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By Rav Ariel Ovadia
As Shavu’ot approaches, all of us look forward to reaccepting the Torah and celebrating its study. Oh… and the dairy delicacies we don’t often get to enjoy. Many recipes involve a dairy version of a baked good; a topic which is discussed in the Shulhan Aruch and which we will attempt to cover in the following article.
Pareve Pastries
The Gemara in a few places[1] clearly states that one may not bake dairy or meat bread as bread is generally used with every meal and making bread that is dairy or meat may inadvertently lead to one transgressing the prohibition of eating Bassar B’Halav – meat with milk. If one baked non-pareve bread one may not even eat it plain. This Halacha is codified in Shulhan Aruch[2]. Even if one did so by mistake, or didn’t know the Halacha, the bread may still not be eaten.[3]
The Rama adds that one may not even bake bread in the same oven as a meat or dairy dish, as we fear juice may leak from the dish and jeopardize its pareve status. If one did bake them together and is unsure whether it touched the juice, one should only be lenient in a situation where he can confidently assume no juice seeped into the bread.[4]
Some[5] even extend this prohibition to all interchangeable items such as a spice grinder or wine, and perhaps rice or pasta, and forbid using it if it became meat or dairy even for its own type or with pareve (unless it is clearly marked as meat or dairy – as we will explain). Others argue[6] that only bread was forbidden under this Halacha, since it is man’s primary form of sustenance, that we shouldn’t add any more items to this prohibition. L’Halacha, one can be lenient in this matter, but should obviously avoid being in a situation where he may come to eat Bassar B’Halav inadverdently.
The Poskim debate whether one may mix milk into the batter in an amount that would generally be nullified in the mixture (normally 1/60th)[7]. L’Halacha, the P’ri Megadim writes that one shouldn’t do so purposely, but if one discovered there was such a mixture it would be permitted. This can sometimes be relevant to Challah one warms up on a hot-plate in a way which makes it “meat”. One must ensure that he follows the rules listed below or else the Challah would not be permissible to eat as it is a non-pareve bread.
Bull’s Eye
Every rule has an exception though, and this rule is no exception. The Gemara makes an exception to this prohibition and states that if someone bakes the bread K’Ein Tora – literally “like a bull’s eye” – it is permitted. Rashi explains this to mean that if one bakes a very small amount, the size of a bull’s eye, which is meant to be eaten immediately, it is permitted to bake non-pareve bread. According to the Shaare Dura and the Rama this would mean the amount of bread each member of the family would finish within the day[8]. Others require it to be an amount people finish immediately.[9]
The Rif and others[10] understand that this means that he baked the breads in an unusual shape and thus it would be recognizable that they are not pareve. The Rama[11] explains this is why we bake bread with milk on Shavu’ot or with meat fat for Shabbat – since it usually is a small amount, and they are baked in an unusual shape.
The Mahari”t[12], cited in Pithe Teshuva[13], is lenient with regards to pastries which are not commonly eaten with the other type. In such a case you wouldn’t need to bake a small batch or to form unusual shapes as there is no worry one may eat the pastry in a forbidden manner (i.e. a dairy chocolate cake).[14] Similarly, if the cheese or meat are clearly visible, there is no need to denote the status of the bread by making an unusual shape.[15] Placing a sign next to an indistinguishable pastry that it’s dairy wouldn’t help[16], but perhaps placing a sticker that doesn’t come off would help.[17] The Maharit writes that an unusual shape would only help in a home setting, but when baking bread to sell in the market, it wouldn’t be enough to change the shape as that wouldn’t be recognizable by the buyer and they would still be unsure whether it is pareve or not.[18]
Too Late?
What happens if you already baked dairy bread? Can you divide it into small batches after the fact, or cut it into unusual shapes? This is a subject of debate among the Poskim, and the conclusion of the Ben Ish Hai in Shu”t Rav Pe’alim and Hacham Ovadia Yosef in Shu”t Yabia Omer is that it is forbidden, as the Gemara doesn’t offer this idea as a solution.[19] However, the Ohr L’Tziyon[20] points out that one may bake a large dairy or meat batter to store in the freezer and subsequently bake in small batches.
In Conclusion
One may not bake non-pareve bread even if one intends to eat it plain, unless it is made in small batches or is clearly recognizable as dairy or meat. One shouldn’t even prepare bread together with something meat or dairy if it may absorb those juices, but baking it in a “meat” or “dairy” oven on its own would be permitted. As we prepare our Shavu’ot meals we must ensure to follow the above listed guidelines. May we all have a happy, wonderful and uplifting Shavu’ot!
[1] פסחים ל., לו., ב”מ צא., זבחים צה:
[2] יו”ד סי’ צז ס”א
[3] משמעות הש”ס והפוסקים, כמש”כ הפת”ש וע’ בנחל”צ ופמ”ג שפ”ד
[4] ע’ ט”ז שם (סק”ב) שדייק מהגה”א (ע”ז פ”ה ס”ח) דהיינו כל שנתפשט השומן חוץ לפשטיד”א חיישינן שמא הלכה הבליעה עד הפת ואסורה. וע’ ש”ך (ס”ק ב’) מה שביאר בכוונת הרמ”א, ובשפ”ד פי’ דעתו דאף דאיכא כמה ספיקי מ”מ אין לעשות ס”ס לכתחילה כמבו’ סי’ ק”י, ע”ש באורך.
[5] ט”ז סק”א
[6] כה”ח אות ב’ בשם פרח סק”א
[7] צ”צ סי’ פ’ אסר דהוי כמבטל איסור לכתחילה, הובא גם בגליון מהרש”א פמ”ג, פת”ש ונחל”צ, אך כנה”ג בהגה’ טור אות ג’ התיר, והסכים עמו מהר”י אישקאפה. וכה”ח אות ה בשם הרב זב”צ אות ד נקטו לחומרא. אולם, אם הפת היא רק נ”ט בר נ”ט, כתב הפת”ש ס”ק ד’ בשם הפני אריה ס”ס מח להקל אף לדעת הרמ”א מחמיר ביו”ד סי’ צה ס”ב לענין לאוכלו עם בן המין השני. וע”ע נחל”צ שהאריך בדין זה.
[8] הגה’ שערי דורא (סי’ לה) הובא בב”ח ודרישה, שכתב להתיר לחמים שעושים בשבת ואופין אותם יחד עם הפשיטד”א, דהואיל ואין משיירין אותם לאחר השבת רק גומרים אותם בסעודה שרי כמו כעין תורא. ולשון הרמ”א בתורת חטאת כלל ס’ דין ב’ דכל דאבר ש’נאכל ליומיה’ לא חיישינן ביה לתקלה, וכן הבינו בדבריו השפ”ד חווד וערוה”ש הובאו בכה”ח סק”ז.
[9] כה”ח שם כתב דלדידן הספרדים הנוקטים כחומרות מרן יש להחמיר בזה הואיל והשו”ע רק כתב לשון כדי ‘אכילה בבת אחת’, ולא נתן דבריו לשיעורים.
[10] פסחים ח. מדה”ר, הובא בטור וע’ ב”י ופרישה, ועי’ לשון הרמב”ם מאכ”א פ”ט הכ”ב שדן בדעתו בב”י, ומה שהביא הב”י עוד מהרשב”א תוה”ק ב”ג ש”ד שכתב לשון ‘כעכין קטנים’, וע’ דרישה.
[11] שם ס”א
[12] שו”ת, ח”ב סי’ יח
[13] סק”ג
[14] ואין לחוש ולהוסיף איסור מדעתנו שמא יאכל אחריהם גבינה דדי לנו במה שגזרו הם.
[15] כה”ח סק”א בשם פר”ח לחה”פ בל”י שפ”ד ערוה”ש וזבח”צ.
[16] אול”צ ח”ה פכ”ז אות א’
[17] וכמ”ש הט”ז לענין מדוכה, וצ”ע עוד.
[18] מהרי”ט ח”ב סי’ יח, הובא בפת”ש סק”ג
[19] ע’ פלתי הובא בשפ”ד אזיל לאידך גיסא כ’ בשם זקנו דיכול להקל אם אפה פת מרובה לחלקם לבע”ב, וחלק עליו השפ”ד, ולכא’ פליג על המהרי”ט בתרתי, שמיקל הן לחלק לבע”ב והן לעשות ‘היכר’ אחר האפיה. אמנם שם מיירי שזב תחתיו חלב ואפשר לחלק דקיל דנאפה בשוגג, וכ’ פלתי שם שצריך כמה צירופים יעו”ש.
[20] שם אות ב’