Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 500 - How a Person Who Requires Meat on a Festival Should Conduct Himself; How to Salt [Meat on a Festival]

SECTION 500 How a Person Who Requires Meat on a Festival Should Conduct Himself; How to Salt [Meat on a Festival] (1-22)

1 [Our Sages] forbade many activities on a festival [to safeguard the] decree [against performing] commercial activity. What is implied? When a group of people desire to purchase an entire animal from a butcher, they should not establish a price with [the butcher].1 Instead, the butcher should bring two animals of equal [value] and tell [the prospective purchasers], “See [this animal] is [of equal value] as this one.” They may then take one of [the animals], slaughter it, and divide it among themselves¹ without casting lots, as stated in sec. 322.2 Consult that text. After the festival, they will learn how much the other [animal] is worth and each person will pay the price for his portion.

The [prospective] purchasers should not tell the butcher, “What you would take tomorrow for this [animal], we will pay you for the other that we will slaughter today,” because this is [equivalent to] mentioning a price for merchandise, which is forbidden on a festival.

2 A person may not tell [a group of prospective] buyers, “I will partner with you for a sela,”3 i.e., that he will take a portion of meat worth a sela. [This is forbidden because] it is prohibited to mention an amount of money on a festival.¹ Instead, [the person] should tell [the prospective buyers], “I will partner with you for a third of the meat” or “…a fourth.”¹ In such an instance, it is not evident and obvious [that the person is engaging in] commercial activity, but rather is [establishing] a partnership.4

3 It is, however, forbidden to tell a non-Jew, “I will partner with you for a third…,” or “a fourth.” [The rationale is that] it is well known that it is uncommon to partner with a non-Jew, and it is [therefore] evident [that the person is engaging in] commercial activity even if he does not mention a [specific] sum of money.

With regard to what does the above [restriction] apply? To entities whose purchase price is unknown, for example, meat, since all animals are not equal [in size (and therefore command prices)]. By contrast, when the purchase price is known, for example, [a quantity of] eggs or nuts,5 it is permitted to purchase them together with a non-Jew, as long as one does not mention a [specific] sum of money to him, as will be explained in sec. 517[:1,6 6].7 There are some authorities who permit [such a purchase] even if [the person] does mention a [specific] sum of money, as stated in sec. 323[:1]. Note the rationale mentioned there.8

There are authorities who maintain that even when the purchase price is unknown, it is permitted to purchase [items on a festival] even from a non-Jew, as long as one does not mention a [specific] sum of money. It is preferable to follow the stringency of the first opinion.

4 One may not purchase meat from a butcher for an established price, i.e., the [prospective purchaser] says: Give me a sela – or two [selaim – worth of meat].9 Nor may [the purchaser] tell [the butcher], “I am a partner with you for a sela,” so that it appears that he [is entering] a partnership rather than [engaging in] commercial activity. [The rationale is that] since [the purchaser] nevertheless mentions a sum, it is obvious that he [is engaging in] commercial activity.

[What should be done] instead? The butcher should give them a third or a fourth [of the animal¹] or [follow] the common custom in the city [regarding individual quantities of meat], without mentioning a specific price.10 He should then bring two animals of equal value and tell [the prospective purchasers], “See this [animal] is like this one.” On the following day, the remaining animal is evaluated and [the purchasers should pay] the appraised amount, as stated above.11

5 It is forbidden to weigh [any object] on a festival 12 so that one does not conduct himself as he does during the week. It is even forbidden to weigh meat at home to know how much to cook. [This] prohibition [applies] even when one is not exact when weighing and [does not care if] the amount is a little less or a little more. Similarly, it is forbidden to take a weight in one hand and meat in the other to estimate its weight. And it is likewise forbidden to weigh one portion against another whose weight is already known.13

6 [An ordinary person] is permitted to weigh [meat] in his hand, i.e., to place meat in his hand and estimate its weight. [By contrast,] a professional butcher who knows how to estimate [weight] precisely is forbidden to weigh meat in his hand in order to sell it.14 If, however, [the person] does not desire to sell [the meat], and is only weighing it to know how much to cook, he is permitted to weigh it in his hand, even if he is a professional butcher.

7 [Nevertheless, even] a professional butcher who knows how to be precise when he cuts [meat] so that he cuts a litra15 or half a litra, may cut in his ordinary manner without concern, even if he is cutting [the meat] to sell it. [This is permitted] since he is not weighing it in his hand.

8 [When] a container is graduated and [it is used to weigh meat by] adding a small quantity of water to it, placing the meat in the water, and then when the water reaches the graduations, the weight of the meat can be determined, it is forbidden [to weigh meat] in this manner on a festival.16 [This prohibition applies] even when one [does not care if] the amount is a little less or a little more, because it is obvious that he intends to measure [the meat’s weight].

9 It is forbidden to place meat on a balance scale. Even if [the person] does not desire to weigh [the meat], and places it there only to guard it from mice,¹⁶ if the pan [of the balance scale] is hanging in a place where it is common to weigh [objects, placing the meat there] is forbidden.17 [The rationale is that] it appears that [the person] desires to weigh [the meat].

10 Although it is forbidden to mention a price [for meat when purchasing it] on a festival,18 it is nevertheless permitted to mention the weight [of meat desired], i.e., one may tell [the butcher], “give me a litra of meat.” [The rationale for the leniency is that] one is not asking for [that exact] weight [of meat]. Instead, he is telling [the butcher] the [approximate] quantity, he will need, as explained in sec. 323[:3], regarding [mentioning] the number [of objects one desires];19 consult that text.

11 [On a festival,] it is forbidden to make a hole¹⁶ in [a piece of] meat with a knife so that one can hang it from [the hole. This prohibition was instituted so that a butcher will not] follow his weekday practice when selling meat, in which instance, he [cuts a hole in the meat to serve as] a handle¹⁶ and [then] gives it to the purchaser to take home. [Doing so is forbidden] because one must deviate [from his ordinary practice] on a festival, making a distinction [so that it is evident that] commercial activity is not permitted on [the festival]. Accordingly, one may not make a hole in [a piece of meat] with a knife, only with his finger,¹⁶ to deviate [from his ordinary practice].

If [one] seeks to make a sign [in a piece of meat] so that it will not be exchanged by another person,20 he may make a hole even with a knife.¹⁶

12 [One may] scald the head and feet [of a slaughtered animal] in boiling water to remove its hair.21 Similarly, one may singe these [limbs] in fire22 or place them in a mixture of ash and hot coals. All these labors [are permitted because they are] necessary [for the preparation of] food. However, one may not cover [an animal’s head or feet] with lime, plaster, or earth,²² because it appears as if he is [carrying out the preliminary stages of] making [leather].23 One may not cut off [the animal’s hair] with scissors²² because it appears that he is doing so for the sake of the hair.24

13 It is permitted to salt meat on a festival to extract its blood.25 [This license is granted] even though it was possible to salt [the meat] on the day before the festival26 because were one to salt it on the day before the festival, he would have to leave [the meat] in its salt until the following day. Were he not to do so, [the meat] would spoil.27 It is well-known that leaving meat in salt detracts from its flavor. Therefore, it is permitted to salt meat that one desires to eat that day on a festival.

[Moreover,] it is even permitted to salt meat that one does not desire to eat on a festival together with the meat that one desires to eat [that day] if there is concern that [the meat one does not desire to eat] will [otherwise] spoil.²⁵ [The rationale for the leniency is that the person] is troubling himself [only] once [to salt] all the meat.28 Salting the meat that [the person] does not desire to eat on the festival does not involve any additional difficulty, because he is salting it all together. True, doing so does involve a slight amount of additional trouble, because he must turn each piece [of meat] over individually to salt [each one] on its other side.29 Nevertheless, since the prohibition against salting meat on Shabbos and festivals is only Rabbinic in origin – for according to Scriptural Law, [the prohibition against] tanning does not apply regarding food, as stated in sec. 321[:230 – the Sages] ruled leniently in this [instance].

14 [The leniency mentioned in the previous subsection applies] even if one does not salt all the meat together. Instead, [one may salt the pieces] one by one by employing a ruse for every piece [of meat,31 i.e., the person should take a piece of meat and] say, “I desire to eat [a portion of] this piece today” and salt it. After salting one piece to eat on the festival, [he should take] another piece and say, “This other one is more attractive to me to eat today.” [He may then] salt it as well. He should follow the same pattern for every piece he desires to salt.

[This leniency is granted] even though [the person] could have salted [the meat] on the day before the festival.32 Why was this [leniency] granted to [a person]?33 So that one will not refrain from slaughtering due to the concern that salting the meat on the day before the festival would detract from its flavor, but instead [act in a manner that] will increase his festive joy.34

15 When does the above [leniency]35 apply? [When one salts the meat] before the morning meal. After the morning meal, however, it is forbidden to salt meat so that it will not spoil.

Even if one is willing to cook and eat one piece of meat, and he salts this piece together with the other pieces, it is nevertheless, forbidden to salt the other pieces. [The rationale is that the person] does not have to eat this piece of meat.36 He is eating it only so that he will be granted the license to salt the other meat. If so, this is an [obvious] ruse.37

16 When does the above [restriction] apply? When [the person] is salting the meat only out of concern that it might spoil. If, however, [the person] knows that [the meat] will definitely spoil [if he does not salt it], he is permitted to salt [the meat]38 even after eating [his festive meal] because of the financial loss he [would suffer. He may even salt the pieces] one after the other by employing a ruse for each piece, saying, “I will eat [a portion of] this piece today.”39 [Afterwards,] he must eat an olive-sized portion from one of [the pieces].40

[The Sages] only permitted salting [meat] after eating [one’s festive meal] when [the animal being salted] was slaughtered on the festival, so that the person would not refrain from slaughtering [on the festival].41 If, however, the animal was slaughtered before the festival, since [the person] could have salted [the meat] before the festival, he is forbidden to salt meat that he does not need for the festival unless he salts it before eating [his festive meal], in the manner explained above.³⁹

17 Even before the morning meal, the license granted a person to salt meat that he does not desire to eat on a festival42 [is limited in scope. He may] only salt it to remove its blood. However, after the meat has been salted for this purpose, [the person] is forbidden to salt it a second time so that it will not spoil. [This restriction applies] even if he salts [this meat] together with meat that he desires to eat on the festival.43

[The reason for the prohibition is that] since the meat that [the person] desires to eat that day does not need to be salted again, for he will cook it immediately thereafter, he will thus be troubling himself [to perform the second salting] solely for the meat that he does not desire to eat on the festival.44

What then should [the person] do so that [the meat] does not spoil after he salted it to remove its blood? He should not wash off its salt immediately.45 Instead, he should leave [the meat] in its salt until close to twelve hours pass,46 as stated in Yoreh Deah, sec. 70.47 After [that amount of time has passed], he should wash off the salt.

On the night [beginning] the second day of the festival [celebrated in the Diaspora, the person is permitted] to salt the meat again by employing a ruse for every piece [of meat, i.e., the person should take a piece of meat and] say, “I desire to eat [a portion of] this piece tomorrow [and salt it.48 He must salt the meat at night.] On the morning of the second day of the festival [celebrated in the Diaspora], by contrast, [the person] is forbidden to salt [meat] by employing such a ruse because [the ordinary practice is for a person] to immediately cook the meat that he desires to eat that day. Hence, it does not need [further] salting.49

18 It is permitted to remove [the sciatic nerve and the forbidden fats and veins] of an animal, [i.e., perform the process known as nikkur,] on a festival, even if [the animal] was slaughtered on the day before the festival and it was possible to [perform this process] before the festival. [The rationale is that] nikkur does not involve the performance of a labor that is forbidden in the complete sense. Even though the person is distinguishing between one [portion of the animal] and another, and is separating them from each other, this is not of consequence for they are all of the same type [of food].50 It is only that the Torah prohibited partaking [of those particular portions]. The prohibition against separating [on Shabbos and festivals] applies only when one separates two types [of food] from each other51 or waste from food since they are [different to the extent that they are] comparable to two types [of food].

Nevertheless, as an initial preference, it is desirable to deviate [from one’s ordinary practice] when performing nikkur on an animal that was slaughtered on the day before the festival, and nikkur could have been performed on it on [that day.52 For example,] one should perform nikkur with a hatchet or a cleaver or deviate in some other manner. If, however, it is impossible for [a person] to make [such] a deviation, he may perform nikkur in his ordinary manner. [This license applies even regarding the animal’s] hindquarters for which nikkur involves great difficulty, because [doing so] is necessary for the preparation of food.

19 To what does the above apply? To meat that one desires to eat on the festival. It is forbidden, by contrast, to perform nikkur on a festival on meat that one does not desire to eat on the festival. [This prohibition was instituted] because [the person] would be exerting himself [on a festival] for [benefit that will be derived on] a weekday. [An exception is made] only when there is concern that the meat will spoil53 and the person desires to salt it on the festival by employing the ruse described above.⁴⁸ [Nevertheless, he must first perform nikkur since] salting meat is not valid unless nikkur was performed first, as explained in Yoreh Deah, sec. 65.54

In such an instance, it is also permitted to perform nikkur employing a similar ruse, i.e., after performing nikkur on one piece of meat [so that he could] eat it on this day, [the person] should say, “This other one is more attractive to me to eat today.” He may then perform nikkur on the other piece.

[The Sages] did not permit such a practice unless [the animal] was slaughtered on the festival so that [people] would not refrain from slaughtering [on the festival]. If, however, [an animal] was slaughtered on the day before the festival, and it was possible to perform nikkur on its [meat] before the festival, it is forbidden to perform nikkur on the festival, except on the meat one desires to eat that day.55 [The rationale is that] nikkur does not detract from the flavor of meat at all. On the contrary, if nikkur is not performed [meat] will spoil more rapidly. If so, the person should have performed nikkur before the festival.56

Even if [an animal] was slaughtered on a festival, it is forbidden to perform nikkur [on its meat] using the ruse described above if one already ate his morning [festive] meal, for the reason described above.57

20 [The following laws apply when] nikkur was performed on meat [and afterwards,] it remained for two days without being salted [to remove its blood] before the festival, and the third day [after the animal was slaughtered] fell on the festival. If the meat will not be [salted] or soaked in water on [the third day after the slaughter of the animal, i.e., the day of the festival], it would be forbidden to [prepare it to be] eaten [in any other manner] except roasting, as stated in Yoreh Deah, sec. 69.58 [Therefore,] it is permitted to soak the meat in water [on festivals]59 even if one had already eaten his [festive] meal and he has no need for this meat on the festival. Nevertheless, since nikkur was performed before the festival, it is permitted to soak [the meat on the festival], just as it is permitted to move the meat since it is fit to be eaten on the festival.

True, [on a festival,] it is forbidden to perform any action for the sake of a weekday even though a [Scriptural] labor is not involved, for example, to wash utensils and rub them clean, as stated in sec. 503[:3] and sec. 509[:15]. Nevertheless, [in this instance, leniency is granted] since [the person] is not actually washing the meat by hand; he is merely soaking it in water. [This] does not resemble washing utensils, in which instance, he is actively performing a deed when washing them.60

21 When [a person] desires to eat meat on a festival, it is permitted to salt it on the festival even though he had the opportunity to salt it on the day before the festival.61 By contrast, when one cut open fish on the day before a festival, it is forbidden to salt them on the festival. [The rationale is that the flavor of] fish is improved by leaving it in salt. Therefore, [the person] should have salted them on the day before the festival.62

Nevertheless, it is permitted to put salt into the pan in which [the fish] are cooked. [The rationale is that] the prohibition against salting was only instituted [because of its resemblance to the melachah of] tanning leather,63 and that is not relevant when speaking of placing salt into water [when preparing] cooked food.

22 To what does [the above restriction] apply? To fish [whose flavor] improves when salted. However, it is permitted on a festival to salt fish whose meat is soft and would spoil when left in salt even when they could have been salted on the day before the festival. [Such fish] are governed by the same laws that apply to salting meat in all regards.