How Do I Kasher a Silver Kiddush Cup for Pesach?

Since one might have washed their kiddush cup throughout the year together with hot chametz, (e.g. sink or dishwasher), it should be kashered with hagalah, a kosherization process which uses boiling water. The cup should be scrubbed well, with extra attention given to any crevices and then the cup should not be used for 24 hours. To kasher, one should submerge the kiddush cup into a pot of boiling water for 10 seconds and then rinse off the cup with cold water. The pot used for kashering may be a chametz pot that had been thoroughly cleaned and not used for 24 hours. First one fills the pot and brings it to a boil. (There is no need to overflow the pot, unless one plans on using the pot for Pesach). That water is spilled out. The pot is then refilled, boiled, and may be used for kashering (see Taz O.C. 452:10).


The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt”l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.