Posted on 05/25/17
Baltimore, MD - May 25, 2017 - Cooking and baking for Shavuos can become a halachically confusing juggling act, alternating between the preparation of milchig, fleishig, pareve, and fish dishes. Unless you have the luxury of using a separate oven for each, you might want to check out, “Oven Kashrus 101: Using the Same Oven for Meat, Dairy, Fish, & Pareve” [Kashrus Kurrents, Spring 2016], written by STAR-K Kosher Certification Kashrus Administrator, Rabbi Dovid Heber. [https://www.star-k.org/articles/kashrus-kurrents/3704/oven-kashrus-101-using-the-same-oven-for-meat-dairy-fish-pareve/]
Based upon the psak of STAR-K Rabbinic Administrator Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, shlit”a, Rabbi Heber enumerates the halachos involved for regular gas and electric ovens when “going back and forth”. Using various l’chatchila and b’dieved scenarios, he discusses which food gender preparation combinations are allowed and under which circumstances.
Rabbi Heber’s Kashrus Kurrents article, entitled, “Meat and Dairy-A Kosher Consumer’s Handbook” [http://www.star-k.org/articles/kashrus-kurrents/706/meat-and-dairy-a-kosher-consumers-handbook/], also discusses halachos pertinent to Shavuos, including the status of bread served with a dairy or meat meal, eating meat after dairy, and waiting times after eating hard cheese.
As we personally prepare for Zman Matan Toraseinu, let’s be mindfully scrupulous in preparing our Yom Tov dishes in accordance with the Torah we are celebrating. Gut Yom Tov!