Let’s Talk Kashrus

After last week's introduction to the mesorah of birds, let's dive right in to some practical halachik applications. R' Chaim Loike - Rabbinic Coordinator at OU Kosher, brought in some live birds to demonstrate for us these applications. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/quail-tales-and-egg-fails To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join...

Let's take a trip back in time exploring the mesorah of birds. R' Chaim Loike - Rabbinic Coordinator at OU Kosher, made it his life's mission to ensure that certain birds don't lose their mesorah. Let's take a look at the various birds he's brought in today to share with us. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/live-birds-ancient-traditions To Sponsor An Episode: https...

Not Anymore! Introducing a revolutionary new app! A game changer for the industry of kashrus. Have you ever seen an unfamiliar kashrus symbol and werent sure if you can rely on it? With over 1500 kashrus agencies worldwide, it can be quite the task of finding out their reliability. Rabbi Sholem Fishbane - Kashrus Administrator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and Executive Director of AKO, intro...

Look At the Leibel Can you rely on a kosher symbol you see online? Sometimes you buy something online, but the product has a different packaging when it arrives at your door. Rabbi Binyamin Berkowitz - Kashrus Administrator at the KOF-K gives us the rundown on what to look out for. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/be-like-leibel To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.b...

Is It Fowl Play? Have you been noticing more blood spots lately? Let’s get the real scoop what’s going on lately with the eggs together with Rabbi Sholem Fishbane - Kashrus Administrator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and Executive Director of AKO. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/shell-shocked-by-egg-flation To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kash...

Post-Pesach Shopping Secrets Where can I buy chometz? Where is it problematic? Rabbi Yakov Teichman - Rabbinic Coordinator at the OK, gives us the full scoop. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/shelf-awareness Download the AKO post-pesach list below, or at https://www.akokosher.org/pesach To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’s...

Just Yet… Many people won't sell chometz gamur. Does that mean i need to throw out a closed bottle of ketchup? Rabbi Yakov Teichman - Rabbinic Coordinator at the OK, helps us decipher those hard to read ingredient panels. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/don-t-toss-that-sauce To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’s Talk Kashr...

Labeled In China Part 2 of our travels to China with Rabbi Binyamin Berkowitz - Kashrus Administrator at the KOF-K, focuses on the labeling aspect of Chinese products. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/wok-smarter-not-harder To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’s Talk Kashrus WhatsApp Community for educational content and kas...

Soy Many Questions Today we travel to China with Rabbi Binyamin Berkowitz - Kashrus Administrator at the KOF-K. Come along as we explore the process of certifying factories in China. View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/made-in-china To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’s Talk Kashrus WhatsApp Community for educational content a...

R’ Moshe Feinstein’s teshuva on Cholov Stam in America is by far one of the more famous of his. Yet, Rabbi Sholem Fishbane - Kashrus Administrator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and Executive Director of AKO, points out that there are many side benefits of being makpid on cholov yisroel besides for the actual Halacha shaila. View it in its entirety at https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/don-...

What can be wrong with canned corn? All the ingredients are kosher. Let's listen to Rabbi Mordechai Stareshefsky a Rabbinic Coordinator at the OU as he explains some potential issues with the most basic food items. This serves as a reminder why one should always ensure that there is a good hechsher on everything they buy. View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/kosher...

What Are The Facts? That shiny coating that can be found on anything from jellybeans to fruit to hard-wood flooring. What is it made of? Is it Kosher? Let's listen in to a fascinating (and slightly discomforting) discussion about Shellac otherwise known as confectioners glaze, with Rabbi Sholem Fishbane - Kashrus Administrator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and Executive Director of AKO. View...

Lab-Grown vs. Nature Today's topic is very futuristic. Cultured meat, clean meat, lab-grown meat... Let's get a behind-the-scenes peek at this topic which is still in the theoretical stages. Rabbi Mordechai Stareshefsky is a Rabbinic Coordinator at the OU.  View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/meat-the-future To Sponsor An Episode:  https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawar...

Ensuring a kosher kitchen. Let’s listen to Rav Shmuel Fuerst - Dayan of Agudas Yisroel of Illinois on the topic of keeping a kosher kitchen with 1 sink vs. 2 sinks. View it in its entirety at https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/everything-but-the-kitchen-sink To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’s Talk Kashrus WhatsApp Community for educational content an...

Industrial Kashrus Systems Everyone loves to know what goes on behind the scenes. Today we take a tour of a typical factory with Rabbi Yitzchak Hanoka, Senior Rabbinate Coordinator with the OK. We’ll find out all the systems in place to ensure kashrus at the highest level.  View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/the-kashrus-control-room To Sponsor An Episode:  https://pa...

Walk into a bar. The bartender asks, "What can I get you?" The rabbi replies, "Something kosher that wasn’t blessed by either of them!" All jokes aside, this episode discusses various instances where kashrus intersects with potential Avodah Zarah issues. Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, Director of Kashrus for the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and the Executive Director of AKO discusses some fascinating examp...

What is the best setup for an office kitchen when not all employees keep kosher? How many microwaves do you need? These questions and more answered by Rav Shmuel Fuerst - Dayan of Agudas Yisroel of Illinois in this weeks episode. View it in its entirety at https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/making-waves-in-the-office To Sponsor An Episode: https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’...

Aphids & Thrips Let’s join Rabbi Yisroel Langer Dayan at the cRc Beis Din and Rav of Congregation Bais Yitzchok as he gives us a tutorial on how to check your own lettuce at home.  View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/lettuce-train-to-strain Original video of Rabbi Langer on cRc's website https://crckosher.org/videos/how-to-check-romaine-lettuce-and-other-leafy-veg...

5785 & Beyond Let’s join Rabbi Sholom Tendler - Kashrus Administrator at the STAR-K as he walks us through the sugya of yoshon and what has changed recently, just in time for the start of the new season, 5785. View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/new-year-old-stock To Sponsor An Episode:  https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’s Talk Kashrus WhatsAp...

Enough Quality Mashgichim Why is it so hard to find quality mashgichim in the food service industry? Let's listen to Rabbi Nosson Dubin - Kashrus Administrator of HKA (Houston), and founder of the Kosher Institute of America as he explains the root causes, and how we can address the underlying issues. View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/the-missing-ingredient To S...

Protecting Kosher Wine Wine in the hands of hired help. Wine as a present from a gentile colleague. These questions and everything you need to know about wine in the hands of people that may cause wine to become Stam yeinam answered by Rav Shmuel Fuerst - Dayan of Agudas Yisroel of Illinois in this weeks episode. View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/seal-the-deal To Sp...

The Tiers of Beer Are the drinks at an event kosher? Most hechsherim usually have a sign saying they take no achrayus. At the cRc though, they recently implemented a new policy with regards to beer at events. Let’s listen to R’ Sholem Fishbane, Director of Kashrus for the Chicago Rabbinical Council and Executive Director of AKO, as he explains the reasoning behind it. View it in its entirety at  h...

Maris Ayin Confusion Can I walk into McDonalds to get a drink? How about to use the restroom? Can one have a business meeting in a treife restaurant? These and other maris ayin questions answered by Rav Shmuel Fuerst - Dayan of Agudas Yisroel of Illinois in this weeks episode. View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/optical-illusion https://oukosher.org/halacha-yomis/talm...

50 Years In Motion Let's listen in to R' Menachem Lubinsky, President & CEO of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting, for his unique perspective behind the scenes as he observed the explosive growth of Kosher products over the last 50 years. View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/kosher-explosion To Sponsor An Episode:  https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join t...

What’s the deal with dried fruits? Apricots, Raisins, Dates are some of the more common ones. Rabbi Tzvi Rosen - Kashrus Administrator at the STAR-K explains the entire drying process and what to look out for. View it in its entirety at  https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/raisin-awareness To Sponsor An Episode:  https://pay.banquest.com/kashrusawareness Join the Let’s Talk Kashrus WhatsApp Comm...