Serving Guests

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Guest with Different Standards of Kashrut

Utensils

  1. It is permitted to eat on the utensils of someone who holds of an opinion regarding kashrut than you don't follow unless you know that they were used within 24 hours for the food that is problematic. The reason is because we assume that generally a pot wasn't used within the last 24 hours and as such the food made in those pots is fully kosher. The owner doesn't have to kosher his pots since according to the opinions he follows it is kosher and doesn't need koshering.[1]

Serving Something that Someone Else Holds is Forbidden

  1. If someone holds that something is forbidden and you hold it is permitted it is forbidden to serve it to him without alerting him about it because of the concept of putting a stumbling block before a blind person - לפני עוור[2].[3]
  2. If someone doesn't trust a certain hashgacha and you know for sure that it is a good hashgacha one can serve it to him without telling him. If he asks you directly you can't lie.[4]

Sources

  1. Maharalbach 121, Shach YD 119:20
  2. Vayikra 19:14
  3. Maharalbach 121, Shach YD 119:20, Raah Yevamot 14
  4. Vayitzev Avraham 2:47:5 writes that according to the Maharalbach it is only considered a problem of lifnei iver to trip him up on something that he holds is forbidden for a halachic reason. Each opinion can be authentic in a torah sense because of elu v'elu. However, if he has a mistaken opinion not based on a particular opinion or chumra then you can give it to him without telling him and it isn't lifnei iver since there's nothing wrong with it. Therefore if you know for certain that something has a good hashgacha and he is just concerned because of a rumor then you can give it to him without telling him. Lying if asked is a problem of genivat daat.
Category Topics
Bishul Akum - Checking for Bugs - Gelatin - Kosher Food without Kosher Supervision - Kosher Food Packaging for Deliveries - Kosher Food Left with a Non-Jew - Koshering a Kitchen - Kashering for Pesach - Kosher in the Workplace - Medications - Pat Palter - Selling Non-Kosher Foods - Serving Guests - Sharp Foods - Shechitah (Kosher Slaughter) - Tevilat Keilim - Tzaar Baalei Chayim - Yashan
Meat and Milk
Dairy Bread - Eating Dairy and Meat at the Same Table - Kosher Cheese - Kosher Milk (Chalav Yisrael) - Milk and Meat in the Kitchen - Non-Dairy Milk - Waiting between Meat and Milk
Principles of Kashrut
Items That Cannot Be Nullified - Transferring Taste - Nullification - Zeh Vzeh Gorem - Trusting Others for Kashrut
Shechitah
Shechitah_(Kosher_Slaughter) - Who_Can_Be_a_Shochet - The_Shechitah_Knife - Modern_Day_Industrial_Shechitah - Glatt Kosher Meat - Kashering Meat