Mixing Kosher and Non-Kosher
Question
Q: Do you wash and make hamotzi on kosher buns that have treif in the middle?
Context: New to keeping kosher, eating at mother’s home. She is ‘kosher style’ – not shomer mitzvot nor does she have separate dishes, but she buys kosher meat (hekshered, don’t ask me why), kosher/permissible (but non-hekshered) fish, and never mixes milchig/fleishig.
If I eat there and she serves hamburgers on kosher buns, do I wash?
What about for fish cakes on a kosher bun? (same answer?)
Kosher wine with nonkosher food?
Thx.
Answers
First, please accept my blessing that you continue to grow in Torah observance and knowledge for the rest of your life!
Your question is extremely complex and does not have easily defined answers. As a rule, a Brachah is not recited over non-Kosher food. My feeling is that you should wash and make Hamotzi for the Kosher bun. If you can eat it without putting the non-Kosher hamburger in it, that would be the best option. If that is not a possibility and you absolutely have to eat, then I would suggest that you wash and make Hamotzi being very careful not to eat the hamburger together with the bun immediately after making the Brachah.
If your mother has separate utensils for cooking meat and milk food, then the fishcakes sound like they are less problematic. Otherwise, the fishcakes are not Kosher.
You should make a Brachah on Kosher wine that you drink even if the food that it is served with is not Kosher.
In general, if you can avoid eating non-Kosher food, it would be the best thing to do.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team