Parshas Devarim 5784 – Intriguing Questions & Answers
Common Questions Regarding Eating Meat During the Nine Days
Q: I am aware of the halachah that Ashkenazim do not eat meat from Rosh Chodesh Av, and Sephardim only from the week in which Tisha B’Av falls. However, I am unsure regarding foods that have a meat flavor, or foods that were cooked in a meat pot, or onions that were cut with a meat knife. Additionally, is it permissible to taste meat on Erev Shabbas Chazon?
A: Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 551:9) rules that it is forbidden to eat meat or drink wine starting from Rosh Chodesh Av. The Mishnah Berurah 36 states that even if meat is mixed into another dish, the dish is forbidden to eat if there is not shishim (sixty times the other food) to nullify the meat. However, if the taste of the meat is not noticeable, it is permitted even if there is not shishim against the other food, as noted in Shaar HaTziyun (38). However, food that is only cooked in a meat pot is allowed.
Therefore, a pareve food cooked with meat is forbidden to eat. For example, potatoes cooked with meat should not be eaten by themselves if there is not shishim. However, it is permitted to taste the potatoes initially to determine if they have a meat taste, and if they do not, they may be eaten.
Regarding onions and rice cooked in a meat pot, they are permitted to eat. Even though onions are sharp, they are still permitted. However, if french fries were fried in oil that was used for meat, and there is not shishim against the oil, it is forbidden to eat those fries during the Nine Days. As previously discussed, one who eats these fries must wait six hours before consuming dairy. It is worth noting, however, that Sephardim, even those who are stringent not to eat meat from Rosh Chodesh Av like Ashkenazim, are lenient regarding meat dishes. See Mishnah Berurah there.
Concerning kugel that was warmed inside cholent (but separate from the cholent) on Shabbos and left over after Shabbos, it would seem that it is permitted to eat the kugel. Although some Poskim maintain that if a pareve food was cooked in a pot at the same time as meat, it absorbs the meat flavor as if it was cooked in a kli rishon (see Chavas Daas, Yoreh Deah 95), nevertheless, some are lenient. And particularly if it was wrapped twice in aluminum foil, there is even more room to be lenient.
Regarding tasting Shabbos foods that contain meat on Erev Shabbos Chazon, it is permitted to taste and spit out. Some permit even to swallow, but eating as regular is forbidden. Children who need to eat meat may do so if necessary.
Delays in Building the Son’s House for Renovations in the Father’s House
Q: I live near my parents, sheyichyu. Recently, I started, b’ezras Hashem, an extension on my house. Due to the security situation, the construction is extremely delayed due to lack of manpower (Arab construction workers, etc.). Baruch Hashem, the contractor we hired is a nice Jewish man who knows the work well, so he is working alone. As a result, the construction, which was supposed to be completed in less than a year, now seems to have no end in sight. Additionally, the entire yard looks like a construction site because of the waste and debris, with dust and dirt everywhere, preventing our children from playing in the yard.
Moreover, my parents have befriended the contractor and asked him to do some work in their home. However, every time he goes to work for them, my construction gets further delayed. In addition to this, the neighbor in the adjacent apartment has started renovations and is consulting our contractor for advice and assistance. Is it permissible for me to tell the contractor not to work anywhere else until he finishes our construction, even though this may cause some pain or distress to my parents?
A: It is known that kibbud av is mi’shel av (comes from the father’s resources), as stated in Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 240:5). Based on this, it seems the son is not obligated to incur losses or delay the construction of his house for his father’s needs.
However, the Ran (Kiddushin 16a, Dafei HaRif) questions this from the story of Dama ben Nesina, who lost a large profit for the sake of kibbud av, and wonders why this does not follow the principle that honoring one’s father comes from the father’s resources. He offers two explanations:
- The rule that kibbud av is from the father’s resources applies to honoring him, but to avoid causing him distress, one must forfeit all his money.
- The rule applies when the son would incur a financial loss, but in the case of Dama ben Nesina, the son only lost a profit opportunity (revach), but not an actual financial loss. (See Chashukei Chemed, Shabbos 53b).
This second answer of the Ran is cited by the Rema (Yoreh Deah 240), that one must forfeit profit for the sake of kibbud av. The Ritva also writes similarly. Therefore, in this case, where the son is only losing profit, as the construction will ultimately continue, he is obligated to remain silent.
Furthermore, a person should remind himself that his father gave him his very life—and that honoring him will give him even more life, as it says (Shemos 20:12) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long.” Therefore, the son should be grateful and thank his father for giving him life, and by honoring him, he will merit a long life.
However, the contractor is not acting properly, as he has committed to the son’s work in the contract, and by leaving the son’s work, he is effectively stealing from him.
In Conclusion: Since the son is only losing potential profit and not actual money, he must remain silent and not complain to his father. In this merit, he will gain long life and years. This is the ruling of R’ Yitzchok Zilberstein, shlit”a; see further in my Sefer “Ohel Yaakov” on the laws of kibbud av v’eim.
Weight Loss Shots That Cause You to Feel Full Longer: Do I Have to Wait More Than Six Hours After Eating Meat?
Q: On Shabbos, I was reading a guide by a frum teacher, and in the section on digestion, they mentioned that the six-hour wait between meat and milk is related to how quickly the stomach empties. Recently, I started taking a weight loss drug (many in the US take it—Ozempic, Mounjaro, etc.). These GLP-1 drugs help you lose weight by slowing down the stomach’s emptying, making you feel full for longer. Given that I often still feel full and can still taste the meat within six hours, does this mean I need to wait longer between meat and milk?
A: The Gemara (Chullin 105a) states that after eating meat, one must wait before eating milk. Two reasons are offered for this in the Rishonim:
- Rashi and the Tur explain that one must wait six hours before eating dairy because the meat produces oils which linger for six hours. If one were to eat dairy while the taste of meat remains in his mouth, it would appear as though he was eating meat and milk together. Chazal therefore forbade this to prevent the possibility of actually eating them together.
- The second reason, offered by the Rambam (Hilchos Machalos Asuros 9:28), is due to the concern that remnants of the meat remain in his mouth. Only after six hours is the meat considered to be entirely digested to the point that it is no longer considered meat.
In practice, the Poskim are concerned for both reasons. Therefore, if one finds meat in his teeth after six hours, he must remove it, to account for the first reason. And conversely, even if one only chews meat without swallowing it, he must wait six hours, based on the second reason.
Nevertheless, we only find in the Poskim a concern for physical meat after six hours. The implication is that meat in the stomach after six hours is not of concern, even if it still gives off a taste.
Therefore, practically speaking, even if injections slow down digestion, we do not differentiate, and one does not need to wait more than six hours. This is clear because there are always types of meat that retain their taste longer, even for someone with a regular digestive system. Hence, it is sufficient to wait six hours.
Charging a Phone or a Computer in a Shul Without Permission from the Gabbai
Q: I have been asked many times whether it is permitted to charge one’s phone or computer in a Shul without express permission from the owner or gabbai of the Shul. Do we say that there is an umdina, a presumption, that they allow this or not?
A: Seemingly, one would be required to ask permission from the owner, unless we are discussing a Kollel, for example, that expressly allows its students to use its electricity. This is the opinion of many contemporary Poskim, including R’ Yisroel Belsky ztz”l. Similarly, R’ Matisyahu Deutsch, shlit”a, author of Nesivos Adam, has instructed many Roshei Yeshivos that it is forbidden to charge phones or computers in a Beis Medrash without permission from the Rosh Yeshiva or Rav.
However, R’ Yechezkel Roth, in his Sefer “Maaros Yechezkel” (Vol. 1, p. 41), was asked this question and ruled that nowadays, one may assume that people are not particular about such small amounts of money and forgo any such claims unless they expressly say otherwise. As for the concern that this constitutes a zilzul, a degradation in the honor of the Beis Medrash, we may say that nowadays, they do not have the status of a Beis Medrash or a Shul, considering that we eat and drink there, and therefore this would be permitted as well.
This rationale is based on the ruling of Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 659:1), that concerning something that people are not particular about, it is permitted to use without permission. It is only a matter of middas chassidus, extra piety, that one should refrain from doing so. However, it goes without saying that if one knows for certain that the owner does not allow that it is forbidden. (One may wonder, however, whether there may be a difference in this regard between the United States, where R’ Roth lived, and Eretz Yisroel.)
I have heard from Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein, shlit”a, that there is no allowance to connect a phone to the electricity of the Shul, and he has raised this issue multiple times. He said that the only heter would be when one cannot study without charging it, for example, if the learner’s wife is soon to give birth, and if the device is not charged, he will not be able to study, then it is permitted because it is for the sake of learning. But if one charges for their personal need, there is no permission. This is also stated in the Sefer “Birkei Nafshi,” Vol. 2, p. 672.
Additionally, I heard from Rabbi Zilberstein, shlit”a, that he was once present when R’ Yisroel Yaakov Fischer, ztz”l, Av Beis Din of Eedah HaChareidis, was asked about moving one of the Shul’s lamps to the bathroom because the bathroom light was not working (this was at a time when they were very poor). R’ Fischer ruled not to do it because the bulb belongs to the Shul, and although the bathroom belongs to the Shul as well as a necessary part of it, it is still not allowed. (He wrote further that there is a discussion whether this is due to theft or due to lowering its status. See Sefer Ginzei HaKodesh, which brings the words of the Shach (259:11), stating that a lamp is only considered tashmishei mitzvah, not tashmishei kedushah, so it is permitted to lower its sanctity. Bach, however, disagrees. Perhaps it is considered a disgrace and therefore should not be done. However, from R’ Zilberstein’s words, it seems it is a matter of theft, and this needs further study.)
Download the PDF -> Parshas Devarim