Torah · Halacha YomitTochen - Slicing VegetablesRabbi Uri Nahum · November 15, 2026 · 39 Melachot-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareTranscript0:01We're in the middle of the halachot of tochen, middle, and I don't know, but we said like it's very short in the Shulchan Aruch.0:08So today's halacha, we'll start with the background from the Gemara. The Gemara says, Amar Papa. Papa says,0:13Hai man defarim silka, a person, farim from the word mafrum in Arabic, which is a person who slices, who0:21grinds, who cuts very small. Silka, silka is,0:24it's called turnips. Haya mishum tochen is chayav because of tochen. Is chayav because he's grinding.0:32So the halacha of tochen, of here the Gemara tells us, if you cut the silka very small, then you're chayav because of0:40tochen. The Rambam, when he brings this, he says that he adds the words that mishum, which means he's coming to cook it.0:48A person who cuts it so small in order to cook it, then it's going to be chayav because of0:54tochen. Sounds like from the words of the Rambam that we're talking about specifically0:59vegetables that are1:00not able, you're not able to eat them raw.1:03There's something that you're not able to eat them raw. If you cut them very small, it would be a problem, which means,1:06according to the Rambam, it sounds like if you take, if cucumber or tomato, things that you could technically eat raw,1:12even if you cut them very small, it should not be a problem of tochen. That's what it sounds like. However,1:18Shulchan Aruch, when he comes to write the halacha, knowing, of course, what the Rambam, knowing all different Rishonim,1:22he writes in the following words: Hamchatech hayarak dak dak,1:29chayav mishum tochen. He doesn't say silka. He doesn't say1:33because of bishul. He says a person who cuts vegetables,1:37dak dak, very small, is chayav, is issur d'Oraita of1:42tochen. So these are two things that Shulchan Aruch includes in his words, that number one,1:47when the Gemara gave the example of silka, it didn't mean only silka; it meant everything.1:53And also, number two is, it's not because you're planning to cook it. Even other foods that are edible that way,1:59you're cutting it smaller, it's still going to be asur, and not just asur, but because of2:05chayav mishum tochen, it's an issur d'Oraita as well. So therefore, this already gives us a big warning.2:10The Mishnah Berurah comes and he adds and he says, all this, however, is2:16l'inyan chiyuv, but l'inyan issur, yesh l'zaher ... he says, if you don't do it so, so small, if you do it a little bit bigger,2:22okay, so it's not chayav mid'Oraita; that means he didn't do an2:27issur d'Oraita. However, but just to avoid it, to make it a little bit bigger,2:30not necessarily are you avoiding the issur of2:35tochen mid'Rabbanan. It could be an issur of tochen mid'Rabbanan. Then he quotes one of the Rishonim, who's known as Sefer2:40Yere'im, the Ram, Rabbi Eliezer of Metz, and he says like this. He says,2:43Shiur dakotan2:45lo noda lanu. We don't really know. We don't have a mesorah. We don't have a tradition exactly what size it's supposed to be.2:50So therefore, don't expect today, even with the video or with the audio, that I'm going to tell you exactly what size,2:55and you can have your measuring tape and say, Oh, you know, this is tochen, this is not2:59tochen. The size of how small it is, we don't know. So what does that mean? You can't eat salad?3:02So the way the poskim bring down is, if you can make a salad, you cut vegetables for salad,3:09you should do it in the following way.3:11Number one is, it should be a little bit bigger than you normally slice during the week.3:16So therefore, if you usually make it very small, make it a little bit bigger.3:20If you usually slice a little bigger, make it a little bit bigger than that.3:23So whatever you normally do during the week, do it slightly a little bit bigger.3:27Another thing is what the Rama brings down. Rama brings down, he says3:31that kol ze lo3:35mairi ela b'chotech u'maniach, aval im me'ochlo miyad, hakol sheari. He quotes the famous Rashba.3:37The Rashba writes, just like borer is asur.3:41Baborer, to eat it immediately will be mutar.3:45So too, to eat immediately will also be mutar.3:49What's the logic? To grind, sorry, to grind the food immediately will also be mutar.3:53What's the logic? Well, the logic is that this is called derech3:57achilah. This is how normal people eat.3:57Chachamim are not going to tell you, no, you can't eat this.4:00The guy wants to eat. This is how he normally eats.4:03If a guy is coming to eat, he wants to slice a small piece, he wants to eat it,4:05they're not going to tell you how big to slice it.4:08So therefore, to do it immediately.4:10Immediately doesn't have to be from the knife to your mouth.4:14Immediately can be within this hour, within the half an hour.4:17Some opinions even bring an hour,4:18but סמוך, which means right before you're coming to eat it.4:21So number one is, again, to avoid all the issurim with all the different4:25shitot. If you open up all the Tzion Chelek Aleph, it brings you all the different opinions4:28of the Rishonim, of the4:31Mechaber, and the conclusion is the same way:4:32to avoid all problems, slice a little bit bigger.4:36Number two is, it should be right before you start the meal.4:39It shouldn't be something that's done way before.4:41Number three is also, do not use any special tool for slicing.4:48We spoke, I think we mentioned it in this class, because we do also4:51find that we spoke about the grater, cheese grater,4:53right? So even though cheese is not subject to tochen, we said don't use a cheese grater.4:58The same thing would be, they have these salad,5:01you know what I'm talking about,5:02the salad, whatever, the salad maker, salad cutter,5:05right? So those salad cutters are not allowed to be used5:08on Shabbat, even if you're using the larger size.5:10Of course, the smaller size would be a problem,5:12but the larger size, even I'm making bigger.5:14This is how I usually have an Israeli salad style, I'm doing it bigger,5:19would still be asur because it's a special tool,5:22it's a special keli that's made for slicing,5:24and that should be avoided also when cutting vegetables on Shabbat.