Torah · Halacha YomitLaws of Mukseh: Leftover FoodRabbi Uri Nahum · September 5, 2022 · Laws of Mukseh-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareA Shabbat halacha class with Rabbi Uri Nahum.Recorded by BSD Productions.Transcript0:00Welcome to the Halacha Hour here on JRoot Radio.0:04This is the Halacha Hour, not filming, but we are not filming today. We're airing on live0:12on Erev Rosh Chodesh Kislev. Tonight is Rosh Chodesh Kislev, and it's not only tonight.0:21Obviously, it's Thursday, and Friday is Rosh Chodesh. It's a two-day Rosh Chodesh.0:25Hazman is a full month. Before we get to everything else and the announcements and the Halacha class today,0:31let's give you the regular, basically, numbers: how to listen to us on the air,0:38how to listen to us on the radio, meaning to say on your pro app, that means.0:45Okay, and here are the numbers. Let's begin. The studio line is 786-835-8858. If you'd like to0:51call in, we always recommend that you call at the end of the class, and we appreciate all the comments.0:57In fact, today's class is based on a comment we got last week, as we will explain. The text line,1:04which is the best way to send in your comments or your questions, especially if you'd1:08like questions to be answered, is 347-927-8398. To listen to us live on the phone line,1:16you can call 712-432-4217, and of course you can go to JRootRadio.com, as well as the JRoot Radio Pro app.1:25Okay, we're done with that. We move on now to the next thing. Before we begin the class, I would like to make1:30an announcement that since we switched the clock, we've become now into what we call1:37shaon choref, this winter time. We have in our shul on Avenue U in Ocean Parkway, we start1:44usually when we switch the clock, we begin our classes on the Bnei Yissaschar, Hilchot Shabbat.1:49You can listen to us, you can come and attend it live. Of course, obviously1:53it's only open for men. It's immediately after Arvit. We have a five, ten minute vaad Torah on the2:00parashah, and then followed by the halachot of the Bnei Yissaschar from the Bnei Yissaschar, Hilchot Shabbat.2:05Pretty much the same style as we give over here, obviously when it's live,2:08meaning to say when it's in person and we're not being recorded, it's a little bit more free.2:13People ask more, people are able to, you know, we could go into the halachot a little bit deeper2:18and understand it based on whatever is there. So we invite everybody to come. It's in the shul,2:23Beit Yosef, Ocean Parkway and Avenue U downstairs. We always begin Mincha around2:29candle lighting time, and followed by Shir HaShirim and Arvit. So everybody is welcome2:35to join us, of course men only, in the winter months. Okay, now let's get to today's class.2:44Really today's class is clarifying last week's class. We got a phone call last week at the end2:50of the class. It was a nice compliment, but she told us, a lady told us that, you2:56know, we weren't as clear as we usually are. The complicated, the halachot of muktzeh, which3:02are usually complicated, were not organized, were not said very clearly. So, be'ezrat Hashem, we'd like to make up for that.3:08This week we're going to pretty much repeat the halachot of last week, but without reading from3:13the Bnei Yissaschar inside, and much, much more practical, and dealing with how lemaaseh, how we should go about3:21in applying these halachot, and of course understanding the reasons of the halachot.3:27So today's class is really, last week the reason why we rushed, because I wanted to really finish3:32it. See what happens sometimes when you think you can rush something, you really end up spending a3:37long time. So, be'ezrat Hashem, we will finish this subject of the classification of3:43muktzeh, parashat Miketz in the Bnei Yissaschar. Be'ezrat Hashem, next week we'll go on to our next subject,3:48which is maybe parashat Vayigash or perhaps Chanukah already, because it's right around the corner. In any case. Let's give you the3:57subjects that we will speak about today, beginning with leftover foods in halacha. How do we look at4:05leftover foods on Shabbat? Number two is how do we clean up the table on Shabbat? And then4:11all the halachot that pertain to such things. And we have extra time, we'll discuss maybe a few other4:16points in muktzeh that are not necessarily mentioned in the Ben Ish Chai, but it's very, very important4:21for us to know in any case. Let's begin with the following. We mentioned last week already4:27from the Ben Ish Chai. It's really from Maran, Shulchan Aruch, and it goes back not only to Maran,4:32but it comes back also to the Gemara. The halacha tells us the following. Let's pay attention very clearly.4:38Any leftover food, when one finishes his meal, that leftover food could become4:49muktzeh, could become muktzeh, because we will clarify when and how. In a case where it does become4:55muktzeh, what kind of muktzeh does it become? And the answer is it becomes muktzeh machmat gufo. As we learned5:02by utensils that break on Shabbat, sometimes you could have something that breaks and becomes5:07muktzeh machmat gufo, because now it's not fit for anything. In general, we say food is not5:14muktzeh. Any food is not muktzeh. It's nothing. Chachamim were not gozer on food. But sometimes5:22the leftover food, or certain leftover food, could become completely muktzeh, the worst stage of5:29muktzeh, and that is known as muktzeh machmat gufo, where it would be normal, under normal circumstances,5:34a person cannot handle it with his hand in a normal fashion. It cannot be moved for any purpose,5:39like all the laws of muktzeh machmat gufo, like the way we deal with stones, rocks, money on Shabbat.5:44As we explained in the first class, muktzeh machmat gufo cannot be moved, not for the place5:50where the item is, and not because I want to now use it for something, because it's not usable.5:55It's muktzeh machmat gufo. Question is why. How come this food, this leftover food, has become6:01muktzeh? Two seconds ago I was eating from it, and now you're telling me it's muktzeh. And the answer is because6:05this food is not fit for human consumption. So since it's not fit for human consumption, people,6:11humans, do not eat it. Therefore, it turns now into muktzeh. Are there exceptions? Yes. There are exceptions6:21that although food can become muktzeh when it's not fit for human consumption, it could become6:29not muktzeh. It could still be in the status of food when it's fit for animal consumption.6:38That's a general introduction. This pretty much is going to clarify everything else. So let's6:45repeat it one more time. Halacha is that leftover foods, in certain circumstances, could become6:50muktzeh, and it's the worst level of muktzeh, muktzeh machmat gufo. I want to say the worst. It sounds very bad.6:56It's the most stringent level of muktzeh. The reason is because it's not fit for human consumption.7:03Exception is when that food is fit for animal consumption, as we will see, be'ezrat Hashem. So7:11let's take a look at our Shabbat table after we're done eating, before we clean up, before we7:15start singing the song, Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share, right? Before we get7:20to that song, let's look at our table. What do we see on our table that's leftover foods?7:26You'll agree with me or disagree, you'll let me know, but basically we could categorize7:30our leftover foods. I'm talking again, foods. I'm not talking about disposables such as7:38cups and forks and plates, our plastics, or the soda bottles. I'm not dealing with that right7:43now. I'm dealing specifically with food that we've eaten beforehand, okay? At the leftovers,7:49we'll see that there are three types of leftover food. There's one type, let's call it type number7:58one, that's food.8:00Which is fit for human consumption.8:03If you would eat it or not, it's a different point right now.8:05But it's fit. It can be eaten. It's edible by a human being.8:09Let's say, for example, small pieces of meat, chicken, rice,8:13even though it's a few grains, but those grains are fit for human consumption.8:16It could be eaten by a human being.8:19That's type number one.8:22Second type, second category of foods left over on our table8:27after we eat, that is, are foods, although not fit for human consumption,8:32they are fit for animal consumption,8:35such as soft bones.8:37You know, when you cook chicken for a very long time, the bones become soft.8:43Although sometimes some people actually eat the bones, so you're right, chicken bones,8:46it might even be in category number one because some people actually eat chicken bones.8:51But let's talk about bones that even have, you know, that basically humans will not eat it.8:56People don't eat it, but animals do eat it,9:00or some shells, basically of some foods, peels of fruits9:04that the animals will eat it, but humans will not eat it,9:08included in category number two, which is not fit for human consumption,9:11but it is fit for animal consumption, are also crumbs of bread,9:16pieces of bread. In general, we say under the size of a9:20kezayit. We'll discuss this later on.9:21Third category of food, you're looking at your table,9:25then when you see the leftovers,9:28the third type of leftovers are things that are not fit for humans,9:33and they're not fit for animals as well.9:35That includes things that are hard, like eggshells, hard pits, or hard bones9:42that have no marrow inside of them.9:44All these are not fit, not for humans and not for animals.9:47Okay? So let's repeat again very quickly.9:51The three categories of leftover foods that we'll see on our table are...9:55Category number one: foods which are fit for human consumption.10:00Category number two: it's not fit for human consumption,10:03but it is fit for animal consumption,10:04and an animal could technically eat them.10:06And number three are foods that even animals cannot eat.10:11Why would we divide it up in such a way?10:16Why would we make it into three categories?10:18And the answer is because the halacha differs by all three of them.10:22In case number one, in category number one,10:24where it is still fit for human consumption,10:31okay, then in that case the food is not muktzeh at all.10:35It's fit. It could be eaten. It's edible by human beings.10:39The gezeirah of muktzeh did not apply to food, as we mentioned in the past.10:44Category number two, where it's not fit for human consumption,10:47but it is fit for animal consumption,10:50animals can eat it.10:51That case, it's technically not10:56muktzeh. Why do I say technically not10:58muktzeh? Because you need a condition.11:00We'll talk about that condition later on.11:02So foods which are not fit for humans, but they're fit for animals,11:06are technically not11:08muktzeh. And then final category, you guessed it,11:11the ones which are not fit for humans or animals,11:13that's what we mentioned in the beginning of the class,11:17those types of muktzeh, those types of leftovers are 100%11:22muktzeh. They're considered11:26muktzeh machmat gufo. Wow, muktzeh machmat gufo, what do we mean?11:28We can't clean it up, we can't leave it, we can't touch it.11:31So we obviously have to learn how to deal with such items on Shabbat.11:37How do we clear the table from foods which have become now muktzeh on Shabbat?11:42What do we do with them?11:43Can we just pick them up?11:45We'll deal with all11:46that,11:47be'ezrat Hashem, we'll discuss it.11:48Now, based on what we said, we have a question.11:51You told me that the foods which are left over in category number one,11:56which are fit for human consumption, are not12:01muktzeh. Why?12:02Because it can be eaten.12:04So if they're not muktzeh, I could pick it up.12:06So that means if I have some rice spilled on my,12:10you know, you know, sometimes people eat the rice and, you know, they seem to forget the borders of the plate,12:17especially when kids are eating and it goes all over and it spills over the plate and it's all around.12:21So you pick up the plate, but you see all around the small pieces of rice, some sauce or whatever.12:25So that food right there, it is fit for human consumption.12:28But who's going to eat it?12:29It's disgusting, especially, especially when it's not your leftover, it's somebody else's12:35leftovers. Sometimes the kids, or sometimes you have a sloppy member in the family or a sloppy guest,12:41and they're eating and it's all over and it's disgusting.12:43So you tell me that food, because it could technically be eaten by humans, is not12:48muktzeh. That's, you know, and that's disgusting.12:51So the answer is, yeah, it's not12:53muktzeh. You know why it's not12:55muktzeh? Either because somebody could technically eat it, and you tell me, no, nobody's going to eat it now.12:59Fine, if nobody's going to eat it now, and because it's disgusting,13:02so I have another reason why it's not13:06muktzeh. We introduced last week the concept13:09graf shel re'i. We'll elaborate a little bit on it today.13:11The halacha tells us that when something gets so disgusting in front of you,13:17then you have a heter to move it out of the way.13:20You know, it's funny. It's like, you know, when you push yourself,13:23when the muktzeh pushes yourself over the edge, it becomes mutar in a way.13:27Usually things are not fit for anything are13:29muktzeh, like stones and whatever and dirt and all these kind of things. They're not fit for anything.13:34When something that's usually, even though it's13:37muktzeh machmat gufo, if it's so disgusting that's in front of you,13:41and it doesn't have to be unbearable, but I believe on the level of repulsive,13:46it's not nice, you would take it away.13:49And obviously this is relative to the person.13:51Some people live that way their whole lives,13:53so for them it's not13:55graf shel re'i. Other people, a little bit of them icks them,13:57so that it is a13:59graf shel re'i. Graf shel re'i, this concept known as14:03graf shel re'i tells me that if I have something that's repulsive in front of me,14:06and obviously I'm planning to sit there or I'm planning to stay there for Shabbat,14:09even though it's muktzeh, because of its repulsiveness,14:13I could pick it up. Normally, in a normal fashion, with my hands14:17and move it out of the way.14:19It's out of the category of14:21muktzeh. The chachamim pushed aside the laws of14:29muktzeh, the forbiddenness of not moving14:31muktzeh, they pushed it aside so you could pick up this item and move it out of the way14:35when it's classified as14:36graf shel re'i. So now, we come back to our mess around the plate14:40that came from, you know, the sloppy person.14:43So it's disgusting, right?14:45So if it's disgusting, nobody's going to want to eat it,14:47even though it's technically edible, but nobody's going to want it because it's14:49disgusting. I have a second reason why I can carry it, I can move it out of the way,14:53because it's14:56graf shel re'i. This, by the way, would apply in a different case as well.14:59I'll give you another example that's beyond the Shabbat table.15:02You know, when you have these kids that are almost potty trained,15:05or on the way to getting potty trained,15:08everybody has such an experience where the kids, unfortunately,15:11either don't make it to the bathroom all the way right away,15:13or sometimes they'll just take off the diaper, which is full of their waste,15:18and just drop it right there in the center of the living room,15:22or in wherever it is.15:23So it's disgusting.15:25Ah, it's15:26graf shel re'i. I mean, ah, it's muktzeh, it's not ra'ui for anything.15:29You're right, that waste is not ra'ui for anything.15:33It's worse than stones.15:34But in halacha, since this would fall under the category known,15:39or the concept known as15:41graf shel re'i, I have permission to move it in a normal fashion.15:44I don't have to go and pick it up.15:45I don't know if you want to pick it up in a normal fashion,15:47but you have the heter of picking up a dirty diaper.15:51You have permission to pick it up15:52and throw it in the garbage in the normal way.15:54Of course, you want to wear gloves for your own sake,15:56and everybody else is going to shake your hand,15:57but otherwise, you know, the heter.16:00What is there to handle it in a normal way.16:03This concept is known as graf16:05shel rei. This doesn't have to only apply by rei, by the waste, human waste.16:10This could apply by anything that's repulsive to a person.16:13In the Shabbat table, when I have things that have, you know,16:17that leftover foods or shells or anything that has become disgusting,16:21I can pick it up and move it out of the way. Okay?16:24So that's why we said that leftover food that is fit for human consumption is not16:32muktzeh, either because technically it can be eaten.16:35Even if you are telling me nobody would eat it because it's so disgusting,16:38it's other people's leftovers, it will be mutar anyway because of graf16:43shel rei. Now, we mentioned that pieces of bread, or really I didn't say pieces of16:50bread, we said crumbs of bread. Crumbs of bread are in category number two.16:56And you probably will be asking yourself, one second,16:59crumbs of bread are not fit for human consumption.17:03Crumbs of bread, of course, are fit for human consumption.17:05Everybody eats small pieces of bread.17:07So why did I put it in category number two, where it's not fit for human consumption,17:12but it is fit for animal consumption?17:15So the source of this halacha comes from Shulchan Aruch.17:18Really, it's not ours, it's Shulchan Aruch.17:20It's from the Gemara,17:22and it talks about over there that pieces of bread are less than17:27a kezayit, as Rav Nissim Karelitz explains, at the end of the meal, not in the middle of me eating.17:31No food, by all these foods which we say it's fit for animal consumption,17:34in the middle of me eating, they don't become17:36muktzeh. Only once I finish eating and I stopped my food and I'm done eating,17:40I don't have to actually bench, but I'm done.17:42I finished eating. I'm planning to clean up.17:44Then we look at that food and we give it the status of muktzeh if we have to.17:50When in the case that although pieces of bread are under17:53kezayit, really are technically edible,17:55the reason why they become muktzeh is because people don't plan to eat them.17:58This is specifically by bread, by the way.18:00We don't find this stringency by any other types of food.18:04The Mishnah Berurah, for example, brings that in the case where I have a bone18:07which is not edible. By animals.18:10Animals don't eat such a bone; it's too hard.18:13So that would fall into category number three.18:15It's leftovers which are not fit for humans or animals,18:19so it should be technically18:21muktzeh. It says in Mishnah Berurah, if I have a piece of meat on it,18:24a small piece of meat on it,18:25so then it saves it from becoming18:27muktzeh because humans can eat that piece of meat.18:30How big is that piece of meat? Small piece of meat.18:32So you see from here that even a small piece of meat,18:35even though it's under18:37a kezayit, it will not be18:39muktzeh. So why do we say by bread, if it's under a kezayit, it's18:42muktzeh? And the answer is because, in general, people don't eat them.18:45It's so small of a piece, it becomes like a crumb,18:48and crumbs people don't eat; they throw it away.18:50So that's why, although you will not eat it,18:52maybe you'll give it to birds, you give it to animals to eat,18:55but since you're not going to eat it,18:56so it becomes in the category number two.18:59It's not fit for humans, although it's fit for animals.19:03However, if you're such a person that will eat those crumbs,19:06then we don't care about anybody else in the world,19:08even though you're—I'm not saying you're weird,19:11but let's say you'll be weird. Let's say nobody else does it.19:13It doesn't make a difference.19:14If you're planning to eat those little crumbs,19:17let's say you want to make chicken stuffing out of it.19:19I don't know what you want to do with it,19:20but you're planning to eat it yourself,19:22or as the segulah is brought down19:24that a person should even eat the crumbs for ashirut, for wealth.19:27So then let's say you're planning to keep those crumbs,19:30and I'm talking about little crumbs even. You're planning to eat it,19:33even though you're not eating it now, but you're planning to eat it later on,19:35even after Shabbat,19:37those crumbs will not be19:39muktzeh. This rule that it becomes19:42muktzeh only applies to bread crumbs that you're not planning to eat.19:47And again, it's not 100%19:49muktzeh; it's in category number19:51two, which means it's not fit for humans,19:54but it's fit for animals.19:55And as we mentioned before,19:57in category number19:58two, all— Leftover food that's not fit for humans20:02but fit for animals20:05is not muktzeh with a condition.20:08What's this condition?20:09What are we talking about?20:11What does it mean it's not fit with a condition?20:15Well, let's understand the reason,20:17and from the reason we'll understand what the condition is.20:19Why is it that if it's fit for an animal,20:23it will not be20:24muktzeh? You guessed it, because I could feed it to the animal.20:28Oh, so since I could feed it to the animal,20:31so then therefore, there you go.20:34I have my—now it's food, although not food for me,20:36but it's food for an20:37animal. I'm not planning to eat it. I'm done.20:38I'm not going to save myself these little crumbs.20:40I'm going to take a nice big pita or a loaf of bread.20:42So why would I need those little crumbs?20:45Now that I can feed it to the animal,20:46with that is the heter for me to move it20:50because I could technically give it to an animal.20:53So therefore, what's this condition?20:55The condition is,20:56as all the sifrei halacha, nobody disagrees on,21:00is in order for me to be able21:04to consider leftover foods in category number21:07two, which are only fit for animals,21:09in order for it to be considered not21:12muktzeh, I will have to be in an area around animals.21:16If I'm in an area21:18around—if I'm in an area where there are no animals whatsoever,21:21for example,21:22בני ישיבה, for example,21:23if a guy's on a ship.21:24Guys on a ship,21:25there are no animals around in those days.21:27I don't know, maybe today they'll bring dogs or whatever.21:29But let's say you're on a cruise line.21:30Of course, everything is kosher,21:33you know, there's separate swimming21:36and 100%21:38beit Yosef. I'm talking about, you know,21:39the real, real kosher ones.21:40I don't know if they exist,21:41but whatever.21:41So let's say you're on a cruise line21:43and there are no animals on the ship,21:45on the boat.21:46So therefore, in that case,21:48you don't have the heter over here21:52of the leftover crumbs. Being not mukseh.21:57Why?21:57There are no animals.21:58Since there are no animals,21:59it's not fit for humans.22:00And although it's fit for animals,22:02but there are no animals around,22:03that food becomes mukseh machmat gufo.22:08Very important to remember that.22:10Again,22:11if you're in an area22:12where there are no animals around,22:15and you have food that's left over22:17which is not fit for human consumption anymore,22:19but it's fit for animals,22:21it doesn't make a difference.22:22It still remains mukseh22:23since you could technically not feed it to animals.22:27Okay?22:27So most people22:29which are on dry land22:31are usually around places22:33where there are animals that are around.22:34The question is,22:37what does it mean that there are animals around?22:40So on a ship,22:41I understand there are no animals around,22:42although they're deep in the ocean.22:43You tell me that's not really there22:44because you have other issues over there.22:46Fine.22:46But what does it mean that they're around?22:49What does that mean?22:50They have to be in my house?22:52Must I own it?22:53Must I actually feed it to the animal?22:56You're telling me now22:56I have to be around animals.22:58Must I actually give the food to the animals?23:00The answer is no.23:01Everybody agrees23:02that you don't have to actually give it to the animals.23:05You don't have to feed the animals23:07in order to avoid the food23:09in category number two23:10from being mukseh.23:12But23:13there is a machloket, though,23:15to the guidelines23:16of when we say something has to be23:19ra'ui lemaachal behemah. See, in category number two,23:20food which is not fit for humans,23:23the halacha says23:24since it's23:26ra'ui lemaachal behemah. What does it mean,23:27ra'ui? Since it's fitting for animal consumption,23:30it's not mukseh.23:31The question is,23:31what does it mean,23:33ra'ui lemaachal behemah? So we find23:34that there's three areas23:36where there's a machloket in23:38how much does it have to be23:40ra'ui. Let's go through all three of them.23:42Let's go.23:43The first case,23:45which23:46the halacha tells us23:47that the animals have to be23:49matzui. What kind of animals are we talking about?23:51It has to be animals23:52that are found.23:54What does it mean found?23:56It says in Mishnah Berurah, the food that has to be fit for animals23:59are found.23:59It means it's—24:02Matzui etzel rov bnei adam. What kind of animals are we talking about?24:04Animals that are commonly found by the majority of people.24:07That's how you literally translate the words of24:10Mishnah Berurah. What does that mean? I have to take a24:11survey and find out how many people there are in the city,24:16and then find out 51% of what type of animal they own,24:19and the answer is no.24:20What means matzui etzel rov bnei adam means it's commonly found.24:24That's how the Acharonim explain24:26Mishnah Berurah. These are animals that are usually found around,24:28as opposed, for example, to snakes and tigers.24:31Do people have snakes as pets?24:33Yes, you can't deny that. For sure they do.24:35But just because now they have snakes as pets,24:39and some people, I believe there's a tiger lady in Jersey or something,24:42and some people have tigers as pets,24:44and some people raise lions,24:46this does not mean that if I have food24:48which is not fit for any animal24:50except for tigers, snakes, and lions,24:52it's not going to become24:53muktzeh, because it's not matzui; it's a rov, it's not commonly found.24:58What about dogs? Dogs are commonly found.25:01Do the majority of people who live in your city have dogs?25:04It doesn't have to be.25:05As long as it's common, yeah, you'll find plenty of people with dogs.25:09That's called matzui etzel rov bnei adam.25:12Now, with this, by the way,25:13there could be a leniency also.25:16Meaning, if you are a person25:18that has a rare exotic pet in your house,25:22let's say you have a25:24tiger. I don't know, why would you have a tiger?25:26Don't ask me. Let's say you have a tiger.25:29You're raising a tiger in your backyard in a cage, of course,25:32and you eat on Shabbat25:33and you have some sort of leftover food that's not fit any animal.25:36The only animal in the world that could eat this is a tiger.25:39For you, that food will not be25:42muktzeh, even though you're not planning to give it to the tiger.25:44It doesn't make a difference.25:45Since it's fit for an animal that you own,25:48it's not25:49muktzeh. However, Other people,25:52other people who do not own a tiger25:56and not anywhere there are tigers around,25:59so for them it will be26:01muktzeh. But you who own such an animal,26:04and the muktzeh that you have in front of you26:08is not really going to be—the leftover food that you have in front of you26:10is not really going to be26:12muktzeh because it'd be fitting for a tiger.26:15Okay. Now the question is26:19what's called commonly found.26:22You know, let's say I live in a city26:24where there are no dogs,26:26and this food I have left over is fit for a dog,26:29right? But I only have cats,26:32so does that work?26:33The answer is no.26:35In order for this heter to work,26:37remember that type of animal has to be able to eat it.26:40So let's say I finish my meal and I have some hard bones.26:43Cats will never eat this,26:44but dogs will,26:45and I don't have dogs in my26:47neighborhood. I don't have dogs in my city.26:49In that case, then everybody will agree again26:52that's going to be26:53muktzeh. Also, it's not any animal.26:56The animals are commonly found26:58has to be animals that could eat that leftover.27:03How commonly found they are, we find27:07a machloket. Kol hacham Beit Tzion, it's interesting,27:09he says that let's say you live in a city,27:12and you live in a neighborhood in the city27:15where around your specific neighborhood,27:17that specific27:18animal—let's give the mashal with the cats and dogs.27:20Imagine you live in a city27:21where dogs are common but not in your neighborhood.27:24In your neighborhood only cats are common.27:26In order for you to get to a neighborhood which has dogs,27:28you'll have to walk, let's say, 25 minutes,27:31a half an hour away.27:32According to27:33hacham Beit Tzion, since dogs are out of your neighborhood limitation.27:38Then your leftover food, which is only fit for a dog,27:42will be27:43muktzeh. That's called27:44kamlifan. However, Chacham Ovadia disagrees,27:48and he brings a proof from the27:49Ben Ish Chai, so we could put Chacham Ovadia and Ben Ish Chai on the same side.27:53They both hold that if you live in a certain city,27:56as long as it's within the city limits27:59and I can technically walk over on Shabbat28:01or the animal could get to me on Shabbat,28:03then it will be fine.28:05That means if in my neighborhood I have no dogs,28:09and half an hour away there's another neighborhood over there,28:12they do have dogs,28:15and I have leftover food which is only fit for dogs,28:18it doesn't make a difference.28:19Since there are dogs in my city28:20and I could get to them on Shabbat,28:22they could get to me on Shabbat,28:23that's it.28:24It's called fit for animal consumption.28:27My leftover bones will not be28:32muktzeh. Another point to discuss.28:34Remember we said there are three things when it comes to guidelines28:36of what's called kamlifan around us.28:40When the animals are around us,28:44one must be able to feed them on Shabbat,28:47meaning to say,28:49there's a halacha that we find in28:52Shulchan Aruch, that animals which are not owned by you,28:56or certain animals that—yeah, let's take that—animals that you do not own,29:01you have ein mezonot alecha, you have no responsibility to feed them,29:04and since you have no responsibility to feed them,29:07it's asur to put food in front of them.29:11So that's what the halacha says.29:12So based on that,29:14let's say I do have cats,29:16which we all do have,29:18and I have squirrels,29:19which in our neighborhoods we all have squirrels and cats.29:23So these animals are very, very common around us,29:27but nobody owns them.29:29I certainly don't own them,29:30and since I don't own them,29:31can I feed them on Shabbat?29:34It doesn't make a difference now29:36if I'm going to actually feed them or not.29:38I want to know right now,29:41since these animals are not my responsibility to feed,29:45does the heter of29:49ra'ui lemachal behemah, that the food is technically fit for animals,29:51apply or not?29:52So we have a machloket over here.29:55We have a machloket between, going back to29:58Tehillah l'David, one of the great30:00poskim 150, 200 years ago,30:02and of our day poskim,30:04Rav30:06Elyashiv, Rav Nissim Karelitz, they all hold30:07that since according to30:09halacha you cannot feed them,30:11so therefore,30:12if the food that you have30:15is only fit for those types of animals,30:18then the food becomes30:21muktzeh. Rav Elyashiv says30:23even if you have animals that commonly eat by you,30:26you don't own them,30:26but you know how some people have cats30:27that walk into their backyard30:28and they put out some food for them.30:29According to30:31Rav Elyashiv, since they're not yours,30:32you can't even feed them.30:34The only exception is by a dog,30:36because we find the Chazal told us30:37it's a mitzvah to always give food to a dog.30:39So a stray dog,30:40even though it doesn't have any owners,30:41it's a mitzvah to feed them.30:42Everyone will agree30:43that any food that's fit for a dog30:45is not going to be30:46muktzeh. But if some food is not fit for a dog,30:48it's only fit for a cat,30:49and the cats have no owners,30:52then according to the above poskim that we mentioned,30:55the food will become30:56muktzeh. However,30:58Rav Shlomo Auerbach, Chacham Ovadia, disagree,31:01and they explain that31:03the whole problem of me31:04feeding an animal on Shabbat31:06that's not mine31:08is because of31:09tircha. Because I'm going to put extra effort,31:11but in the case where I don't have to put any extra effort,31:13where I'm throwing it out anyway,31:15so what's the difference if I throw it out in the garbage,31:17if I throw it out, if I put it out for the cat?31:20Also, if I just leave it there31:22and I don't put it in front of the animal,31:24the Mishnah Berurah says31:25clearly that's mutar.31:25Besides that,31:27you have Rabbi Yisrael Fisher,31:29who says that31:30in order for this heter to apply,31:32we don't need to actually feed the animal.31:35As long as the food is fit for animal consumption,31:40that's already good enough31:42to save this food from becoming31:45muktzeh. So let's review very quickly.31:48As long as I have food31:50that I can feed animals with them,31:54although they don't have owners,31:57although they're not mine,31:59it's not my responsibility.32:00But since they're fit for me to feed to the animals, since they could technically be eaten by animals,32:06those food are not muktzeh. But again, with the condition, they have to be around in my city.32:12And number two is, besides being around my city, they have to be fit.32:17The animals that I'm planning, you know, that are around my city could technically eat from them if they would like.32:23Now, question is, does the halacha change in our days32:27because most people don't take their leftovers and give them to animals?32:31So do we say that since today, in our days, people don't take their food and give their leftovers to the animals,32:37do we say that since we don't do that, we cannot feed the animals, we don't have the32:42heter? This is also, I found some32:45poskim that are machmir, but even those who are machmir agree that those who are lenient,32:51יש להם על מה לסמוך, besides the fact that anyway we saw that many poskim, like Rabbi Soloveitchik, say32:56that I don't have to actually feed the animals in order to make sure to qualify my food from not being33:04muktzeh, as long as it's fit for animal consumption.33:06So therefore, let's review very quickly.33:08When I come back to my leftover food and I look at my table and I see,33:13I want to now figure out which is muktzeh and which is not33:15muktzeh. I look at my table and I see category number one: food which is fit for human consumption.33:19If it's disgusting, so I can pick it up anyway,33:23graf shel rei. If it's not disgusting, but it is still fit, so then that's it. It's fit for human consumption.33:31Even though I'm planning to throw it out, it's not muktzeh, I can throw it out.33:34And the examples I gave: pieces of rice, meat, chicken, food that technically could be eaten.33:43If the food that's on my table is not fit for human consumption,33:47have bones or crumbs of bread I'm not planning to eat, which are under33:52kezayit, in that case, it's not fit for human consumption, but it will be fit for animal consumption.33:59It'll still not be muktzeh if I'm in an area where there are animals that would eat such a thing.34:04So if you live in a city like New York City, where you have a lot of squirrels and cats34:09and a lot of dogs around you, Then, again, even though you don't actually feed them,34:15you could pick them up and they will not be muktzeh. However,34:18category number three, which are leftover foods that even animals cannot eat,34:25like pits from a lot of the fruits, hard pits of a lot of the fruits,34:31eggshells, the hard bones that have no marrow or anything else or no flavor on them,34:35those are not fit even for animals.34:40Those, everybody will agree, no machloket on this,34:42everybody will agree that's completely34:44muktzeh. So that's muktzeh. Now what do you do now?34:46What do I do? How do I clear my table from those shells?34:51Let's say I have eggshells. Let's say I have hard pits.34:54How in the world could I clear my table? You tell me it's muktzeh, I can't move them?34:57Because remember, what kind of muktzeh is this?35:00These leftover foods become muktzeh machmat gufo.35:02Muktzeh machmat gufo means that they cannot be moved or handled in any way.35:09I mean to say, in a normal way.35:10So how do I clear the table?35:12So let's give you three35:16heterim. Number one, if the leftover food is repulsive, we already explained that could qualify for graf35:23shel rei. Graf shel rei, we said that's a concept in the laws of35:27muktzeh. It's a halachic terminology, which if something qualifies as graf shel rei, meaning that's repulsive,35:37I get disgusted by it, I don't want it to be there,35:41I have a heter to move them in a normal fashion.35:43Even my hands, regular hands, I could pick it up.35:46So if I see there's such a mess on the table, or it's even fell on the floor, or whatever it is,35:51I could pick it up. If it's a graf shel rei, I could pick it up, sweep it off the table,35:57even in a normal fashion, not a problem whatsoever.36:01Number two, the other heter for me to clean my table,36:05when, again, when I'm dealing with foods or leftovers that are in category number three,36:11which are the not fit for human or animal consumption at all,36:16I can do it by removing the entire tablecloth.36:18Most of us today will eat on a tablecloth, on a disposable plastic tablecloth.36:24So if I see a lot of dirt and a lot of eggshells and all these kind of things on the tablecloth,36:31that is, and they're all muktzeh machmat gufo because they're all, you know, not edible, not by humans or by animals,36:38and it's also not a graf shel rei. It's just all over the place, not a graf36:42shel rei. So then in that case, that means it's not disgusting to me,36:44since I'm picking everything up36:47all together. And on the tablecloth I also have some things that are fit for animals36:52because for sure you find pieces of bread, crumbs of bread.36:56For sure you have leftover rice, and you have all these things together.36:59Besides that, the tablecloth itself, it's technically not muktzeh, although it's holding37:05muktzeh, but I'm picking everything all up together.37:07In that case, I could clean up everything all together and remove it if I need the area of the37:12table. Again, with that condition, if I need the area of the table, then I could pick it all up and throw it out,37:19assuming, again, that's not graf37:21shel rei. Keep in mind, if it's disgusting and you can't bear it to be there,37:25of course you could clean up anyway. You have that37:27heter. The other heter that I have, so the following heter applies when,37:31let's say, one or two people are eating by themselves on Shabbat.37:34So I'm neat. The person I'm eating with is also neat,37:38so we don't have dirt all around us.37:39And now I want to clean up, but, you know, I have some eggshells that I put on the side.37:45I have some pits from fruits that I put on the side as well.37:49So then, in that case, I want to take them off.37:52I want to keep the tablecloth on. I don't want to throw it out.37:54It's not so much that's disgusting. So how do I clean it?37:58And the answer is what we explained last week, something known as38:02tiltul min hatzad. Tiltul min hatzad is I'm using something that's mutar to remove something that's38:07asur. I could do that. When can I do that?38:10I could do that only if I need the area to use.38:17That means if I'm taking a napkin, which is not38:21muktzeh, and I want to move the hard pits, I want to sweep them away,38:25I can do that. I can take them off the table that way if I need the area of the table.38:30L'tzorech hatzad, halacha tells us, is mutar38:35ltzorech davar hamutar. I'm not going to go into it so much. You can listen to last week's class38:39and you'll get more of a clarity on this.38:41So again, if I want to clear my table, I have three ways I could clear it38:45of leftover food in category number three.38:48Either because it's a graf shel rei, it's very disgusting, it's repulsive, I want to move it away from me.38:53Number two, I'm picking it up together with things that are mutar,38:58like taking off the whole tablecloth.39:00When I need the table, I need to put a new tablecloth on.39:03Number three is by sweeping it off the table with something mutar,39:10like a fork, a knife, or a napkin.39:13It says I'm taking it off that way, I could put it all together, I could take it all together and put it away.39:18Some have a question now.39:21If I'm clearing the table, you know, sometimes what people do,39:24let's say you have seven people eating on your Shabbat table.39:26So now, you have everybody's leftovers.39:29Some people, what they do is they take all the leftovers from each plate,39:34they pile them up all on the same plate,39:37and then they put all the plates together,39:40and the top plate will have the leftovers of everybody's stuff, all the junk on it,39:45and they'll take that away and throw it out.39:47Some have a question:39:48how should one go about in clearing the table?39:52Should they pick up each plate by itself and then— Clear the plate over the39:57garbage, or should they pile everything, all the...40:00Leftover foods, or can they pile all leftover foods on one plate and take it all together?40:04Not should they. They want to pile it all together. It's much easier.40:07It's easy to do the work.40:09So in this case, it says that's not a problem.40:11You know why?40:12Because anyway you're picking it up because it's graf shel rei, it's disgusting, and40:16you have the heter anyway to pick it up.40:18So although one is supposed to minimize on his moving40:23muktzeh, in such a case where you move each plate back and forth,40:26you're not really minimizing anything.40:27Either way, you're going to have to sweep all that away.40:30And especially if you pile all them up and it turns everything disgusting and makes it worse for you,40:36kal vachomer you could do it.40:37So those who clean their table by piling all the leftover foods onto one plate,40:45it's not a problem of making a graf shel rei because anyway you're picking it up, you're moving it.40:49It was disgusting probably from before,40:51and it's the same amount of tiltul, if not less,40:55and it makes it also easier,40:57so you don't have a problem of tircha as well on Shabbat.41:00So those heterim, Rav Nissim Karelitz says,41:02you could continue to clear your table in such a fashion.41:06Here's another question.41:08What if one peeled an egg on a plate in the kitchen on Shabbat?41:13So I'm assuming because it's peeled on a plate in the kitchen, the kitchen is not in front of you.41:19So in order for graf shel rei to work, we mentioned last week,41:23graf shel rei means if it's in front of you, it's repulsive.41:26But if something is not in front of you, so you have no heter to move it41:30because it's not repulsive. You're not looking at it.41:33So in the case we have something, the guy went and he peeled an egg on top of a plate on Shabbat,41:39and you have the eggshells on the plate. So now how could you pick that up?41:43Eggshells are not fit for human or animal consumption.41:48So it's category number three.41:49So it's41:52mukze machmat gufo. I can't pick it up because it's not graf shel rei; it's not disgusting, it's only a few eggshells.41:57It doesn't look nice, but it's not41:59graf shel rei. Also, I'm not picking it up together with the whole tablecloth, which is carrying something mutar.42:04And for me to sweep it away with tiltul min hatzad, you know, I don't need the place.42:10It's in the kitchen. I don't need that area.42:12So how can I do—how can I clean the eggshells?42:16So to answer your question, first of all, we have to bring a concept that we spoke about last week,42:22and that is called42:25bitul keli mehechano. There is an issur on Shabbat in the laws of42:28mukze that one cannot place something that's mukze machmat gufo on a utensil that is otherwise not42:39mukze. Meaning, we know that if mukze is on top of a42:44kli shemelachto l'heter—so let's take a kli shemelachto l'heter, let's say like a plate.42:47If you have something that's mukze machmat gufo on top of it, let's say you have money on top of a plate,42:51so long as the money is on it, the plate also becomes42:54mukze. I can't even move the plate.42:56The plate is holding the money.42:58If the money falls off and the money was not there from prior to Shabbat,43:04then I can move the plate.43:06But as long as the plate is holding something that's43:11mukze, it has the same status as the43:13mukze, even the plate, which is usually mutar.43:16So the chachamim forbid us to place something that's mukze machmat gufo on a43:27kli shemelachto l'heter. Meaning, for example, I cannot peel an egg and put the shells,43:31which are mukze machmat gufo because they're not edible, they're not fit for anything,43:34I cannot put the peels of the egg on a regular plate43:37because that's called43:38mevatel keli mehechano. It's like I broke the plate because now I can't move it.43:42I have mukze on it.43:44Or some explain it's like I cemented the plate to the ground,43:48and that's like similar to boneh.43:49It's43:51an issur d'rabbanan, known as43:54mevatel keli mehechano. So how does one peel an egg?43:55How does one do such a thing?43:57The best way to peel an egg is to go straight over the garbage44:00and peel them, that all the pits, all the—excuse me—all the shells just fall off over there.44:05Now, apply, by the way, by anything,44:07when you're separating in a way44:09that's not borer, you're separating something that becomes44:11mukhbar, like peels of certain fruits or the pits of certain things.44:15If you're removing them, the best is to peel them on top of the garbage,44:19let them go straight.44:20In the case where you do have to peel,44:21let's say you have six eggs and you have to peel them44:24the hot, and you can't go over the garbage,44:25you have to do it on the plate for whatever reason it is.44:28In that case, when you must place them on a44:32kli, make sure you put something that's mutar on the plate first.44:35Like, for example, take a piece of bread,44:37place it on the plate.44:39So now the plate is holding the bread.44:41After, when you peel the egg on it,44:42so now you're not44:45mevatel keli mehechano, because even after the eggshells are on it,44:47you could pick it up.44:49Why? Because you have the bread as well as the eggshells on it together.44:54Since I have something that's also mutar on it,44:56it's not called44:59mevatel keli mehechano. That's in general how you should do it.45:00In our case, where a guy already has done it,45:03someone matir that if you place a piece of bread on top of that plate,45:07now the eggshells become batel to the bread,45:12and the plate is now holding the bread.45:14Someone matir it such a way, so in the case where you have to move it,45:17you can move it in such a fashion.45:19Otherwise, you can always, of course, pick up anything that's45:22muktzeh, kel achar yad means in a not normal fashion,45:25in the back of your hand, and with your wrist, or the like.45:30Okay, one more last halacha. We have a few minutes left.45:34I want to talk about one last45:36halacha. Maran Shulchan Aruch brings down45:38in45:42Siman Chet, halacha chaf tet, or lamed, let me just check,45:44in45:46halacha lamed, he brings down, he says that pits of dates,45:50in the place where they feed them to an animal,45:53is not45:54muktzeh, because in that place animals eat pits of45:57dates. What do you learn from Maran?45:59That if you're in a place where they don't feed pits of dates to animals,46:04or let's say you're eating fruits46:06and there are pits that are not edible by any animal,46:12it is46:14muktzeh. Where does this halacha come from?46:15It comes from the46:16Gemara. The Gemara said that some rabbis, when they were eating on Shabbat some pits,46:19they would spit them behind them on Shabbat.46:22They wouldn't spit them in front of them;46:23they would spit them behind them on Shabbat.46:24What's the reason they did that?46:26The answer is because the pits are46:29muktzeh. So why did they throw them behind them?46:30And the answer is they didn't want to throw them in front of them.46:33Why?46:33There's a halacha that's known46:35that you're not allowed to make a46:38graf shel rei lechatchila. You cannot create a situation46:42where something would be disgusting in front of you46:44so you could have the heter of picking it up.46:46Meaning to say, in the laws of46:47muktzeh we just learned46:48that when you have muktzeh that is disgusting,46:50that's repulsive,46:51you have the heter to pick it up with your own bare hands.46:53You cannot create such a situation.46:55For example, in this case46:57where the rabbi was eating pits,46:58if he would have all the pits piled up in front of him,47:01after a while it becomes a47:03graf shel rei and it's mutar to move it.47:04But to do47:05that lechatchila would be47:06asur. So therefore, as a result,47:07the rabbi spit it behind him.47:11So the question is47:12now, based on this47:15halacha, how do we go around—how do we eat?47:17Let's say people like to eat olives.47:19So when I eat olives,47:20I have the pits afterwards.47:21Pits are47:22not—nobody, no human can eat the47:23pits. And also animals don't eat the pits of olives either.47:27By this, not only pits of olives,47:28it's pits of almost all fruits47:30that are not edible.47:32Now, inclusive of apple pits and everything.47:33Now, an apple pits, usually if you're eating an apple,47:36you'll always have some sort of food47:38stuck to the pits of the apple,47:39so you don't have a problem.47:41But let's say you're eating oranges,47:43clementines,47:44not the seedless ones,47:45you know, the ones that have seeds.47:47How do you take47:49out—what do you do with the pits afterwards?47:50It becomes47:54muktzeh. The47:55Shulchan Aruch Harav, the Graz,47:56he understood from this Gemara,47:58why did the Rabbi, Rabbi Ashi...48:00Spit it behind him. He understood the reason why the rabbi spit behind, because he couldn't put it in his hand first, and therefore he learns from here that when a person's eating fruits and there are pits left over, he should not put it in his hand first and then dispose of it.48:15He has to spit it right out where he wants to get rid of it.48:19Most poskim don't rule this way.48:21Some Acharonim did go with the Shulchan Aruch Harav. Aruch HaShulchan went with him, for example; he brought the same halacha.48:27But the rest of the poskim don't bring it this way,48:30especially, especially that it's going to be disgusting.48:33People are eating in front of you and you're sitting around people, and then you're eating a pit and you're throwing it right out.48:40Therefore, although even those who are machmir like Shulchan Aruch Harav will agree, and should agree,48:45that if you're eating around people, it's going to be disgusting, don't spit it right out on the plate.48:49You could spit it first in your hand and then place it.48:52Now, in the Gemara it says that the rabbi spit it behind him.48:55Why the rabbi spit it behind him?48:57Like we said, because in those days, you know, they swept everything later. It wasn't a big deal to spit food behind you.49:04And nowadays, if you spit behind you, your wife is going crazy, your mother is going crazy,49:09it's going to be a mess. You're going to end up cleaning it up anyway,49:11so it makes no difference if you spit it behind you or in front of you.49:13So therefore, if you're eating pits, you're allowed to spit it out in your hand first,49:18and when you're placing it in front of you, remember that's really49:22muktzeh. So make sure that you place, if you're putting in, let's say some people put it in a plastic cup,49:27the people are eating seeds without salt, unsalted seeds, or things of the like, cherries, and you have all these pits left over,49:36and what do you do with them?49:38So you want to spit them in your hand and then put it on a plate, you're allowed to.49:40Just make sure, like we said beforehand, to avoid the problem of bateil kli49:45meichano, make sure you first place something that's not muktzeh, like bread or something else, on the plate.49:49This way it doesn't become a problem of bateil kli49:53meichano. First put the bread on the plate, and then afterwards take the pits and put them on the plate as well.49:58This way you have the ability to also clean it up afterwards, because you're picking up the plate together with the pits and the bread.50:04And this way you avoid the problem of bateil kli50:08meichano. That is pretty much the time that we have left over,50:12although I'm looking at the time, I have about two minutes left.50:14So I want to make again the announcements50:17that if anybody would like to call in for any questions regarding what is muktzeh, how to clear the table on Shabbat and everything else,50:24you could call into the number50:29718-683-5858. We'll be here for another 10-15 minutes to answer your questions on muktzeh specifically,50:34but in general if you have any other questions off the air, that is.50:38If you'd like to text in, you could text in50:44347-927-8398. The questions that come in, obviously within the first five minutes, I'll be able to answer afterwards.50:49I don't know if we'll have time to answer.50:51And again, the announcement that, be'ezrat Hashem, our halacha shiur... In person of the Ben Ish Chai will be this Leil Shabbat in our shul51:03on Bet Yosef on Ocean Parkway and Avenue N in the basement by Congregation Sukkat David.51:09We start Mincha by candle lighting time,51:11and we'll be going until we change till about Adar or Purim, when we start changing the clock.51:17We will have, after our bit of Leil Shabbat, we will have the class on the Ben Ish Chai halacha, as we give over here.51:24And that's it. We have two more minutes left over.51:26Maybe I'll squeeze in one more halacha, and that is garbage cans.51:30What's the status of garbage cans on Shabbat?51:33So you decide for yourself.51:36What does that mean?51:37We just learned a lot of halachot now of what is muktzeh, what's not muktzeh, what is in your garbage.51:42If your garbage is full of diapers and things that are disgusting, then it's all of course a51:48muktzeh. Yeah, but graf51:50shel rei. Graf shel rei is only that when I'm in front of it, I'm allowed to move it out of my way.51:54If I have my garbage in the staircase or on the balcony or outside,51:58so I have no heter to move it now. It's disgusting. It's52:01all full. Now, if your garbage is full of things that are really edible by humans or by animals,52:07so in that case, your garbage is not52:09muktzeh. If it's a mixture of both of them, well, you could tell.52:12If it's still things are there technically edible, as you see animals could go through it,52:18so technically in the place where cats and animals could eat from it,52:21technically the garbage should not be52:23muktzeh. But if it's not that way, then it should become52:27muktzeh, and mean to say, if it's full of things that are junk and people don't eat,52:31then it would be probably52:33muktzeh. In any case, we have to sign off right now.52:36Thank you for listening.52:37We'll see you next week,52:38be'ezrat Hashem. At the same time, 2 o'clock here on Wednesdays for the Halacha Hour, live on52:45JewishRadio.com. Thank you, Adonai. Thank you, Nissim, for this wonderful program.