Tevilat Kelim is the halachah that regulates the immersion of culinary utensils in a mikveh. It originates in the Torah, in Numbers 31, when God commands Moses to wipe out the Midianites, a pagan people who were spreading their idolatry to the Hebrews. After the battle, Moses instructs the warriors to purify themselves and do the same with “all garments, leather articles, goat products, and wooden vessels.” And verses 21-23 say, “Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, ‘This is the statute of the law that God has commanded Moses (referring to the spoils of war): Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead, everything that can withstand fire, will pass through the fire and will be clean, but it will be purified with water for impurity. But everything that cannot withstand fire will be passed through water.”

The Mishneh, in tractate Masechet Avodah Zarah, interprets this passage as follows: Whoever buys a utensil from a pagan (“haoved cochavim,” one who worships the stars), one that is normally immersed in water, must be immersed; one that is normally boiled, must be immersed in boiling water; one that is normally heated in fire until red-hot, must be heated in fire. And the Gemara says: And all require immersion in forty seahs (the amount of water).

The Shulchan Aruch, in tractate Orach Chaim, in chapter 37, lists the rules regarding Tevilat Kelim, including the blessing that must be said upon doing so. And these rules go into detail: for example, they distinguish what must be done depending on the material from which they are made, as glass and metal utensils are immersed, but wooden ones are not. This also applies to items purchased and/or made by pagans. (are dipped) or by Jews (are not dipped), or whether they were purchased (are dipped) or only borrowed (are not dipped). And they explain that not all culinary utensils must be dipped, among other things.

And the rules of the Shulchan Aruch were later further expanded by Orthodox religious authorities. The website Halachipedia lists more than 40 rules for Tevilat Kelim: it specifies in detail the procedure for dipping, when to say the blessing, which utensils require dipping, what to do with disposable utensils or electrical ones like a toaster or coffee maker, or when we buy food packaged in glass and consumed directly from the container, such as soft drinks or fruit juices. Furthermore, these sites no longer mention utensils made by idolaters, but simply by anyone who is not Jewish.

The Conservative Rabbis’ Law and Standards Committee, after a unanimous deliberation, concluded that Tevilat Kelim is not required, at least that the object is suspected of having been made by an idolater, as would be the case with a vessel from ancient Rome. They conclude that it is practically impossible to know who made the utensil, that they are now made by mixing materials that may or may not require immersion, and that the rule was for warriors and not for the entire people. In contrast, Orthodox Judaism is adding new and increasingly detailed rules. The result is an extremely complex tangle of rules that are difficult to follow. And this happens when we forget the true meaning of the commandment.

By Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: Resolution of the Conservative Rabbis’ Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, article on Tevilat Kelim from Halachipedia, and other sources.