Can Care
Rochel from Romema asks:
I bought my usual brand of canned pickles at the local strictly
kosher supermarket. However, when I arrived home I noticed that the cans
contained non-Jewish produce. We follow the opinion of the Chazon Ish.
Is there anything special I have to do with these pickles?
The time for bi’ur on cucumbers has long passed (the
latest date was 15 Marcheshvan). If you had pickles in your possession
which grew on land owned by Jews, you would have to destroy them (assuming that
you had more than that eaten by members of your household at three meals). The
prohibition would even apply if you simply forgot to perform bi’ur on
time. However, with produce grown by non-Jews on their land the situation is
different. The Rash Hazoken is of the opinion that since a non-Jew is
exempt from bi’ur, all produce grown on his land retains this exemption
even if ownership of the produce has passed to a Jew. The Charedim holds
that the exemption is only valid as long as the produce remains in the hands of
the non-Jew. If the produce was sold to a Jew after the time for bi’ur,
the Jewish owner must perform bi’ur on the day he acquires it. The Chazon
Ish (1:7) rules in accordance with this opinion. What happens if one was
unaware of the obligation to perform bi’ur on the day of acquisition?
Since failure to perform bi’ur was unintentional, one may eat the produce
after declaring it ownerless (Rav Elyashiv, in accordance with the Ridvaz,
relying on the opinion of the Rash Hazoken ).
