I want to kasher pots and pans for Pesach at home to take with me. Is it allowed to line the sink with foil and do hagala there by pouring boiling water on an already cleaned pot?
Kashering Pots for Pesach by Pouring Boiling Water in a Foil-Lined Sink
Question
Answer
That’s not the correct way to kasher pots.
Sources
The Shulchan Aruch rules that utensils used with hot food are kashered “according to their use.” An item used directly in a kli rishon (first vessel), such as a spoon stirred in a pot on the fire, must be kashered in a kli rishon. Pouring from a kli rishon (irui) is the method only for items whose normal use is by pouring. A pot is itself a kli rishon on the fire, so simply pouring boiling water over it does not kasher it.
The Rema adds that the custom is to be stringent and kasher in a kli rishon even items like bowls and spoons that might sometimes have been used that way. He also shows that pouring alone is not treated as a kli rishon for large pots.
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 451:5 — utensils are kashered according to their use; something used in a kli rishon must be kashered in a kli rishon, and pouring is only for items used by pouring
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 451:6 — we follow the utensil’s main use; the Rema says the custom is to kasher in a kli rishon wherever there is concern it was used that way, and pouring over a large pot alone is not considered a kli rishon
Author
Rabbi Shay Tahan
Share this
Have a question of your own?
Ask Rabbi Tahan