Introduction
A fascinating matter in the world of kashrut, especially regarding the kashrut of beverages, is the inclusion of using isinglass for the refining of beverages, whether mead, beer, wine, or even other beverages. This was not always the case, as Rabbi Yeḥezkel Landau wrote a responsum permitting its use [for the use in clarifying mead] (נודע ביהודה מהדורא קמא, יורה דעה כ”ו). This 177th episode of The Jewish Drinking Show features Rabbi Elli Fischer in going through this particular responsum permitting isinglass for the use in clarifying alcoholic beverages.
Bio
Rabbi Elli Fischer is an independent writer, translator, and rabbi. Previously, he was the JLIC rabbi and campus educator at Maryland Hillel. He holds BA and MS degrees from Yeshiva University, rabbinical ordination from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, and is working toward a doctorate in Jewish History.
He is a founding editor of The Lehrhaus, a web magazine of contemporary Jewish thought. His original writing has appeared in numerous Jewish publications. Among the issues he writes about are the history of halakhah; religion and politics in Israel; the interplay between legal and nonlegal elements of the Talmud; and Central European Jewish History. He edited ten volumes of Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s Peninei Halakha series in English and is a cofounder of HaMapah, a project that applies quantitative analysis to rabbinic literature.
Episode
In addition to being available below in video format, the episode is also available in podcast format on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you prefer listening to podcasts:
