Tevilas Keurigim

This is copied from the Kollel Hora'ah of America's weekly "Points to Ponder." As always, it is of the highest quality.  (My only quibble is that while it is a great education, and it surely gives the reader the grounding to ask intelligently and understand the answer he is given, I prefer such articles to end with the statement "When I, as a posek, am asked this question halacha l'maiseh, I pasken X." It doesn't diminish the value of the article and it makes life easier for people who don't have a relationship with a Rav they trust.)

Fri, Dec 21, 2018 7:00 am

Kollel Horaah of America (yungeleit@kollelhoraah.com)

Points to Ponder
a Project of Kollel Horaah of America

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יורה דעה
R' Shmuel Katz

Question: Does a Keurig coffee maker require טבילה?

Answer: Although the Keurig is mostly plastic, which does not require טבילה; there are two important parts that are made from metal and may require טבילה, the filament which boils the water and the pins that puncture the k-cup and have the water flow through them. However completely submerging the machine in a mikvah will almost certainly preclude the keurig from being used for making coffee again.

There is much discussion among the Poskim about what to do with a Keurig. I will present some of the discussion; however one is advised to consult their Rav for what they themselves should do.

First there are those who solve the conundrum by explaining why a Keurig does not need to be toiveled at all.

They explain that the איסור to use something before it’s toiveled is in order to make sure that one toivels it, however something that cannot be toiveled there is no reason to disallow its use [a]. Others say in a similar way, that the purpose of טבילה is to allow the use of the כלי, and therefore if the טבילה itself prevents the כלי from ever being used one would not have to toivel it [b].

Others say that the device as a whole is made from plastic which doesn’t require טבילה. Though there is a vital component made from metal which touches the water, the filament, it is located in a place where water would not reach through immersing the Keurig in a mikva. Regarding the metal pins, we can say that they don’t require טבילה because they serve only to open the k-cup, not to prepare or hold the coffee [c].

However, there are still many poskim who maintain that a Keurig does require טבילה and therefore cannot be used without טבילה. However there are solutions given by the poskim for cases where one cannot toivel an object that requires טבילה.

A) Giving it to a non-Jew and then borrowing it from the non-Jew.

One may use a כלי that belongs to a non-Jew without toiveling it; it is only when a Jew takes permanent possession of a כלי from a non-Jew that it requires טבילה. This solution is mentioned in the שו"ע and the רמ“א [d], in cases where one is stuck in a situation where he cannot toivel his item right then. Many Poskim bring this as a solution for electronic כלים that can’t be toiveled.

However some Poskim reference the ט“ז [e] that points out that any time a non-Jew leaves his כלי with a Jew indefinitely, the כלי requires טבילה and therefore the שו"ע must be suggesting this only as a temporary solution not a permanent one. Therefore they suggest having a non-Jew buy partial ownership in the Keurig. The advantage of this, over the non-Jew having full ownership, is that the fact that Keurig is physically located in the Jews house will not negate the non-Jew’s ownership because the Jew himself is also a partner [f].

There are many offices have a supply company stock the break room. In this case if a non-Jewish supply company owns and maintains the machine then according to all opinions the machine does not require טבילה, even though a Jew is leasing the machine from the supply company.

B) Breaking the machine and have a Jew fix it [g].

טבילת כלים is only required for כלים that were owned by a non-Jew, however if one bought a כלי from a Jewish manufacture טבליה would not be required. Therefor the proposed solution is to ruin the כלי in a way that it is no longer considered a כלי and then have a Jew make the כלי. It is obvious that a כלי is only considered broken if it requires a professional to fix, if anyone can fix it then it was never really broken. To do this one would need to find a Jewish appliance-repairman or the like who has consulted a competent Rav to determine at what point the כלי is rendered useless and therefore not a כלי in order that the work the Jew does will qualify as if he made the כלי himself.

C) Buying a Keurig that needs to be connected to the building's water supply.

The שב יעקב says that something that is מחובר לקרקע - attached to the ground does not require טבילה. Although all electronics only work while plugged in, most Poskim maintain that the plug alone is not enough of an attachment to negate טבילה. However if a connection to the buildings water supply is necessary for the machine to operate, then it would be considered מחובר לקרקע and therefore not require טבילה [h].

This is a presentation of some, but not all, of the discussion amongst the Poskim pertaining to the very current and very common Keurig, and it is up to each ירא שמים to discuss with a Rav what should be done.

מראה מקומות

[a] שמעתי מהרב ש"ב לונדנסקי סברה זו בשם הגר"ש קמנצקי 

[b]  סברה זו נאמרת בשם הגר"ש מילר 

[c]  סברה זו נאמרת בשם הגר"י בלסקי

[d]  יו"ד סי 'ק"כ סעי ט"ז

[e]  שם ס"ק י"ח

[f]   שו"ת מנחת אשר ח"ג סי 'נ"ז ד'

[g]  עי 'פתחי תשובה שם ס"ק א'

[h]  כך אמר לי הגר"ש פעלדער