Is there a
problem preparing instant mash on Shabbos?
The
answer depends on the method of preparation of that particular instant
mash.
If the mash binds
upon pouring the water and needs hardly any mixing then one may not
prepare such a mash on Shabbos. This is because the Shulchan Aruch
says
that one may not throw flax seeds into water on Shabbos because they
bind without further human intervention.
If one is required
to stir the mash in order to prepare it, since it is a
áìéìä òáä – a thick consistency, and
only if it would spoil if prepared before Shabbos, one may then prepare
it on Shabbos by stirring it in a crisscross fashion. It is correct to
modify the pouring order as well.
Many people make their own tehina solution. Is
it permitted on Shabbos as well?
Preparing a tehina mixture (ground sesame seeds) on Shabbos is a
classical case of a áìéìä òáä and
preparation is prohibited on Shabbos. If one would make it into a liquid
solution, one would then modify the pouring order and mix it by either
shaking the bowl or in a crisscross manner.
However, one may
prepare a thick consistency before Shabbos and dilute it with water and
other liquids on Shabbos, provided that it was well mixed before
Shabbos.
May one add mayonnaise to tuna fish on Shabbos?
Preparing a tuna fish salad shares the same halacha as preparing
egg salad on Shabbos. We saw in the previous shiur that many are
accustomed to preparing the egg salad on Shabbos. There definitely is
preference for preparing it before Shabbos but if this is not done,
there is what to rely on for preparation on Shabbos. It is desirable,
according to some opinions, to modify the pouring order and mix it in a
crisscross motion.
What if someone prepared a mixture contrary to
the halacha b’shogaig (unwittingly). May it be eaten on Shabbos?
As with
all such cases, when it is strictly forbidden and not merely stringency,
the person that prepared it and the persons whom it was intended for may
not eat it until after Shabbos. The Vilna Ga’on holds that they
may it eat it on Shabbos and the M”B
writes that when necessary one may rely on the Vilna Ga’on.
If I find an
apple under my apple tree on Shabbos, am I permitted to eat it?
First we must
understand what problem might be involved with eating an apple that fell
off a tree. We know that it is an issur d’oraisso
(biblical prohibition) to pick a fruit off a tree on Shabbos, but once
the apple has fallen off the tree what could be the problem?
The poskim
tell us that there are two problems.
The first problem is
that Chazal were afraid that if one were permitted to eat the
apple that fell off the tree on Shabbos, one might ‘forget oneself’ and
pick another one and violate an issur d’oraisso.
The second problem
is that the fruit is muktze. The reason is that when Shabbos
began, it was known that the fruit was on the tree and it is therefore
out-of-bounds for Shabbos. When in due course it fell off the tree it
remains out-of-bounds, or muktze, for want of a halachic term.
If I do not know when it fell off the tree, may I eat it on Shabbos?
The
Yerushalmi
teaches us that even when in doubt one may not
eat the fruit.
Even if the fruit
fell off the tree before Shabbos, one may not gather a few together and
bring them inside, because of the issur of
îòîø.
The maximum a person may do is eat one fruit at a time. [îòîø
is an Av Melacha and it entails the prohibition of collecting
items found in the field where they were grown. This melacha
involves other details which we will be”H discuss in later
shiurim].
Am I permitted to fashion a toothpick on Shabbos?
Several
details must be taken into account when deciding whether one may fashion
a toothpick on Shabbos.
The first pertains
to muktze. If the piece of wood one wishes to fashion the
toothpick from was not prepared for use before Shabbos it is muktze.
The halacha talks about fashioning a toothpick from straw used to
feed animals which is not muktze.
Another possibility is to use a matchstick. Although a match is
muktze on account of it being a k’li shemlachto l’issur,
nevertheless it may be used l’tsorech gufo.
The second pertains
to making a k’li.
Chazal
tell us that it is permitted to fashion a toothpick from food intended
for an animal such as straw, even with a knife.
However, if the
straw is not animal food, or if one wishes to fashion a matchstick into
a toothpick, it is forbidden to do so. Breaking the matchstick with
one’s hands is an issur d’rabanan and shaping it with a
knife or any other instrument is an issur d’oraisso.
What if there are pieces of meat stuck between
the teeth and it impinges on human dignity?
We find that
Chazal cared for a person’s dignity and waived aside their
restrictions in certain circumstances. In such a case, when a person is
embarrassed to open his mouth because of pieces of food stuck between
his teeth, one would assume that one would be permitted to handle
muktze in order to clean his teeth. However, the halacha is
that since one should have known that it is possible that it may be
necessary to clean one’s teeth on Shabbos, a toothpick should have been
prepared before Shabbos. Therefore one may not violate any issurim.
If however one is invited to a friend and thus he could not have
prepared a toothpick before Shabbos and he finds himself in an awkward
predicament, as mentioned, he may handle muktze to clean his
teeth or even break a piece of wood with his hands (not with an
instrument) and use it as a toothpick. This is on condition that it is
indeed an embarrassing situation.