Reply To: Toiveling Plastic Utensils????

BS”D

If people decide to be makpid on caterers toiveling plastic (a non issue in NY because the plastic cutlery used by caterers comes from a haimishe supplier and even has a hechsher) then guess what, the caterers will just have to do it.

However, since I know that my community toivels plastic, I automatically assume that any establishment under the hashgocho of a reliable rav from our community anywhere in the world does toivel any plastic utensils used, and that if such a rav allows members of his community to eat at an establishment under another hashgocho, that this is either not a major/pertinent issue or that it is also the practice of that hashgocho.

And the question is – why do we toivel keilim? Is it a tircha and a pesky quirk that we try to get out of or is it what it indeed is – part of elevating something that came from klipa (could have been made by oivdei avoido zoro etc) to the highest kedusha of being used to prepare food that we eat so we can serve Hashem. Since I hold the latter, I am only too happy to be able to do that by simply stopping by the mikveh on my way back from buying some new plastic microwave containers.