OU "The Orthodox Union"

21th of Iyar, 5770 (36 days of Omer. 5 weeks, 1 day)

In the coming weeks –on the Wednesdays’ Kashrut section- I would like to introduce the readers of Halakha of the Day to the world of “Kosher certified foods”.

I get very often many questions on this area and I believe that we need to learn what a Kosher certification means, what do they certify, what are the more common and reliable Orthodox Kosher certifications, what products need and what products do not need a Kosher certification, etc, etc.

My goal is obviously to promote a better understanding and observance of Kashrut. However, I’ve no intention whatsoever to endorse or sponsor any specific Orthodox Kashrut certification over the other.During the following weeks I will introduce the readers to a few Kashrut organizations –limiting myself to a small sample of institutions, especially those who have a Web site- with a strict educational goal.

I would like to start by introducing the most popular Kosher certification in the US: the OU. O.U. stands for “Orthodox Union” an Institution whose mission statement goes way beyond Kashrut certifications.

See for yourself visiting their web site at www.ou.org I recommend this page to learn about Kashrut issues: http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/videosThe basics of Kashrut are here: http://oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/videos/kosher_kidz/OU also has a very effective Q&A link for Kashrut questions.

Try them and see if you get an answer. http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/ask

ELOKE ABRAHAM “The God of Abraham” (part 1)

Today is the 20th of Iyar, 5770 (35 days of Omer. 5 weeks)

The first Berakha of the Amida is known as “Birkat Abot”, the Berakha in which we mention our forefathers, Abraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akob.
By mentioning them, we first assert that we are not praying to a God who is the fruit of our own imagination or interests, but to the God of the Hebrew Bible, the same God our forefathers pray to. Abraham, as everyone knows, arrived to the knowledge of God (EMUNA) by his own reasoning and intellect.
When I say in this Berakha “The God of Abraham” I remind myself of the three major things Abraham taught us about God Almighty.
First, Abraham discerned that God has no body. We can see His actions, we might infer His amazing powers, but God remains invisible. He cannot be pictured or even represented by any image or figure.
Maimonides explains that at the beginning of humanity, people knew this fact and they considered the powerful sun and the enigmatic moon and the stars as God’s ministers, but then, manipulated by wrong leaders, men begun to attribute to the sun, moon and stars divine powers, built for them sanctuaries and worship their images, so much so that they completely “forgot” of God Almighty.
Abraham Abinu brought back to humanity the idea of the Almighty “invisible” God.
Abraham also discovered that God is One. We will talk more about the impact of Abraham’s idea about God’s unity, BH next Tuesday.

Ribbit, borrowing/lending with interest

Today is the 19th of Iyar, 5770 (34 days of Omer. 4 weeks, 6 days)

There are some things which would not technically qualify as Ribbit, yet Chakhamim still forbade them because they are loopholes (“Abaq Ribbit”) that people may come to abuse. With these loopholes, the apparent objective of the Tora—that all Jews rely on each other financially when they need, without worrying about interest—would be evaded.

Some examples follow: It is forbidden to lend money in the form of an overpriced object.
Illustration: Nick asks Walter for a loan of $100. Walter suggests: “I don’t have $100 but I could ‘lend’ you my watch that is worth $100. Tomorrow you can sell it back to me for $95.”

Although this is not, strictly speaking, “Ribbit” it is nonetheless forbidden. It is likewise forbidden to “lease” cash. Leasing/renting objects is clearly permitted; however, because this can obviously serve as a loophole to evade the laws (and objectives) of Ribbit, Chakhamim forbade renting coins or bills.

Illustration: Nick needs to borrow $100. Walter tells him: “I will not ‘lend’ you the money. I will instead ‘rent’ you this $100 bill, for $5. You will return it to me when your ‘lease’ ends a month from today.”

Nick would really be paying $105 for a loan of $100. This is forbidden.

Note: the laws of “Ribbit” are very complex, especially in today’s corporate world of sophisticated financial and legal structures. Ours is a basic overview of the Halakha as found in Maimonides’s Mishne Tora and in Shulchan ‘Arukh. Please consult your rabbi with any practical questions (Halakha leMa’ase).