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Let's say you're staying at a non-Jewish relative's house. He bought you kosher food because he knows you keep kosher. He buys you a drink such as milk. You see him pour the drink for himself into his own non-kosher glass. While pouring, the jug's spout touches his glass. Are you allowed to use that jug to drink out of?

unforgettableidSupportsMonica
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Carrot monster
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1 Answers1

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As long as the glass is clean, yes, absolutely. You can even drink from one of his non-kosher glasses.

You can use a non-kosher vessel for kosher food, with the following conditions:

  1. The vessel is completely clean
  2. The vessel and food are both cold (less than ~113 degrees Farenheit).
  3. We're talking about a bowl, plate, or cup; cutting or puncturing with a non-kosher knife or fork gets more complicated -- the rules here are for standard temperature and pressure.
  4. The food isn't a "pickling liquid" like brine, vinegar, or hard liquor. Milk, water, orange juice -- all are fine.
  5. Don't let the food sit in the vessel for 24 hours.
  6. You don't use this non-kosher vessel on a regular basis. So don't take the cup home with you, but it's okay to use when visiting there.

As long as those conditions are met, it doesn't "treif" up your kosher food.

Shalom
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  • Sources.......... – Hacham Gabriel Feb 01 '12 at 02:19
  • see this answer as well: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/2232/603 – Menachem Feb 01 '12 at 02:31
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    Acc to the Shulchan Aruch, none of the points on your list are necessary for glass except the first. – Baal Shemot Tovot Apr 17 '12 at 23:42
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    The Ashkenazic position is to be strict on glass a priori. – Shalom Apr 18 '12 at 00:30
  • @unforgettableid: thank you for your comments. But they belong as comments (or a separate answer, feel free to borrow from mine when writing yours), not edits to mine. The italics on the word pressure were intentional. – Shalom May 14 '12 at 02:16
  • Note that in this case, the vessel's owner is non-Jewish so it's fine to use it without immersing it in a mikvah. If the vessel is Jewish-owned and unimmersed, CYLOR: there are leniencies you may be able to rely on in your situation. – unforgettableidSupportsMonica May 14 '12 at 22:20
  • @Shalom: I added an edit to the suggested-edits queue to re-add the words "the vessel doesn't require immersion in a mikvah". Without those words, your statement "You can use a non-kosher vessel for kosher food" wouldn't always be true. Are you fine with the edit I made? – unforgettableidSupportsMonica May 14 '12 at 22:23
  • Source from halakha? – Qoheleth Aug 10 '12 at 14:37
  • @Shalom Can you provide a source for the Ashkenazic position on glasses - I would want to add it to some of the other discussions on glasses (and there are quite a few!) – LN6595 Feb 16 '15 at 21:44