DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 602 KB)
Borer: Selecting from a Mixture of Two Foods

The Halacha establishes that the prohibition of Borer applies also to mixtures in which both components are edible, but one is not desired. The undesired component becomes "relative P’solet." This Halacha is brought by Tosafot (Shabbat 74), Rambam (Shabbat 8:13) and Maran (319:4).

The conventional understanding would be that such a mixture has the same Halacha as a mixture containing inedible P’solet (waste). That is, one must select and remove the food that he desires and leave the relative P’solet. However, careful analysis of the Rambam’s language reveals a big Chidush and leniency. He says "Borer Ha’ehad Min Ha’ehad," implying that it doesn’t matter which element is selected. This is how Rabbi David Aramah and the Meirat Sefer () understands the Rambam.

The Shulhan Aruch quotes the Rambam verbatim, but the Rema adds a gloss (listen to audio for exact citation), specifying that the undesired food must remain. The Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) explains that the Rema is teaching that one must always select the desired food. Thus there is a Machloket how to understand the Rambam. The Be’ur Halacha (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) writes that because this Machloket touches on an Isur D’oraita (Torah prohibition), one must be stringent.

SUMMARY

Even when a mixture contains two foods, one must always select and remove the food which he desires.


 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Do We Make A Beracha Al Mitzvat Bikur Cholim When Visiting The Sick?
Proper Protocol When Visiting an Ill Patient
The Duration of A Bikur Cholim Visit
Prayer on Behalf of an Ill Patient as Part of the Mitzva of Bikur Cholim
Some Laws of Bikur Cholim – Visiting the Sick
Borrowing Money From a Tzedaka Box
The Importance and Some Issues Regarding Names, and The Requirement To Annotate When Saying The Name of An Evil Person
Limits On One's Private Property, Including; It Is Permissible To Erect A Succah In The Middle Of The Night
Gluttonous Bites
Proper Etiquette for a Guest
Proper Protocol When Escorting A Rabbi or Great Leader
The Importance of Birkat Ha'Torah
Is The Requirement Of Setting Aside Time For Learning Everyday Fulfilled If Being Paid For It
Proper Positioning Of Tefillin and Tallit in the Koracha and Its Importance and Lesson
Avraham Aveenu Performed All The Mitzvot Even Before The Torah Was Given
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found