Libun

Q. When is libun required? 

A. The Gemara (Avoda Zara 75b) states that pots that were used to cook non-kosher food can be kashered with hagalah (immersion in boiling water), while utensils that were used directly on the fire for non-kosher grilling or broiling, such as a spit or the grate of a grill, can only be kashered with libun. What is the difference between a pot and a grate? Both are placed directly on the fire. Why does hagalah suffice for a pot but not for a grate?

Most poskim differentiate as follows: A pot is used to cook liquids. Since the pot absorbed by means of liquid, it can be kashered with water. This concept is known as “k’bolo kach polto” (the manner in which the food absorbs, that is the manner in which it can be kashered). Even if there are also solids in the pot, such as meat, since they are surrounded by the water, the absorption into the pot always takes place together with liquid so it can be kashered with hagalah. However, a grill absorbs directly by fire, without any liquid. The ta’am (taste) of food is absorbed more intensely in a vessel when broiling or baking and this flavor can only be removed by means of kashering directly with fire (i.e., libun).

However, the Rama MiFano offers a different explanation. Hagalah is sufficient for cooking because the non-kosher food is not absorbed directly into the pot. The ta’am of the non-kosher food is first absorbed into the liquid medium, and then the liquid is absorbed into the pot. Since the absorption into the pot is a two-step process, hagalah is adequate. On the other hand, non-kosher ta’am is absorbed directly when grilling and therefore libun is necessary. There is a significant practical difference between these two viewpoints. How would one kasher a pot that directly absorbed a non-kosher liquid, such as non-kosher wine? According to the first view, hagalah is adequate because the absorption was through liquid, while according to the Rama MiFano, libun is necessary because there was no second intermediary medium. Most poskim do not accept this position of the Rama Mifano. (To be continued...)

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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.