Q&A: How Many Fine Distinctions
How Many Fine Distinctions
Question
Hello to the Rabbi,
In one of the pamphlets I saw on the Sabbath, among the host of new stringencies,
there also appeared a question about koshering utensils before the holiday.
As is well known, the rule is: "as it absorbs, so it expels." And as is also well known, the temperature on a mountain is not the same as the temperature on the coastal plain.
That is, in Bnei Brak for example, boiling takes place at 100 degrees, whereas in Jerusalem it always stops at 97–98 (approximately) and does not reach 100.
So the question arises: can a pot that absorbed leavened food on Passover be koshered by boiling in Jerusalem?
I would be glad to know the Rabbi's view.
Answer
Definitely yes. Boiling is boiling, and we do not enter into such distinctions.
Discussion on Answer
Thank you, Rabbi,
Again I found that oil can also reach a temperature of 150, and still people kosher a frying pan with boiling water at 100.
It would be possible to set up a koshering-by-boiling center on the shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, where, as far as I know, the water boils there at about 102 degrees Celsius, and even according to the stringent opinions the koshering would be valid.
There is no reason not to publish a public call to "remove a stumbling block," as is customary in our circles, and get the initiative running even before this coming Passover.