Torah · Halacha YomitTools for SeparatingRabbi Uri Nahum · November 5, 2026 · 39 Melachot-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareTranscript0:00So we're talking about the melacha of borer.0:04Like we said, it's not only borer, but it's zoreh, borer, and meraked.0:09So everything we're saying really applies to all of them.0:12And yesterday we learned that when you separate what you don't want from the mixture0:18is the issur of borer. If you take what you do want, that's not an issur of borer.0:23I want to just go on a tangent a little bit, just to apply what we learned so far0:28to the melacha of zoreh and meraked,0:32because till now we're talking about separating with your hand, which is the melacha of borer.0:35So just to apply very quickly to zoreh.0:38Zoreh happens to be there's not so much halacha l'maaseh on zoreh.0:41That means not so practical, but there is cases that will be practical.0:44Zoreh is using wind to separate.0:47So you're not gonna, you know, use any wind today to separate anything.0:51If you want to separate something, use your hand.0:53There are cases that people will use their wind.0:55That is how.0:57Remember, the issue of separating is always when you take what you don't want,1:01and there's got to be a mixture, which means there's got to be two ingredients and everything else.1:04So here's an example, two examples where a person, it's possible they can use the wind to separate.1:10Let's say you have peanuts,1:12okay? The peanuts, the regular peanuts,1:16the adama peanuts, okay?1:17So they have that little shell on them,1:20especially when you get to the bottom, you know, if you get a good bag,1:23you know, those peanut from the nut stores,1:26you got to the bottom, you have it in your hand,1:28and you're searching for1:30the, what? You're searching for the1:31peanut. It's a mix inside.1:33Now this is1:35considered—this is considered two ingredients.1:37There's a peanut and there's a shell.1:39Now I'm assuming you don't want the shell.1:42That's why you're searching for the peanut.1:44So now one way to do is to actually dig through and maybe find a1:48nut. The other easy way, you have it in your hand, you just go like this.1:52You blow on your hand on the mixture,1:56and the shells, which are very light, will fly away,1:59and the peanuts will be there.1:59Don't do this in your living room,2:01then you put yourself in2:02sakanat nefashot with your wife. You got to do this in somebody else's living room,2:05okay? Let him deal with it.2:06In any case, you're going to use the wind to separate.2:09That is an issur of2:13zoreh, because you're using, you're blowing to separate the unwanted,2:17in this case the shells, from what you want,2:20from the mixture, which is the peanuts and the shells.2:23Another example that could possibly come up,2:26it's probably not likely,2:27is that if you have cherries,2:31and cherries, you know, they have a little stalk on it,2:33that little stem, excuse me.2:35So a lot of times the stems fall out from the bag,2:38from groceries, whatever it is,2:39and now it's in the bowl.2:40It doesn't look good.2:41So you can sit there and go through it and pick out,2:43which will also be2:44borer. Or sometimes if you have, it's just for you,2:47even if it doesn't look, you just want it out,2:49you go like that, you blow on it, and it'll fly off.2:53That will also be an example of2:56zoreh. The first one is more likely to happen than the second one,2:59but these are two examples of3:01zoreh. It's hard for me to think of other cases,3:03but again, it's the same formula:3:05using wind to take out the unwanted from a mixture.3:09Now, meraked. Meraked is using a special tool.3:13So if they had the classic case of3:16meraked, it's taking a sifter and sifting.3:18Machloket Rishonim, if the good is coming out3:22or the bad is coming out, whatever it is,3:23but you're using a tool to separate.3:25So now, like we said in the beginning when we started3:29these, is that all these halachot, zoreh, meraked, and borer,3:33although in the dinei de'oraita they're separated,3:37they're different, in halacha, practical3:40lemaaseh, they're all under the same umbrella.3:42All the Shulchan Aruch talks about them together.3:45So therefore, when we talk and we mention,3:47they might cross over and they might overlap each other,3:49but we have to know that it applies.3:52You said it's borer, it's asur,3:54right?3:55Which melacha is it?3:56It's going to depend if you're keeping track3:59to bring a korban to the4:01Beit HaMikdash. But we have to know what's asur is asur.4:04So, melacha lemaaseh from Meraked is if there's a special tool4:09that's used for separation,4:10and you're using it to separate the bad from the good,4:13will also be asur.4:14It's not only a sifter, but any special tool4:17a person uses that's made to separate,4:20that's made to take out the bad from the good,4:22that will be a problem.4:23So they have some things, sometimes they have,4:26again, you have to know when it applies,4:27but they have some sort of, like kitchen,4:30a lot of these kitchen tools4:31where it goes straight to the pit4:32and just takes out the pit.4:34Special tool to take out the unwanted,4:36which is the pit,4:37that will be a problem of Meraked.4:41But again, we're going to call it under the category of borer4:44because that's how it's brought down in the Shulchan Aruch,4:46that the same more to come.