Siman 96 — A Sharp Food Cut with a Knife (Davar Charif)
A sharp food (radish, beet, garlic, onion, horseradish…) cut with a meat knife: the sharpness "extracts" and diffuses the absorbed taste; netilat makom, kelipa, gerida or hadacha by intensity, and the dispute over "all forbidden" (kulo asur) — Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 96 — 5 seifim
יורה דעה · סימן צ״ו
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🌱 Introduction Level · מתחילים
✦ ❖ ✦
A first approach to Siman 96: the 5 seifim of the Mehaber and the glosses of the Rama, the Hebrew text with a fluent English translation. What happens when one cuts a radish or an onion with a meat knife? The role of sharpness (charifut) that extracts the taste absorbed in the blade, the measure of removal (netilat makom, a finger's thickness), the graduated scale kelipa / gerida / hadacha, the dispute over "all forbidden" (kulo asur), the bitul be-rov of imported foods, and the turnip (lefet) whose different taste nullifies that of the blade.
Topic: A sharp food cut with a meat knife — charifut, netilat makom, gerida, hadacha, bitul Source: שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן צ״ו
Compiled by: הרב יוסף חיים סממה DAAT · daattorah.com
📑 Study outline
1.The text of the Mehaber: the 5 seifim, by thematic groups
2.Context: why the sharp food overrides the leniency of natt bar natt
4.The graduated scale of removal: the table by sharpness intensity
5.The Shach and the Taz: who they are, a few key entries
6.The gloss of the Rama (הגה)
7.Kulo asur: the dispute over the "all forbidden" radish
8.Modern practical cases: onion on a meat knife, horseradish, buying radishes
9.Summary and comprehension questions
1. The text of the Mehaber — the 5 seifim
Siman 96 deals with a very concrete kashrut case: a sharp food (דבר חריף) cut with a meat knife. The principle is striking: through its sharpness (חורפיה) and the pressure of the blade (דוחקא דסכינא), the sharp food extracts the meat taste absorbed in the knife and diffuses it as substance (ממש) — to the point of "awakening" even a taste that would otherwise be deadened. The Mehaber (Rabbi Yossef Karo) then grades the remedy according to the vegetable's intensity; the Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds his glosses (הגה), notably the dispute over "all forbidden." Let us explore the seifim by groups.
Group A — The radish cut with a meat knife (seif 1)
Seif 1 — Tsenon / silka: netilat makom, tasting, and "all forbidden" (Rama)
A radish (tsenon) or a beet (silka = chard) cut with a meat knife that is ben yomo (used for meat within the last 24 hours) or not wiped clean (eino mekunach) → forbidden to eat with milk, until one removes at the cut point the measure of a netilat makom — a finger's thickness (ke-ovi etzba) —, ortastes it and there is no taste of meat (then a simple rinsing (hadacha) suffices). Yesh omrim: the same applies to a knife that is not ben yomo but wiped clean. And if one neither removed the netilat makom nor tasted, and cooked them in milk → one needs sixty against what the knife touched. The same for a non-Jew's knife. Gloss of the Rama: if one cut it very fine (dak dak), one needs sixty against the whole radish (B"Y in the name of the Sma"k). And some (Rashba, Ran) hold that if one cut a radish with a knife of a forbidden item, all of it is forbidden; likewise with a meat knife, all of it is forbidden with milk — and such is the practice le-khatchila; but be-dieved one forbids only kedei netila. All this if one cut the radish itself; but if one cut the leaf (greens) on the radish → no concern. And in case of doubt (safek) about the knife → one is lenient (le-kula); that is why one buys radishes that have cuts on the tail side (made with a hoe, mara va-chatzina). Where one finds only knife-cut radishes → the practice is to buy them and permit them via netilat makom.
The central idea: unlike a neutral food — where the knife's taste would be deadened, or even a mere natt bar natt permitted (cf. siman 95) — the sharp food is active. Through its sharpness and the blade's pressure, it draws out the meat taste and spreads it through all its flesh, like real substance. Hence a scale of remedies: for the radish (very sharp) one needs netilat makom (remove a finger's thickness) or tasting; and if cooked in milk without precaution → sixty. The Rama is stricter (kulo asur, le-khatchila) but remains lenient in doubt and be-dieved.
Group B — The other sharp foods and the spices (seifim 2-3)
Seif 2 — Garlic, onion, leek, horseradish… same law; the non-Jews' sharp preserves
If one cut with this knife garlic (shumin), onions (betzalim), leeks (kreishin), horseradish (tamcha = krein) and the like among sharp foods (devarim charifim), sour fruits (peirot chamutzim) and salted fish (dagim meluchim) → their law is the same as the radish. Gloss of the Rama: nevertheless, it is permitted to eat the sharp preserves of non-Jews (mirkachat charifim), such as ginger (zangvil) and the like, because they have utensils dedicated to it, or they pluck it (tolshin) by hand.
The sharp food is not only the radish: garlic, onion, leek, horseradish (the famous krein of the seder), but also sour fruits and salted fish — anything intense — share the same law. The Rama adds a practical leniency: the non-Jews' commercial sharp preserves remain permitted, since the concern of a meat/forbidden knife does not arise with them (dedicated utensils, or hand-picking).
Spices (tavlin) ground in a meat mortar (medocha) that is ben yomo → forbidden to eat with milk. Gloss of the Rama: and some (yesh omrim) say: even if the mortar is not ben yomo (Rashba 449 and Issur ve-Hetter ha-Aroch; see above siman 95, end of seif 2, in the gloss).
The mortar like the blade: spices too are sharp foods, and the pestle presses just as the knife does — hence the same prohibition. The Mehaber limits himself here to a ben yomo mortar, but the Rama cites the view forbidding even non-ben-yomo: the sharpness of spices is so strong that it awakens even a deadened taste. (The Taz, s.k. 10, notes that siman 103 in fact rules even non-ben-yomo, which he finds תמוה — puzzling.)
Group C — Imported foods and bitul be-rov (seif 4)
Seif 4 — Lemon juice, salted fish in barrels: permitted (nullification by majority)
Lemon juice (mei limonish) brought by non-Jews, and pieces of salted fish (dag maliach) brought by them in barrels (chaviot) → permitted. Gloss of the Rama: because they bring a lot together; and even if some were forbidden (the first ones, cut with the non-Jew's knife), they are nullified (nitbatel) by the others cut afterwards — which do not become forbidden, since the knife's taste was already nullified in the first ones; therefore all are permitted, and any similar case. That is why in some places one eats the cabbage (kruv / kompost) even though sliced and cut; some places are stringent — one does not change the custom. But other non-sharp things — such as apples (tapuchim) or dried turnips (lefatot yeveshim) and the like — are permitted like the lemon, without any stringency at all.
Why "permitted" despite the non-Jew's knife? Because one is dealing with a large quantity imported in bulk. At most the first pieces cut became charged with a knife-taste; but that taste is nullified (bitul be-rov) in the mass, and the pieces cut afterwards receive nothing further (the knife is "discharged"). This is the practical argument that also permits pickled cabbage. And for non-sharp foods (apples, dried turnips), the question does not even arise.
Group D — Squash and turnip: gerida and hadacha (seif 5)
Seif 5 — Kishuim → gerida; lefet → hadacha; the turnip nullifies the taste
If one cut squash/cucumbers (kishuim) with a meat knife → permitted with milk by a mere gerida (scraping the cut point). And if one cut a turnip (lefet) → even gerida is not required, a simple rinsing (hadacha) suffices. Moreover: even a radish cut AFTER the turnip is permitted by hadacha like the turnip, because the turnip's taste, being different (meshuneh), nullifies the taste expelled from the knife. Gloss of the Rama: only the turnip, whose taste is different — but not a vegetable (yerek), bread (lechem) or anything else; and even with the turnip, one permits cutting the radish only once, not many times, unless one cuts turnip between each radish.
The scale of intensities, from sharpest to mildest: the radish requires netilat makom (a finger's thickness); the squash — moister, less sharp — requires only a gerida (scraping, even less than a kelipa); the turnip, whose different taste nullifies that of the blade, requires only a hadacha (rinsing). Better still: the turnip "neutralizes" the knife to the point that a radish cut right after it also benefits from a mere hadacha — but only once, says the Rama, unless one re-cuts turnip between each radish.
2. Context — where this siman fits
The preceding simanim laid down the general rules of absorbed taste (ta'am) and its nullification. Siman 95 dealt in particular with נ״ט בר נ״ט ("taste of taste") — the case where the taste is already deadened, two degrees removed from the substance, and therefore lenient. Siman 96 introduces the great exception: the davar charif. The sharp food is so "active" that it overrides the leniency of natt bar natt: through its sharpness, it turns the taste into quasi-substance and diffuses it. The question is therefore no longer "is it deadened?" but "what is the vegetable's intensity," and hence "which remedy — netilat makom, kelipa, gerida or hadacha?"
The major questions of the siman
Question
Where?
Typical answer
The very sharp radish cut with a knife
Seif 1
Netilat makom (a finger's thickness) or tasting; cooked → 60
The other sharp foods (garlic, onion, horseradish…)
Seif 2
Same law as the radish; non-Jews' preserves permitted
The spices in a mortar
Seif 3
Forbidden ben yomo; the Rama: even non-ben-yomo
The imported foods in bulk
Seif 4
Permitted by bitul be-rov; non-sharp → no concern
The squash and the turnip
Seif 5
Gerida / hadacha; the turnip nullifies the blade's taste
The cross-cutting idea: the sharper the food, the heavier the remedy. The radish (the peak) demands removing a finger's thickness; from there the scale descends kelipa → gerida → hadacha, down to the turnip which, by its different taste, simply nullifies the blade's taste. And when the quantity is large (seif 4), bitul be-rov takes over.
3. The key concepts of this siman
To understand Siman 96, one must master a small technical vocabulary describing how the absorbed taste is extracted, diffused and removed according to the food's intensity.
דבר חריף — The sharp food: a food of marked sharpness (חורפיה) — radish, beet, garlic, onion, horseradish, sour fruits, salted fish, spices. By its nature and the pressure of the knife (דוחקא דסכינא), it extracts the taste absorbed in the blade and diffuses it as real substance (mamash), instead of leaving it deadened.
נטילת מקום — Removing the "place": removing at the cut point a thickness of matter. For the radish this is ke-ovi etzba — a finger's thickness — far more than a mere peel, in keeping with the vegetable's intensity (seif 1).
קליפה / גרידה / הדחה — The graduated scale of removal: kelipa = peeling (a thin layer); gerida = scraping (even less than peeling), for the moist squash; hadacha = rinsing (the minimum), for the turnip with its different taste. The remedy decreases with sharpness (Taz s.k. 14).
כולו אסור — "All of it is forbidden": according to Rashba/Ran (and the Rama le-khatchila), the sharpness diffuses through all the radish; one therefore needs sixty against the whole. If cut very fine (dak dak), the cut is everywhere → 60 against all, by all opinions. Be-dieved, one forbids only kedei netila (seif 1).
ביטול ברוב — Nullification by the majority: when many pieces are imported together, the knife's taste that charged the first ones is nullified in the mass; the later ones receive nothing. This permits lemon juice, salted fish in barrels and cabbage (seif 4).
מבטל טעם — Nullifying the taste (by a different taste): the turnip (lefet), whose taste is meshuneh (different), nullifies the taste expelled from the knife. That is why even a radish cut right after the turnip is permitted by a mere rinsing (seif 5).
The common thread: the sharp food is the opposite of the natt bar natt of siman 95. Where "taste of taste" is deadened and lenient, sharpness awakens and diffuses the taste. This intensity governs the whole siman: the measure of the remedy, the "all forbidden" dispute, and the turnip exception which, conversely, neutralizes the taste through its difference.
4. The graduated scale of removal
The whole siman boils down to a scale: the sharper the food, the more one must remove; the milder it is (or the more different its taste), the less. One crosses the food with the remedy required.
Food / situation
Intensity
Remedy
Radish / beet (tsenon / silka)
🔴 Very sharp
Netilat makom (a finger's thickness) or tasting
Garlic, onion, leek, horseradish, sour fruits, salted fish
🔴 Sharp
Same law as the radish (seif 2)
Radish cooked in milk without precaution
🔴 —
🟠 Sixty against what the knife touched
Radish cut very fine (dak dak)
🔴 Cut everywhere
🔴 Sixty against the whole radish
Squash / cucumber (kishuim)
🟡 Moist
Gerida (scraping the cut point)
Turnip (lefet)
🟢 Different taste
Hadacha (mere rinsing) — and it nullifies the taste
The logic in one sentence: the remedy follows the intensity. Radish → remove a finger's thickness; squash → scrape; turnip → rinse. And the turnip goes further: its different taste nullifies that of the blade, to the point that a radish cut right after it is itself permitted by a mere rinsing.
The point of the Rama (seif 1): according to the le-khatchila practice (Rashba/Ran), if one cut the radish with a meat knife, all the radish becomes forbidden with milk — the sharpness having diffused everywhere. But be-dieved, one returns to the Mehaber's measure: only kedei netila.
5. The Shach and the Taz — the great commentators
In Yoreh De'ah, the Shulchan Arukh is never read alone. Two great commentaries accompany it on every page and structure practical study: the Shach and the Taz. These are the reference nossei kelim in Yoreh De'ah (no Mishna Berurah here, which comments only on Orach Chaim).
The Shach (ש״ך) — abbreviation of שפתי כהן, Siftei Kohen, by Rabbi Shabtai haCohen (Lithuania, 17th century). It is the reference commentary on Yoreh De'ah, of great analytical depth.
The Taz (ט״ז) — 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 from the Taz
Taz s.k. 1 — Only the chiltit (asafoetida) is fully sharp
The Taz cites the Mahara"m: only the korte shel chiltit (a measure of asafoetida) is fully sharp — to the point of forbidding even a non-ben-yomo knife; the other sharp foods forbid only when ben yomo or not wiped clean, because of the fat (shamnunit) remaining on the blade. Such is also the Mehaber's view. (The Taz, s.k. 3, contrasts the Sefer ha-Terumot/Rashba, for whom every sharp food is like the chiltit, forbidding even non-ben-yomo.)
The Shach clarifies that silka = teradin — chard / beets, a sharp food just like the radish. The Pitchei Teshuva (s.k. 2) reports that the Shach disputes the Rama on the leniency in case of doubt: it applies only to the horseradish (krein), where there is also a doubt "knife or hoe" — but not to the ordinary radish, which enjoys a weaker chezkat hetter.
One sees the method: the Shach and the Taz do not repeat the Mehaber — they identify the species (silka = teradin), fix the mechanism (fat vs sharpness) and delimit the boundaries (the chiltit alone vs every sharp food; the safek applies to the krein, not the tsenon). This is exactly what one deepens at the Lamdan level, with the Mahara"m / Sefer ha-Terumot dispute.
6. The gloss of the Rama (הגה)
The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds glosses on the Mehaber's text reflecting Ashkenazi practice and refining the practical halacha. Here are his most notable interventions in our siman — he glosses each of the 5 seifim.
On seif 1 — dak dak, "all forbidden" and the buying of radishes
Gloss of the Rama: ואם חתכן דק דק צריך לשער ס׳ נגד כל הצנון… וי״א שאם חתך צנון בסכין של איסור כולו אסור… וכן נוהגין לכתחילה אבל בדיעבד אין לאסור רק כדי נטילה — "if one cut it very fine, sixty against the whole radish… and some say: cut with a forbidden item's knife, all of it is forbidden… such is the practice le-khatchila, but be-dieved only kedei netila". The Rama adds the leniency in case of doubt (le-kula) and explains the buying of radishes cut on the tail side (with a hoe, mara va-chatzina).
On seif 2 — the non-Jews' sharp preserves
Gloss of the Rama: ומכל מקום מותר לאכול מרקחת חריפים של עובדי כוכבים כגון זנגביל… דיש להם כלים מיוחדים לכך או תולשין אותו — "it is nevertheless permitted to eat the sharp preserves of non-Jews, such as ginger… because they have utensils dedicated to it, or they pluck it by hand". A practical leniency grounded in the reality of non-Jewish workshops.
On seif 3 — the mortar even non-ben-yomo
Gloss of the Rama: ויש אומרים אפילו אינו בן יומו — "and some say: even if the mortar is not ben yomo" (Rashba 449; cross-reference to siman 95, end of seif 2). For this view, the sharpness of the spices forbids even when the mortar has lost its 24-hour intensity.
On seif 4 — the bitul, the cabbage and the non-sharp foods
Gloss of the Rama: מפני שמביאים הרבה ביחד… נתבטלו באחרים… ולכן אוכלים בקצת מקומות הכרוב שקורין קומפש"ט… ויש מקומות שמחמירין… ואין לשנות המנהג… אבל שאר דברים שאינם חריפין כגון תפוחים או לפתות יבשים… אין להחמיר כלל — "because they bring a lot together… nullified by the others… that is why one eats the cabbage (kompost) in some places… others are stringent, one does not change the custom… but non-sharp things (apples, dried turnips) — no stringency at all".
On seif 5 — the turnip alone, and only once
Gloss of the Rama: ודוקא לפת שטעמו משונה אבל ירק או לחם ושאר דברים לא, ואפילו בלפת אין להתיר לחתוך צנון רק פעם אחת… אם לא שחתך כל פעם לפת בין חתיכת צנון לצנון — "only the turnip with its different taste, not a vegetable, bread or anything else; and even with the turnip, one permits cutting the radish only once… unless one re-cuts turnip between each radish".
The Rama carefully distinguishes the basic law (the Mehaber) from the stricter Ashkenazi practice (kulo asur le-khatchila, mortar even non-ben-yomo, turnip only once) — while keeping targeted leniencies (doubt → le-kula, non-Jews' preserves, be-dieved kedei netila, non-sharp foods).
7. Kulo asur — the dispute over the "all forbidden" radish
Seif 1 — the conceptual heart of the siman — deserves a pause. How far does the sharpness diffuse the blade's taste through the radish?
Everything rests on a question of diffusion. Does the taste expelled from the knife stop near the cut, or saturate all the radish?
Basic law (Mehaber): it suffices to remove at the cut point netilat makom (a finger's thickness), or to taste.
Dak dak (Rama, B"Y/Sma"k): cut fine, the cut is everywhere → sixty against all the radish.
Kulo asur (Rashba/Ran, Rama le-khatchila): even not cut fine, the sharpness diffuses through all the radish → all forbidden. But be-dieved, one returns to kedei netila.
Case
Diffusion
Remedy
Normal cut (Mehaber)
🟢 At the cut point
Netilat makom (a finger's thickness)
Dak dak (cut fine)
🔴 Everywhere
Sixty against the whole radish (all agree)
Kulo asur (Rashba/Ran) — le-khatchila
🔴 Everywhere
All forbidden with milk
Be-dieved
🟡 At the cut point
Only kedei netila
Doubt (knife or hoe?)
🟢 —
Lenient (le-kula)
And seif 1 adds two practical nuances: if one cut the leaf (and not the radish itself) → no concern; and in case of doubt about the knife, one is lenient — hence the practice of buying radishes cut on the tail side, presumed cut with a hoe and not a knife.
8. Modern practical cases
How do these rules apply in our kitchens today? Here are three common situations illuminated by our siman.
Case 1 — An onion cut with the meat knife, served with cheese
One slices an onion (davar charif) with the meat knife, then wishes to serve it in a dairy salad (seif 2: same law as the radish). If the knife was ben yomo or not wiped clean, the onion drew out the meat taste. Remedy: netilat makom at the cut point, or tasting; and if it was cooked in milk without precaution → one needs sixty against what the knife touched. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.
Case 2 — The horseradish (krein) of the seder, and the buying of radishes
Horseradish shares the law of the radish (seif 2). In case of doubt about the knife that cut it, the Rama is lenient (le-kula) — but the Shach restricts this leniency to the krein alone (where the added doubt "knife or hoe" exists), not to the ordinary radish. Hence the practice mentioned in seif 1: buy radishes cut on the tail side, presumed cut with a hoe (mara va-chatzina). For practical halacha, consult your Rav.
Case 3 — Cutting a radish right after a turnip
The turnip (lefet) has a different taste that nullifies the blade's taste (seif 5). Practical consequence: if one cuts a turnip, a simple hadacha suffices; and even a radish cut right after benefits from this neutralization — but, says the Rama, only once, unless one re-cuts turnip between each radish. Note: this applies only to the turnip, not to a vegetable, bread or anything else. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.
The common thread of the three cases: before panicking, ask three questions — is the food sharp? was the knife ben yomo / not wiped clean? what remedy does the intensity require (netila, gerida, hadacha)? But the concrete decision always belongs to the Rav, who knows the factual details.
9. Summary of Siman 96
The essence of Siman 96 in a few sentences:
The davar charif (radish, beet…) cut with a meat knife ben yomo / not wiped clean draws out the blade's taste: remedy netilat makom (a finger's thickness) or tasting (seif 1).
Cooked in milk without precaution → sixty against what the knife touched; cut dak dak → 60 against all (seif 1).
Rashba/Ran (Rama le-khatchila): kulo asur; but be-dieved only kedei netila; leaf → fine; doubt → lenient (seif 1).
The garlic, onion, leek, horseradish, sour fruits, salted fish → same law; non-Jews' preserves permitted (seif 2).
The spices in a mortar (medocha) ben yomo → forbidden; the Rama: even non-ben-yomo (seif 3).
The lemon juice and the salted fish in barrels imported → permitted by bitul be-rov; non-sharp foods → no concern (seif 4).
The squash (kishuim) → gerida; the turnip (lefet) → hadacha (seif 5).
The turnip nullifies the taste of the blade: even a radish cut after it is permitted by hadacha — only once (Rama), unless turnip between each (seif 5).
Memory table
Food / situation
Remedy
Radish / beet, meat knife ben yomo
🔴 Netilat makom (a finger's thickness) or tasting
Radish cooked in milk, without precaution
🟠 Sixty against what the knife touched
Radish cut dak dak
🔴 Sixty against the whole radish
Spices in a mortar (medocha)
🟠 Forbidden ben yomo (Rama: even non-ben-yomo)
Imported in bulk (lemon, salted fish)
🟢 Permitted by bitul be-rov
Squash / turnip
🟡 Gerida / 🟢 hadacha (the turnip nullifies the taste)
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
What is a דבר חריף? How, through its sharpness and the knife's pressure, does it act on the absorbed taste (seif 1)?
What is the remedy for a radish cut with a meat knife? What is נטילת מקום and how much does it measure (seif 1)?
What is needed if the radish was cooked in milk without precaution? And if it was cut דק דק (seif 1)?
Explain the כולו אסור dispute (Rashba/Ran, Rama). What is the difference between le-khatchila and be-dieved (seif 1)?
What other foods share the radish's law (seif 2)? Why are the non-Jews' sharp preserves permitted?
What is the law of spices ground in a mortar? What does the Rama rule (yesh omrim) about a non-ben-yomo mortar (seif 3)?
Why are the imported lemon juice and salted fish in barrels permitted? Explain ביטול ברוב (seif 4).
Distinguish the remedies גרידה (squash) and הדחה (turnip). Why this difference (seif 5)?
How does the turnip "nullify" the blade's taste? How many times may one cut a radish after it, according to the Rama (seif 5)?
What does the Taz (s.k. 1) say about the קורט של חלתית? And the Shach on סילקא = תרדין?
To go further
If you wish to deepen this siman:
📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: the pilpul, the yesod of the davar charif (charifut + duchka de-sakina), the Mahara"m / Sefer ha-Terumot dispute over the chiltit, the kulo asur debate (Rashba/Ran), anchored in the sugyot of Chullin and Avoda Zara
✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: the comparative tables (scale netila / kelipa / gerida / hadacha), the golden rules and quick memorization of the 5 seifim
⚖️ Level 4 — Halacha le-ma'aseh: the practical psak (Shach, Taz, Pri Megadim, Pitchei Teshuva) and contemporary poskim on the concrete cases
The sources of this level can be consulted on Sefaria: