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Parshas Behaalosecha: Waiting Between Eating Meat and Dairy No definitive Halacha LeMa'aseh conclusions should be applied to practical situations based on any of these Shiurim. The Torah tells us that when the people who complained about the food in the desert began to die as a result of a great plague from Hashem, the meat that they were eating then was still between their teeth (BeMidbar 11:33). The Gemara in Chulin (105a) indicates that if one has eaten meat, one cannot eat a dairy product as long as one still has pieces of the meat between his teeth. As explained by Rashi (Ibid. s.v. HaBasar), the Gemara (Ibid.) then cites this Posuk (Ibid.) to demonstrate that meat retains its status as meat even after it has been chewed up but remains stuck in one's teeth, since the Posuk (Ibid.) continues, even at that point, to refer to it as Basar, meat. It is therefore forbidden to eat something which is dairy while meat is stuck in one's teeth because this is tantamount to eating meat and dairy together, which is, of course, forbidden, as mentioned in the Gemara later in Chulin (115b), and codified by the Rambam (Hilchos Maachalos Asuros 9:1) and by the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 87:1). The earlier Gemara in Chulin (105a) quotes one Amora as saying that his father would not eat dairy for a full day, meaning 24 hours, as explained by Rashi (Ibid. s.v. L'Machar), after having eaten meat, while he himself would wait only until the next meal. The Rambam (Ibid. Halacha 28) rules that one must wait about six hours between eating meat and eating dairy because meat remains stuck for a while between one's teeth, implying that meat between one's teeth retains the status of meat according to the Halacha only for about six hours. The Tur (Yoreh Deah Siman 89) thus writes that according to this view, after one has waited this amount of time following the consumption of meat, he may eat dairy even if he still has meat between his teeth, because that meat is no longer really considered meat; by the same token, however, according to this view, even if one never swallowed meat but only chewed it up, in order, for example, to make it more chewable for a baby, he must wait the full amount of time before eating dairy. According to Rashi, commenting on the aforementioned Gemara in Chulin (Ibid. s.v. Asur), the reason one cannot eat dairy after meat is that the remnants of the fat from meat tends to stick to one's mouth and the flavor lingers on in one's mouth for a ling time. The Tur (Ibid.) notes that according to this view, one must wait after having consumed meat before eating dairy even if there is no meat in his teeth at all (such as, for example, if he ate a meat soup which had nothing in it that could get stuck in his teeth); on the other hand, according to this view, if one only chewed the meat but did not swallow it, he need not wait at all to eat dairy because no flavor lingers in his mouth in such a case. The Tur (Ibid.) concludes, though, that one should follow the strict position of each of the above two views, and one should thus wait the required amount of time between meat and dairy even if he only chewed the meat but did not swallow it, as well as if he swallowed meat without getting anything stuck in his teeth. The Shulchan Aruch (Ibid. Sif 1) accepts this ruling, requiring one to wait between meat, including poultry, and dairy without specifying as to how the meat was eaten; he adds (Ibid.) that if one does have meat between one's teeth, he should remove it before eating dairy even after having waited the proper amount of time, and he concludes (Ibid.) that even if one only chews up meat for a baby, he must still wait before eating dairy. The Taz (Ibid. Sif Katan 1) explains that the Halacha follows the stricter conclusions of each of the above two views, as mentioned. The Ramo (Ibid.Sif 3) writes that fat from meat has the same status as meat itself, and one must thus wait after eating the fat from meat as one would after eating meat itself; the Shach (Ibid. Sif Katan 18) adds that this is true of fat from poultry as well. The Pri Megadim (in Mishbitzos Zahav Ibid. Sif Katan 1) writes that if, however, one just chews a little fat from the meat for a baby, one should not have to wait at all before eating dairy according to any opinion since there is no lingering flavor because he did not swallow anything, and since there is nothing to get stuck between his teeth because he chewed only fat from the meat. Nevertheless, he rules (Ibid.) that we should not make any distinction (Lo Plug), and because the Jews are a holy people (Kedoshim), it would be improper to change the practice and one should therefore be strict in this situation as well. Rav Shlomo Kluger, however, commenting on the Pri Megadim (Hagahos Ibid. Sif Katan 1), rules that if one simply tastes meat (or a meat product) with his tongue, such as to see if it needs salt, but then spits it right out without chewing or swallowing any of it, he need not wait before eating dairy. It may be preferable even in such a case, however, to wash out one's mouth before eating dairy, as is required earlier by the Ramo (Ibid. Sif 1), who says that one should wash out one's mouth before eating dairy following the removal of meat from between one's teeth even after the required waiting time has elapsed. The Shach (Ibid. Sif Katan 4) notes that this cleaning must be a thorough one, including, as required by the Shulchan Aruch (Ibid. Sif 2) in a different situation, chewing some kind of food which will not stick to the roof of one's mouth and then swallowing it, as mentioned by the Pischei Teshuvah (Ibid. Sif Katan 5), although the Darkei Teshuvah (Ibid. Sif Katan 30) disputes the need to swallow it, as well as rinsing the food down with some liquid. The Shach later (Ibid. Sif Katan 11) writes that the order of these two actions is irrelevant. It should be noted that the Chochmas Adam (Klal 40 Sif 13) writes that the requirement to wait before eating dairy applies even after eating a food that was simply cooked together with meat, even though it is not meat itself, as already mentioned by the Ramo (Ibid. Sif 3), who also rules, however, that if one ate a food which has no meat in it, but was simply cooked in a pot usually used for meat, one need not wait at all before eating dairy. As the Ramo writes later (Yoreh Deah Siman 95 Sif 2), one should not eat such food together with a dairy product; one does not, however, have to wait before eating a dairy product afterwards. Rabbi Akiva Eiger (Chidushei Rabbi Akiva Eiger to Siman 89 Ibid. on the Shach Sif Katan 19) adds that this is true even if the food cooked in the meat pot is a sharply flavored food; one need not wait after eating it before eating dairy products. The Darkei Teshuvah (Ibid. Sif Katan 42) writes, however, that if one has eaten meat one may not eat a sharply flavored food which was cooked in a dairy pot (or cut with a dairy knife) even if it is not dairy itself before waiting the required time. Regarding the question of precisely how long one must wait after eating meat before eating dairy, the Gemara in Chulin (Ibid.), as mentioned above, records that one Amora stated that his practice was to wait the amount of time between one meal and the next. Tosafos (Ibid. s.v. L'Seudasa) indicates that this does not mean that one must wait the amount of time between the morning meal and the evening meal, which would be several hours, but rather that one must clear the table and recite a Beracha Acharonah following his meat meal, after which he may eat dairy even immediately. The Rambam (Hilchos Maachalos Asuros Ibid. Halachah 28), however, writes that if one has eaten meat, he should not eat dairy before waiting "about" six hours (Kimmo Sheis Sha'os); the Lechem Mishneh (Ibid.) attempts to explain how the Rambam derived this amount of time from the discussion in the Gemara in Chulin (Ibid.). The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah Ibid. Sif 1) rules that if one has eaten meat, he must wait six hours before eating anything dairy; the Ramo, after citing other customs, recommends this as well at the end of his comments (Ibid.), and the Shach (Ibid. Sif Katan 8) writes that anyone with any connection to the Torah should follow this ruling. The Chochmas Adam cited above (Ibid.) also writes that this is the standard practice, as does the Aruch HaShulchan (Ibid. Sif 7) who adds that it would be highly improper to change this practice at all. The Ramo, however, does write (Ibid.) that some hold that one need not wait six hours, but rather may eat dairy immediately if he has cleared the table and recited Birchas HaMazon, or, as the Shach (Ibid. Sif Katan 6) adds, a Beracha Acharonah, following his meat meal and then cleaned his mouth in the manner discussed above. He then writes (Ibid.) that the prevalent custom in his country is to wait one hour before eating dairy; the Taz (Ibid. Sif Katan 2) suggest that this is a kind of compromise where one doesn't wait a full six hours, but also doesn't eat dairy immediately after meat. The Taz concludes (Ibid.), though, that it is certainly proper, especially for Bnai Torah, to be stringent and wait for six hours. Rav Feivel Cohen, in his Sefer Badei HaShulchan (Hilchos Basar B'Chalav Ibid. Sif Katan 35), writes, as is well known, that some have the practice to wait for three hours between meat and milk, but he adds (Tziunim Ibid. Sif Katan 53) that he is unaware of the origin of this practice, citing only a statement in the Chayei Adam (Klal 127 Sif 10) as a possible source. The Darkei Teshuvah (Ibid. Sif Katan 6) quotes this custom as well. Rav Moshe Heinemann is quoted (In "Mesorah", Choveret 8, Nisan 5753, pages 75-77) as suggesting that this custom may be based on the fact that in the winter when there are less daylight hours, people may eat dinner earlier, and there is thus less than six hours between meals, as hinted at by Rabbi Shlomo Eiger, in his comments on the aforementioned Ramo (Gilyon Maharsha on Ramo in Sif 1 Ibid.), and by the Yad Ephraim in his comments there (Ibid.). It should be noted that whatever the waiting time is, it begins from the time when one actually finished eating meat at the meal, and not from the time when the entire meal, including dessert, for example, is finished, as pointed out by the Dagul MeRavavah, commenting on the Shach (Ibid. Sif Katan 3), among others. Although the Aruch HaShulchan (Ibid. Sif 4) seems to disagree, this appears to be the majority view. It must also be stressed, as noted by the Shach (Ibid. Sif Katan 5), that no matter how long one waits, one must recite a Beracha Acharonah and clear the table following the meat meal before eating dairy.
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