In the previous shiur we learned that it is forbidden to soak vegetables in water to rid of them their dirt. However, according to many poskim, one may wash fruit under running water.

 But did the Mishna Berura[1]  not say that it is not permitted to pour water over potatoes?

The ÷öåú äùåìçï [2] explains that the M”B also agrees that washing fruit under the tap the way we usually do is not called borer but rather it is compared to peeling fruit, which is permitted prior to consumption. He explains that the M”B means, as we explained, that one may not use the water as a separator, for example: it is forbidden to place potatoes etc. inside a bowl and run water into the bowl where the water would separate between the food and the dirt.

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztz”l is also of the opinion that washing fruit the way we do has nothing to do with the case of the Shulchan Aruch, [3] provided it is done just before use.

Undoubtedly, if it is possible to wash the fruit before Shabbos one should do so. Once washed before Shabbos and one wants to wash the fruit again on Shabbos for added cleanliness (and the fruit are still clean) one may certainly do so.

Other poskim [4] are not so lenient and do not differentiate between soaking and washing fruit and they therefore require that all dirty fruit should be washed before Shabbos unless it is the type of fruit that most people would consume without washing beforehand.

Am I permitted to pour out the oil on the surface of a can of tuna fish, or must I remove the tuna together with the oil?

We will begin with the simple case. The oil above the tuna fish is not mixed with the fish and hence its separation is not borer. Therefore one may pour out this oil.

            The oil mixed with the fish does not serve any other function other than enhancing the tuna fish. Therefore it is not considered a separate entity but is part of the fish and its removal is not considered to be p’soles from ochel. Therefore, one may pour out the oil from the tuna can before use.

            Is it permissible to pour soup out of a pot and leave the vegetables behind or is that borer?

            When it comes to something like vegetable soup it is true to say that some people only like the soup, others only like the vegetables and some like both. Therefore the soup and the vegetables serve different purposes and are considered a mixture of two sorts. Consequently, it is borer to separate them.

If one only wants the soup, one may pour it out only prior to eating. If one wants the vegetables, one may not pour out all the soup, but rather, one must leave some of the soup together with the vegetables and thus no separation is considered to have taken place. [5]

            This halacha applies in many cases. For example, salad dressing at the bottom of coleslaw salad or pickles and olives in brine. In some cases the liquid is considered to be a separate entity to the food and in these situations the dinim of borer are applicable and in other cases the liquid is considered all part of the food and borer would not be relevant. It is preferable to seek halachic guidance as to how to proceed in each case.

            The sweater I need is in the middle of a pile of sweaters. Am I permitted to remove the top ones in order to access the one I need?

            The Mishna Berura [6] teaches us that one may move sweaters etc. out of the way in order to reach a sweater located somewhere in the middle of the pile if required for immediate use. This is also true for a pile of clothes on a chair next to one’s bed when one is looking for an article of clothing somewhere in the middle. The chidush is that we do not say that removing the outer laying is itself an act of “separation” between the various items. On the other hand, one may not remove dirt from a mixture and say that one is merely doing so to reach the mixture, because by removing the dirt one is separating between p’soles and ochel.

            Close To the Meal

            We have previously mentioned that there are three conditions that must be complied with in order to permit separating ochel and p’soles. 1. Removing the ochel from the p’soles and not the p’soles from the ochel. 2.  With one’s hand and not with a k’li and 3. Immediately before use.

            How long before eating or using may it be done?

            The reason for the precondition “prior to consumption” is in order that the separation should be a ãøê àëéìä – a manner of consumption and not a ãøê áøéøä. [7]

The process of áåøø (separation) when done as a normal ‘melacha’ would be to remove the p’soles and store the ochel in a storeroom or warehouse for later use and in order for it to be considered an act of ‘consumption’ one must do the separation as close as possible to use.

            The Bais Yosef even quotes Rishonim [8] who hold that one may only separate for immediate consumption and not for the entire meal. However, the halacha is, as written in the Mechaber [9] and the Rama, that one may separate by way of removing ochel from p’soles for the entire meal immediately prior to the meal whatever one needs for the entire meal, even for the last course.

            The Mishna Berura [10] comments that even if the meal is intended to take a long time one may separate before the meal, but if one separates more than is required for the meal with the intention of eating it later, even though one is merely adding items to the separating process, one is liable to bring a korban chatas, i.e. one has committed an issur d’oraisso.