Rabbi Eli Gersten
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

OU-D, OU-Fish, OU-P—is there anything left? YES! The OU has unveiled a new kashrus symbol: OU-Kitniyot. This symbol is designed to help those who eat kitniyot during Passover. For background data, tune in here to Rabbi Eli Gersten, the Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kashruth assigned to record OU halachic policies, as he addresses such questions as: Which botanicals are considered “Kitniyot”? Why do some consume them when others avoid them like the plague (or like 10 plagues)? You’ll go “nuts” over what you hear! If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Gersten please send them to: gerstene@ou.org

   Dial-up | Cable/DSL | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments

   Download mp3

Practical Issues in Hilchos Pesach In this extra-special video, the Orthodox Union’s prominent Poskim, Rav Yisroel Belsky, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah V’Da’as, and Rav Hershel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchok Elchanon, return to focus on issues of practical halacha related to Pesach. This year’s topics include: Is Quinoa on the list of Kitniyos?; What areas need to be searched for chometz?; How do I prepare my oven and my sink? Do I need to worry about Cheerios in my daughter’s dollhouse? What distinguishes one kind of matzah from the other? Questions were drawn from within the OU and from e-mails sent in by interested consumers. Tune in and be awed and enlightened by the Poskim for OU Kashruth. Recorded live on – March 24, 2009 at OU World Headquarters in NY, NY. Click here to enjoy the 5768 pre-Pesach webcast!

   Cable/DSL | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments

   Download mp3

Rabbi Eli Gersten
Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

This year (5768), Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos. How do we address the unique needs of both special days? Tune in to Rabbi Eli Gersten, a Rabbinic Coordinator with OU Kashruth charged with recording OU halachic policies, and hear a lucid, thorough, and systematic examination of the issues. Among the topics addressed are: Siyyum Bechoros; Mechiras Chometz; and Shabbos meals. Not to be missed!If you have questions or comments for Rabbi Gersten please send them to: gerstene@ou.org

   Dial-up | Cable/DSL | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments

   Download mp3

Rav Yisroel Belsky
Rav Hershel Schachter
Senior Halachic Consultants, OU Kashruth

In this extra-special video, the Orthodox Union’s prominent Poskim, Rav Yisroel Belsky, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah V’Da’as, and Rav Hershel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchok Elchanon, focus on issues of practical halacha related to Pesach. Topics include: Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbos; which inedibles (e.g., paper towels and plates) require Pesach certification; Kitniyos; the Seder; Mechiras Chometz; and kashering. Questions were drawn from OU Rabbanim and from e-mails sent in by interested consumers. Tune in and be awed and enlightened by the Poskim for OU Kashruth.

   Cable/DSL | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments

   Download mp3

Rabbi Menachem Genack
Rabbinic Administrator and CEO, OU Kashruth

Erev Pesach is always a busy day. Imagine combining it with Shabbos! In 2005, at an OU-RCA Pesach conference, Rabbi Menachem Genack, Rabbinic Administrator and CEO of OU Kashruth, tackled the subject from the perspective of the Rishonim (early Talmudic commentators), also citing his great mentor, the Rav - Rabbi Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik, Zatzal. Join Rabbi Genack in an exploration of the conceptual underpinnings of the halachos that govern what we eat when Erev Pesach is on Shabbos.

   Dial-up | Cable/DSL | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments

   Download mp3

Rabbi Yaakov Luban
Executive Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashruth

Everyone knows that bread is a strict no-no during Pesach. But what about after Pesach--no problem, right? Wrong! Join Rabbi Yaakov Luban, Executive Rabbinic Coordinator of OU Kashruth, for a thorough and lucid discussion of the issue of Chometz SheAvar Alav HaPesach. When exactly is chometz prohibited, even after Pesach? Does ownership of the chometz have anything to do with this? Would sale of chometz through a rabbi automatically eliminate all of the problems? Tune in and hear an amazing amalgam of contemporary halacha, OU policy, and market realities.

   Dial-up | Cable/DSL | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments

   Download mp3

Simchas Torah: Why Dance Now? - Why do we rejoice over the Torah at this holiday and not on Shavous, the holiday seemingly more appropriate?

   Dial-up | Cable/DSL | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments

   Download mp3

From the album "L'Chaim"

   Dial-up | Tell a Friend | 0 Comments