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HaRav Yishai Natan –
Waiting Between Meat and Milk –
The Gemara (Hullin 105a) says it is assur to eat dairy after meat. There is a mahloket among the Rishonim regarding the reason for this waiting period.
Rashi explains that the taste of meat remains in a person’s mouth for a long time after eating, and therefore one may not eat dairy immediately afterward.
The Rambam explains that meat remains lodged between a person’s teeth, based on the pasuk in this week’s parashah describing meat remaining “between their teeth.”
The Tur brings two nafka minot (practical differences) between these opinions:
1. Chewing meat without swallowing it
- According to the Rambam, one must wait because meat remains in the teeth.
- According to Rashi, one would not have to wait because the meat was not swallowed.
2. Meat remaining between the teeth after six hours
- According to the Rambam, after six hours it is no longer considered significant meat.
- According to Rashi, as long as the meat remains there, it is still a concern.
The Tur and Shulhan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 89:1) rule that we are mahmir for both opinions. Therefore, if meat remains between one’s teeth after six hours, it should be removed, and one who chewed meat without swallowing it must still wait.
The Yalkut Yosef (YD 89) brings additional nafka minot include:
3. Swallowing without chewing
- According to the Rambam, there is no meat in the teeth.
- According to Rashi, the taste remains.
Practically, one must wait because we are mahmir for both. However, Rav Moshe Feinstein and the Yalkut Yosef write that liver capsules do not require waiting, since they are swallowed in a capsule and do not leave a meat taste in the mouth or throat.
4. Dentures
- According to the Rambam, separate meat and dairy dentures might solve the issue.
- According to Rashi, changing dentures would not help because the concern is the lingering taste in the mouth, not teeth.
5. Tasting and spitting out
If someone tastes a meat dish and then spits it out, they do not become besari, since the food never went down the throat, and obviously is not stuck in the teeth. This is especially relevant when tasting food while cooking.
How Long Must One Wait?
The Gemara (ibid.) relates that Mar Ukva said he was “like vinegar the son of wine,” because his father waited twenty-four hours after eating meat before eating dairy, while he waited only until the next meal.
The Rosh explains that “the next meal” means from lunch till supper, and the Rambam explicitly writes that this is six hours.
Tosafot disagrees and says that the next meal means once a person finishes the meal, recites Birkat HaMazon, and begins a new meal, dairy may be eaten immediately.
The Shulhan Aruch rules like the Rosh and Rambam that one must wait six hours.
The Rama cites the opinion of Tosafot and writes that the custom was to wait one hour, while those who wait six hours are acting properly. Many Aharonim, including the Taz and Shach, strongly discourage waiting less than six hours even for Ashkenazim.
Does It Have To Be Exactly Six Hours?
Some infer from the Rambam’s wording who says one needs to wait LIKE 6 hours, that one need only wait five and a half hours. Rav Ovadia Yosef rejects this proof and explains that the Rambam used approximate language because people did not have precise clocks. Today, one should ideally wait a full six hours.
Nevertheless, Rav Ovadia writes that in situations such as yeshivot or the army, where meal schedules are fixed, one may rely on waiting five and a half hours. Rav Elyashiv is quoted as allowing five hours and one minute, once one enters the sixth hour.
A Holeh (sick) and Children
The Ben Ish Hai and Kaf HaHayim write that a holeh may rely on the Rama and wait only one hour.
Similarly, with children, one may generally be lenient and require only one hour, depending on the child’s age and circumstances. The Yalkut Yosef says once he turns 12, he should specifically keep 6 hours.
Additional Halachot Regarding the Six-Hour Waiting Period
One might have thought that the six-hour waiting period should be calculated using sha’ot zemaniyot (halachic hours), which vary depending on the season. Indeed, the Pri Chadash holds this view. However, this is not accepted l’halachah. We calculate six regular sixty-minute hours.
When Does the Six Hours Begin?
Suppose a person eats meat during a long Shabbat meal. He finishes eating the meat at 1:30 PM, but the meal continues with dessert and conversation until 2:30 PM.
Do we begin counting six hours from 1:30 PM, when he finished eating meat, or from 2:30 PM, when the meal ended?
The Aruch HaShulhan writes that the six hours begin at the end of the meal. However, most poskim reject this view, and the accepted halachah is that the six hours are counted from the time one finishes eating meat.
If One Is Unsure Whether Six Hours Have Passed
A common situation occurs on Shabbat when a person does not remember exactly when he finished eating meat and is unsure whether six hours have passed.
One might argue that since waiting six hours is a rabbinic requirement, we should apply the rule of safek derabbanan l’kula. Some poskim, however, are hesitant to rely on this because it is a davar sheyesh lo matirin—the uncertainty can be resolved simply by waiting longer.
Rav Ovadia Yosef permits being lenient for a different reason: safek sfeika (a double doubt). First, perhaps the halachah follows the opinion cited by the Rama that only one hour is required. Second, even if six hours are required, perhaps six hours have already passed.
Therefore, when a person is genuinely unsure whether six hours have elapsed, there is room to be lenient. However, if he knows with certainty that six hours have not yet passed, he must continue waiting.