Question:
My mother purchased a glass bowl and says it's for me - sort of - (she will also be using it for herself), but on condition that I don't have to "dunk it in that garbage." She implies that if it needs tevilah for me to use it, she will return it to the store because she doesn't want her stuff getting dunked. So it's very confusing whether it's for me or for her, but of course I would wash it thoroughly after the tevilah with soap, so I don't know what the problem is. What would be your advice? Am I correct in thinking I am forbidden to use this bowl if it is not toyveled?
There are two glass bowls already owned by my parents. I didn't know before that glass had to be toyveled, or that something owned and used already for many years would still have the requirement for tevilah. Is it relevant if my Dad (a non-Jew) is part owner? It is definitely shared ownership between my mother and father. To continue using the bowls in this manner, do I need to toyvel them? And is it halachically permitted to do so secretly against the wishes of the item's owner(s) since I really don't own the bowls?
Answer:
1. I too find it difficult to understand why having the bowl immersed in a miqwe would be so objectionable. Even if the mikveh is filthy, the bowl could be made spotless and pristine in two minutes. Would tt’vila in the sea or a lake be more acceptable? 2. I don't think it would be right to ttovel the bowls against the express wishes of the owner. 3. Glass bowls need to be immersed in a mikveh – see Rambam’s MT Ma'akhaloth Asuroth 17:2. 4. Nevertheless, in this case the bowls do not require tt’vila. From what you describe it is clear that the dishes are owned by your parents jointly. Dishes owned jointly by a Jew and a non-Jew do not require tt’vila (Isur w’Heter 58:91-92, quoted by Rama in Shulhan ‘Arukh YD 120:11). The Gr’a makes the connection between this p’saq and that which we find in the Talmudh Y’rushalmi (‘Avodha Zara 5:15, quoted by Ran and others) that the tt’vila is required when the vessel passes from the possession of the non-Jew (Tum’a) and enters Jewish ownership (Q’dhushath Yisrael). In the case of joint ownership this is not the case. 5. Plastic dishes, by the way, do not require tt'vila.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010