DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Halacha is For Refuah Shelemah for
 R. Yosef ben Neshla

Dedicated By
Simon Masri and Ezra Cattan

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
      
(File size: 892 KB)
Foods and Substances One Must Avoid Due to Potential Risks

The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chayim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Pinchas, mentions a number of types of foods and other substances that one must not ingest, due to the potential risks posed by these items (listen to audio for precise citation):

1) One should not eat an onion or garlic if an entire night had passed since it was peeled. This applies only if it was entirely peeled; if a piece of the peel remained, then one need not be concerned. Furthermore, this danger does not arise if the onion or garlic was mixed with other foods, such as in a salad, or if had been cooked or pickled.

2) One should ensure that no human sweat ever enters his mouth, with the exception of the sweat on one's face. The Ben Ish Chai writes that ingested sweat is "poison" to the body.

3) A person should never place money in his mouth.

4) If a person salivates upon seeing food and experiences a craving to partake of it, he should ensure not to swallow that saliva; he should rather expel it from his mouth so as to avoid the harm it could cause.

5) The Talmud Yerushalmi mentions that partaking of hot bread can cause fever, Heaven forbid, and one must therefore avoid hot bread. The Ben Ish Chai records that the practice in Jerusalem was to avoid even mildly warm bread, but in his view this concern arises only with regard to bread that is exceedingly hot, as suggested by the Yerushalmi's formulation ("Chamimei De'chamimei").

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
The Priceless Value of Serving as Sandak
The Connection Between Berit Mila and Speech
The Importance of the Berit Mila Meal and the Meal on the Friday Night Before the Berit
Which Kind of Kohen Should One Select for a Pidyon Ha’ben?
Pidyon Ha’ben – When is a Pidyon Required For a Firstborn Son?
Pidyon Ha’ben – May the Money be Given to a Kohenet?
The Pidyon Ha’ben Meal
If the Day of the Pidyon Ha’ben Falls on Shabbat, a Holiday, or a Fast Day
When Should a Pidyon Ha’ben be Performed for a Child Who Cannot Yet be Circumcised?
Using an Object of Value for Pidyon Ha’ben
Pidyon Ha’ben – If the Kohen Foregoes on the Money
May the Kohen Return the Money Received for a Pidyon Ha’ben?
Keeping One’s Word After Designating a Kohen for Pidyon Ha’ben
Pidyon Ha’ben – Appointing an Agent; Performing the Pidyon Far Away From the Baby
Naming a Baby at a Berit; the Permissibility of Naming an Ill Newborn Before the Berit
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found