Ask the Rabbi

  • Halacha
  • Medications and Vitamins

Vitamins

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Rabbi Jonathan Blass

10 Kislev 5763
Question
Are vitamines & microelements supposed to be kosher?
Answer
Tasteless or bad-tasting vitamins that must be swallowed whole are not food and cannot be eaten as food. They therefore do not require a hashgacha. If, however, you know for a fact that they contain non- kosher ingredients, then they should not be ingested by a totally healthy person and can be used only to treat a sickness, or disorder even if these are not life-threatening. Homeopathic elements are all “batel”- they are so minimal as to be considered non-existent. The base that they are in- distilled water? oil?- must be kosher (Shmirat Shabbat K’Hilchata ch.40 n.169; Nishmat Avraham, Orach Chayyim 466; B’Ohala shel Torah I 21).
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il