Laws of Shabbat - Class #13

Exploring a full range of practical applications.

written by
Alan Goldman

edited by
Rabbi Shraga Simmons

© 2007 JewishPathways.com

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Let’s remember that the essence of Borer is: selecting items from a
mixture, resulting in the mixture’s being refined or improved
(from the perspective of the person involved).1 Thus, using our
previous example of the bowl of chips and pretzels: when I remove the
food that I want to eat, I am changing the balance of items in the
bowl. That further refines the mixture from the condition it was in
before I did anything to it.

Also, recall our previous lesson that to select on Shabbat without

violating the melacha of Borer, one must:

(a) Biyad - do this by hand

(b) Miyad - for immediate use, and
(c) Ochel - remove the good part (ochel) from the bad (pesolet)

Armed with our understanding of the principles of Borer, we now move

into the full range of practical applications. Of course, there is no way
to list all the possible scenarios, but we’ll address some common ones.
We’ll begin, as we often do, with food-related issues.

Appetizers: Fruits and Vegetables

Outer leaves of green vegetables – the outer leaves of lettuce and

similar items are usually unsuitable for eating. They are therefore
considered ‘pesolet’. How, then, can we remove them to get to the
fresh leaves inside (the ‘ochel’)? Just as with fruits surrounded by
inedible peels (remember the banana and the egg?), we may remove
the outer leaves which are preventing us from reaching the food we
want.2

Rotten spots on fruits – this is a common problem, especially as the

fruits ripen. The rotten part is pesolet, whereas the good part is ochel.
In order to remove the rotten part, we need to ”take some good with
1
Based on Biur Halacha 319:3; 39 Melochos, p. 406.
2
Rema – Orach Chaim 319:1 with Biur Halacha s.v. "Min"; 39 Melochos, p. 438. On fruits with
inedible peels, see the end of the previous lesson.

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the bad” – i.e. by cutting away a bit of the fruit surrounding the
spoiled part.

Here we come to an important principle in Borer. If you have a mixture

of ‘good’ (i.e. ochel) and ‘bad’ (pesolet), removing only the bad is
forbidden. But if you remove a piece comprised of both good and bad,
then the piece you removed is still a mixture of ‘good and bad,’ albeit
in a different proportion. But the important point for us is that in doing
so, you have not ‘purified the mixture,’ hence no act of Borer has been
done.

Melon seeds – melons pose an

issue because they contain
numerous seeds inside. In a
cantaloupe, you could scoop out
the seeds, along with a bit of the
melon itself. Unfortunately, this
method won’t work for
watermelon. With watermelon,
the seeds are embedded all over, and you will wind up getting some in
your mouth with every bite. So the only good solution is to spit them
out (gracefully, of course) as you eat (which seems to be the common
way of eating watermelon, anyway).

Wait, you say: Isn’t this Borer, because you are removing the ‘dregs’
(watermelon seeds) from the ‘food’ (the melon)? It might seem so.
However, it is halachically acceptable because spitting the pits out is
considered ‘derech achilah’ – an action done in the course of eating.
Borer does not apply to any action that is done with one’s mouth, i.e.
actual eating.3

A quick review:

From these examples, we’ve learned two ways that you can avoid the
melacha of Borer: (1) removing some of the ‘good’ along with the
3
As Rabbi Ribiat puts it, “As a rule, the act of eating in itself can never be classified as a Melocho
on Shabbos.” 39 Melochos, p. 422.

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‘bad’, and (2) removing the ‘bad’ while you’re actually eating. We’ll
keep these in mind as we move into the next part of our hypothetical
meal.

Soup and Main Courses

Fly in the soup4 – In case the proverbial fly gets into your soup (or in
some other liquid), how do you get rid of it? By now, we realize that
removing the fly itself would be taking ‘bad’ from ‘good’. Technically,
this is not considered a “mixture,” but the custom is to use the method
of removing ‘good’ along with ‘bad’ – that is, we take out the fly along
with some soup.5

Slotted spoons – A spoon that has

slots at the bottom for draining liquid
is a common kitchen utensil. It is
useful for things like cole slaw and
other foods that may have excess
liquid in them. But it poses a problem
on Shabbat, since the removal of the
unwanted liquid is a classic act of
Borer: taking pesolet from ochel.
Because of this issue, we avoid using
slotted spoons on Shabbat.6

Removing bones – Chicken is a common food on Shabbat, and often

contains bones when served. To avoid Borer, you should remove the
ochel (the meat) from the pesolet (the inedible bone), either with a
utensil or by eating it off the bone (as with ribs).7 If this is not

4
As unappealing as this sounds, if you’ve eaten outdoors, you know that this does happen.
5
Mishnah Berurah 319:61; See Halachos of Shabbos, X:F.1 (p. 159-60).
6
Shvitat Shabbat, Meraked 11; 39 Melochos, p. 439.
7
There is an opinion that says you may remove the bones from the meat if (a) there is some meat
on the bones and (b) you are going to eat the meat immediately. This appears to be a less
preferred option. See Biur Halacha 319:4 and Halachos of Shabbos, X:F.16 (p. 171).

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practical or convenient, one can hold the bone steady, and pull the
meat away from it.8

With fish bones, it’s trickier, since the bones are much smaller, and it’s
very difficult to eat the fish off the bone. The best solution is to spit
the bones out, as with watermelon pits, since this is derech achilah
(the manner of eating). Where this isn’t possible, a person should
remove some fish with the bone, as we saw with the rotten spots on
fruit. There is an opinion which allows removal of the bones
immediately before eating the fish, because this may also be
considered ‘during the course of eating’.9

When it comes to young children or older people, someone else may

remove the bones for them before they eat, as it is quite difficult for
them to eat the food otherwise.10

8
Biur Halacha 319:4-5; Chazon Ish (Orach Chaim 5:5); Shemirat Shabbat K’Hilchato 3:11.c.3
9
This is so because fish is commonly eaten in this way. For the discussion on fish, see Chazon Ish
54:3, Biur Halacha 319:4 and Halachos of Shabbos, X:F.17 (p. 172).
10
Pri Megadim (Eshel Avraham 321); Shu"t Igros Moshe (OC 4:75:7); 39 Melochos, p. 431.

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Chicken skin – Skin may be removed, because it is considered to be
an edible part of the chicken, and therefore there is no mixture of two
types (recall our first lesson on Borer).11 If, however, you never eat
the skin, then it is consider pesolet and must be treated the same as
with bones.12

Trimming Fat – One may not trim the fat (pesolet) from meat. To
separate the fat permissibly, one could cut the meat (the ochel) away
from the fat, and not vice-versa. Alternatively, one could remove the
fat as long as it has some meat still attached.13

Baby cereal – When making this cereal, frequently the powder and
milk form large clumps which are not easily edible for the baby. As we
might expect, these should not be removed by themselves, but along
with some of the edible cereal.

Dessert

Teabags – Drinking hot tea is very much a part of our Shabbat

enjoyment. Making tea is a pretty complex affair, halachically
speaking. The major issues involve the melacha of Bishul (cooking),
which we’ll learn later.

From a Borer perspective, the issue is removing the teabag from the
cup. What’s the problem? When we remove the teabag, liquid
continues to drip from the bag. Some Sages hold that this constitutes
selection – removing the liquid while retaining the tea that is in the
bag (kind of like the slotted spoon we discussed before). Thus one
should remove the teabag with a spoon, rather than by hand, since
then the bag will not drip.14 Although the dripping bag has enough tea-

11
ibid.
12
On a rabbinic level. See Halachos of Shabbos p. 145, 169 and Mishnah Berurah 319:7
13
There is a disagreement as to the amount of meat that must be cut away with the fat: according
to the Mishnah Berurah 319:61, even a sliver of meat is sufficient; according to the Chazon Ish
(Orach Chaim 54:3), a ‘significant’ amount of meat must be taken.
14
Shemirat Shabbat K’Hilchato 3:58; 39 Melochos, p. 440.

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water still in it, so that it can be considered taking out “good and bad”
together, which is permitted, there is a problem of the sifting action of
the tea bag.15

Next up: We’ll conclude our series on Borer with one further lesson
examining some common non-food scenarios.

15
Shu”t Minchat Yitzchak 4:99