Can I
spread mayonnaise or butter inside a boiling hot potato?
A concept, borrowed from Issur
v’Heter 1, which says that a hot solid remains a k’li rishon even
after being placed in a k’li shaini or shlishi. Accordingly, the rules
of cooking inside a k’li rishon apply themselves to a potato as well. Since
mayonnaise has not been cooked, it may not be put inside a hot potato. Butter on the other
hand is made from pasteurized milk, which some poskim recognize as being cooked.
Rav Moshe Feinstein 2 Ztz”l says that it is permitted to put butter
inside a hot potato, but Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach 3 Ztz”l says
that it is not permitted, as butter has not been cooked in its present state.
On the exterior of an
electric urn is a small transparent pipe, which gets filled with water. When opening the
tap, the water in that pipe enters the urn and mixes with the boiling water, is there
anything to be aware of?
The problem is that the water in the pipe
is not fully cooked. Although it is close to or above yad soledes bo, but it has
not boiled, and by admitting the water into the urn, it will probably boil, thereby being
liable for the issur of cooking 4. However, before using it, one should
refer to a competent Rav for guidance.
If a light was
unintentionally turned on, may one benefit from it?
It is prohibited from the Torah to switch
on a light on Shabbos due to the filament inside the light bulb. The Chazon Ish
also added that one is also liable of “Boneh – constructing”.
Therefore, when a light is switched on, a Torah prohibition has been transgressed, and the
halacha is as follows: The Shulchan Aruch 5 prohibits deriving
any benefit from the issur until after Shabbos. The Vilna Gaon, however,
holds like the opinion that one may derive benefit from the issur on Shabbos itself. (This
only applies to an unintentional transgression of an issur). The Mishna Berura
rules in accordance with the Shulchan Aruch but adds that in special cases, the
lenient opinion can be relied upon.
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Ztz”l held
that “necessary” means that there is no other option available. In other words,
it is not to be taken lightly and a Rav should be consulted!
Is there a difference
between turning a light on without thinking and turning it on without noticing (i.e. by
leaning on the light switch)?
Without thinking is called b’shogeig
– unintentional, and without noticing is called misaseik. There is a big
difference between the two. For the former one is required to bring a sacrifice (if a
Torah prohibition was transgressed), for the latter there is a possibility that one
is required to do teshuvah – repent.
If when walking into a room on Shabbos, one
‘forgets’ what he is doing and turns on the light, it is a shogaig, and
one is required to bring a sacrifice to the Beis HaMikdash. If one leans on a wall
and accidentally turns on the light, it is a misasek; some say repentance is
required, although it is not the same as a shogeig.
The stone on my porch
becomes very hot from the sun, am I permitted to warm food on it?
The halacha is that food may be
warmed from direct sunlight, but is forbidden to be warmed from the sun’s
derivatives. Therefore it is forbidden to warm an egg by placing it on the stone, but
heating it in direct sunlight, is permitted.
[1] In Yore Deah we find a machlokes between
the poskim as to whether it has a status of a k’li rishon or shaini.
The M”B is stringent in this aspect.
[2] Iggros Moshe Orach chaim 4, 74-6.
[3] Sh’miras Shabbos Kehilchasa 1:55
[4] Minchas Yitschak part 10-28.
[5] Siman 318:1
Food For Thought
If one did hatmana
b’issur (enwrapped in a forbidden manner) is the food forbidden? For example, if
I completely enwrapped the chalah while it was on the urn, am I permitted to eat it?
If food on the blech or
hot plate is beginning to burn, may I stir the food?
Is there a difference
between stirring food when it is on the fire and when it is off the fire?
Vort On The Parsha
The possuk says (8-2) that the frog came out
and covered the land of Egypt. Rashi brings the Midrash saying that only one
frog came out of the water and the Egyptians beat it, which subsequently spewed forth
swarms of frogs.
Rav Ya’akov Yisroel Kanyevsky Ztz”l (The
Steipler) points out that had the Egyptians had any sense, they should have stopped
beating the frog and the entire vicious plague would have been avoided. The reason they
continued is because of human temperament; just as two people get into an argument, and as
the possuk in Mishlei (15-1) says “replying softly will arrest
anger”, if one of them will talk softly the argument will end, but nevertheless human
nature says: “fight, show him!”, so too the Egyptians would not stop and think
that they are bringing a catastrophe upon themselves. |
