[Avodah] Selling bourbon before pesach

[Zev Sero]

Ben Waxman wrote:

>>> Oh yes. Rabbi Shabbtai Rappaport did a hakira on how whiskey is made today
>>> and concluded that it is not hametz at all.
> 
>> Huh?  How can that be?  The only ingredients are barley and water!

> To answer your question with a question - the only ingredients in matza is
> wheat and water and that is no hametz (I hope). How can that be?

Because the chimutz is stopped by baking.  If you left it to ferment,
as *must* be done to whisky (where do you think the alcohol comes from?!)
then it would be chametz.


> I don't know the details, frankly. I know that he examined the process of
> how it is done today and that was his conclusion. I spoke with his brother
> in law (also a rav) and got the info from him.

I cannot believe this.  Malted barley is chametz by definition.  You may
as well tell me that chazir is kosher.  If you see this fellow regularly
please ask him what is going on, and what it is that either you or I are
misunderstanding.

-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher