Sources and Reasons:
The Rishonim disagree as to whether utensils in which bishul akum was cooked require kashering. In practice, Maran the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah, siman 113, סעיף 16) ruled that they require hagalah, mentioning only in the name of “some say” that this is unnecessary. Therefore, ab initio, she should not be allowed to cook, since her status is that of a complete non-Jew with regard to all halachos until she converts properly in accordance with halachah.
Nevertheless, if she transgressed and cooked for the entire household, one may be lenient for several reasons: A. The Shach (subsection 20), citing the Torat Chatat, writes that after the fact one may be lenient in a Jewish home. The Shach distinguishes between where she cooked in a Jewish home solely for herself, which is more stringent, and where she cooked for all members of the household, in which case one may be lenient after the fact in a Jewish home. B. One may combine the opinion of Gaon Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul, zt”l, who wrote that bishul akum does not apply to electricity. This is cited in Sefer Baruch She’amar—Sharga (Hilchot Yom Tov). This is all the more so if the utensil is not ben yomo, for one may also combine the opinion of the Aruch HaShulchan (Yoreh De’ah, siman 113, ot 22), who was lenient in this matter, unlike the opinion of the Shach.
This response was translated automatically from Hebrew and has not yet been reviewed by a person. Therefore, it may contain inaccuracies and should not be considered a definitive reference.
