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Parshas VaYakhel: Warming Food On Shabbos No definitive Halacha LeMa'aseh conclusions should be applied to practical situations based on any of these Shiurim. At the beginning of this Parsha, the Posuk tells us that it is forbidden to kindle a flame on Shabbos (Shemos 35:3). The Ramban, in commenting on that Posuk, explains that the Torah here is prohibiting the use of a fire for doing any type of work necessary for the preparation of food on Shabbos. He adds that one might have assumed that this is permissible based on the Torah's language here in forbidding work in general on Shabbos; we therefore learn that food preparation is in fact forbidden if it involves lighting a fire. The Mishnah in Shabbos (73a) enumerates baking as one of the thirty-nine prohibited Melachos on Shabbos; the Gemara later (Ibid. 74b) makes it clear that cooking is to be equated with baking in this respect, as explained as well by the Rambam (Hilchos Shabbos 9:1). This prohibition against cooking applies to both dry solid foods and liquid foods; the definition of cooking in each case, however, is different. With dry solid foods, the Biblical prohibition is, as the Gemara in Shabbos (20a) says, to cook the item so that it becomes at least K'Maachal Ben Drusai, which means either one-half or one-third cooked, depending on a dispute between Rashi (Ibid. s.v. Ben Drusai) and the Rambam (Hilchos Shabbos Ibid. Halacha 5). With liquids, the Gemara (Ibid. 40b) explains that the prohibition is to heat the item to at least the point where it is Yad Soledes Bo, which means that it is hot enough so that one who touches it would immediately pull his hand away (See Rashi Ibid. s.v. Soledes). Likewise, there is a difference between solid and liquid foods once they are fully cooked concerning whether or not one may warm up the item on Shabbos after it has cooled off completely. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim Siman 318:4) says that with a dry solid food, once the item has been fully cooked, even if it has cooled off completely, one does not violate a Biblical prohibition by reheating it. With a liquid food, however, even if the item is fully cooked, once the item has cooled off (to a temperature below Yad Soledes Bo), the Shulchan Aruch (Ibid.) forbids reheating it. The Ramo, however (Ibid. Sif 15), rules that one can reheat a liquid, but only if it has not cooled off completely (See Mishnah Berurah Ibid. Sif Katan 97, 99) and is still considered a warm item (See Ramo on Siman 253 Ibid. Sif 5). It is important to note that a primarily solid food that has some liquid in it may be considered a liquid regarding these Halachos. The Beis Yosef, commenting on the Tur (Orach Chaim Siman 253 s.v. U'Mah SheKasav Rabeinu Kol Zman), the Magen Avraham (Ibid. Siman 318 Sif Katan 40) and others discuss precisely how to classify a food as a solid or as a liquid. Although reheating a cold dry food item on Shabbos if it previously had been fully cooked is permitted, the Magen Avraham (Ibid. Siman 253 Sif Katan 36) and the Mishnah Berurah (Ibid. Siman 318 Sif Katan 33) point out that it is forbidden to do so by placing it directly onto the flame (or the burner). The Mishnah Berurah (Ibid. Siman 253 Sif Katan 55) explains that one reason for this is that there is a Rabbinic prohibition against doing anything that even looks like cooking on Shabbos. The only way, then, to allow reheating a cooked solid item on Shabbos is if it can be done in a way that does not appear like normal cooking. The Mishnah Berurah (Ibid. Sif Katan 37) says that this can be accomplished by making the stove into what the Gemara in Shabbos (36b) calls Garuf, where the source of the flame has been removed, or Katum, where ashes have been placed on the flame's source. The Poskim (See Magen Avraham Ibid. Siman 253 Sif Katan 31 and Mishnah Berurah Ibid. Sif Katan 81) suggest that placing a covering like a "blech,", a metal sheet, over the burner is the modern equivalent of this. However, even if the solid dry food is fully cooked and the stove has a blech on it, the Shulchan Aruch and the Ramo (Ibid. Siman 253 Sif 2) write that it is still forbidden, after removing the item from the stove on Shabbos, to reheat it there on Shabbos unless three additional conditions are met: the food may not be completely cooled off, the pot of food must still be in the person's hand, and he must have in mind when he removes the pot that he is going to put it back on the stove. From a practical standpoint, this would mean that it would be prohibited to take a pot of cold dry food out of the refrigerator on Shabbos, even if the food is fully cooked, and reheat it by placing it on the stove, even if there is a blech, because these last three conditions will not all be met. Such indeed seems to be the view of many Poskim (See Ramo Ibid. in the name of the Beit Yosef, and in the Mishnah Berurah Ibid. Sif Katan 68). However, many quote that HaRav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik has ruled that one may take cold dry food which is fully cooked out of the refrigerator and reheat it on the blech on Shabbos, provided that this food was on the blech as Shabbos began and was first removed on Shabbos. In this case, returning the food to the blech (Hachzorah) is simply a continuation of the activity known as Shehiyah, that is, placing food on the fire before Shabbos and leaving it there until needed on Shabbos, which is permissible if there is a blech (See Shulchan Aruch Ibid. Sif 1). Regarding the other three conditions cited above, the aforementioned Ramo (Ibid.) quotes from the Ran that the last two, namely still having the pot in one's hand and having the intent to return it, are not required when the food is removed from the blech on Shabbos and is to be returned on Shabbos. It appears that the Vilna Gaon (Biur HaGra to Sif 5 Ibid. s.v. U'Bilvad) as explained by the Mishnah Berurah in the Biur Halacha (Ibid. s.v. U'Bilvad), holds that in such a case, even the other condition, that the food must still be hot, is also not required if it's a dry cooked food. HaRav Soloveitchik extends this view to allow reheating on the blech a fully cooked solid food even if it has been completely cooled off in the refrigerator, because this is still just a continuation of the original Shehiyah. It is noteworthy that Rav Ovadyah Yosef (Sheilos U'Teshuvos Yechaveh Da'as Chelek 2 Siman 45) allows this as well, but for a completely different reason. Nonetheless, many Poskim do not accept this leniency. Some hold that one may, however, reheat fully cooked food on Shabbos by placing the pot near, though not on the fire or blech (See Mishnah Berurah Ibid. Sif Katan 15). Some also allow one to heat such food by placing it on top of a pot which is already permissibly on the blech (See Shulchan Aruch Ibid. Sif 5). One may also place such food on a part of the blech which is not near the fire so that the food could never be heated there to the point of Yad Soledes Bo, but can become warm (See Mishnah Berurah Ibid. Sif Katan 68). Since many of these Halachos are very complex, one should, as always, consult one's own Rav for practical guidance.
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