Kosher Certifi cation PESACHGUIDE 2021 VISIT www.ASKcRc.org TO SEARCH KOSHER FOR PESACH PRODUCT INFORMATION Download the App AVAILABLE FOR FREE AT Download the cRc Smartphone App for updated Kosher lists and Pesach lists and more. VISIT FOR מועצת הרבנים דשיקגו www.cRcweb.org Beth Din Information Consumer & Commercial Kosher Information Kashrus Updates Chicago Rabbinical Council 2 Thank you for your patronage throughout the year and during this Pesach season 2 Kashered At 212° F Chag Pesach Sameach Traditional holiday foods available at Mariano’s Skokie Make your Passover celebration extra special with eats and treats that meet the highest standards of kosher law and the Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc). GROCERY MEAT AND FISH BAKERY From pantry staples to everyday Feast on cRc-approved meals Find our fresh-baked treats and items, we offer a wide variety of every day with kosher cuts of goodies from Chicago’s Zelda’s goods to meet your needs and restaurant-quality meat and Bakery, Oberlander, Zomick’s we’re always working to expand fish prepared by our specially trained and more! our selection. butchers. Stop in and enjoy a kosher shopping experience that is uniquely Mariano’s. find the best selection of kosher items at: 3358 W Touhy W Touhy Ave., Skokie,Ave, Skokie, IL 60076 IL (847) 763-8801 | Open Daily: 6am-10pm marianos.com/kosher • open daily: am- pm www.marianos.com/kosher TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PESACH INFORMATION Policy on Medicines, Cosmetics, and Toiletries 3 Shopping Guide 61 The Chicago Rabbinical Council 4 Pesach Liquor List 2021 65 HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l 6 Milk and Dairy Products for Pesach 67 Remembering Rabbi Abe Sharp, z"l 9 Dairy Equipment – Separating Facts from Myths 69 From the Desk of Rabbi Yona Reiss, Av Beth Din 10 Chalav Yisroel Milk – An Inside Look 73 Pesach… What’s it All About? 10 Medicine and Cosmetics 78 Guiding the Community through the Pandemic 11 Supplements, Infant Formulas, & Milk Substitutes 85 Historic Kosher Chicago 13 Seltzer: A Big To-Do About Bubbles 88 Kashrus Department Year in Review 18 Matzah Mehuderes 90 Sephardic Laws and Customs 20 FAQs 93 Meet the Dayanim 21 Pesach Foods for Your Pets 96 Where and When Can I Shop After Pesach? 99 PREPARATION FOR PESACH Nissan – March/April Important Dates and Times 22 SEASONAL ARTICLES AND OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Which Foods are Chametz? 23 Profiles in Kashrus - Rabbi Zvi Fishbane 102 Kashering the Kitchen 26 Fruit and Vegetable Policy 104 Which Items Can Be Kashered? 32 Sefiras Ha’Omer– Counting the Omer 112 Tevillas Keilim 33 Sefiras Ha’OmerCalendar 2021 115 cRc Guidelines for Shaimos 35 Shemittah 5782 117 First Time Making Pesach 36 Calendar 121 Buying Chametz Online for After Pesach 40 Kashrus Terminology and Jargon 122 The Days Before Pesach 42 cRc Officers and Staff 124 Erev Pesach Which Occurs on Shabbos 47 Seder Plate 50 The Seder 51 Dietary Needs at the Seder 54 For Kosher Consumer Alerts by e-mail, visit www.crcweb.org/alerts.php. Chicago Rabbinical Council Updated Pesach information is available online 2701 W. Howard at www.crcweb.org and www.askcrc.org. Chicago, IL 60645 Advertising in the cRc Pesach Guide does not necessarily constitute 773-465-3900 a Chicago Rabbinical Council endorsement of products or services. 2 www.ASKcRc.org / www.cRcweb.org cRc Pesach Guide cRc Pesach Guide Introduction www.ASKcRc.org / www.cRcweb.org 3 A TRADITION OF SERVING RABBIS… The Founded in 1932, the cRc now engages over 150 members in the U.S., Canada, and Israel, who are proud to provide the community Chicago with the specialized technical services of our expert staff. Rabbinical Council SERVING THE RELIGIOUS NEEDS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN CHICAGOLAND AND Rabbi Asher Weiss addressing BEYOND! cRc members and staff A LEADER IN KOSHER SUPERVISION AND GROWING Rabbi Sholem Y. Fishbane, our Kashrus Administrator, leads AKO, the Association of Kashrus Organizations. The cRc continues to expand its reach, offering assistance to agencies around the world. The cRc Beth Din is comprised of: Av Beth DIn, Rabbi Yona Reiss Dayanim: Rabbi Daniel J. Raccah, Senior Dayan Rabbi Aaron Kraft, Rabbi Yisroel Langer Menahel, Rabbi A.M. Abramson Rabbi Sholem Y. Fishbane addressing the 2020 AKO Siyum HaShas Kashrus Conference SERVICES INCLUDE: Dinei Torah OUR KOSHER SUPERVISION TRAVELS Litigation, Arbitration & Mediation THE WORLD TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY Our Rabbis travel around the world, throughout Asia and Europe, Gittin and of course, Israel, to ensure the kashrus of products you use Religious Divorce every day, maintaining our standards, even during the pandemic. Shtarot Halachic Documentation Geruth Conversion Chevra Kadisha Jewish Burial Society Rules and Procedures for Beth Din Proceedings and the Halachic Pre-nuptial Agreement are Rabbi Eliezer Gurary of Krakow, Rabbi Michoel Scharf of Kedassia, and Rabbi available at www.crcbethdin.com Sholem Y. Fishbane inspecting a bakery in Krakow prior to the pandemic. 4 www.ASKcRc.org / www.cRcweb.org cRc Pesach Guide Introduction …AND COMMITMENT TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY cRc Publications We serve the community with educational programs. All available for purchase at proceeds from kashrus supervision are invested in the community www.crcweb.org/books.php assisting in keilim kashering. NEW Shemittah by Rabbi Dovid Cohen Kanfei Yona by Rabbi Yona Reiss Tevillas Keilim by Rabbi Dovid Cohen Shabbos Catering Guidelines Rabbi Dovid Cohen and Rabbi Yaakov M. Eisenbach Rabbi Reiss and Rabbi Yochanan Schnall, cRc Rabbinical Coordinator, Halachos of Insects assisting in Keilim Kashering in the cRc Passover Fair by Rabbi Dovid Cohen Pas Yisroel and Bishul Yisroel A COMMUNITY BETH DIN, by Rabbi Dovid Cohen AN INTERNATIONAL LEADER Rabbi Yona Reiss, a respected expert in Jewish law, leads the Chicago Rabbis: Visionaries, Pioneers, and Leaders, 1847 – 1950 Dayanim of our internationally recognized Beth Din. by Rabbi Moshe Kushner, z”l Shaarei Gedulah by Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l Sefer Zichron Menuchah—Practical Halachos of Yichud in the Home and in the Workplace by Rabbi Ephraim Friedman Ahavat HaGer by Rabbi Hertzel Hillel Yitzhak Food Service Mashgiach Guidebook by Rabbi Dovid Cohen Rabbi Reiss speaking at the Halichot Am Yisrael Conference in Israel Additional cRc Publications available for free online and at the cRc office WE INVEST IN QUALITY SUPERVISION Spotlight Kashrus AND CONSUMER RESEARCH on Chicago Symbol Card We invest in researching community concerns, such as Passover acceptable alcoholic beverages, Pesach products, reliable Guide certifying agencies, and methods of checking produce for insects. SCAN TO ORDER cRc PUBLICATIONS Rabbi Langer giving a seminar on checking for insects at Ida Crown Jewish Academy before the pandemic. Photographs were taken prior to the pandemic. cRc Pesach Guide Introduction www.ASKcRc.org / www.cRcweb.org 5 HARAV GEDALIA DOV SCHWARTZ, ZT”L By Rabbi Shaanan Gelman On December 9, 2020 the Chicago Jewish Community lost Kidushin (33b) describes another show of respect shown one of its greatest leaders. Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz zt”l to the Av Beth Din when he is outside of the study hall, came to Chicago as the Av Beth Din of the cRc, the Chief presumably in the marketplace: Justice of our rabbinical court, and the highest authority אב ב”ד עובר עומד מלפניו מלא עיניו וכיון שעבר ד' אמות יושב for matters of Jewish law and tradition. He was recognized internationally as a posek and was renowned for his immense If an Av Beth din passes by one stands up in his presence as soon expertise and broad knowledge. Since his arrival in Chicago in as he is within range of vision, and once he passes four cubits from 1986, Rav Schwartz established himself as a leading light for him, one may sit. the broader community, a mentor and supporter of Rabbis Chazal saw these two halachot as part of the same principle, ִמ ְּפ ֵני ֵ ׂש ָיבה ָּתקוּם ְו ָה ַד ְר ָּת ְּפ ֵני ָז ֵקן around the country, and a cherished guide for the countless a fulfilment of the commandment of individuals who sought his sage counsel. – yet they also understood that the reality inside of the study The Gemara dictates two halachot regarding giving respect to hall or the academy was entirely different from the world the Av Beth Din. Tractate Horayot (13b) describes the honor outside. The Rosh Beth Din commanded respect from his which was bestowed upon the Av Beth Din as he entered the peers for his brilliance but was also required to understand before finalizing a ,פוק חזי מה עמא דבר – hallowed halls of the Sanhedrin in the Beit HaMikdash: the facts on the ground halachic ruling or decree. He was respected universally and כשאב ב”ד נכנס עושים לו שורה אחת מכאן ושורה אחת מכאן עד שישב במקומו was not solely the province of the elite, but also someone who made the Torah relatable and applicable to others. Such was the dual nature of our very own esteemed Av Beth Din (and later Rosh Beth Din), Maran Harav Gedalia Dov Schwartz zt”l – an individual who was revered by his rabbinic colleagues, students as well as by the man on the street. It became apparent from the numerous hespedim delivered for Rav Schwartz that many admired his disposition and demeanor, his relatability and warmth, his remarkable common sense and yashrus. Whether it was the way in which Rav Schwartz made himself available for younger chaveirim within the cRc or broader rabbinic community, the sagacious advice he dispensed to us both on a personal and Rav Schwartz with Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l professional level, or the way in which he interacted with When the Av Beth Din enters, the people form for him one row on people at the most vulnerable moments of their lives, Rav this side and one row on the other side, in a display of deference, Schwartz was someone who lived among the people, and, until he sits in his place, and then they may be seated.