Energy Ministry warns: Clean Passover dishes during COVID-19 safely

Many people enjoy using the services of publicly placed containers which are full of boiling hot water as the amount of dishes involved is very big.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man dips cooking utensils in boiling water to remove remains of leaven in preparation for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover, in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood, March 27, 2018. (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man dips cooking utensils in boiling water to remove remains of leaven in preparation for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover, in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood, March 27, 2018.
(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
The custom of immersing cooking equipment, to ensure they don’t have even a speck of bread or any other wheat-based product on them before Passover begins, is a sight common in traditional Jewish communities.
The intense koshering of cookware, known as Hagalat Kelim, doesn’t have to take place in public, but many people enjoy using the services of large, publicly placed containers which are full of gas-heated boiling water so that they don't have to do it at home.  
 
This year, because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Energy Ministry released a warning to people who follow this custom, to ensure they keep a safe two-meter distance from one another and added that such boiling containers must be maintained and supervised by a licensed gas technician to ensure they are safe.  
 
The public is asked to report any illegal koshering stations and is warned that criminal investigations will be conducted against those who operate them.