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Dipping the Keurig Machine and Other Sensitive Electric Appliances
Reviewed by Rav Mordechai Lebhar, Rosh Kollel Link Los Angeles and Posek for the SHC[1]
A staple in the modern day work place, the Keurig coffee machine is a source of delight and relaxation from the day-to-day stress of the office. Having brewed coffee in a matter of seconds without a lingering mess is a modern marvel, which, with all of its metal components, leaves many observant Jews marveling about another point: is one required to dip it in a Mikve before usage?
Tevillat Kelim
The Torah mandates that a Jew’s utensils used in food preparation [provided they actually come in contact with food] must be immersed in a proper Mikve[2]. The Mishna[3] states that this includes pots that are used for heating water. As such, it would seem that a Jewish owned Keurig brewer would require immersion prior to use.
The problem however, is that these machines generally have a computer chip that would get destroyed if immersed in water, rendering it useless (and voiding the warrantee). This leaves us with the difficult decision of giving up this advantageous machine altogether, or finding some other solution.
Does a Keurig Really Need Tevilla?
We must first clarify whether or not a Keurig machine really needs Tevilla. The Torah only enumerates metal utensils in the obligation of Tevilla, and the rabbinic ordinance includes glass utensils as well.[4] Plastic is customarily not dipped. In general, the components of the Keurig machine that actually come in contact with the water are almost entirely plastic – with the exception of the two pins that puncture the coffee packet, and an internal metal bowl that actually heats the water. Since, however, those metal parts are intrinsic to the preparation and come in contact with the water, many Poskim maintain that the entire machine is considered to be of a material that needs Tevilla.[5]
Another consideration is that the Keurig machine needs electricity to function, which requires a connection to an outlet at all times. Therefore, some Poskim suggest that we can consider it to be attached to the ground. Utensils that are attached to the ground are generally exempt from Tevilla. However, it is very difficult to rely on this for two reasons. Firstly, many early Poskim are of the opinion that attaching a utensil to the ground does not absolve the obligation to dip it whatsoever. Secondly, many Poskim consider it extremely unreasonable to think that plugging in an appliance would be considered attaching it to the ground.[6]
When There is No Solution
A different line of reasoning contends that since the machine cannot be immersed without breaking it, that itself absolves one from doing so. There are two ways to understand this leniency. One is, that this shouldn’t be any different than any other positive Mitzva, of which one who is an “Oness” [lit. coerced] is exempt. For instance, we find that someone whose Tzitzit tear on Shabbat may continue wearing them for the duration of the day because they cannot be repaired anyway on Shabbat. However, this proof is refutable, as we only allow wearing the Tzitzit while one is in a public domain. As soon as a private domain is reached, he must remove them, despite his inability to repair them until after Shabbat.
A second understanding is that any utensil whose immersion will be ineffective does not need Tevilla. The precedent for this is the Rama[7] who rules that a utensil owned by a partnership of a Jew and non-Jew is exempt from Tevilla. His source is the Sefer Issur VeHeter, who explains that since it will remain [partially] a non-Jewish utensil, Tevilla (which is in essence to purify it from its previous non-Jewish ownership) will always be ineffective and thus exempt. Based on this, some suggest that if the utensil will break by immersing it, it too will be exempt. However, this comparison is definitely disputable, for while in the case of Rama the Tevilla would be Halachically ineffective, in the case of the Keurig the Tevilla would technically be just fine – only that it would render the machine ineffective.
On Consignment
The above discussion leads us to a possible solution, which is to sell a share of the machine to a non-Jew[8], rendering him a partner and thus gaining the Heter mentioned in the Rama. Although this seems like a great idea, there are various early Teshuvot that discuss utensils that are too big to be dipped, and yet, none offer this seemingly simple solution. The Aharonim try to understand why that is. Some present day Poskim suggest that even the Rama never meant that one may do so L’Chat’hila – rather, the Rama was only ruling that if one bought a utensil in partnership with a gentile then, by default, they are exempt.
How about taking this loophole a step further – and rather than entering a partnership – let us sell the entire thing to a non-Jew, and borrow it back indefinitely. Certainly, everyone agrees that something belonging to a non-Jew is exempt even L’Chat’hila?
Although Maran[9] writes that one is permitted to do so if he realized he will not be able to dip his utensils on Erev Shabbat, which would imply that it is preferable not to rely on this method if one is able to dip his utensil, nevertheless, in the Bet Yosef[10], Maran writes that one may do so even on a weekday, if one does not have a Mikve.[11] Hacham Ovadia Yosef[12] זצ”ל compares an electric kettle or other utensils that may get destroyed when dipped in a Mikve to this Heter of Maran, as in both cases one has an extenuating circumstance that prevents him from being able to perform a proper Tevilla. [It is important to note that not all electric utensils will get destroyed as a result of being dipped in a Mikve. The Keurig’s computer chip is the main reason why it cannot survive a Tevilla.]
Do It Yourself
There is one other solution that seems to be accepted by all Poskim, though it does seem unconventional. That is if the machine would be dismantled or broken to an extent that it cannot be used at all without a professional repair. At that point it is Halachically not a Keli (vessel) altogether. It would then be repaired or re-assembled by a Jewish technician, thereby regarded to be a Jewish made utensil. A utensil made by a Jew and sold to a Jew [without non-Jewish ownership in between] is certainly exempt from Tevilla [not surprisingly, “kosherizing” Keurigs has already become a business in some religious communities!]. On the other hand, since this process is quite complicated both technically and Halachically, the “partnership” option mentioned above is the preferable method.
Sources:
[1] Based on an article by Rabbi Baruch Fried
[2] It is important to note that the dipping of many utensils is a Torah-level obligation, and thus one must ensure that the Mikve they are using for this purpose fulfills all of the requirements of a Torah-level Mikve.
[3] Avoda Zara 75b
[4] Although dipping glass utensils is a rabbinic obligation, the Beracha that we recite is the same as the Beracha we recite over dipping metal utensils.
[5] Rav Belsky זצ”ל (leading Posek of the OU until his passing earlier this year) is purported to have taken this machine apart and concluded that none of the metal components come in contact with the water and is therefore exempt from Tevilla.
[6] Shevet HaLevi 2, 57
[7] Y.D. 120:11
[8] This would need to be done via a Halachically acceptable Kinyan, see Shulhan Aruch C.M. 194.
[9] Y.D. 120:16
[10] Ibid., quoted in the Rama, ibid.
[11] However, see Taz who holds that borrowing for more than 30 days would still require a Tevilla MiDerabbanan.
[12] Halichot Olam, Vol 7 pg. 235