DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 610 KB)
Is It Permissible to Cut Fruit or Crush Ice on Shabbat?

It is prohibited to squeeze fruit on Shabbat. The question is whether one may cut fruit, which may cause juice to be extracted. For example, when making a fruit salad, there is usually juice that forms at the bottom.

The answer can be derived from a different case of crushing ice. Maran rules in accordance with the Rambam that crushing ice or snow on Shabbat is prohibited as an offshoot of "Sohet" (squeezing), since in both instances the action of squeezing extracts liquid. The Mishna Berura cites the Taz (Rabbi David Segal, Poland, 1586-1667) who holds that nevertheless, it is permitted to cut a cube of ice into smaller chips, even though water will form. The reason is that he does not have intent for the water and moreover, the water is going to be discarded.

Based on this precedent of ice, the Minhat Yishak (Rabbi Yishak Ya’akob Weiss, Jerusalem, 1902-1989) (4:99:2) permits cutting the fruit, since he does not have intent for the juice. This is also the position of the Shabbat Shelomo (p. 147).

SUMMARY
It is permitted to slice fruit on Shabbat, even though juice will be extracted.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Visiting the Sick and Comforting Mourners on Shabbat
Crushing Ice or Sugar Cubes on Shabbat
The Recitation of “Nishmat” on Shabbat Morning
Does a Woman Recite Shehehiyanu the First Time She Lights Shabbat Candles?
Reading by an Electric Light on Shabbat
The Importance of Tosefet Shabbat – Adding Time Onto Shabbat
Oneg Shabbat – Enjoying Oneself on Shabbat
Reheating Cold Liquid on Shabbat
Announcing a Lost Mukseh Item on Shabbat
If the Person Who Recites Kiddush Speaks Before Drinking the Wine
May a Husband Repeat Habdala For His Wife if He Had Recited it in the Synagogue?
Is it Permissible to Add Hot Water to a Pot of Dry Hamin on Shabbat?
Using a Crockpot on Shabbat
Placing Food Wrapped in Tin Foil on a Blech Before Shabbat
The Requirement to Eat Immediately After Kiddush
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found