Today’s Halacha:
As we know, a person who eats meat must wait a certain period – according to Sephardim, six hours – before he may then eat milk or dairy products. What is the Halacha concerning the reverse case, of a person who ate dairy products and now wishes to eat meat? Is there any mandatory waiting period that must pass before he may partake of meat?
The Shulchan Aruch rules that there is no minimum time period that one must wait before he may eat meat after dairy products. It is permissible to partake of meat immediately after eating dairy foods, provided that one undertakes the following three measures:
1) One must carefully inspect his hands to make sure that they contain no residue of the dairy food. According to the Shulchan Aruch, it suffices to merely inspect one's hands, but later authorities recommend that one wash his hands before eating meat after partaking of dairy products. It should be noted that this condition applies only if somebody ate the dairy food with his hands. If he ate with a fork or a spoon, and he knows for certain that his hands did not come in contact with the dairy food, then he need not inspect or wash his hands before eating meat.
2) One must eat some non-dairy food before partaking of meat. This requirement is to ensure that if some of the dairy food had become stuck somewhere in the person's mouth, it will be dislodged by the food that he eats before partaking of meat. The Shulchan Aruch writes that all foods are suitable for this purpose, with the exception of leafy vegetables, flour and dates, which are not capable of dislodging food stuck in the person's mouth.
3) Finally, one must rinse out his mouth with water, wine, or some other beverage (other than milk, of course).
These conditions apply equally to red meat and poultry; the three conditions mentioned above must be followed before one may eat meat or poultry after eating a dairy food.
Summary: One who eats a dairy food may eat meat or chicken immediately thereafter, after he washes his hands, eats a food other than leafy vegetables, flour or dates, and rinses his mouth with any beverage (other than milk, of course).
