✦ ❖ ✦ D A A T · L E V E L 3 — S Y N T H E S I S / R E V I E W ✦ ❖ ✦
Siman 104 — A Mouse Found in Wine or Beer (Akhbar), and Repulsive Creatures
דִּין עַכְבָּר שֶׁנִּמְצָא בְּיַיִן אוֹ בְּשֵׁכָר
Field mouse (נ"ט לשבח) / town mouse (safek), כבוש כמבושל 24h, נחתך שאי אפשר לבררו → all forbidden, wine / oil / fat נ"ט לפגם, נטילת מקום + ספק ספיקא, הקריבהו נא לפחתך, the repulsive creatures
Structured review, master grid, fast memorization
Source: Shulchan Aroukh, Yoreh De'ah ק״ד — 3 seifim
Nossei kelim: ש״ך (Shach) · ט״ז (Taz) · פר״מ (Pri Megadim) · פתחי תשובה (Pithei Teshuva)
Compiled by: הרב יוסף חיים סממה · DAAT
For students who have mastered Levels 1 and 2
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📑 Outline of the synthesis
- The axiom: the field mouse improves, the town mouse is a doubt
- The 3 reflex questions: which mouse · cold < 24h and whole · can it be filtered
- The master grid: absolutely forbidden, 60, or no 60 at all
- The 5 golden rules
- Mnemonic — the "עכבר" memory aid
- The 4 classic pitfalls
- Recap of the 3 seifim — one line each
- Final flashcard
1. The axiom: the field mouse improves, the town mouse is a doubt
The starting point:
Siman 104 continues the נ"ט לשבח / נ"ט לפגם debate of Siman 103, applied to the mouse (עכבר). The field mouse (עכברא דדברא) imparts a good taste (נותן טעם לשבח) — "it comes up on the table of kings" — therefore it forbids. But the town mouse (עכברא דמתא) is a doubt (ספק): "מְסֻפָּק לָנוּ אִם מַשְׁבִּיחַ בְּשֵׁכָר וְחֹמֶץ אוֹ אִם הוּא פּוֹגֵם" — does it improve the beer and the vinegar, or spoil them? The whole siman flows from this doubt, from the measure of time (24h) and from separability.
| Mouse | Taste | Consequence |
|---|
| עכברא דדברא (field) | נ"ט לשבח — improves (kings' food) | Forbidden (it gives taste) |
| עכברא דמתא (town) | ספק — improves or spoils? | Decided by cold < 24h, intactness, separability |
| In wine / oil (seif 2) | פוגם בודאי — spoils for sure | No need for 60 |
💡 The marker: this siman no longer speaks of "contact" (Siman 91) or of the classic "taste + 60" (Siman 92), but of a doubt about the nature of the taste (improves or spoils) and of the separability of the substance. The hinge of all of seif 1 is: fallen cold, removed whole, before 24h → permitted; otherwise 60 is required; and if the substance is recognizable but inseparable → nothing nullifies it.
2. The 3 reflex questions
■ WHICH MOUSE / WHICH LIQUID? (דדברא / דמתא ; wine-oil or beer-vinegar) — field mouse → improves → forbidden. Town mouse in wine / oil (seif 2) → spoils for sure → no 60. Town mouse in beer / vinegar (seif 1) → safek, continue (seif 1).
↓ we look at cold and time
■ COLD, WHOLE, < 24h? (בצונן · שלם · מעת לעת) — fallen cold, removed whole, and without a stay of 24h → permitted (כבוש כמבושל: 24h cold = as cooked). But if hot (רותח), or 24h even cold → 60 is required (seif 1).
↓ we look at separability
■ CAN THE SUBSTANCE BE FILTERED? (אפשר לבררו במסננת) — cut into fine particles that can be filtered out with nothing remaining, or fully melted (נימוח) → nullified by 60. But inseparable (mixed into a thick food) → all forbidden, without nullification (seif 1).
⚖ נחתך שאי אפשר לבררו — the recognizable, inseparable prohibition (seif 1)
If the mouse was cut into particles impossible to filter — for example the wine / vinegar mixed into a thick food (מאכל עב) — all is forbidden, without nullification (אין לו ביטול), for we fear encountering the very substance of the forbidden thing (ממש) without noticing. [Rama: this stringency applies only to a שרץ (creature), of which we fear that it remains and cannot be extracted; for other prohibitions, there is no concern (או"ה כלל ל"ב).]
3. The master grid: absolutely forbidden, 60, or no 60 at all
An absolute must to memorize. Basis: Mehaber seifim 1-3, read with the Rama, the Taz (s.k. 1-6) and the Shach (s.k. 1, 3-9).
| Situation | Decisive criterion | Result |
|---|
| Field mouse (עכברא דדברא) |
נ"ט לשבח (kings' food) |
🔴 Forbidden (it improves) |
| Town mouse, beer / vinegar, cold, whole, < 24h |
כבוש כמבושל not reached |
🟢 Permitted |
| Hot (רותח), or 24h even cold; but filterable / melted |
Sixty (ס׳) against the mouse |
🟡 Permitted if there is 60 of permitted |
| Cut fine, inseparable (thick food) |
נחתך-אי אפשר לבררו → ממש |
🔴 All forbidden, without nullification |
| Fallen into wine, oil (and honey) |
פוגם בודאי — spoils for sure |
🟢 Permitted without 60 |
| Fallen into fat (שומן), arriving hard before us |
נטילת מקום + ספק ספיקא (כבוש) |
🟢 Remove the spot (Rama) |
| Fat: poured hot over it, doubt if the mouse was there |
יש מחמירים (stringent) |
🔴 All forbidden even with 60 |
| Repulsive creatures (ants, flies, mosquitoes), melted |
דברים המאוסים + majority |
🟢 Nullified in the majority; but filter the filterable |
📌 Key reading: in seif 1, first ask which mouse (field = forbidden), then cold / whole / < 24h (otherwise 60), then can the substance be filtered (otherwise all forbidden). In seif 2, the wine and the oil spoil (no 60); hard fat → נטילת מקום. In seif 3, the repulsive creatures are nullified in the majority, but one filters the filterable and is wary of vinegar / beer.
4. The 5 golden rules
- "עכברא דדברא נותן טעם לשבח". The field mouse is kings' food → it improves and forbids; the town mouse is a safek improves / spoils (Mehaber seif 1).
- כבוש כמבושל = 24h cold. Fallen cold, removed whole, without a stay of 24h (מעת לעת) → permitted; otherwise (hot, or 24h) 60 is required (Mehaber seif 1, cross-ref siman 105).
- נחתך שאי אפשר לבררו → אין לו ביטול. Substance recognizable but inseparable (thick food) → all forbidden, for one might swallow the ממש (Mehaber seif 1; Rama: only for a שרץ).
- נ"ט לפגם in wine / oil → no 60. The mouse spoils the wine and the oil (which "must be fragrant"); no need for 60 against what it released (Mehaber seif 2).
- דברים המאוסים nullified in the majority. Ants, flies, mosquitoes, from which a person recoils → nullified even melted if the permitted is the majority; but one filters the filterable and is wary of vinegar / beer (Mehaber seif 3).
5. Mnemonic — the "עכבר" memory aid
"ע-כ-ב-ר" — the 4 hinges of the siman
- עכברא דדברא / דמתא: field = improves (forbids); town = safek.
- כבוש כמבושל: cold, whole, < 24h → permitted; otherwise 60.
- בirur (separating): can it be filtered? Yes → 60. No (thick food) → all forbidden.
- רotev / oil and spoiled: wine, oil → spoil, no 60; repulsive creatures → majority.
The ladder of the fat (Rama seif 2)
- fat arriving hard → נטילת מקום: remove the spot (ספק ספיקא, כבוש)
- poured hot, doubt if the mouse was there → all forbidden even with 60 (יש מחמירים)
- fat repulsive to eat → forbidden to kindle it (הקריבהו נא לפחתך, OH 124)
- great loss (הפסד מרובה) → one may rely on the lenient
6. The 4 classic pitfalls
❌ Pitfall 1 — Confusing the two mice: the field mouse (דדברא) improves for sure (kings' food) → forbidden. Only the town mouse (דמתא) is a safek decided by cold < 24h, intactness, separability. And this "improves / spoils" safek is not a countable doubt for a ספק ספיקא: the gemara itself was uncertain (Shach s.k. 4).
❌ Pitfall 2 — Believing 60 always saves: when the mouse was cut into particles impossible to filter in a thick food, there is no nullification — neither לח בלח by 60, nor יבש ביבש by majority — for one might swallow the ממש without noticing (seif 1). Machloket Taz / Rama-Shach: the Rama sees here a stringency unique to a שרץ (כעדשה, like a בריה); the Taz disputes: this rule applies to every prohibition that is recognizable-inseparable (and חצי שיעור is forbidden מן התורה even < כעדשה). The Shach defends the Rama, but concedes that if totally ground in it is nullified like יבש ביבש (Ran / Rashba, resp. 101).
❌ Pitfall 3 — Requiring 60 for wine and oil: in wine, oil (and honey), the mouse spoils for sure (פוגם בודאי) — these liquids "must be fragrant" (Rambam) — therefore no 60 is needed against what it released (seif 2). For fat (שומן), however, there is a machloket: the Rama is lenient like wine, but some are stringent (like beer / vinegar).
❌ Pitfall 4 — Confusing נ"ט לפגם and דברים המאוסים: the repulsive creatures (ants, flies, mosquitoes) are nullified in the majority even when melted — for things spoiled in themselves (מאוס) are unanimously nullified, unlike the machloket of נ"ט לפגם (siman 103:2; Shach s.k. 9). But one filters everything filterable, and in vinegar / beer one is wary as with the mouse (ב"י לדעת הרשב"א).
For the halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
7. Recap of the 3 seifim — one line each
| Seif | Topic | The essential |
|---|
| 1 | Field / town mouse; the impossible filtering | עכברא דדברא improves (kings' food) → forbids. עכברא דמתא = safek: fallen cold into beer / vinegar, removed whole, < 24h → permitted. Hot, or 24h even cold, but filterable / melted → permitted by 60. Cut fine and inseparable (thick food) → all forbidden, for we fear swallowing the ממש. Rama: this stringency applies only to a שרץ (או"ה ל"ב). |
| 2 | Wine, oil, fat | In wine, oil (and honey) → spoils for sure (פוגם), no 60 needed. Rama: fat too; but some are stringent — poured hot with doubt → all forbidden even with 60. Arriving hard → נטילת מקום (remove the spot), כבוש = cooked, by ספק ספיקא. Repulsive fat → forbidden to kindle it (הקריבהו נא לפחתך); in great loss → one relies on the lenient. |
| 3 | The repulsive things (דברים המאוסים) | Ants, flies, mosquitoes, from which a person recoils, even melted (נמחה גופן) → if the permitted is the majority, permitted. Nevertheless, whatever can be checked and filtered with a strainer, one checks and filters. But in vinegar and beer, one is wary as with the mouse (ב"י לדעת הרשב"א). |
8. Final flashcard
| Question | Reflex answer | Source |
|---|
| Field mouse (דדברא)? | Improves (kings' food) → forbidden | Mehaber seif 1; Shach s.k. 1 |
| Town mouse, beer / vinegar, cold, whole, < 24h? | Permitted (כבוש not reached) | Mehaber seif 1 |
| Hot, or 24h, but filterable / melted? | Permitted if there is 60 against the mouse | Mehaber seif 1; Taz s.k. 1 |
| Cut fine, inseparable (thick food)? | All forbidden, without nullification (ממש) | Mehaber seif 1; Taz s.k. 1; Shach s.k. 3 |
| Fallen into wine, oil? | Spoils for sure → no 60 | Mehaber seif 2; Taz s.k. 2 |
| Fat arriving hard? | נטילת מקום (ספק ספיקא, כבוש) | Rama seif 2; Taz s.k. 3 |
| Fat repulsive to eat? | Forbidden to kindle it (הקריבהו נא לפחתך) | Rama seif 2; Taz s.k. 4-5 |
| Ants, flies, mosquitoes melted? | Nullified in the majority; filter the filterable | Mehaber seif 3; Shach s.k. 8-9 |
⚖ The reflex in 3 questions
- Which mouse, which liquid? Field = improves (forbidden); town = safek; wine / oil = spoils (no 60).
- Cold, whole, < 24h? Can it be filtered? Yes to all three → permitted; filterable → 60; inseparable → all forbidden.
- Fat or a repulsive creature? Hard fat → נטילת מקום; repulsive → no kindling; ants / flies → majority, but filter.
For the halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
🎓 Recap of the study path
| Level | Content | Acquired |
|---|
| 🌱 Level 1 — Base |
Text of the 3 seifim, translation, clear tables |
Overall understanding |
| ⚡ Level 2 — Lamdan |
Yesod of the נ"ט לשבח / safek of the mouse, the נחתך שאי אפשר לבררו, the Taz / Rama-Shach machloket, the נ"ט לפגם of wine and oil |
In-depth study |
| ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis |
Master grid, golden rules, mnemonic, pitfalls, recap of the seifim |
Practical mastery + review |
💡 Suggested next steps:
- Re-read Siman ק״ד in the original Choulhan Aroukh (Hebrew) with the Shach and the Taz
- Study the adjacent Simanim: 100 (בריה), 101 (ראוי להתכבד / בריה רסוקה), 103 (נ"ט לשבח / לפגם), 105 (כבוש כמבושל and diffusion), 107 (דברים המאוסים), 109 (nullification by majority), 115 (the non-Jew's butter)
- Delve into the yesod of נ"ט לשבח / נ"ט לפגם and that of the דבר הניכר שאי אפשר לבררו
- Discuss personal cases with a Rav (an insect in a drink, fat, preserves) — the halacha le-ma'aseh is decided with a Rav
📖 Sources of this siman on Sefaria:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DAAT · הרב יוסף חיים סממה
תלמיד חכם · מעביר שיעורים בהלכה ובחסידות
סימן ק״ד · Level 3 — Synthesis / Review · דין עכבר שנמצא ביין או בשכר
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