Jewish Life

Hi Rabbi Simon, A neighbour gave us an old bread machine, and I was wondering if we can use it.  Can it be kashered or do we need to give it away? Thanks Chani Dear Chani, Thank you for your question. Second-hand breadmakers cannot be reliably koshered due to the Teflon coating and other considerations. Best to move it on.…

Hi Rabbi Simon, If you buy a glass bottle of water and want to reuse it afterwards for holding other drinks is that OK or does it need tevillah (immersion in a mikveh, as required for glass and metal utensils generally)? Thanks, Mikki Dear Mikki, Thank you for your question. There is no need for tevillah, as the bottle was…

Hi Rabbi Simon, Is it kosher to drink alcohol? Many thanks, Winston Hi Winston Thank you for your question. Drinking alcohol per se is “kosher”, in the sense that it is not forbidden to do so, and indeed many Jewish rituals involve (moderate) wine consumption. Moreover, wine (and to a lesser extent other alcoholic beverages) is discussed extensively in rabbinic…

Hi Rabbi Simon, Someone asked me a question to which I do not know the correct answer. He went out for drinks recently, and he thought cocktails were kosher—and so he told his friends. They had martinis which contain vermouth, so they definitely drank stam yeinam [that is, wine produced unsupervised for general consumption—forbidden by rabbinic law]. Now he feels…