Rav Dovid Feinstein: A Treife Knife and Halacha Lemaaseh on Cholov Yisroel


rav-dovid-feinstein1As part of Matzav.com’s overall effort to provide a full range of news stories, as well as halacha insights and other information relevant to our frum readers all over the globe, we present today’s halachos, teshuvos from Maran Hagaon Rav Dovid Feinstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim.

Shailah: If onions and/or radishes were cut with a treife knife and then mixed into a salad, is there any bittul? (min bemino)

Rav Dovid Feinstein: No. There is issur in every piece.

Shailah: What is the halacha lemaaseh on cholov Yisroel?

Rav Dovid Feinstein:

•1.      There is no issur of cholov stam mei’ikkar dedina.

•2.      Compare to chodosh as a model.

•3.      If it is just as easy to get cholov Yisroel, get cholov Yisroel.

•4.      The money factor is to be judged on a case by case basis.

•5.      Using cholov Yisroel when convenient only is not a stirah.

•6.      Using cholov Yisroel for milk but not ice cream is not a stirah.

•7.      Cholov Yisroel is not the same as pas palter l’inyan Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. (Pas palter is a vadai issur in theory. Cholov stam is mutar mei’ikkar dedina.)

{The above teshuvos were transcribed by Harav Yitzchok Dovid Frankel of Cedarhurst, NY, in Kuntres Yad Dodi.}

{Dovid Bernstein-Matzav.com Newscenter}


  1. For people like myself who do not understand all the Hebrew words, it would be very helpful if you could translate them in English. Don’t assume that everyone visiting your site is a Yeshiva bachur

  2. Ever since 1994 when it became known that 4% of dairy cows suffer from DA (displaced abomasum) and are most often treated with a surgery during which the abomasum is punctured, the heter of Rav Moshe Zatzl simply does not apply. Nikva haKeiva; a hole in the abomasum is one of the 70 wounds that render an animal a treifa thereby rendering its milk asur because of yotzei min haTamei. At that time most poskim accepted this as fact and these animals are removed from all farms that produce cholov yisroel milk, an action not taken by the chalav stam farms. There is one alleged heter based on the presumption that the surgery is done without a direct puncture rather with great precision the surgeon creates three unaligned holes by manipulating the needle in a very delicate fashion. Unfortunately that surgery is not commonly used if at all. The most common surgery however is called the toggle suture in which the abomasum is punctured twice with a hollow needle and a string with a toggle device at the end are permanently inserted into the abomasum to secure it in its proper position. Im curious to know if there is any heter from any Rav that deals with the true facts.


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