Countertops
שיש וכיור
Kitchen countertops are generally cold, but sometimes hot ḥametz foods or boiling pots from the stove are placed on them, and if some sauce spills on the countertop, it is absorbed at the level of a “kli rishon removed from the flame” (see 10:8 above).
In order to kosher a countertop, one must first clean it well, paying special attention to crevices and making sure that no food remains stuck in them.
Marble countertops should ideally be koshered by pouring boiling water over them while placing a scalding hot stone or piece of metal on them. By doing so, the water is brought to a boil and reaches a koshering level of a kli rishon removed from the flame. However, it is difficult to bring metal to such a heat in private homes, and doing so could damage the countertop. Therefore, the general practice is to suffice with pouring boiling water on the countertop. In this case, one should make sure not to use the countertop for Pesaḥ foods until twenty-four hours have elapsed since the last time hot ḥametz foods were on the countertops. Instead of pouring hot water, one may also cover the countertops entirely with oilcloth or thick foil in order to separate between the countertops and the Pesaḥ utensils.
Those who are stringent do both – they pour boiling water on the countertop and then cover it with linoleum or thick foil. Fragile countertops, on which boiling pots are never placed, can be koshered by merely cleaning and pouring boiling water on them. Some think that it is possible to kosher marble countertops by burning alcohol on them, but the koshering strength of alcoholic spirits is less than that of boiling water, and therefore boiling water should be poured on the countertop. Cleaning countertops with a steam cleaner is as effective as pouring boiling water on them, but where hagala in a kli rishon is required, it is ineffective.¹
In general, the status of a sink is similar to that of a countertop, though in one respect it is less strict because it usually contains soap, which befouls the tastes of foods, and in another respect, it is more strict (if made of porcelain), because many poskim say that porcelain has the status of earthenware, which does not release tastes through hagala.
There are two accepted practices for koshering sinks. Those who are lenient clean the sink well and then pour boiling water all over it. Before pouring boiling water on a sink or countertop, it must be dried well, so that the boiling water touches it directly and is not cooled by any cold water on its surface. For this reason, one must first pour the boiling water on the sink and then on the countertop, starting with the areas closest to the sink and moving further away. Those who are stringent, in addition to pouring boiling water on the sink, put a plastic insert in it or line it with thick aluminum foil in order to separate between the sink, which has absorbed ḥametz, and the Pesaḥ utensils. These people are also careful not to use boiling water in the sink during Pesaḥ.²
Notes (2)
- SA 451:20 states that one can kosher the tables on which pots are placed by pouring boiling water on them (and does not rule leniently based on the principle that koshering method is determined by main usage, which in this case is with cold food). MB 114 ad loc. cites Rabbeinu Yeruḥam that one must kosher such a table according to its most intense usage, i.e., a kli rishon removed from the flame. Therefore, one must pour boiling water over a scorching stone on the table, effectively koshering it on the level of a kli rishon removed from the flame. However, as we saw in 10:9 above, in extenuating circumstances one may kosher a utensil based on its main usage; in this case merely washing the table would suffice.
Practically, even one relying on the lenient opinions should at least pour boiling water on the countertop or cover it with an oilcloth. Those who act stringently both pour boiling water and cover the table, preferring not to rely solely on a covering that may slide around. It is worth mentioning the concern raised by some that cheaper countertops made of compressed stone have the status of earthenware, on which hagala is ineffective. However, even earthenware can be koshered by merely washing it, as long as the majority of its usage is with cold items. Additionally, it seems more likely that compressed stone countertops do not have the same status as earthenware vessels; see Hagalat Kelim 13:1. Nevertheless, there are better grounds for covering this type of countertop. See also Sidur Pesaḥ Ke-hilkhato 8:2 and Piskei Teshuvot 451:44.
See Hagalat Kelim 13:433 regarding koshering a countertop with alcohol. We do not condemn one who uses this method, as long as he cleaned the countertop well, since be-di’avad cleaning a countertop, whose primary usage is cold, with cold water is effective. Cleaning with the alcohol alone, however, is ineffective. - Its most intense form of absorption is as a kli rishon removed from the flame, since sometimes one places pots of boiling-hot ḥametz in it. One who wants to kosher it based on its most serious usage must place a scalding stone in boiling water and pour the water onto the sink. However, according to many poskim, a porcelain sink has the status of earthenware and cannot be koshered via hagala. In such a case, one must cover the walls of the sink with a plastic insert or aluminum foil. They are also careful not to fill the sink with boiling water, lest the taste absorbed in the walls of the sink become absorbed in the Pesaḥ utensils. Even if the sink is not ben yomo and tastes absorbed in it are thus foul, according to Rema 447:10 even this is forbidden on Pesaḥ.
Those who are lenient rely on SA 451:6 that we follow the main usage, which in the case of a sink is with cold foods. This method is thus effective even if the sink is made of earthenware. Additionally, according to Knesset Ha-gedola, porcelain is akin to glass, which does not absorb at all, and not earthenware. Moreover, since there is usually residual dish soap in the sink, any ḥametz taste absorbed into the sink would have been foul from the outset, so the sink would not need to be koshered. And even if we assume that the sink absorbed flavorful ḥametz, it would turn foul once twenty-four hours had elapsed. Even though according to Rema foul-tasting ḥametz is forbidden on Pesaḥ, the present case involved absorption that is, at worst, third degree (nat bar nat bar nat), and, as we have seen, MB 447:98 states that one may be lenient about foul tastes where there is no existing custom, and there is no existing custom about nat bar nat bar nat. Sidur Pesaḥ Ke-hilkhato 8:1 and Hagalat Kelim 124-127 write more about koshering sinks.