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DAAT · LEVEL 2 — LAMDAN

Shulchan Arukh · Yoreh De‘ah

The dairy spoon dipped into a meat pot — study and pilpul
סימן צ״ד
Measuring against what was dipped · ben yomo · noten taam bar noten taam · the law of the knife
Study, pilpul, the positions of the Rishonim and the Acharonim
⚡ FOR LAMDANIM AND TALMIDEI CHAKHAMIM ⚡
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Pilpul and in-depth study

Sugyot, sources, the underlying chakira, machlokot of Rishonim and Acharonim,
nafka minot for practice and examination of the shitot

The subject:
Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De‘ah, siman צ״ד (nine seifim)
with its nosei kelim: Shakh (Siftei Kohen), Taz (Turei Zahav), Peri Megadim, Pitchei Teshuva

The foundation of the sugya in Shas:
Chullin ק״ח.–ק״ט. (taam ke‘ikar, nullification in sixty, noten taam bar noten taam) · Avodah Zarah ע״ו. (a vessel ben yomo and not ben yomo, thrusting the knife into the ground) · Pesachim ע״ו. (cham miktzato, keli rishon and keli sheni)

Written and edited by:
Rav Yossef Haim Samama · DAAT

📑 Table of contents

  1. Opening the sugya — the dairy spoon dipped into a meat pot, measuring against what was dipped (seif א')
  2. Cham miktzato cham kulo — the machloket about the metal spoon, a chakira on absorbing and emitting (seif א')
  3. He dipped twice — two times sixty, and the reasoning of the Terumat haDeshen (seif ב')
  4. There is sixty to nullify the spoon — benefit forbidden, sale to a non-Jew, and the machloket about the dog (seif ג')
  5. A spoon that is not bat yoma — forbidden lechatchila, permitted bedieved (seif ד')
  6. Noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing — a new pot and two spoons (seifim ה'–ט')
  7. Vegetables that absorbed meat — there is no chatikha na‘asit neveila here (seif ו')
  8. The law of the knife — against the spot or against the whole knife, kelipa, hag‘alah and ne‘itza (seif ז')
  9. Cheese and kelipa · honey and noten taam bar noten taam — a pnadash oven and pouring a permitted thing (seifim ח'–ט')
  10. Chakira and nafka mina for practice
  11. Summary tables

📜 The text of the Shulchan Arukh — seif א'

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)
« התוחב כף חולבת בקדרה של בשר או איפכא משערים בכל מה שנתחב ממנו בקדירה…ויש מי שאומר שאם הכף של מתכת משערים בכולו משום דחם מקצתו חם כולו » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:א)
« וסברא ראשונה עיקר וכן נוהגין » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:א)

Translation: one who dips a dairy spoon into a pot of meat, or the reverse — one measures [the sixty] against everything of it that was dipped into the pot (if the spoon is ben yomo, that is, it was used in a keli rishon within the last twenty-four hours) (Arukh, klal ל״ז); and there is one who says that if the spoon is of metal one measures against all of it, because “hot in part, hot in whole”. (Gloss of the Rama: and the first view is the main one, and so is the practice) (Mordechai, Sha‘arei Dura and its glosses, and Arukh) (and see siman צ״ח).

1. Opening the sugya — measuring against what was dipped

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

The foundation — a spoon that absorbed, and the measure of the shiur

The foundation of the siman: a dairy spoon, saturated with milk, dipped into a boiling pot of meat. Since the spoon is hot and saturated, it emits the absorbed milk into the meat dish, and it must be nullified in sixty, as with any emission of a forbidden substance. But the real law of the siman lies in the measure: against what are the sixty counted? The Mehaber answers משערים בכל מה שנתחב ממנו בקדירה (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:א) — that is, against the part of the spoon that was immersed in the dish, and not against the whole dish nor against the whole spoon.

And all this only when the spoon is ben yomo: it was used in a keli rishon within twenty-four hours, so that what it absorbed still gives a taste that improves (noten taam leshevach).

The Shakh’s chakira (ס״ק א) — why against what was dipped? At first glance one should have measured against what the spoon emitted, and not against the volume of metal that was dipped. The Shakh answers that the measure is taken stringently, for want of knowledge:
« דלא ידעינן כמה נפיק מיניה » (ש״ך יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק א)

We do not know how much the spoon actually emitted; we therefore take the stringent path and measure against the whole body of metal that was immersed, as if all of it had emitted.

How far did he dip — “up to the head of the spoon” (Shakh ס״ק א in the name of the Maharshal): and what is the law when he does not know how far he dipped the spoon into the pot? The Shakh writes in the name of the Maharshal that every doubt is judged stringently:
« דאם אינו ברור לו עד כמה תחב משערי׳ בסתם דרך לתחוב דהיינו עד ראש הכף » (ש״ך יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק א)

But if he knows with certainty how far he dipped — and likewise when one knows how much was absorbed, the Shakh himself referring to וע״ל סימן צ״ח ס״ה אי ידעינן כמה בלע (ש״ך יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק א) — one measures only against that amount. The root of “what was dipped” is therefore an unresolved doubt, and not a law decided for every case.

The Pitchei Teshuva (ס״ק א) — the credibility of the one who dipped: he cites the Noda BiYehuda (tinyana, Yoreh De‘ah, end of siman ט״ז) that a man is believed when he says how far he dipped his spoon, and that the rule of “a matter a person does not pay attention to” is not applied here:
« דבדבר שהאדם עצמו עושה ל״ש לומר כן » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק א)

The reason: what a man does himself, he knows how he does it — unlike the shochet who had not learned the laws of shechita at the time of the act. But the continuation of the Pitchei Teshuva must be stated, and this page does not suppress it: he himself raises an objection to the Noda BiYehuda from siman י״ח, and concludes ולע״ד דבריו צ״ע (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק א); he then cites the Peri Megadim, who hesitates likewise, and then the Chatam Sofer, who upholds the Noda BiYehuda. The question therefore remains open in the commentaries.

2. Cham miktzato cham kulo — the machloket about the metal spoon

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

This is one of the sharpest points of the siman, and it is here that the weight of the Shakh’s and the Taz’s study is concentrated.

The chakira — is the metal hot in its entirety: a metal spoon, part of which is dipped into boiling liquid, conducts heat and grows hot even in the part left outside the pot. Hence the question: does that heat suffice to make it emit what is absorbed throughout the whole body of the spoon — in which case we would measure against all of it; or does the heat of the metal count only for absorbing, and not for emitting?
The two views in the Mehaber and the Rama:
PositionA metal spoon — against what do we measureSource
The first view (the Mehaber’s stam) Against what was dipped only — we do not say “hot in part, hot in whole” for emitting Mehaber ס״א
Yesh mi she’omer (cited by the Mehaber, ruled on by the Rama) Against the whole spoon — for hot in part is hot in whole, and all the metal is as hot to emit Mehaber ס״א; Rama ס״א
And the Rama’s ruling:
« וסברא ראשונה עיקר וכן נוהגין » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:א)

We therefore do not say “hot in part, hot in whole” so as to make the absorbed substance be emitted.

The sharpening of the Shakh (ס״ק ג) and the Pitchei Teshuva (ס״ק ג) — absorbing on one side, emitting on the other: the Pitchei Teshuva cites the Beit Hillel, who had heard from the Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim סי׳ תנ״א) the following distinction:
« אע״ג דחם מקצתו חם כולו היינו לבלוע אבל לא לפלוט » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ג)

For the Beit Hillel and the Magen Avraham, then, “hot in part, hot in whole” holds for absorbing and not for emitting, and that is why we measure only against what was dipped. The Shakh goes further: in his view we do not say it even for absorbing, since the reasoning of the first view is אינו מוליך בליעתו בכולו (ש״ך יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ג) — the metal does not conduct what it absorbed throughout its whole body.

The Pitchei Teshuva says so expressly: אכן דעת הש״ך כאן סק״ג לא נראה כן (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ג), and refers to the Shakh in siman קכ״א. The two paths reach the same practical law here, but for different reasons — and the difference tells elsewhere, as the following nafka mina shows.

Nafka mina — the handle (the קתא) of the spoon: from this comes the law of the handle. A metal spoon that is bat yoma whose handle was dipped into the dish: for the Beit Hillel, as cited by the Pitchei Teshuva, sixty is required in the pot against the handle that was dipped into it —
« אם תחבו הקתא של הכף של מתכת ב״י בקדרה צריך ס׳ בקדרה נגד הקתא שנתחב בו » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ג)

The Pitchei Teshuva adds, in the name of the Solet laMincha (klal פ״ה) and of his own work on the laws of Pesach, that bedieved nothing at all need be nullified in such a case, and that the disagreement with the Beit Hillel stands; but that the spoon itself is forbidden for use until hag‘alah. Finally he cites the Panim Me’irot, who distinguishes according to whether the whole vessel is hot enough for the hand to recoil from it. And for practice — ask your Rav.

3. He dipped twice — two times sixty

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

The text of the Mehaber (seif ב')

« אם תחב הכף בקדירה שני פעמים ולא נודע בנתים צריך ב׳ פעמים ששים » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ב)
« דסגי בפעם א׳ ששים » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ב)

Translation: if he dipped the spoon into the pot twice and did not come to know of it in between, two times sixty are required. (Gloss of the Rama: and there are those who say that one time sixty suffices, and so is the practice) (Terumat haDeshen siman קפ״ג, glosses of Sha‘arei Dura, and Arukh).

The yesod — why one would think two times sixty are required:
The Shakh gives the reasoning of the stringency, in the name of the Hagahot Mordechai, the Maharil and the Terumat haDeshen: sixty is first required against the milk, and we are concerned that a little milk remained in the spoon; when it was taken out of the pot the whole spoon became neveila of basar bechalav, and it must therefore be nullified a second time —
« וחיישינן דלמא נשאר בו מעט חלב וכשהוציאו מן הקדרה נעשה כל הכף נבילה מבשר בחלב ולכך צריך לבטל הכף בפעם הב׳ » (ש״ך יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ד)
The ruling of the Terumat haDeshen (siman קפ״ג) — one time suffices:
PositionTwo dippingsSource
The first view (Mehaber) Two times sixty — each dipping is an emission in its own right Mehaber ס״ב
Yesh omrim (Rama in the name of the Terumat haDeshen) One time sixty suffices — and so is the practice Rama ס״ב; Terumat haDeshen קפ״ג
The reasoning of the Terumat haDeshen (Taz ס״ק ב) — an absorbed permitted substance does not become neveila: the Taz lays out the root of the leniency. The Terumat haDeshen had first given the stringent reasoning, and then rejected it himself:
« ואח״כ דחה זה דאין היתר בלוע נאסר מאיסור בלוע » (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ב)

An absorbed permitted substance is not rendered forbidden by an absorbed forbidden one. At the second dipping, therefore, the spoon does not emit any new forbidden substance. The Taz recalls that the Maharshal, in the chapter Gid haNasheh siman מ׳, was stringent and required two times sixty, and he concludes: ואין לנו אלא המנהג שכתב רמ״א להקל הן בבשר בחלב הן בשאר איסורים (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ב).

4. There is sixty to nullify the spoon — the prohibition of benefit

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

The text of the Mehaber (seif ג')

« אם יש ס׳ לבטל הכף הקדירה והתבשיל מותרים אבל הכף אסור בין עם בשר בין עם חלב לפי שהיא בלועה מבשר בחלב ואפילו בדיעבד אוסרת אם חזרו ותחבוה בין בבשר בין בחלב כל זמן שהיא בת יומא ואם אין ס׳ הכל אסור בהנאה אפי׳ הקדרה אך מותר לתת לתוכה פירות או צונן כיון שאינו נהנה מגוף האיסור » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ג)

Translation: if there is sixty to nullify the spoon, the pot and the dish are permitted, but the spoon is forbidden, both with meat and with milk, because it is saturated with basar bechalav; and even bedieved it forbids if it was dipped again, whether into meat or into milk, as long as it is bat yoma. And if there is not sixty, everything is forbidden in benefit, even the pot; yet it is permitted to put fruit or something cold into it, since he derives no benefit from the body of the forbidden substance.

The yesod — three degrees in a spoon that became forbidden:
• There is sixty → the dish is permitted, but the spoon is not: אבל הכף אסור בין עם בשר בין עם חלב (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ג), since it is saturated with basar bechalav and will emit into any pot into which it is dipped again, as long as it is bat yoma.
• There is not sixty → the dish becomes basar bechalav, and it is forbidden in benefit, the pot with it.
• And even so, it is permitted to put fruit or something cold into it, the reason being given by the Mehaber himself: כיון שאינו נהנה מגוף האיסור (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ג).
The prohibition of benefit and the dog (Pitchei Teshuva ס״ק ה): since basar bechalav is forbidden in benefit, the Acharonim asked whether the dish may be fed to a dog. The Taz forbids it, in the name of the Issur veHeter, the Maharshal and the Torat Chatat — and the Pitchei Teshuva writes that the Mekor Chaim (סי׳ תמ״ח) and the Biur haGra do not hold so:
« אכן אין כן דעת הגאון בעל מקור חיים בסי׳ תמ״ח סק״י דדוקא בחמץ בפסח » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ה)

For them it is chametz on Pesach that is the exception, and not basar bechalav. The Pitchei Teshuva himself adds a reservation about the Mekor Chaim’s proof from Tosafot in Pesachim ד׳ כ״ב, and refers further to the Penei Yehoshua and the Be’er Yaakov. The machloket therefore turns on the very definition of the prohibition of benefit in basar bechalav.

Selling the pot to a non-Jew (Pitchei Teshuva ס״ק ו in the name of the Chatam Sofer סי׳ צ״ח): a pot saturated with basar bechalav, though forbidden in benefit, the Chatam Sofer permits selling to a non-Jew, and even while it is bat yoma:
« דלמכור לעובד כוכבים קדרה הבלועה מבשר בחלב אין בו בית מיחוש כלל אפילו ביומיה » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ו)

The Pitchei Teshuva opens this entry by first referring to the responsum of the Radbaz (chelek א׳ siman כ״ד).

5. A spoon that is not bat yoma — lechatchila and bedieved

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

Here lies the principal distinction between a taste that improves and a taste that spoils, and all the definitions of “ben yomo”.

The text of the Mehaber (seif ד')

« אם אין הכף בן יומו הקדרה והתבשיל מותרים והכף אסור לכתחלה בין עם בשר בין עם חלב ומ״מ בדיעבד אינה אוסרת כיון שלא היתה בת יומא » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ד)

Translation: if the spoon is not ben yomo, the pot and the dish are permitted, and the spoon is forbidden lechatchila, both with meat and with milk; and nevertheless bedieved it does not forbid, since it was not bat yoma.

The yesod — a taste that spoils, in a vessel that is not ben yomo:
A vessel that is not ben yomo already has a spoiled absorbed substance: it stood more than twenty-four hours, and what it emits no longer gives a taste that improves but a taste that spoils, and a taste that spoils does not render forbidden. But the Sages forbade using it lechatchila. And bedieved, the Mehaber writes: ומ״מ בדיעבד אינה אוסרת כיון שלא היתה בת יומא (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ד).
Comparison of the first four seifim (א'–ד') — the state of the spoon:
SituationThe dishThe spoon
Bat yoma, there is sixty (ס״ג) Permitted Forbidden (saturated with basar bechalav)
Bat yoma, there is not sixty (ס״ג) Forbidden in benefit, the pot with it Forbidden; fruit and cold things permitted
Not bat yoma (ס״ד) Permitted Forbidden lechatchila; bedieved it does not forbid
A keli rishon taken off the fire (Taz ס״ק א; Pitchei Teshuva ס״ק ב in the name of the Chavot Yair סי׳ ק״א): the whole law of the spoon plays out in a keli rishon. The Taz cites the Maharshal (פכ״ה סי׳ ע״א), for whom a keli rishon from which the hand does not recoil no longer has the power to cause absorption:
« דמסתבר דכלי ראשון כל זמן שאין היד סולדת בו אין בו כח להבליע כלל » (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק א)

The Maharshal is nevertheless afraid to be lenient with a keli rishon standing beside the fire, “for they made a distancing for a keli rishon, as is stated in the Yerushalmi”. But the Taz rules against him, in the name of the Torat Chatat (klal נ״ז), the Beit Yosef and the Issur veHeter: דאפילו בכלי ראשון שעל האש אינו אוסר אם אין היד סולדת בו וכן עיקר (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק א). The Pitchei Teshuva adds the Chavot Yair: a cooled vessel keeps the name keli rishon as long as it is more than lukewarm, and a full twenty-four hours are counted from the moment it descends to lukewarm.

6. Noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing — a new pot and two spoons

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

The text of the Mehaber and the Rama (seif ה')

« אם בשלו מים בקדרה חדשה ותחבו בה כף חולבת ואחר כך חזרו ובשלו בה מים פעם אחרת ותחבו בה כף של בשר ושתי הכפות היו בני יומן ובשום אחד מהפעמים לא היו במים ששים אסור להשתמש בקדירה לא בשר ולא חלב אבל שאר דברים מותר לבשל מאחר שהיתה חדשה שלא בשלו בה מעולם » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ה)
« מיהו אם עבר ובישל בה בשר או חלב מותר דהוי נותן טעם בר נותן טעם » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ה)
« קדרה שבשלו בה ירקות או מים ותחבו בה כף בן יומו והקדירה אינה בת יומה או להפך או שיש במאכל ששים הכל שרי ונוהגין להחמיר לאכול המאכל כמין הכלי שהוא בן יומו ולאסור הכלי שאינו בן יומו » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ה)
« ואינו אלא חומרא בעלמא כי מדינא הכל שרי » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ה)

Translation: if they cooked water in a new pot and dipped a dairy spoon into it, and then cooked water in it again another time and dipped a meat spoon into it, both spoons being bnot yoman, and on neither occasion was there sixty in the water — it is forbidden to use that pot either for meat or for milk; but it is permitted to cook other things in it, since it was new and nothing had ever been cooked in it. Gloss of the Rama: however, if he transgressed and cooked meat or milk in it, it is permitted, for it is a noten taam bar noten taam (Hagahot Maimoniot פ״ט). A pot in which vegetables or water were cooked and into which a spoon that is ben yomo was dipped while the pot is not bat yoma, or the reverse, or where there is sixty in the food — everything is permitted; and the practice is to be stringent, to eat the food on the side of the vessel that is ben yomo and to hold forbidden the vessel that is not — and this is only a stringency, for by law everything is permitted.

The yesod — what is a “noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing”:
A permitted taste that passed through a neutral intermediary — water, a pot, a vessel — before reaching the other kind does not render forbidden bedieved. Here: the taste of the milk passed from the spoon to the water, and from the water to the pot; the taste of the meat from the other spoon to the water, and from the water to the same pot. Each is a remote taste, and the Rama rules מיהו אם עבר ובישל בה בשר או חלב מותר דהוי נותן טעם בר נותן טעם (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ה), in the name of the Hagahot Maimoniot.
The sharpening of the Taz (ס״ק ו) — why is it forbidden lechatchila: if a noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing is permitted, why does the Mehaber forbid using the pot for meat and for milk? The Taz explains that by law it is indeed permitted, and that the prohibition lechatchila rests on the practice that spread:
« והא דאסור לכתחלה הוא מטעם כיון שנתפשט המנהג לאסור אותו שאינו בן יומא » (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ו)

The Taz adds his own explanation: they were stringent about the pot because the food is poured into a vessel of the kind that is ben yomo, and it is therefore not right to permit the one that is not, since it is from it that one pours. He then raises a difficulty on the Tur, which he says he resolved earlier. But bedieved — “if he transgressed and cooked” — the law returns to its place and it is permitted, for it is a noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing.

The stringent practice — eating on the side of what is ben yomo (Taz ס״ק ח in the name of the Torat Chatat and the Maharshal): where the law is equal, everything is permitted by law; and the practice, writes the Rama in his gloss, is ונוהגין להחמיר לאכול המאכל כמין הכלי שהוא בן יומו (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ה). The Taz cites the Torat Chatat (klal נ״ז), for whom it is better to eat that food neither with meat nor with milk, and the Maharshal (Gid haNasheh סי׳ מ״ג), who advises eating it from the pot with a new spoon. And the Mehaber himself concludes:
« ואינו אלא חומרא בעלמא כי מדינא הכל שרי » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ה)

7. Vegetables that absorbed meat — there is no chatikha na‘asit neveila here

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

The text of the Mehaber and the Rama (seif ו')

« בצלים או ירקות שבלועים מבשר ובשלם בקדרה חולבת אם ידוע כמה בשר בלוע בבצלים ובירקות אין צריך ס׳ אלא כנגד הבשר » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ו)
« דלא שייך לומר חתיכה נעשית נבילה הואיל ועדיין כולו היתר ולכן אין צריך לשער רק נגד מה שבלע וכל שכן בקדירה של חלב שבשלו בה מים תוך מעת לעת ואח״כ בשלו בה בשר לא אמרינן דצריך לשער נגד כל המים רק נגד החלב שבלע הקדירה » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ו)

Translation: onions or vegetables saturated with meat that were cooked in a dairy pot — if it is known how much meat is absorbed in the onions and the vegetables, sixty is required only against the meat. Gloss of the Rama: for it does not apply to say “the piece becomes neveila”, since all of it is still permitted, and one therefore need measure only against what was absorbed. And all the more so for a dairy pot in which water was cooked within twenty-four hours and afterwards meat: we do not say that one must measure against all the water, but only against the milk that the pot absorbed (the sense of the Tur and the Beit Yosef).

The yesod — “the piece becomes neveila” does not apply when everything is permitted:
The law of chatikha na‘asit neveila — the whole piece is counted as forbidden and one measures against all of it — applies only where a forbidden substance rendered the piece forbidden. Here the onions are saturated with permitted meat and were never forbidden; the Rama therefore writes דלא שייך לומר חתיכה נעשית נבילה הואיל ועדיין כולו היתר (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ו), and one measures only against what was absorbed.
The kal vachomer of the pot (the sense of the Tur and the Beit Yosef): from this the Rama draws a kal vachomer. A dairy pot that is bat yoma in which water was cooked and then meat: one does not measure against all the water, but only against the milk absorbed in the pot —
« לא אמרינן דצריך לשער נגד כל המים רק נגד החלב שבלע הקדירה » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ו)

The water is permitted, and the absorbed milk does not make all the water a “neveila”. This is the contrast with siman צ״ב, which deals with a piece that really became forbidden; here everything is permitted, and one measures only against what was absorbed.

8. The law of the knife — against the spot, or against the whole knife

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

The text of the Mehaber and the Rama (seif ז')

« בשר רותח שחתכו בסכין חולבת כל החתיכה אסורה אם אין בה ששים כנגד מקום הסכין שחתך הבשר אבל אם אינו בן יומו או אם אינו יודע שהוא בן יומו אינו אוסר אלא כדי קליפה » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ז)
« וכל זה בבשר רותח בכלי ראשון ואז אם הסכין בן יומו ואין ס׳ בבשר נגד הסכין הכל אסור ואף הסכין צריך הגעלה אבל אם הוא כלי שני הבשר צריך קליפה והסכין נעיצה בקרקע » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ז)
« ואפילו אין הסכין בן יומו יש לקלוף הבשר מעט משום שמנונית הסכין » (רמ״א יו״ד צ״ד:ז)

Translation: boiling meat cut with a dairy knife — the whole piece is forbidden if there is not in it sixty against the spot of the knife that cut the meat; but if it is not ben yomo, or if he does not know that it is, it forbids only a kelipa. Gloss of the Rama: and all this for boiling meat in a keli rishon; and then, if the knife is ben yomo and there is not in the meat sixty against the knife, everything is forbidden and the knife itself requires hag‘alah. But if it is a keli sheni, the meat requires a kelipa and the knife a thrusting into the ground (Arukh klal ל״ז), and so is the practice. And even if the knife is not ben yomo, one should peel the meat a little because of the grease of the knife (Tur and Beit Yosef in the name of the Semak).

The yesod — against the spot of the knife, and a kelipa when it is not ben yomo:
• Knife ben yomo, keli rishon, no sixty → the whole piece is forbidden, and the knife requires hag‘alah.
• Not ben yomo, or one does not know → it forbids only a kelipa, for its taste is a taste that spoils; and even so one must peel a little, because of the actual grease on the blade.
• Keli sheni → there is no full absorption: the meat requires a kelipa, and the knife a ne‘itza — it is thrust into hard ground — and not hag‘alah.
Machloket — against the spot or against the whole knife (Taz ס״ק י״ב):
PositionThe measure of the sixtySource
The Tur in the name of Rabbeinu Peretz, and the Maharshal Against the whole knife — that is, the blade outside the handle Taz ס״ק י״ב; Yam shel Shlomo, Gid haNasheh סי׳ מ״ב
The Shulchan Arukh Against the spot of the knife that cut, only Mehaber ס״ז

The Taz gives the reason for the omission: והש״ע לא העתיקו לפי שר״פ אזיל לטעמי׳ דס״ל ריש סי׳ זה במתכת חם מקצתו חם כולו ולא קי״ל כן (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק י״ב). Rabbeinu Peretz follows his own reasoning from the beginning of the siman, which we do not hold.

“A matter a person does not pay attention to” (Taz ס״ק י״ב in the name of the Maharshal): the reasoning of those who measure against the whole knife is that one who cuts does not take care how deep he cut; and even if he says “I am certain I cut only at this spot”, he is not believed:
« דכל חותך בסכין אינו מדקדק כמה חתך בסכין ואף אם יאמר ברי לי שלא חתכתי רק במקום זה אינו נאמן דכל מלתא דלא רמיא עליה דאינש לאו אדעתי׳ » (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק י״ב)

This is the very rule that the Noda BiYehuda set aside in seif א׳ for the spoon, and that the Pitchei Teshuva ס״ק א holds to be tzarikh iyun. The Mehaber, for his part, measures against the spot, since we do not say “hot in part, hot in whole”.

A kelipa because of the grease (Taz ס״ק י״ג): even a knife that is not ben yomo — permitted by law since its taste spoils — the Tur requires peeling a little of the meat, in the name of Rabbeinu Peretz. The Taz gives the reason, drawn from the Hagahot Semak: משום שמנונית שעל הסכין שסתם סכין יש עליו שמנונית (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק י״ג).

There are therefore two distinct laws here: what is absorbed, which is spoiled, and the actual grease, which does not spoil with standing. The Taz develops the difficulty at length and concludes, against the Bach, that if there is not sixty against the grease of the knife everything is forbidden, והמיקל בזה אינו אלא מן המתמיהים (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק י״ג).

Keli shlishi and yad soledet (Pitchei Teshuva ס״ק ז in the name of the Chatam Sofer סי׳ צ״ה): the Chatam Sofer writes that the practice is to be stringent with all vessels:
« דאנו רגילים להחמיר בכל הכלים אפילו כלי שלישי כ״ז שהיד סולדת בו » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ז)

— except in a case of major loss, where he allows leniency after everything possible has been done. But the Pitchei Teshuva at once adds his own reservation: המורים שלנו אין נוהגים כן (פתחי תשובה יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק ז), and refers to the Taz and the Shakh in siman ק״ה. He further questions the Chatam Sofer’s kal vachomer to other prohibitions.

9. Cheese and kelipa · honey and noten taam bar noten taam

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

The text of the Mehaber (seifim ח'–ט')

« אם נפל לתנור פנאד״ש גבינה אפי׳ לחה וכן גבינה חמה בקערת בשר בת יומא אינו אוסר אלא כדי קליפה » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ח)
« בשלו דבש במחבת של בשר בת יומא והריקוהו חם בקערה של חלב בת יומא מותר משום דהוי נותן טעם בר נותן טעם דהיתירא » (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ט)

Translation: (ח) if cheese, even moist, fell into a פנאד״ש oven, and likewise hot cheese into a meat bowl that is bat yoma — it forbids only a kelipa. (ט) if they cooked honey in a meat pan that is bat yoma and poured it out hot into a dairy bowl that is bat yoma — it is permitted, for it is a noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing (the Mehaber’s own view).

The yesod — a kelipa for the cheese, a noten taam bar noten taam for the honey:
• Cheese in a פנאד״ש oven, or in a meat bowl → אינו אוסר אלא כדי קליפה (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ח): there is no sauce to conduct the taste everywhere, but a partial contact — removing the kelipa suffices.
• Honey from a meat pan into a dairy bowl → מותר משום דהוי נותן טעם בר נותן טעם דהיתירא (שו״ע יו״ד צ״ד:ט): the taste of the meat passed from the pan to the honey, and from the honey to the dairy bowl; each is permitted, and the honey does not become basar bechalav.
The root of the honey’s permission — two paths (Taz ס״ק י״ז):
PositionWhy the honey is permittedSource
The Mordechai Because it is a taste that spoils — the grease in the honey spoils Taz ס״ק י״ז in the name of the Mordechai
The Beit Yosef Because it is a noten taam bar noten taam Taz ס״ק י״ז; Beit Yosef
Nafka mina — if actual meat remains (Taz ס״ק י״ז; see siman צ״ה): the difference between the two paths appears when actual meat remains in the honey or in the pan:
« דאפילו היה בשר בעין במחבת שבשלו הדבש דאז הוה אסור ולא הוה נ״ט בר נ״ט » (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק י״ז)

On the path of noten taam bar noten taam it would then be forbidden — as in siman צ״ה, for an egg cooked with meat; on the Mordechai’s path it would still be permitted, since the grease spoils. And the Taz concludes by faulting the Mehaber for his omission: לא היה לו לש״ע להשמיט טעמו של המרדכי בזה (ט״ז יו״ד צ״ד ס״ק י״ז). And for practice — ask your Rav.

10. Chakira and nafka mina for practice

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)
The overall chakira of the siman: against what do we measure the sixty, and when does an absorbed substance cease to render forbidden?
Nafka mina for practice (following the line that emerges from the commentaries cited above):
  1. One measures against what was dipped; in doubt, up to the head of the spoon; and when one knows, against what one knows (Shakh ס״ק א; see siman צ״ח ס״ה).
  2. We do not say “hot in part, hot in whole” for emitting — hence against what was dipped only, even for a metal spoon (Rama ס״א).
  3. He dipped twice without coming to know of it in between — one time sixty suffices (Rama ס״ב, in the name of the Terumat haDeshen קפ״ג).
  4. No sixty → forbidden in benefit, the pot with it; and even so, fruit and cold things are permitted, and the Chatam Sofer permits selling it to a non-Jew (Pitchei Teshuva ס״ק ו).
  5. Noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing — permitted bedieved, and forbidden lechatchila because of the practice (Taz ס״ק ו).
  6. Knife: ben yomo, keli rishon, no sixty → everything is forbidden and the knife requires hag‘alah; not ben yomo → a kelipa because of the grease; keli sheni → kelipa and ne‘itza (Mehaber and Rama ס״ז).
And for practice — ask your Rav.

11. Summary tables

↩ Detailed explanation (level 1)

Table — the states of the spoon and the knife, and their law

The situation The outcome Source in the corpus
Spoon bat yoma, there is sixty Dish permitted; the spoon forbidden (saturated with basar bechalav) Mehaber ס״ג; Shakh ס״ק א
Spoon bat yoma, no sixty Everything forbidden in benefit, the pot with it; fruit and cold things permitted Mehaber ס״ג
Spoon that is not bat yoma Dish permitted; the spoon forbidden lechatchila, bedieved it does not forbid Mehaber ס״ד
Dipped twice, without coming to know One time sixty suffices Rama ס״ב; Terumat haDeshen קפ״ג
New pot, two spoons (noten taam bar noten taam) Forbidden lechatchila for meat and milk; permitted bedieved Mehaber and Rama ס״ה; Taz ס״ק ו
Vegetables saturated with meat in a dairy pot Sixty against the absorbed meat only; no chatikha na‘asit neveila Mehaber and Rama ס״ו
Knife ben yomo, keli rishon, no sixty The whole piece forbidden; the knife requires hag‘alah Mehaber and Rama ס״ז; Taz ס״ק י״ב
Knife in a keli sheni, or not ben yomo Kelipa for the meat and ne‘itza for the knife; a kelipa for the grease Rama ס״ז; Taz ס״ק י״ג
Honey from a meat pan into a dairy bowl Permitted — noten taam bar noten taam of a permitted thing Mehaber ס״ט; Taz ס״ק י״ז

Table — the central machlokot of the siman

Subject First position Second position
Metal spoon — against what do we measure The Mehaber’s stam — against what was dipped Yesh mi she’omer — against the whole spoon (hot in part, hot in whole)
He dipped twice Mehaber — two times sixty Terumat haDeshen and Rama — one time suffices
How far “hot in part, hot in whole” reaches Beit Hillel and Magen Avraham — for absorbing, not for emitting Shakh ס״ק ג — not even for absorbing
Feeding the forbidden dish to a dog Taz — forbidden Mekor Chaim and Biur haGra — permitted, only chametz on Pesach is the exception
Knife — the measure of the sixty Tur in the name of Rabbeinu Peretz, and Maharshal — against the whole knife Mehaber — against the spot of the cut
The permission of the honey (ס״ט) Mordechai — a taste that spoils Beit Yosef — a noten taam bar noten taam

Table — the sources of the sugya

Gemara: Chullin ק״ח.–ק״ט. (taam ke‘ikar, nullification in sixty, noten taam bar noten taam) · Avodah Zarah ע״ו. (a vessel ben yomo and not ben yomo, thrusting the knife into the ground) · Pesachim ע״ו. (cham miktzato, keli rishon and keli sheni, tataa gavar)
Rishonim: Rashi · Rambam · Rosh · Rashba (Torat haBayit) · Ran · Mordechai · Rabbeinu Peretz · Semak · Tur · Beit Yosef · Issur veHeter haArukh · Hagahot Maimoniot · Sha‘arei Dura
Acharonim: Rama · Shakh · Taz · Bach · Beit Hillel · Peri Megadim · Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim סי׳ תנ״א) · Pitchei Teshuva · Terumat haDeshen (סי׳ קפ״ג) · Maharshal (Yam shel Shlomo) · Chavot Yair (סי׳ ק״א) · Noda BiYehuda (tinyana, Yoreh De‘ah ט״ז) · Chatam Sofer (סי׳ פ״ב, צ״ה, צ״ח) · Mekor Chaim · Biur haGra · Solet laMincha · Panim Me’irot · Radbaz

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