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Can glass be koshered?

by Rabbi Dov Grossman

  

Library » Mitzvot » Kosher » Kosher Utensils | Subscribe | What is RSS?


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Before discussing whether or not glass can be koshered, let us first understand if glass needs to be koshered to begin with.


The process of koshering utensils is intended to clean the vessel, not of the residue left on the cutlery, pot or pan, but rather of the taste that gets absorbed in the vessel. Halachically, when one cooks food, the flavor of the food gets absorbed (or is “swallowed”, to use the Halachic term) within the walls of the utensil. Therefore, after cooking non-Kosher food we must kosher our vessels, to cleanse them of the taste absorbed within them.


As a result of its unique non-porous structure, glass will never soak up any substance within its walls
With regards to glass, the Halachah1 tells us that glass does not absorb taste. As a result of its unique non-porous structure, glass will never soak up any substance within its walls. Thus, glass need not be koshered, just cleaned well of all external dirt.


However, an additional halachic opinion is that glass, much like metal, need be koshered via intense heat exposure.


There is a third halachic opinion which maintains that glass is indeed absorbant (as is the case with other forms of earthenware vessels). Generally speaking, with regards to the holiday of Pesach, Ashkenazim are stringent, and follow this opinion. Therefore on Pesach glass utensils that were used for Chametz are unacceptable for Passover use. And, as is the case with other earthenware vessels, they cannot be koshered through boiling or blowtorching.


For the most part, many Sephardim do not follow this stringency, and even on Pesach will use glass utensils which had been used for chametz.


Please consult your own Orthodox Rabbi to decide if and how glass may be koshered year-round and on Passover.


 

Footnotes

  • 1. Shulchan Aruch O.C. 451:26.

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Chametz
Any leavened product which is produced from wheat, barley, rye, spelt or oats. This includes bread, cake, cereals, crackers, biscuits, yeast, pasta and whisky. It is forbidden for a Jew to possess or consume Chametz throughout Passover.
Passover
A Biblically mandated early-spring festival celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in the year 1312 BCE.
Halachah
Jewish Law. All halachah which is applicable today is found in the Code of Jewish Law.
Halachic
Pertaining to Jewish Law.
Kosher
Literally means "fit." Commonly used to describe foods which are permitted by Jewish dietary laws, but is also used to describe religious articles (such as a Torah scroll or Sukkah) which meet the requirements of Jewish law.
Halachically
According to Jewish law.
Ashkenazim
(pl.) Jews of Northern or Eastern European ancestry. (singular: Ashkenazi)
Sephardim
(Pl.: Sephardim) A Jew whose ancestors stem from Southern Italy, Spain, Portugal, North Africa or the Arabian countries.
Pesach
Passover. A Biblically mandated early-spring festival celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in the year 1312 BCE.