Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Link

The Mesorah Torah journal from last year that fell onto my computer. 

One of the highlights: Does toothpaste need a hechsher? See how a gadol paskens a shyla. [Contemporary note: Is there a woman "poseket" who can write tshuvos on this level?? If there is - please send...]
His heter is based on various factors: 

  1. It is pasul for the eating of a person [which is a machlokes whether that is enough] and even for a dog. 
  2.  It is batel bi-rov and bi-shishim
  3. You don't really eat it and it might not even be considered tasting it. 
  4. It usually doesn't have issur at all and ספק דרבנן לקולא.
  5.  It can be compared to a mass of leaven that was set aside for sitting that is loses its status as chametz [Pesachim 45b].  
Another article by Rabbi Gordimer on using video for cholov yisrael. In general many don't rely on the famous heter of Rav Moshe [that the law forbids them to mix unkosher milk into the kosher milk] on the basis of the fact that they discovered that the government actually does not consider it a crime to mix in a little unkosher milk. If that is the case the entire heter falls away. It is kedai to find out....

Another article - Is it permitted to order coffee at Starbucks?

Also - chiddushim from Rav Soloveitchik on Yom kippur and more!

Learn it and live:-)!