, like these new fridges — open the door 6 times and the heater goes on, or activate the compressor for 30 minutes and the heater goes on. Thankfully, we have rabbinic organizations who employ electrical engineers to find out for certain what’s going on.
These new fridges seem to help with the whole Tikkun Olum thing though. Requesting appliances that are detrimental to the environment seems… worthy of discussion.
Shabbat keepers should have no problem offsetting the small amount of additional energy consumed by putting their refrigerators into Shabbat mode with the energy saved by not driving anywhere, not operating their computers or TVs, etc.
Anyway, what discussion do you think this issue is worthy of? I assume that you aren’t suggesting that we should discuss whether R’ Heinemann and his co-religionists should ignore this aspect of the Laws of Shabbat, given the environmental considerations. That’s clearly a non-starter. Are you suggesting that we should discuss ideas for a more energy-efficient Shabbat mode?
Yashar koach and thanks very much for the lecture notes.
Easy to read, and all very interesting.
KT,
Mordechai Cohen
The Star-K does an exceptional job of certifying appliances from a variety of manufacturers and encouraging them to add a sabbath (really yom tov) mode. From 1 Kitchen Aid model a few years ago to the list on their web site of many many models and manufacturers in just a few year it is very helpful.
Having said that, the Star-K is more machmir in certain areas than many Rabbis in the braoder community. While I don’t question their motivations, by allowing them to become THE decisors for appliances, we have effectively adopted more machmir standards, when in fact, we might otherwise be more makel if we considered the rationale.
I don’t know about the refrigerator example cited in the main article, but the Star-K told me that they would not work with manufacturers to adapt the timer function on dishwashers to allow them to be preset to wash dishes on Shabbat. While one could jury rig a timer onto the low end mechanical dishwashers, the newer electronic ones cannot be used with timers. Rabbi Heinemann does not allow diswashers to be used on Shabbat so he will not be involved with certification. While other RAbbis might allow such use, so long as one does not hear the operation (newer models are very quiet), since the Star-K is the agency that certifies appliances, manufacturers don’t look elsewhere for certification and have abandoned this potential market.
Re #12 -
the web site case is indeed ‘P.R.’ if the fridge always kicks up the coolant on the 6th opening.
But that is not what was quoted as being in the speech, and it would be good to know if it is a mis-transcription or he actually said:
“A new fridge today will measure the amount of time the compressor has run, and the number of times the door has been opened, before activating the heater.”
This is NOT a ‘P.R.’ as it depends on how long the compressor was running in each to door openings.
seePea — if you’d like to follow up on the issue, I’ll be happy to revise the notes with some authoritative information.
ok, i started the ball rolling.
Re: Use of canned vegetables and the issue of bishul akum. Hearts of palm are mostly sold in canned form. Coconut milk as used in South East Asian cooking is also mainly available canned. These are both canned in the country of origin rather than shipped in bulk and then canned in the country of sale. These cases would appear in my layman’s eyes to require supervision. A similar case could be made for fruits like jackfruit or aki which are more often seen as canned.