Shiur 4 Hilchos Shabbos Based on the Hebrew sheets of HaGaon Rav Yitzchak Berkovits shlit a 2014
Bishul Achar Bishul B davar Lach 118:4 When a liquid has been cooked but has cooled down. 4: (With regard to) a tavshil (cooked dish) that was fully cooked (22), (one can be) liable for (23) Bishul (24) if it cooled down. Rama: There is an opinion that (one is only liable) if the tavshil was Mistamek (25) veyafeh loh (improving). And if it is not fully cooked, even if it is (26) maachal ben drussai (partially cooked) there can be bishul, (27) even if it is still hot. The case for which there is bishul achar bishul is regarding a tavshil that has liquid in it, but if something was already cooked and is dry, it is permitted to soak it in hot water on Shabbos. 118:15 More on when a liquid has already been cooked but now cooled down. 15: (92) Something that was (93) fully cooked and is dry and has no liquid in it; it is permitted to place it (94) next to the fire even in a place where it is yad soledes bo. Rama; (This is the case) (95) even when it has cooled down, but if it remains (96) hot, then even something that does have liquid in it is permitted. (97) There are those who are lenient to say that (with regard to) anything which he does not put (98) on the fire or directly on the stove, rather (he puts it) near it, even if it has (fully) cooled down it is permitted. The custom is to be lenient (99) if it has not fully cooled down 2
Introduction We learnt in shiur 3 that once a dry food has been cooked before Shabbos, it is mutar to re-cook it on Shabbos. The reason for this is that once the effect of cooking has taken place it is impossible to undo that. However, with regards to a food that contains liquid there is a Machlokes rishonim as to whether it is mutar to reheat that food. The crux of the issue is: do we say that if a hot liquid has cooled down, then the effect of the cooking has disappeared, and therefore it is assur to reheat it again; or perhaps we say that the effects of the initial cooking somehow remain even after the liquid cools down. Hot liquid that cooled down Rashi s Opinion Source 1: Gemara, Shabbos, 34a: The Gemara discusses why it is assur to matmin (cover) a tavshil (a food with liquid) on Shabbos. It says that the problem is that when one comes to cover the pot he may see that the food cooled down and he ll come to reheat it on Shabbos - According to Rashi this involves the issur of Bishul even though the liquid had already been heated before Shabbos. We see from here that Rashi understood that the issur of Bishul can apply even with regard to food that was already cooked before Shabbos. Tosefos Opinion Source 2: Gemara, Shabbos, 18b, Rashi, Tosefos, Dh: dilma: The Gemara discusses the opinion of Beis hillel who permitted leaving wool that was cooking in dye on Erev Shabbos, on the fire as Shabbos comes in. The Gemara asks, why this should not be assur as a gezeira that perhaps one may come to stir the pot on Shabbos. The Gemara does not explicitly say what issur that would constitute. Rashi explains that the issur would be Bishul even though the dye had already cooked before Shabbos. This fits with Rashi s opinion in the other Gemara. In contrast, Tosefos explain that the issur would be not because of Bishul but because of Tzovaya (coloring). The implication of Tosefos is that there is no ba b with liquid. 3
The Rosh s Opinion Source 3: Rosh, Shabbos, Perek Shlishi, S.11: The Rosh agrees with Rashi that there is ba b with liquids, but he holds it is only when the liquid cooled down (to less than ys b whereas Rashi seems to hold there is ba b even in a case where the liquid has not cooled down as was the situation in the Gemara with the dye). The Rosh argues with Rashi s opinion that the problem with the dye was Bishul, rather he suggests that dye is different from food, in that dye is never considered to be fully cooked. Alternatively he says that the problem was Tzovaya like Tosefos. Rabbeinu Yerucham s Opinion Source 4: Rabbeinu Yerucham, Nesiv 12:3: Rabbeinu Yerucham distinguishes between Mistamek veyafeh loh and Mistamek verah loh.. Mistamek veyafeh loh means that the liquid is improving as it cooks more, whereas Mistamek verah loh means that it is somehow getting worse.0f1 It is mutar to re-heat liquid if, in the process of re-heating, it is Mistamek verah loh. The Rashba s Opinion Source 5: Chiddushei Harashba, Shabbos, 40b: The Rashba discusses the gezeira of the Rash (that was covered in shiur 2). He agrees with the gezeira but says that the issur only applies with regard to cold liquid that was never heated up before. However, if the liquid had been heated before and is now cold, there is no issur in heating it up. We see from here that the Rashba holds that there is no ba b with liquids, this is unlike Rashi, the Rosh,and Rabbeinu Yerucham. The Mechaber and Rama Source 6 : ShA, Simun 318, Sif 4, Mishna Berura, Sk.25. Additional Notes and Information 1 One way in which liquid can get worse when it is overheated is that it boils away. This is considered to be mistamek verah loh. 4
The Mechaber paskens like Rashi and holds that there is ba b with liquid once it is no longer rosayach 1F2. The Rama brings the opinion of Rabbeinu Yerucham that there is only ba b when the liquid is Mistamek veyafeh loh. The Mishna Berurah brings the Gra and Bach who reject the opinion of Rabbeinu Yerucham. Source 7: MB, ibid. Sk. 24: The MB brings the Beis Yosef who explains that rosayach means ys b. Accordingly, Rashi holds that once a liquid has gone above ys b and then goes under ys b it is assur 3 to reheat it to above ys b.2f A Contradiction in the Mechaber Source 8: ShA, ibid, Sif 8: Magen Avraham, Sk.27, MB, Sk.62. In sif 8, the Mechaber writes that one cannot reheat a liquid that has cooled down but only on condition that the liquid is Mistamek veyafeh loh. The implication is that if the liquid is Mistamek verah loh then it would be mutar to reheat it. Accordingly, the Mechaber here seems to rule like Rabbeinu Yerucham. This contradicts the Mechaber s ruling in sif 4 where he seemed to rule like Rashi that ba b is always assur with liquid, even if it is Mistamek verah loh. The Magen Avraham is unsure whether the Mechaber intended to pasken like Rabbeinu Yerucham. But if that is the case, he asks, why didn t the Mechaber mention Rabbeinu Yerucham s opinion in sif 4? He suggests that the Mechaber did intend to pasken like Rabbeinu Yerucham but didn t mention it in sif 4 because he relied on what he wrote in sif 8. The MB disagrees with the Magen Avraham and suggests that the Mechaber merely 4 mentioned the lashon of Rabbeinu Yerucham but did not mean to pasken like him.3f Source 9: Sh.A and Rama, ibid, sif 15: The Mechaber again rules like Rashi, but here the Rama brings the Rashba that there is no ba b whatsoever. The Rama concludes that the Minhag is to be lenient if the liquid went below ys b but did not totally cool down. But if it cooled down (nitztanen legamrei), then it is assur to reheat it. This Minhag does not seem to fit with any of the 2 Which is defined in the next source. 3 It would seem at this point that once the liquid has reached ys b it is mutar to heat it further even though it never reached boiling point. This is indeed the opinion of many Poskim but there are Poskim who hold that it is assur to heat liquid from ys b to boiling point. This machlokes will be analyzed in shiur 5. 4 This explanation seems difficult but there are a number of times in Shulchan Aruch where the Mechaber quotes verbatim the lashon of a Rishon (often the Rambam) without necessarily meaning to rule like him. 5
Rishonim that we have seen. The strict Rishonim (Rashi and the Rosh) ruled that once the liquid went below ys b it is assur to reheat it even if the liquid is still warm. The lenient Rishonim (the Rashba and other Rishonim who seem to agree with him such as the Ran and the Rambam) hold that even if the liquid totally cools down there is no issur to reheat it. Accordingly, the Acharonim discuss where this Minhag is coming from. There is a very significant nafka mina - that is whether the issur to re-heat cold liquid is an issur doraisa or a Minhag that is really a chumra. Which Rishon does the Rama hold like? Source 10: MB, ibid, Sk.99: The MB says that the Rama allows one to be lenient like the Rashba until the liquid has fully cooled down. Rav Berkovits understands that the implication of the MB is that the ikar hadin is that there is ba b with liquids but that the Minhag was to be lenient until it fully cools down. According to this understanding, when the liquid is fully cooled down it would be assur midoraisa to reheat the liquid, even according to the Rama. Other contemporary poskim disagree with Rav Berkovits opinion and state that it is unclear what the Mishna Berurah holds as to why the Ram was strict to not reheat a liquid that cooled down. However, there are a number of earlier Acharonim (including the Magen Avraham, the Pri Megadim and the Eglei Tal) who explicitly hold that according to the Rama it is assur midoraisa to re-heat liquid that had fully cooled down. Source 11: Chazon Ish, Simun 37, Sk.14: The Chazon Ish holds that the Rama rules like the Rashba4F5 that there is no ba b min hatorah. He explains that the reason the Rama was strict when the liquid has fully cooled down, is so that if a person could re-heat cold, cooked water, then he may come to erroneously heat cold uncooked water, which would constitute an issur doraisa. According to the Chazon Ish it is only a kind of chumra to re-heat cooked liquid that is now cold. Moreover, as long as the liquid has some level of warmth it would be mutar to re-heat it, as then there would be no risk of confusing it with cold water that was never cooked before. Many other recent poskim (including Rav Moshe Feinstein and Rav Shmuel Wosner) agree with the Chazon Ish. The Definition of Nistanen Legamrei Source 12: Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Simun 318, Sif 9. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav explains that a liquid is considered to be nitztanen legamrei when a person would not eat it due to its lack of heat. For example, most 5 The Chazon Ish also understands that the Rambam holds there is no ba b in liquids. This is due to the fact that the Rambam never said anywhere that there is ba b in liquids, implying that liquids are the same as solids for which everyone agrees there is no ba b. 6
people would not eat a slightly warm soup, therefore even though it has not literally fully cooled down to room temperature, the Shulchan Aruch HaRav holds it s assur to re-heat it. This is stricter than the Chazon Ish who would hold that the soup is mutar to re-heat as long as it has any warmth. Source 13: Eglei Tal, Meleches Ofeh, Sk.19, Os 15: Based on his earlier explanation of why the Rambam forbids heating water (that hot water is viewed as a totally different thing from cold water), the Eglei Tal suggests that there should be an issur ba b with water according to the Rambam. This is because the factor that makes water to be considered as cooked is the fact that it got hot. Therefore, when the water cools away it is now viewed as having lost the effect of bishul and returns to its status of being viewed as uncooked. Source 14: Eglei Tal, Hashmatos L Meleches Ofeh, Hashmata 1: The Eglei Tal retracts his opinion that there is ba b in liquids according to the Rambam. The reason for this is that even though a person wants hot water, he doesn t stop heating the water when it gets hot, rather he keeps heating it until it boils even if he won t be able to drink it at that temperature (he does not explain why people heat it so much, but it may be that fully boiling water makes the water healthier). Therefore it is not just the fact that the water got hot that makes it cooked, rather the fact that it boiled. We see from here that once water has been cooked to boiling point it is considered to have been cooked, and even after it cools down it is still considered to have been cooked. Accordingly, there would be no issur to re-heat it again according to this explanation of the Rambam. Halacha Lemaaseh The Mechaber rules according to the opinions that there is ba b with regards to liquids. Therefore, once a hot liquid goes down to under ys b it is assur midoraisa to re-heat it to above ys b. The Ohr Letsion holds that one must consider ys b to be 80 degrees Celsius. Within the Mechaber there is also a question as to whether he rules like Rabbeinu Yerucham that if the liquid is Mistamek verah loh (getting worse) then it it mutar to reheat it. Rav Ovadia Yosef rules like the Rabbeinu Yerucham. Re-heating solid food with gravy What is an example of Mistamek verah loh? Some apply it to the case of where there is a small amount of gravy that one doesn t care about. Rav Ovadia Yosef ruled that it was mutar to re-heat food with even a significant amount of gravy as long as the amount of solid was greater than the amount of liquid. He cited the Minchas Cohen who ruled this way. However, most Sefardi poskim disagreed with him, including Rav Abba Shaul who held that it was assur to re-heat food with even a very small amount 7
of gravy. Ashkenazim poskim follow the Acharonim who ruled that the halacha is not like Rabbeinu Yerucham, therefore one must remove any puddles of gravy before reheating a dry piece of food. However, it is unnecessary to remove moisture that clings to the solid food. A solid that becomes liquid when heated A very common question is that there are types of food that are generally solid but become liquid when heated. Are they considered to be a dvar yavesh, a dry food whih is mutar to re-heat, or are they viewed as a dvar lach a liquid. The Acharonim differentiate between something that is a liquid at room temperature but has now congealed as it was in the fridge, in contrast with something that is solid at room temperature: Something that is a liquid at room temperature such as congealed gravy is assur to reheat when it melts because is is essentially considered a dvar lach. However, something that is solid at room temperature (such as congealed fat, or butter) is, according to most Acharonim, viewed as a dvar yavesh and is mutar to re-heat (on condition that when it melts it melts onto a solid piece of food)5f6. For example, Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that it is mutar to put butter (that was already cooked) on a hot piece of food even though it would melt, because butter is a solid at room temperature.6f 7 The Rama As we saw above, the Rama rules that it is mutar to re-heat cooked liquid that is under ys b as long as it is not nistanen legamrei. The Shulchan Aruch Harav rules that it is assur if most people wouldn t eat it at this temperature (such as a slightly warm soup) even if it s a little warm, whereas the Chazon Ish rules that it s mutar unless it s room temperature. Rav Moshe Feinstein rules like the Shulchan Aruch Harav and Rav Berkovits follows this ruling. We also saw above two possible opinions as to why the Rama holds it is assur to reheat a liquid once it is nistanen legamrei. Many earlier Acharonim hold it was an issur doraisa and other later Acharonim hold that it was a Minhag or Chumra that was accepted by Klal Yisrael. Rav Berkovits rules like the latter opinion. There are a number of nafka minas (practical differences) in this Machlokes, many of which will arise in other sugyas in Bishul. 6 This is because of a separate issur derabanan of melting something into an empty plate it is known as Molid. A common example is causing ice to melt so that it turns into water this is assur to do into an empty cup, but it is mutar to put the ice in a cup of water so that when it melts it does not gather into a puddle, rather it melts into the existing water. This will be discussed in detail towards the end of the sugya of Bishul. 7 There are other factors in that question, including the question of dvar gush which will be discussed later in the sugya. 8
1. If the Rama essentially holds that it is assur midoraisa to re-heat liquid even when it is still warm, but there was a Minhag to be lenient until it fully cooled down, then there would be ample reason to be strict and not re-heat the liquid as soon as it cooled to under ys b. Indeed, the Magen Avraham rules this way. If however, it is only a Minhag not to re-heat a liquid that cooled down, then there is much less reason to be strict. This is how most contemporary poskim rule and Ashkenazim are generally not strict for the opinion of the Mechaber. 2. According the lenient explanation of the Rama there would more reason to be lenient when there are other possible factors that contribute to being lenient. One factor is when one s intent is not re-heat the liquid, but it happens anyway.7f8 For example, if a person had a hot cup of tea or coffee in a cup and now there are a few drops of liquid left at the bottom of the cut. Is the person allowed to put more hot water from the urn into the cup even though those drops will be heated as well, or must he dry out the cup first? If the whole reason we are strict on cooled down liquid is a Minhag, then there is more reason to be lenient here since the person doesn t care that 9 those few drops heat up.8f Indeed, many posim do rule that one need not wipe those drops away. As we learn more, we will see more nafka minas. How Do we Define What is a Liquid and what is a Solid We now know the halachos with liquids, the final question is how do we define what is a liquid. This question is relevant to food products such as ketchup and mayonnaise. Rav Moshe Feinstein rules that anything that maintains its shape when it pours is a solid, but if it does not maintain its shape then it is a liquid. Accordingly he rules that ketchup is a liquid as it generally does not keep its shape. Therefore, even though ketchup has been cooked before, it should be assur to re-heat it. The practical question that arises is if it s mutar to place ketchup on a hot piece of food. Lemaaseh, Rav Feinstein was lenient because he considered the issur to re-heat a cold dvar lach as a chumra. The halacha that a piece of hot food also cooks is also a chumra.9f10 Therefore, since there are two chumras, he ruled that one need not be strict for two chumras. Rav Elyashiv held that ketchup is a solid so this question does not begin as it is mutar to reheat a solid food. 8 This is known as a Psik reisha which is at worst an issur derabanan when the person does not want the Melacha to actually occur. 9 There are other factors that contribute to this leniency as we will learn in later sugyas. 10 As we will learn in a later sugya. 9
Review Questions 1. According to Rashi is it mutar to re-heat a liquid that was boiled and cooled down to more than ys b? 2. According to Rashi what if the liquid went down to just below ys b? 3. According to the Rashba is it ever assur to re-heat a liquid that cooled down? 4. According to Rabbeinu Yerucham when is it mutar to re-heat a liquid that cooled down? 5. Which Rishonim does the Mechaber rule like? 6. Which Rishonim does the Rama rule like? 7. What is the definition of nistanen legamrei? 10