‘Food: A Halachic Analysis’ by Rabbi Yehuda Spitz, Review by Rabbi R. C. Klein

Food: A Halachic Analysis

Food: A Halachic Analysis by Rabbi Yehuda Spitz (Mosaica Press, 2021)

Reviewed by Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein

A prominent Talmid Chacham recently said to me that one-third of all sources cited in contemporary seforim are either non-existent or misquoted. Many authors simply copy out lists of sources from other seforim, but don’t actually bother to look up the sources that they cite. But—Rabbi Yehuda Spitz is different. He is a meticulous scholar who always checks up his sources and goes well beyond that as well. After years of in-depth research and writing, Rabbi Spitz has finally presented us with his first English book. The bulk of this masterpiece of Torah scholarship comprises of updated versions of various essays that Rabbi Spitz published over the years in major Jewish publications all over the world, plus new never-before-published articles on additional topics.

The first few chapters of this 31-chapter book discuss the laws of Basar B’Chalav (“Meat & Milk”), focusing on various details like how long one ought to wait between eating food of one disposition and the other, plus additional safeguards put in place to distance a person from — God forbid! — violating the Torah’s prohibition of Basar B’Chalav. Rabbi Spitz devotes a chapter to the requirement of waiting six hours between eating hard cheese and meat, elaborating on what exactly constitutes “hard cheese” vis-à-vis this Halacha. In a later chapter, Rabbi Spitz clarifies the Halachic status of genetically-engineered meat, demonstrating a fairly impressive understanding of the scientific processes used in its production and offering the most comprehensive analysis of the issue to date.

Rabbi Spitz also offers expositions that cover various historic Halachic controversies over the Kashrus status of the Buffalo and Zebu (whether they should be classified as a chayah or behemah), the stincus Marinus (whether it serves as an exception to the Talmud’s assumption that every fish with scales also has fins), and gid hanashe (whether the sciatic nerve is only on male animals or even on female animals). Rabbi Spitz’s pop culture references, humorous subtitles, and particular predilection for alliteration make reading this book entertaining, and his historical tidbits and interesting side points make it all the more informative.

In one his most entertaining and informative essays, Rabbi Spitz also provides us with a history of the Kashrus supervision over Coca Cola, explaining all the possible concerns and how they were addressed, while also managing to make references to all of Coca Cola’s various slogans. He also devotes much attention to Barton’s Candy and Jello-O, teaching us about the various ways of producing gelatin and which ones are considered Halachically-acceptable. In these chapters, Rabbi Spitz not only wears the black hat of a Torah Scholar investigating Halachic conundrums, but also dons his biologist belt and chemist goggles.

For those who think about Pesach year-round, Rabbi Spitz offers much food for thought concerning the ban on kitniyos (“legumes”) and whether it applies to such relatively new products as potatoes, corn, cottonseed oil, and quinoa. Like all of his other essays, Rabbi Spitz quotes from the leading Halachic authorities of our generation and even corresponded with various Kashrus agencies around the globe.

Of course, no contemporary Halachic work on food would be complete without chapters on Chalav Yisrael, Pas Yisrael, and Chadash. Have no fear, Rabbi Spitz’s respective chapters on those topics do not disappoint! He does not shy away from controversy, but tackles these topics head on, offering an honest look at the relevant sources. Other chapters in this book discuss various intricacies of the rules of bittul (“nullification”), kashering, pasteurization, and even mayim acharonim.

Rabbi Spitz consistently presents multiple sides to every issue, yet one can often discern his own final opinion on the matter. He generally presents his own conclusions with a soft tone and does not typically discredit those with whom he ultimately disagrees—a rare sign of humility in our combative times. Rabbi Spitz further shows his humility and openness to learning from others by mentioning the random people who provided him with the various sources or pieces of information that he adduces. At the same time, when accepted works like the Badei HaShulchan or Chelkas Binyamin come to mistaken conclusions, Rabbi Spitz is not afraid to point out their mistakes.

If I had to criticize Rabbi Spitz’s work, I would make an issue of him using technical terms or quotes from Halachic works transliterated from Hebrew without always clearly defining them. He doesn’t do this too often, but in some ways, it still makes the book a bit too complicated for the novice reader who is not already familiar with the various Halachic principles in play. Additionally, Rabbi Spitz’s carefully-crafted footnotes sometimes contain long lists of sources and authorities that read like name-dropping and do not really offer anything extra. That said, most of the time, his lists of sources do add to the discussion at hand.

Rabbi Spitz was clearly influenced by his illustrious rebbeim. For instance, his use of humor in helping his readers and students digest the loads of information that he presents mirrors the inimitable teaching methods of his mentor, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Lerner (author of Shemiras HaGuf VeHaNefesh). Rabbi Spitz’s inquisitive methodology follows that of his teacher Rabbi Yonason Wiener (posek for Yeshivas Ohr Somayach and member of Badatz She’aris Yisrael), who has scientific inquiry in his blood. And finally, Rabbi Spitz’s impatience for excessive stringencies and unjustified leniencies matches that of his rebbi, Rabbi Yaakov Blau (a prominent dayan on the Badatz Eidah Chareidis), who always provided a balanced voice on any subject he weighed in. Needless to say, Rabbi Yehuda Spitz is also influenced by his esteemed father, renowned Kashrus expert, Rabbi Manish Spitz, whose opinions and insights are quoted on a variety of topics.

As Rosh Chaburah of the Ohr LaGolah program at Yeshivas Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, Rabbi Yehuda Spitz helped trained a generation of frontline professionals involved in kiruv, chinuch, rabbonus, and kashrus. He is often consulted as an expert in various Halachic topics, and has been interviewed as an authority on such radio shows as Kashrus on the Air with Rabbi Yosef Wikler and Halacha Headlines with Mr. Dovid Lichtenstein. This reviewer looks forward to seeing future books by Rabbi Spitz on the rest of Yoreh Deah, Orach Chaim, Even HaEzer, and other areas of Halacha.

From Rachak Review, here.

A Heartfelt Cry from a Resident of the City of Lod

Translated from Russian. Please forward. (via Soferet.)
My dear friends, every day I receive dozens of calls and messages from you, just to ask how things are  in Lod. So I decided to answer everyone at once.
I want to name my post:
“Lod on Fire or Report from the Front Line.”
I think that all of you are more or less aware of what is happening in our country, I don’t want to give any political assessments, I’ll just tell you about our daily life.
Our  mornings begin with questions in local groups: how can we get out of the city? do doctors work? a child has high  fever, how to get to the doctor so that they don’t kill us on the way? where they are shooting today? what’s on fire? where is being  smashed? etc …
The rockets, which fall on our heads at the same time, already seem to be just child’s play. It is much more terrible when every second you expect the thugs to break into your house and start killing your family.  You can hide from missiles in a bomb shelter, but how to protect yourself from those who break into your door, and it is just you against them?  On the very first night in Lod, several houses were evacuated, in which Arabs and Jews lived together.  When the rioters came, Arab neighbors guided them to Jewish apartments. People in the middle of the night jumped out into the street with children in their arms, they were forced to urgently evacuate.  Does this remind you of anything?
Our husbands have not been sleeping for several nights, they guard our homes, and next to them are our sons. They have no weapons, they are absolutely defenseless in the face of  thugs armed to the teeth.
Settlers from Judea and Samaria come to us and stand next to our men, this is our protection.  The police and the magawas ( boarder police) are  not managing.
We see our cars and synagogues burning. People burst into burning synagogues to save sifrei Torah ( Torah scrolls).
All night long automatic gun shooting does not stop. We cannot sleep. All Lod residents inform each other in various media groups  what is happening on this or that street, where the crowds of pogromists have moved at the moment.  We are afraid for our children, who are with us at home, and for our men, who are now trying to resist the crazed crowd on the street.  Now we have again been warned that pogroms are expected after Friday prayers, be prepared ( it was written on Thursday).  We live in constant fear, and mind you, all this is not happening somewhere in Syria, or beyond the so-called Green Line.  All this is happening in our country, in its very center, a 20-minute drive from Tel Aviv.
Do you hear this on the news?
                               NO!!!
It all started from our city of Lod. We cried out for help!  Nobody heard us. Now pogroms are already taking place in all Israeli cities with a mixed population.
If you have not yet understood, we have a war, a war for survival, and missiles falling from the sky will soon seem to us the lesser of two evils.
If the easy going residents of Tel Aviv think that this misfortune will bypass them, I  am afraid they are deeply mistaken. The situation is already getting out of control, and God forbid, the whole country can set ablaze.
Remember, when people were evicted from Gush – Katif? The people there shouted: “Come to your senses! What are you doing? If we are not there, missiles will fly to the center of the country.”
That  is what we are now witnessing.
People!  Do not be silent, tell the whole world what is happening here.
The world must know the truth!
I want to end my post with the famous words of Martin Niemeller.
“When the Nazis came for the communists, I was silent, I’m not a communist.
Then they came for the Social Democrats, I was silent, I am not a Social Democrat.
Then they came for the trade unionists, I was silent, I am not a union member.
Then they came for the Jews, I was silent, I am not a Jew.
And then they came for me, and there was no one to protest. “
Alla Zohar

Rav Avigdor Miller on Praying For The IDF

Now, somebody asked me a question – he said, “What?! Do you want to give a victory to the IDF when we know that all kinds of sins are done in the Jewish army?” It’s true but suppose there is an apikoris who is trying to save you from an enemy, from an Arab who is running after you and trying to kill you. Do you want that apikoris to be killed?! No. You want him to live until – at least until – he saves your life. After he saves your life – that’s something else. So we want the army to be successful until they defeat all the Arabs. And so we should get busy davening for that!

See the rest here…