Tomb of Tana Hakadosh Rabbi Nachum Ish Gamzu
Rabbi Nachum Ish Gamzu was one of the first Tannaim (sages of the Mishnah era) and teacher of Rabbi Akiva
Question
First of all, congratulations on your work,
I would like to ask about the new prohibition for Sephardim regarding the consumption of beer abroad.
I would like to know if we should avoid drinking beer without kashrut supervision outside of Israel, considering the prohibition of Hadash[1]?
(We have a discussion about this at work, and I said that, as far as I know, this is prohibited…)
I would appreciate it if you could expand the scope…
Thank you
[1] Hadash: Prohibition on consuming food that contains one of the five types of grains (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and oats) until the second day of Passover (16th of Nissan) has passed, from the time the plant takes root. The passage of the second day of Passover makes the consumption of these grains permitted (in the time of the Temple, there was also a need for the Korban (offering) of the Omer).
Hello and blessings
According to Maran Shulchan Aruch and the majority of decisors (poskim), even outside the Land of Israel, one should avoid eating any grain food whose condition of being ‘new grain’ or whether the 16th of Nissan has passed is not known.
Although there are those who have written to give credit to those who are more lenient on this matter, for various reasons, as explained in the sources and arguments of the response. However, the opinion of the majority of decision-makers is that one should be careful with this and check if the grain is not hadash (“new”). Therefore, not only should Sephardim be careful about this, but Ashkenazim should also be careful not to drink beer outside of Israel unless it is known that it is not made from new grains.
It is important to note that, in this matter, it is not appropriate to rely on any kashrut certification from abroad, as there are certifications that do not concern themselves with verifying whether the grain is new, and rely on the methods of decision-makers who are more lenient and do not concern themselves with the prohibition of new grain in unspecified grains abroad. In fact, in Israel, the Chief Rabbinate does not allow the entry of products that raise suspicion of the hadash prohibition.
It is important to note that, in any case, it is not permitted to drink beer without kosher certification, as there are additional kashrut issues beyond the prohibition of ‘hadash’. For in every simple beer, there are dozens of components that need to be checked for kashrut issues, especially because beer contains alcohol, and it is very common to use wine yeast in the production of alcohol, and abroad, there is the problem of non-kosher wine, which does not nullify even in a thousand.
Therefore, in practice, one should also be careful outside of Israel to drink only beer with recognized kashrut certification.
Rabbi David Ohayon
PLEASE NOTE*
Attention: You should not learn from one case to another, each case must be analyzed individually. Generally speaking, it's always best to have contact with a Rabbi in person, not just virtual contact. Note that where there is a local Rabbi("Mara Deatra"), one should ask him. The answers are under the responsibility of the rabbi who responded, and not under the responsibility of the website and/or the Head of the Institution.
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