Toveling

Tag Archives: Toveling

Toveling Utensils in a Lake or River

By: Rabbi Mordechai Frankel

Summer 2013

Q: I am traveling, and there is no keilim mikvah in this area. May I tovel new utensils in a lake or river?

A: Metal, glass and glazed ceramic utensils which are purchased from a non-Jew and are used in the preparation and consumption of food require tevila before use.[1] A person may tovel utensils in “spring water” – water that flows naturally from under the ground. If a river has such water as its source, he can tovel his utensils in the river.[2] The river must contain at least forty se’ah of water, which calculates as 175 gallons of water.[3] An ocean or sea is halachically considered to be “spring water.”[4] Therefore, a person may tovel utensils in an ocean, sea, or river which has such water as its source. However, regarding a river which has “spring water” as its source, […]

The Mitzvah of Tevilas Keilim

By: Rabbi Moshe Heinemann

Reviewed February 2023

Click HERE for a convenient summary of tevilas keilim guidelines and HERE for a handy chart.

In His infinite wisdom, Hashem Yisborach has spiritually elevated the mundane activity of eating and has vested it with special sanctity (kedusha). The food we eat must be kosher, the table upon which we eat our meals represents the holy altar (the mizbe’ach). Similarly, the vessels and utensils (keilim) used for preparing food and for dining must be given special holiness. When these dishes and/or utensils have been previously owned by an aino Yehudi, we have to immerse these keilim in a mikvah before their first use.

Keilim (vessels/utensils) can be categorized into three halachic groupings:

utensils requiring tevila (immersion) with a bracha

utensils requiring tevila without a bracha

utensils not requiring tevila at all

Utensils require tevila with a bracha when they have direct contact with food during preparation or meal […]