Question: I have just
moved into a new home and need to kasher the kitchen. What is the halacha
regarding the formica countertops? Is it the same for plastic utensils?
Answer: There is a machlokes
among the rishonim as to how to treat materials that aren’t mentioned in
the Torah.
Thus, for example, while most
rishonim including the Shulchan Aruch (OC 451:26) hold that as glass is
non-absorbent, it does not need to be kashered, the Rema follows the
Mordechai (Pesachim 374) who writes that glasses can’t be kashered for
Pesach because they are made from sand and therefore similar to earthenware.
R’ Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (Seridei
Aish 1:46) writes that the acharonim are lenient regarding plastic and
such utensils may be kashered through hagalah (placing in boiling
water). R’ Eliezer Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer 4:6:3) compares plastic utensils
to stone ones and permits kashering through hagalah.
R’ Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss
(Minchas Yitzchak 1:86; 3:67) writes that while one shouldn’t specifically buy
non-kosher plastic utensils, if one’s plastic utensils became treif, one
may kasher them. One should avoid doing this to kasher for
Pesach.
R’ Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe OC 2:92) wrote that while one may kasher
natural rubber, one cannot kasher materials made from synthetic
substances (See Igros Moshe EH 4:7 regarding Teflon). R’ Shimon Eider (Halachos
of Pesach 13:n5; 10) writes that R’
Moshe told him that this only applied to kashering for Pesach. One may
use hagalah to kasher during the year, however.
In conclusion, while most poskim don’t allow one to kasher
plastic or formica countertops for Pesach, one may do so during
the year when necessary.
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