Kashrus in the Kitchen. The Jewish Kitchen (90)
Unsupervised Gentile in a Jewish Home. Previously, we mentioned the great concern of leaving a gentile alone in a Jewish home. Care must be taken that a gentile knows not to bring his own food into a Jewish home and if possible, has no need to bring food. Some institutions have rules that a worker is fired if he brings his own food in. When cleaning crews come in late at night to clean dining areas, and they can’t be monitored at that time, they lock away the food storage and cooking areas
Concerns. Even after knowing that a gentile didn’t bring in food, there is still concern: 1) They may cook a mixture of milk and meat making the utensils and oven need kashering. 2) They may cook milchigs in a meat utensil or meat in a milchig utensil. 3) They may cook for themselves an item which is Bishul Akum which also makes the utensils need kashering. 4) They may pour themselves wine or grape juice and cause the leftover wine to become prohibited (סתם יינם). Many of these concerns would apply if one left a non-observant Jew alone in the house (1).
Creating a “Mirsas” (Fear) Situation. If a gentile is told (and understands) what he is not allowed to do and is scared of getting caught, we can assume that nothing will happen. If the gentile thinks that the Jewish owner or family members, even minors aged 6 and above (2), might walk in at any time and catch him doing the wrong thing, we can confidently assume that he won’t do something wrong (3). This works for a gentile who does not know the schedule of the owner, such as a one-time repairman. However, an ongoing helper, such as a babysitter or live-in, will know the owner’s schedule and would not be scared in such a case.
Cameras. If one installs security cameras covering areas where the gentile might cause kashrus problems, we assume he won’t do the wrong thing (4). This is only if the gentile knows what is forbidden to him, is aware of the cameras, and assumes the Jew will check them from time to time. The above-mentioned areas include the kitchen/cooking areas, refrigerator, and wine storage areas where there are unsealed bottles of wine. If a gentile has no reason to do the wrong thing, we will discuss it IY”H next week.
(1) רמ"א יו"ד קיח:א (2) חכמת אדם סז:ד (3) יו"ד קיח:י (4) חלקת בנימין קיח:ק
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