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Waiting Between Milk & Meat
By Rabbi Ariel Ovadia
In our last article, we discussed the Halachot of waiting after eating meat before eating dairy. In this article, we will discuss the Halachot of waiting after eating dairy before eating meat. This can be a common issue on Shavu’ot when some people eat a small dairy meal before the main meat meal, or, in general, when one drinks a coffee or grabs a chocolate bar before a meat meal. Does one have to wait at all? Must one clean their mouth before eating meat? Does it make a difference which dairy food you ate?
Waiting After Dairy
Maran rules in Shulhan Aruch[1] that one does not have to wait whatsoever after eating dairy before eating meat. One must only inspect his hands to make sure they are clean[2], and eat and drink something in between (such as bread and water) to cleanse out the remnants of dairy from his mouth. These precautions are not necessary according to Maran if one is eating chicken or other poultry (which is only forbidden MiDerabbanan) after dairy, as per the Rambam’s opinion.
The Rashash on Masechet Hullin[3] writes that if one only drank milk, one does not have to eat and drink something before eating meat, as milk does not stick one’s teeth and taking a drink in between would suffice. The Divre Malkiel[4] and Bade HaShulhan[5] prove that there is no distinction, however, Hacham Ovadia Yosef זצ”ל writes in Yehave Da’at[6] that one may follow this leniency.
However, Maran in Bet Yosef[7] cites the Zohar in Parashat Mishpatim[8] that says that one should never eat meat and dairy within the same meal or same hour. The simple understanding of the Zohar would imply that it makes no difference whether one ate meat or dairy first. This would stand in contradiction with the Talmud, which states that one must only wait after eating meat and not after eating dairy. Some Aharonim, such as the Yad Aharon[9] and Shulhan Gavoha[10] follow the opinion of the Maharshal[11] that this passage of the Zohar must be referring only to one who eats dairy after meat, in accordance with the Talmud. The Hida in Shiyure Beracha[12] cites various customs in this matter, and even the Minhag of some Mekubalim to wait a full six hours. The accepted custom seems to be to wait a half-an-hour – probably based on this Zohar[13].
Rav Felder שליט”א is quoted as saying that if one has such a Minhag then one does not have to inspect their hands or eat and drink anything in between, as the wait time is a reliable buffer.
Hard Cheese
The Rama[14] writes that some have a proper custom to wait six hours after eating hard cheese before eating meat. However, he writes, not everyone has this custom. Still, many Aharonim, such as the Hochmat Adam, Kaf HaHayim and Mishna Berura write that this is the appropriate Minhag. Regarding the definition of hard cheese there are many different opinions[15] and some well-known varieties include parmesan, emental and romano.
The Ben Ish Hai[16] writes that the Minhag in Baghdad was to wait one hour per month of aging. So, for example, for a cheese that is aged for one month one would wait an hour and so on. However, he writes that Ribbi Eliyahu Mani זצ”ל attests that the Minhag in Yerushalayim is to treat hard cheese just like any other dairy food, as is the prevalent custom of Sefaradim today[17]
Sources:
[1] יו”ד סי’ פ”ט ס”ב [2] ובלילה צריך ליטול ידיו, אמנם בימינו ע”ד רוב יכול לעיין ידיו גם בלילה ע”י אור החשמל. גם ע”ד רוב אוכלים עם המזלג והקילו בזה הרבה אחרונים לעניין נטילה ואפי’ עיון ידים [3] ק”ג ע”ב [4] ח”ה סי’ מ”ז [5] סק”נ [6] ח”ג סי’ נ”ח [7] או”ח סי’ קע”ג [8] דף קכ”ה ע”א [9] או”ח סי’ קע”ג [10] סק”ט [11] כל הבשר ס”ו [12] ס”ק י”ג [13] כ”כ הגר”מ לוי זצ”ל בס’ ברכת ה’ (ח”ב פ”ו הערה 75) [14] יו”ד שם [15] הש”ך סע”ק ט”ו כתב שמן הסתם אם הגבינה ישנה ששה חדשים חשיב גבינה קשה, ובשם הגר”א קוטלר זצ”ל מובא שצריך להיות קשה דוקא, ואפי’ הבחיל כמה חדשים אם אינו קשה אינו בכלל גבינה קשה, ועיין בכה”ח שכתב שאם הוא ספק אם הוי קשה או לא, אי”צ להמתין ו’ שעות. [16] ש”ש שלח הלכה ט”ו [17] וכ”כ כנה”ג ועוד. והרוצה להחמיר ע”ע, מ”מ יכול להקל בגבינה מבושלת כהיד יהודה (סע”ק ל’), וכן אם מעורבת עם שאר גבינות כתב הגר”ש פעלדער שליט”א שיש מקום להקל.