Strawberries not Kosher because of bugs?

Question

I'm not going to claim that I know more about the laws than rabbis, but isn't non-intentional eating of non-Kosher foods excused? Or is the argument being made that, since they know these bugs get on and in the strawberries, it is no longer non-intentional?

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6354168#bodyText

Answer 1

I agree with the Rabbi.  kill your mother-in-law if she was the one who gave you the strawberries and all of your sins will be forgiven.

ROFLOL

Answer 2

Good question.  First of all, there are discussions about microscopic organisms (such as in water) and those are not considered a problem since they can't be seen with the naked eye.

However, in the case of strawberries and other foods such as lettuce, the insects are big enough to see if you know what you're looking for.  Here is a fantastic link. http://www.star-k.org/cons-appr-vegetabl...

It shows bugs on strawberries that you might miss.

Finally, regarding eating non-kosher, besides for the transgressions of eating insects, or any other non-kosher food, the kabbalists discuss a spiritual contamination that takes place which limits a person's potential to comprehend knowledge and spirituality, despite the fact that in certain cases it might not be a sin.

Answer 3

It obviously is going to be excused because theres nothing that we can do to you for doing this so yes its excused. But really some things that are Kosher make sense , well common sense because why would a person intensionallyeat something with a bug in it?

Answer 4

LOL LOL LOL

- sorry, am just laughing at BLACK AVENGER'S answer, hilarious :)

Answer 5

It depends on the bugs.

Some bugs are Kosher, namely "four legged winged insects" [Gee, what bloody insects have four legs and wings?] like locusts, grasshoppers and relatives.

So if a bloody grasshopper, a tiny wee one, should hop on your strawberry, and you eat it, no problemo as the grasshopper is Kosher.

But if it's a Doodlebug instead or some beetle, which isn't Kosher you have committed an inadvertent sin, and in the Torah, those who commit accidental sins are to sacrifice a dove. In the event you don't have a dove, your Mother-in-Law will do fine.  And since Jews don't have a bloody temple anymore, we skip the sacrifice part and kill the  Mother-in-Law who gaves us the d**n strawberries with bugs on them in the first place.

That's Talmudic reasoning for you!

Rabbi Samuel Levine, Reformed Synagogue.

Answer 6

That boycott is rather stupid and sad.  And why would someone eat a strawberry or any other fruit/veggie like that?

Answer 7

One should not believe everything that he reads.  Orthodox law requires that we remove all bugs that we can find.  Unfortunately, there are several fruit and veggies that are known to  be fairly well infested, such as strawberries and others.  As such, there are ways that we clean our strawberries to remove these.

In spite of the need to clean strawberries, plenty of Orthodox Jews buy, clean, and eat strawberries.   We also enjoy frozen strawberries that are properly cleaned by the companies that produce them under supervision.

Answer 8

Non-intentional ingestion is of course okay.  And most authorities (unfortunately not all - there are some crazy zealots out there, but most) say that any bugs you can't see without a microscope are also fine.

When it comes to thrips (the bugs that are lately showing up on strawberries), you actually can see them, and avoid them.  And because of that, we are required to do what is necessary to fully clean the fruit before eating them.  This basically means cutting off all the stems, and then power-washing them, sometimes with a slightly soapy water (depending on where you live and how bad the infestation is).  

Compared to just dumping them in a colander and running them under the sink, it's a hassle.  So some rabbis say that if you can't take the extra time to wash the fruit, then you shouldn't eat it at all, rather than risk eating bugs.  I didn't take the time to watch the report itself, but I'm guessing the "summary" is overstating it.  No rabbi would outright say that berries weren't kosher - that's a direct contradiction of the Torah.  They might say that their congregation should avoid them, though.  But as far as I have seen in the Orthodox circles I move in (some of them very black-hat, and many in New Jersey), no one is going so far as to stop eating them altogether.