עברית
Halachot and Customs
Is it permissible to use a kettle in a hotel abroad?
Question
Hello, esteemed Rabbi, I would like to know... We live in London and we are going on vacation to a hotel, and I need hot water for drinking... Is it permissible to use the kettle in the hotel? The one that is in every room... Is there a concern about immersing the kettle?
Answer
Greetings,
You are allowed to use a kettle while staying at a hotel abroad, as the kettle is used only for boiling water. Thus, there is no concern that it was used for non-kosher purposes.
Furthermore, there is no issue regarding the fact that the kettle is not immersed, because the obligation to immerse utensils applies specifically when a utensil transfers from the ownership of a non-Jew to the ownership of a Jew (through purchase or gift). Here, since it remains in the ownership of the non-Jew, there is no obligation for immersion.
Sources: It is explicitly stated in the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah (end of paragraph 120) that it is permissible to use a utensil that is owned by a non-Jew without immersion. In fact, even if the hotel is owned by a Jew, one may be lenient in using the kettle without immersion because some opinion holds that when the owner uses these utensils for commerce and not for personal use, they are exempt from immersion, as explained in the responsa Yechave Da'at, part 4 (paragraph 44).
Sincerely,
Hillel Meirs
