A pot ben yomo (נותן טעם) vs after 24 h (נותן טעם לפגם), the assessment of sixty, the status of the lid (כיסוי), tata'a gavar and kelipa — Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 93 — 1 seif
A first approach to Siman 93: its single seif and the long gloss of the Rama, the Hebrew text with a fluent English translation. A pot in which meat was cooked — may one cook milk in it? Everything turns on the pot's freshness: ben yomo (used within 24 h, נותן טעם) or not (after 24 h, נותן טעם לפגם); the assessment of sixty against the whole pot, the status of the lid (כיסוי) and its stringency, the rule tata'a gavar between a hot/cold lid and pot, the role of kelipa and the principle of hag'ala for kashering.
Topic: Cooking milk in a pot that served for meat — ben yomo, נותן טעם לפגם, lid, tata'a gavar Source: שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן צ״ג
Compiled by: הרב יוסף חיים סממה DAAT · daattorah.com
📑 Study outline
1.The text of the Mehaber: the single seif and the Rama's gloss
2.Context: why this siman follows the one on the mixture in the pot
5.The Shach and the Taz: who they are, their key entries on the seif
6.The gloss of the Rama (הגה)
7.The lid and tata'a gavar: what the utensil becomes on contact
8.Modern practical cases: a pot after 24 h, a swapped lid, kashering
9.Summary and comprehension questions
1. The text of the Mehaber — the single seif
Siman 93 directly continues the laws of בשר בחלב (meat and milk). After Siman 92 (milk that fell into a boiling meat pot), the Mehaber (Rabbi Yossef Karo) no longer deals with a food that fell into another, but with the utensil itself: a pot in which meat was cooked — may one cook milk in it? The whole siman is a single seif, but this seif condenses deep concepts: ben yomo (was the pot used within 24 h?), taste still "good" (נותן טעם) or already "degraded" (נותן טעם לפגם), and the assessment of sixty. The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds a long gloss (הגה) on the lid, tata'a gavar and kelipa. Let us discover it.
The single seif — the meat pot and milk
Seif 1 — קְדֵרָה שֶׁבִּשְּׁלוּ בָּהּ בָּשָׂר; ben yomo or after 24 h
A pot in which meat was cooked (קדרה שבישלו בה בשר): one may not cook milk in it. If one cooked (milk) in it within 24 hours (בתוך מעת לעת — a ben yomo pot) → it is prohibited because of communicated taste (אסור בנותן טעם). [Gloss of the Rama: and one must assess (the sixty) against the whole pot — וצריך לשער נגד כל הקדרה.] But if 24 hours have passed before cooking in it (שהה מעת לעת — a non-ben-yomo pot), the taste is נותן טעם לפגם (degraded, spoiled) and the dish is permitted; but the pot remains prohibited (to cook meat or milk). Gloss of the Rama: nonetheless, one may cook other foods (שאר דברים, neither meat nor milk) in it if it is not ben yomo (Rivash 126 in the name of the Sma"k). The lid (כיסוי) has the same status as the pot itself; some are stricter on the lid, treating it as ben yomo even when it is not, and such is the practice in some places — "and I myself follow this practice because of the custom, although it is a חומרא with no reason (חומרא בלא טעם)". However, where there is another ground to permit, or for a Shabbat need or a הפסד (loss), it is permitted if the lid is not ben yomo, like the pot. A hot meat lid placed on a milk pot (or the reverse): if both are hot and contain food → both are prohibited; if the lid is cold and the pot is hot, and it has begun to give off steam (התחיל להזיע) → both are prohibited, for tata'a gavar (the lower one prevails); if the lid is hot and the pot is cold → all is permitted, except that the food needs קליפה (peeling) if possible, otherwise all is permitted; and if there is no food in the pot → all is permitted, for it is like two pots that touched one another (שתי קדירות שנגעו זו בזו).
The central idea: this seif is not about a mixture, but about a saturated utensil. The pot cooked meat: its walls absorbed meat taste (בלוע). The only question is: is this absorbed taste still "good" (and thus able to prohibit milk cooked in it) or already "degraded"? The answer hinges on a 24-hour clock (מעת לעת): within 24 h = live taste (noten taam → prohibited), after 24 h = rancid taste (noten taam lifgam → the dish is permitted, but the pot remains prohibited le-khatchila).
The trap to avoid: "the dish is permitted after 24 h" does not mean the pot became kosher for milk. The dish did not take on a forbidden taste (the absorbed taste is rancid) — but the pot itself remains prohibited for cooking milk as for meat, until one kashers it (hag'ala). This is precisely the basis of our common practice: one does not, le-khatchila, use a meat pot for milk, even if it is not ben yomo.
2. Context — where this siman fits
Siman 92 dealt with milk (or meat) that fell into a boiling pot: the whole question was the measure (sixty) and the diffusion of the food in the dish. Siman 93 changes the point of view: it is no longer about the food, but about the utensil. The pot has already cooked meat; it is saturated with taste. The question is no longer "how much milk fell?" but "is the taste the pot absorbed still live or degraded?", and "may one still cook milk in it?".
The great question of the siman
Question
Where?
Typical answer
May one cook milk in a meat pot?
Seif 1
Not le-khatchila; the pot remains prohibited
Pot ben yomo (within 24 h)
Seif 1
Noten taam → the dish is prohibited (60 against the whole pot)
Pot after 24 h (not ben yomo)
Seif 1
Noten taam lifgam → the dish is permitted, the pot stays prohibited
The lid (כיסוי)
Rama
Same status as the pot; stringency to treat it as always ben yomo
Lid/pot hot / cold
Rama
Settled by tata'a gavar; kelipa or "two pots that touched"
The cross-cutting idea: everything is a matter of the freshness of the absorbed taste and of heat transfer. Is the absorbed taste "good" (ben yomo) or "rancid" (after 24 h)? And on contact (lid/pot), who heats whom — that is, tata'a gavar: the lower vessel imposes its state (hot or cold) on the upper one.
3. The key concepts of this siman
To understand Siman 93, you need to master a small technical vocabulary describing how the absorbed taste ages, how one assesses it, and how heat transfers between two utensils.
בן יומו (ben yomo) — "of its day": a utensil used within 24 hours (מעת לעת). The taste it absorbed is still "good," alive → it can give a נותן טעם and prohibit the dish of the other kind cooked in it. Beyond 24 h, the utensil is no longer ben yomo.
נותן טעם (nat) — "gives taste": the absorbed taste (בלוע) that the wall re-emits into the new dish. If it is perceptible and "good," it prohibits the dish. This is the status of a ben yomo pot.
נותן טעם לפגם (nat lifgam) — "gives a degraded taste": after 24 h, the absorbed taste has become rancid / spoiled; such a taste no longer prohibits the dish (כל הקדרות אינן בני יומן — the basis of our practice of using vessels after 24 h). But the pot remains prohibited le-khatchila for meat as for milk.
לשער נגד כל הקדרה — Assessing against the whole pot: for a ben yomo pot, one does not know how much taste its walls absorbed; one therefore assesses the sixty against the whole volume of the pot (Shach s.k. 1). Often impossible to reach → the dish is effectively prohibited. (If one knows how much was absorbed, one assesses only against the absorbed taste — cf. 92:5 הגה and 94:6.)
כיסוי (lid) — The lid: the Rama gives it the same status as the pot. Added to this is a חומרא (per the practice of some) to treat it as always ben yomo, even after 24 h — a stringency the Rama himself calls "without reason" (חומרא בלא טעם), waived for Shabbat, הפסד, or another ground to permit.
תתאה גבר — Tata'a gavar: "the lower one prevails." When two utensils touch (lid / pot), the one underneath imposes its state: if hot, it heats and causes absorption in the upper one (prohibited); if cold, it cools the contact and limits the damage.
קליפה (kelipa) — Peeling: removing the thin surface layer of a food that underwent a limited hot contact. In our seif: a hot lid on a cold pot → the food on the lid is touched only at the surface → it suffices to peel it (if possible).
A related concept not to confuse:נ״ט בר נ״ט (nat bar nat, "a taste of a taste") denotes a taste already weakened by an intermediary — it belongs to other simanim. Here, we are in direct cooking in the pot, hence in simple נ״ט (not bar nat). Do not mix the two regimes.
And the practical solution: a pot prohibited by our siman is not lost — it is kashered by hag'ala (boiling out). The Pitchei Teshuva (92 s.k. 3) recalls that a metal pot is kashered by fully immersing it in boiling water. This is the bridge to the laws of kashering utensils.
4. Ben yomo or not — the table of the pot's state
The whole body of the seif can be summed up in a table. We cross the pot's state (was it used within 24 h?) with the fate of the dish and that of the pot.
State of the (meat) pot
Taste of the absorbed
The (milk) dish
The pot
Ben yomo (cooked within 24 h)
Noten taam (live)
🔴 Prohibited (60 against the whole pot)
🔴 Prohibited
Not ben yomo (after 24 h)
Noten taam lifgam (rancid)
🟢 Permitted
🔴 Prohibited (le-khatchila)
Not ben yomo, for other foods
Noten taam lifgam
🟢 Permitted (neither meat nor milk)
🟢 Permitted for that
After hag'ala (kashering)
(absorbed taste removed)
🟢 Permitted
🟢 Permitted
The logic in one sentence: the 24-hour clock decides the fate of the dish (live → prohibited; rancid → permitted); but the fate of the pot does not depend on the clock — it remains prohibited le-khatchila as long as it has not been kashered. To permit it, one needs a hag'ala, not the mere passing of time.
The Rama's point (שאר דברים): a non-ben-yomo meat pot may serve, le-khatchila, to cook neutral (parve) foods — neither meat nor milk — because the rancid taste does not spoil them (Rivash 126). The prohibition concerns only cooking the other kind (milk), which would create a meat-and-milk mixture.
5. The Shach and the Taz — the great commentators
In Yoreh De'ah, the Shulchan Aruch is never read on its own. Two great commentaries accompany it on every page and structure the practical study: the Shach and the Taz. These are the standard nos'ei kelim of Yoreh De'ah (no Mishna Berura here, which comments only on Orach Chaim).
The Shach (ש״ך) — an abbreviation of שפתי כהן, Siftei Kohen, by Rabbi Shabtai haCohen (Lithuania, 17th century). It is the standard commentary on Yoreh De'ah, of great analytical depth.
The Taz (ט״ז) — an abbreviation of טורי זהב, Turei Zahav, by Rabbi David haLevi Segal (Poland, 17th century). Often in dialogue — and sometimes in disagreement — with the Shach.
A key entry of the Shach
Shach s.k. 1 — "Noten taam" and assessing against the whole pot
The Shach explains: "prohibited because of communicated taste" — that is, originally, by means of the טעימת קפילא (a non-Jew's tasting), as above at the start of Siman 92 and Siman 98. But for us, who do not rely on the non-Jew's tasting, the Rama writes that one must assess against the whole pot (לשער נגד כל הקדרה) — and that, for an old pot (ישנה) where one does not know how much it absorbed. By contrast, if one knows how much it absorbed, one assesses only against that absorbed taste (cf. 92:5 הגה and 94:6).
One sees the mechanism: for a ben yomo pot, since one cannot "taste" via a non-Jew (the ruled practice) and one does not know the absorbed volume, one takes the worst case: sixty against the whole pot. Since this threshold is almost always out of reach, a dish cooked in a ben yomo pot is effectively prohibited. The Pitchei Teshuva (s.k. 1) adds the case of a pot "נחושתה דק ורחבה גדול" (thin wall, large capacity), where the calculation may change.
A key entry of the Taz
Taz s.k. 2 — "Chumra without reason" and the lid (Rashal, Levush)
On the Rama's words "and it is a חומרא with no reason" (חומרא בלא טעם), the Taz cites the Rashal (Maharshal, Kol haBassar 47): this stringency of the lid applies only to a narrow and deep lid (צר ועמוק), which cannot be wiped well, where one fears an איסור בעין (a "tangible" prohibition, a visible residue); but a wide lid, which can be wiped, is permitted if it is not ben yomo. The Levush, for his part, writes that this stringency has no basis at all.
The Taz's method: the Rama himself admits the lid stringency is "without reason" (theoretically). The Taz and the Rashal then find it a practical reason — not a block of absorbed taste, but the fear of a surface residue (איסור בעין) that cannot be cleaned in a deep lid. Hence: a wide, wipeable lid → the stringency falls away. This is exactly the kind of distinction studied in depth at the Lamdan level.
6. The gloss of the Rama (הגה)
The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds to the Mehaber's single seif a long gloss that multiplies its practical reach. Here are his four interventions, in order.
1 — Other foods (שאר דברים)
Gloss of the Rama: ומכל מקום שאר דברים מותר לבשל בה אם אינה בת יומה — "in any case, one may cook other foods in it if it is not ben yomo" (Rivash 126 in the name of the Sma"k). The seif's prohibition concerns only cooking the milk (the other kind); a neutral (parve) food may be cooked in it, since the rancid absorbed taste does not make it meat-and-milk.
2 — The status of the lid (כיסוי)
Gloss of the Rama: ודין כסוי הקדרה כדין הקדרה עצמה — "the law of the pot's lid is like the law of the pot itself". The lid, also saturated by the steam and contact, follows the same regime: ben yomo → prohibited; after 24 h → like the pot.
3 — The lid's chumra
Gloss of the Rama: ויש מחמירין בכסוי להחשיבו כבן יומו… וכן אני נוהג מחמת המנהג אף על פי שהוא חומרא בלא טעם — "some are stricter on the lid, treating it as ben yomo (even when it is not)… and I myself follow this practice because of the custom, although it is a חומרא with no reason". But the Rama waives this stringency for Shabbat, a הפסד, or another ground to permit.
4 — Lid / pot hot-cold (tata'a gavar and kelipa)
Gloss of the Rama: a lid (hot, of meat) placed on a pot (of milk), or the reverse — both hot with food → both prohibited; cold lid / hot pot that steams → both prohibited (tata'a gavar); hot lid / cold pot → all permitted, the food only needs קליפה (if possible); no food in the pot → all permitted, for it is like שתי קדירות שנגעו זו בזו (two pots that touched).
The Rama carefully distinguishes the basic law (the Mehaber: ben yomo / after 24 h) from Ashkenazi practice (the lid's chumra), while preserving targeted leniencies (other foods, Shabbat, הפסד, a wide wipeable lid per the Taz). And he extends the case to the thermal contact (tata'a gavar) between two utensils of opposite kinds.
7. The lid and tata'a gavar — what the utensil becomes on contact
The last part of the gloss — the practical heart of the siman for our kitchens — deserves a pause. What happens when a lid of one kind ends up on a pot of the other kind?
Everything rests on the rule tata'a gavar ("the lower one prevails") and on the presence or absence of food and moisture:
Both hot, with food: each heats the other, the moisture transmits the taste → both prohibited.
Cold lid, hot pot that steams: the lower one (hot) prevails and heats the contact → both prohibited.
Hot lid, cold pot: the lower one (cold) prevails → minimal penetration → kelipa of the food on the lid suffices (if possible).
No food in the pot: no carrier → like two utensils that touch dry → all permitted.
Lid
Pot (underneath)
Result
Hot (+ food)
Hot (+ food)
🔴 Both prohibited
Cold
Hot, steaming
🔴 Both prohibited (tata'a gavar)
Hot (+ food)
Cold (+ food)
🟡 Permitted; kelipa of the food on the lid
Hot / cold
No food
🟢 All permitted (two pots that touched)
The reading key: always ask who is underneath (tata'a gavar), is it hot (yad soledet), and is there moist food to carry the taste. Without heat or food, a bare metal-to-metal contact does not prohibit: this is the principle "two pots that touched one another."
8. Modern practical cases
How do these rules apply in our kitchens today? Here are three common situations illuminated by our siman.
Case 1 — I cooked milk in a meat pot
One realizes afterwards that one heated milk in a pot normally used for meat. Everything depends on the 24-hour clock. If the pot had served for meat within 24 h (ben yomo) → one fears a noten taam and the dairy dish is effectively prohibited (60 against the whole pot, out of reach). If more than 24 h had passed → the taste is noten taam lifgam and the dairy dish is permitted — but the pot itself remains prohibited and must be kashered (hag'ala). For practical halacha (halacha lema'asse), consult your Rav.
Case 2 — I covered a milk pot with a meat lid
One mistakenly places a "meat" lid on a "milk" pot (seif 1, Rama). Ask: who is hot, who is underneath, is there food? Both hot with food → both prohibited. A cold lid on a hot steaming pot → both prohibited (tata'a gavar). A hot lid on a cold pot → generally permitted, the food on the lid just needs a kelipa. An empty pot → like two pots that touched, all permitted. For practical halacha (halacha lema'asse), consult your Rav.
Case 3 — Making the pot usable again (hag'ala)
The meat pot remains prohibited for milk le-khatchila, even after 24 h. To make it usable for the other kind, the siman refers to the principle of hag'ala: one removes the absorbed taste by boiling it out. The Pitchei Teshuva (92 s.k. 3) clarifies that a metal pot is kashered by fully immersing it in boiling water. The mere passing of time never kashers. For practical halacha (halacha lema'asse), consult your Rav.
The common thread of the three cases: before panicking, ask yourself three questions — was the pot ben yomo (within 24 h)? on contact, who was hot and underneath (tata'a gavar)? is the pot prohibited and does it need a hag'ala? But the concrete decision always belongs to the Rav, who knows the details of the case.
9. Summary of Siman 93
The essence of Siman 93 in a few sentences:
A pot in which meat was cooked: one does not cook milk in it le-khatchila (seif 1).
Pot ben yomo (within 24 h) → the absorbed taste is noten taam → the dairy dish is prohibited (60 against the whole pot, Shach s.k. 1).
Pot after 24 h → the absorbed taste is noten taam lifgam → the dish is permitted, but the pot remains prohibited.
One may cook other foods (parve) in it if it is not ben yomo (Rama, Rivash).
The lid (כיסוי) has the same status as the pot (Rama).
The lid's chumra: treating it as always ben yomo — "chumra without reason"; waived for Shabbat / הפסד / another ground (Rama; Taz s.k. 2: applies only to a narrow lid; Levush: no basis).
Lid / pot hot-cold: settled by tata'a gavar — both hot → prohibited; cold on hot-steaming → prohibited; hot on cold → kelipa; no food → "two pots that touched."
The prohibited pot is kashered by hag'ala (full immersion, PT 92 s.k. 3).
Memory table
Situation
Result
Milk cooked in a ben yomo meat pot
🔴 Dish prohibited (60 against the whole pot)
Milk cooked in a meat pot after 24 h
🟢 Dish permitted · 🔴 pot prohibited
Neutral food in a pot after 24 h
🟢 Permitted
Lid: chumra to treat it as ben yomo
🟡 Stringent, waived for Shabbat / הפסד
Hot lid on a cold pot
🟡 Kelipa of the food on the lid
Prohibited pot to re-kasher
🟢 Hag'ala (full immersion)
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
Why does the seif prohibit, le-khatchila, cooking milk in a meat pot, even a clean one?
What is a בן יומו pot? What clock defines it?
Distinguish נותן טעם from נותן טעם לפגם. Which one permits the dish?
Why is the dish permitted after 24 h, yet the pot remains prohibited? What is needed to kasher it?
What does "לשער נגד כל הקדרה" (Shach s.k. 1) mean? When does one assess only against the absorbed taste?
What is the status of the כיסוי (lid) per the Rama? What does the chumra consist of, and why does the Rama call it "without reason"?
What does the Taz (s.k. 2) say in the name of the Rashal about narrow / wide lids? And the Levush?
Explain תתאה גבר. What happens if the lid is hot and the pot is cold? And if there is no food?
When does one resort to קליפה in this siman?
A non-ben-yomo meat pot: may one cook a neutral (parve) food in it? Why (Rama, Rivash)?
To go further
If you want to deepen this siman:
📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: the pilpul, the view of the Baal ha-Ittur (Taz s.k. 1) and the sugya of the כלי חרס (Pesachim 30), the yesod of noten taam lifgam, the Rashal / Levush dispute on the lid's chumra, tata'a gavar anchored in the sugyot
✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: the comparative tables (ben yomo or not, the lid, hot-cold), the golden rules, and quick memorization of the single seif
⚖️ Level 4 — Halacha lema'asse: practical ruling (Shach, Taz, Pri Megadim, Pitchei Teshuva) and contemporary poskim on concrete cases
The sources for this level can be consulted on Sefaria: