Pas Yisroel or Pat Yisrael (lit:"Bread of an Israelite," he:פת ישראל) products are grain-products that were cooked or baked with the participation of an observant Jew. This must be, at minimum, the ignition of the flame used to prepare, cook, or bake the grain product. In classical Rabbinic Judaism, this requirement is considered restricted to the five classical grains of Judaism - wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

, barley

Barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

, oats

OATS

OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...

, spelt

Spelt

Spelt is a hexaploid species of wheat. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and northern Spain and has found a new market as a health food. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the...

, and rye

Rye

Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...

. In the modern food-production industry, commercial bakeries may accomplish a status of Pas Yisroel by the use of something called the "Shain system", (named for the inventor, Rabbi Yehuda Shain) whereby an entire apparatus can be ignited remotely by an observant Jew.

It is customary that extra care is taken to uphold this observance during the first ten days of the month of Tishrei

Tishrei

Tishrei or Tishri , Tiberian: ; from Akkadian "Beginning", from "To begin") is the first month of the civil year and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian. It is an autumn month of 30 days...

, between Rosh HaShanah

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...

 and Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...

.

The qualification for one to be considered an "observant" Jew – and therefore able to uphold the observance of Pas Yisroel – is defined as one who is Shomer Shabbat

Shomer Shabbat

A shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos is a person who observes the mitzvot associated with Judaism's Shabbat...

. This is regardless of affiliation

Jewish denominations

Jewish religious movements , sometimes called "denominations" or "branches", include different groups which have developed among Jews from ancient times and especially in the modern era among Ashkenazi Jews living in anglophone countries...

. As an example of this encompassing multiple denominations, let's use a hypothetical scenario of a Reform Jew

Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...

 who is a baker, and an Orthodox Jew

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 who wants to buy the baked goods produced by the baker; if the baker is:

• considered Jewish, from the Orthodox Jew's perspective,
• considered Shomer Shabbat by the tenets of the Orthodox Jew,

then the grain-product could still receive a distinction of Pas Yisroel by the Orthodox Jew's preferred Hekhsher.

See also

• Kosher foods
  Kosher foods
  Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of the Jewish Halakhic law framework, kosher meaning fit or allowed to be eaten. A list of some kosher foods are found in the book of Leviticus 11:1-47. There are also certain kosher rules found there...
  
  
• Kashrut
  Kashrut
  Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
  
  
• Bishul Yisrael
  Bishul Yisrael
  Bishul Yisrael is a Hebrew term for one of the laws of kashrut in Judaism. The rule prohibits eating certain foods if they are cooked entirely by non-Jews. The term bishul Yisrael is the opposite of bishul akum, , which the rule forbids...
  
  
• Kosher wine
  Kosher wine
  Kosher wine is grape wine produced according to Judaism's religious law, specifically, Jewish dietary laws .To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must be involved in the entire winemaking process and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher...
  
  
• Yoshon
  Yoshon
  In Judaism, Chodosh is a concept within Kashrut , based on the Biblical requirement not to eat any grain of the new year prior to the annual Omer offering on the 16th day of Nisan.Grain products which are no longer affected by this law are referred to as Yoshon .-The five types of...
  
  
• Cholov Yisroel
  Cholov Yisroel
  Cholov Yisroel refers to all dairy products, including cheese and non-fat dry milk powder, which have been produced under the supervision of a Rabbi....
  
  

Halakhic sources

• Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 112 on WikiSource
• Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 603 on WikiSource

External links

• OU Introduction to Pas Yisroel on OUKosher.org