Torah · Halacha YomitThe Conditions to Allow Borer - Part 2Rabbi Uri Nahum · November 8, 2026 · 39 Melachot-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareTranscript0:00Okay, so based on a lot of the halachot that we said in the last week and a half,0:06we could come now to a summary of those halachot, what the poskim bring down when it comes to borer.0:12Borer is separating. Separating on Shabbat is a0:16melacha, but not every separation is asur, as we've been discussing.0:21What makes it mutar in order to be able to separate from a mixture on Shabbat, you need three conditions.0:27What are these three conditions? Number one is it's got to be0:32b'yad. Number two is miyad, and it's got to be also—number three is ochel mitoch0:37psolet. So you see, the poskim bring b'yad, miyad, ochel mitoch0:42psolet. What does that mean? Is basically what we've been discussing to now.0:45So first of all, like we said, in order for even a question of borer to come up,0:49it has to be a mixture. In order for there to be a mixture, there has to be two things,0:55two ingredients that are mixed together,0:57which means they're in the same bowl, like we said, like they're touching each other.1:01Then we have the question of borer. Now, you want to separate, you got to take ochel.1:06What does it mean, ochel? Ochel, like we said, is what you want, as opposed to removing what you don't want.1:14B'yad, which means you got to use your hand or an extension of your hand, like we said last week about1:18forks or other tools. It cannot be a special tool for separating.1:22And finally, the third condition is miyad. It has to be for something of immediate use, which we didn't discuss in detail,1:29but it has to be something that we want to use almost immediately.1:32So that's the three conditions when it comes to borer. So you have to have, like in my head,1:37I, you know, eventually everybody will get it easier. You have to have five things.1:42Number one is you're looking out to see, is there a mixture or not? Is there two ingredients?1:47Next, even if you have two ingredients, are they mixed? Is this considered a mixture?1:51And then you got to get to the next three conditions, which are what makes it mutar.1:57You got to take what you want.2:00Without a special tool and for immediate use. Now let's talk about what's called miyad.2:05What is it called that you have to do it for right away? So obviously for right away,2:08it's a simple case. You want to eat it, you want to use it something right away, that's mutar.2:13But the poskim also bring down,2:15samuch l'seudah. The lashon of the Rishonim is samuch l'seudah. Samuch means2:22right by the seudah. That means if I'm not eating right away, I'm preparing the meal. Let's say I'm shelling eggs, right?2:29I'm cracking eggs, right? I'm taking—now I'm separating. So now I'm doing it for2:35the seudah. I didn't start the seudah yet. Is that mutar?2:37So miyad says immediately. It sounds like right away. But samuch, what does samuch mean?2:44The Chazon Ish says that just like we find that when it comes to the2:48Mishnah, when it talks about2:58lo yeshev... it says, lo yeshev adam etzel hasapas samuch l'minchah. What does samuch over there? The poskim bring down within a half an hour. So he says samuch is also within a half an hour.3:04So if a person wants to do this preparation,3:06as long as you're planning to eat from it, or the seudah is starting within a half an hour, you can do preparation.3:12If it's not going to be3:14a half an hour, that's going to be a little bit later.3:17So let's say a woman wakes up in the morning,3:19she says, Let me prepare whatever I need to prepare. It could be with the salads, whatever it may be, and then,3:26you know, I'll pray, and then my husband will come home from shul, and then we'll sit down, and then we'll have kiddush.3:30That's not samuch. That would be a problem, even though she's planning to eat it, whatever it is,3:35but that's not samuch. Now, one more detail about the samuch, and that is3:39that samuch, although we said a half an hour to the beginning of the seudah, if you have a large seudah, a lot of people are coming,3:44or it needs more preparation, so that half an hour could be a little bit longer.3:48It's whatever, usually when you're going to finish the preparation, that you have to start within a half an hour.3:53So if you have 40 people coming, you're going to need like an hour of preparation.3:58It doesn't mean that they all have—you could prepare as long as the finish, when you conclude the4:03separation, will be within half an hour of starting.