QUESTION: Is a Jewish store owner obligated to toivel the pots and pans that he sells in his store?

ANSWER: The Beis Yosef (YD 120) writes that “klei sechora” (inventory) are not obligated in tevila. Since the Jew who owns the store has no intention to use these utensils for cooking food, he has no mitzvah to toivel them. The Beis Yosef suggests that since a storeowner has no mitzvah of tevila, perhaps a Jew who purchases from his store should also be exempt. After all, the customer bought the utensil from one who was not obligated in tevila. However, he concludes that his Rebbi, the Mahari Beirav, ruled that it is obligated since the utensils were originally owed by a non-Jew. This is the accepted ruling.

Sefer Tevilas Keilim (p. 164) writes that the Minchas Yitzchak and Rav Wosner explained that according to the Beis Yosef’s reasoning, if a store owner were to toivel his utensils before they were sold, the tevila would be ineffective, since the keilim are not yet obligated in tevila. However, there are poskim who disagree with the Beis Yosef (see Taz YD 120:10). They say that since the storeowner himself is not allowed to use these utensils for food purposes without tevila, if the storeowner were to toivel his wares, it would be effective since he in essence is obligated in this tevila. Since this is a matter of dispute, if a store owner were to toivel his utensils before they were sold, the customer should toivel them again without a beracha.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.