Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 505 - The Laws [Governing] Milking an Animal on a Festival

In that source, the Alter Rebbe explains that the rationale for this prohibition is that some melachos are normally performed to produce large quantities. For example, people normally grind large amounts of wheat at once, rather than grind just what is necessary for that day. Similarly, a person does not normally milk just one animal. Rather, he usually milks his entire herd at one time, and is thus preparing food for a number of days. Hence, if a person milked his herd on the festival, he would be toiling on the festival for the sake of the coming weekdays. This would prevent him from rejoicing appropriately on the festival.

See the Kuntreis Acharon (note 6) to sec. 495, where the Alter Rebbe mentions the concepts discussed here.

When one milks an animal into an empty container or into a container containing liquids, the milk that is expressed from the animal's udder halachically becomes a separate entity from that animal. Thus, milking an animal is considered to be mefareik, “extracting” – which is a derivative of the forbidden melachah of threshing. It is therefore forbidden by Rabbinic decree to milk an animal into an empty container or into one containing liquid on a festival.

See sec. 305:28, where the Alter Rebbe explains that milking an animal is categorized in this manner because a person who expresses milk into an empty container is extracting a liquid from the animal, which is considered as food.

Shabbos 144b. This license applies even according to Rabbinic Law.

I.e., the milk will serve as an ingredient in the dish being served.

See sec. 305:28, where the Alter Rebbe discusses this issue with regard to Shabbos.

It is not necessary that the person designate the animal to be slaughtered specifically on the festival. As the Alter Rebbe proceeds to explain, it is sufficient that the animal was designated to be slaughtered at some time in the future rather than to be kept for its milk. As long as the person designated it to be slaughtered, the animal is considered as “food” and its milk may be expressed into food.

Nolad refers to an entity that first comes into existence on the festival. See sec. 495:13.

See sec. 305:28, 32, where the Alter Rebbe states similar concepts regarding milk expressed from an animal on Shabbos. As the Alter Rebbe explains in these sources, on Shabbos, the meat of any animal that was not yet slaughtered is not considered as food, because it is forbidden to slaughter the animal on that day. Likewise, on Shabbos any milk in the animal's udder is not considered food. Therefore, if one were to milk the animal on Shabbos, even were he to express the milk into food,he would not be separating food from food. Accordingly, as the Alter Rebbe explains in that source, milk that is milked on Shabbos is usually considered nolad.

In his Kuntreis Acharon (note 1), the Alter Rebbe cites halachic authorities who support his ruling in the main text, that all milk expressed from an animal set aside for milking is considered nolad. The Alter Rebbe based his ruling on Beitzah 2a, which states that an egg laid on Shabbos or a festival by a chicken that was set aside to lay eggs is considered as nolad, even in a case when the chicken is not muktzeh. The rationale is that the egg is not considered as food that was separated from food, because a chicken that was set aside to lay eggs is not considered as food since its owner does not intend to slaughter it for food. The same logic applies to an animal that was set aside for its milk.

See sec. 495:13.

See subsection 7 below, and footnotes there. These sources explain that a non-Jew may milk a Jew’s animal on Shabbos and the festivals to alleviate the discomfort the animal would feel were it not to be milked.

See Marei Mekomos VeTziyunim, where it is explained that since the milk that is expressed on a festival from an animal that is not designated to be slaughtered is nolad and, therefore, forbidden to be used on the festival, any time such an animal is milked, it is considered that the person is not milking the animal for the sake of the festival, but solely to prepare food for the following days. This is forbidden because it is forbidden to perform melachah on a festival if one does not intend to benefit from it on the festival. See the Alter Rebbe’s statements in his Kuntreis Acharon to sec. 495 (note 6), and to sec. 518 (note 5). In these sources, the Alter Rebbe mentions the points stated in the main text here, elaborating on the approach of the Rishonim.

It is only permitted to express milk from a non-Jew’s animal into food, for only then is the milk considered to be food that was separated from food. If, however, the milk would be expressed into an empty container or into liquids, it would be considered as liquid that was separated from food, which is prohibited on a festival. (See subsection 1 above. See also sec. 495:9.)

See also sec. 310:3; see also sec. 497:25. where the Alter Rebbe also discusses this concept.

The Alter Rebbe is referring to the rule that the milk must be expressed into food.

There are situations where a person who performs a forbidden activity on Shabbos is forbidden to benefit from the activity that he performed (see sec. 318:1). Nevertheless, this stringency is, generally, not applied on the festivals. See sec. 502:1 and sec. 503:13.

See the Kuntreis Acharon (note 5) to sec. 518.

See the Kuntreis Acharon (note 6) to sec. 495.

This section is not extant in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. See the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Yosef Caro (Yoreh Deah 115:1). The Alter Rebbe is referring to the prohibition against drinking milk that is not chalav Yisrael, milk which was milked under Jewish supervision.

See also the Kuntreis Acharon (note 2) to sec. 305, where the Alter Rebbe mentions this prohibition.

Marei Mekomos VeTziyunim points out that in Kuntreis Acharon (note 6) to sec. 495, the Alter Rebbe explains that according to the stringent view, the milk is forbidden because it is classified as nolad, i.e., the milk was halachically considered food when it was within the cow, and once it was expressed into an empty container, it halachically became a liquid.

Perhaps, in the main text, the Alter Rebbe mentions the prohibition as stemming from our Sages' decree forbidding that ooze out of food is because that prohibition is accepted by all authorities while – as mentioned in sec. 493:13, there are authorities who rule leniently regarding nolad on festivals.

The Alter Rebbe is referring to the difference of opinion mentioned in subsection 5, above.

With his careful wording, the Alter Rebbe is alluding to two important principles. By specifying that a Jew observed the non-Jew milk the animal, the Alter Rebbe is stating that the milk conforms to our Sages' requirement (Avodah Zarah 35b, cited by Rav Yosef Caro in his Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 115:1) that one may only drink milk that was milked by a non-Jew when a Jew supervises the process.

The Alter Rebbe also specifies the Jew who observed the milking is someone other than the animal’s owner and the owner was unaware that the non-Jew was milking his animal. This is necessary, for had the Jewish owner known that the non-Jew was milking the animal, it would be considered as if he instructed the non-Jew to do so. Hence, in such an instance it would be forbidden for the Jewish owner to benefit from the milk, regardless of the prohibition against nolad mentioned here. See sec. 515:1 and 305:29.

Furthermore, as stated in footnote 3 above, this prohibition applies even according to the authorities who permit muktzeh on festivals.

The Alter Rebbe is referring to the rulings in the previous subsections permitting the milk of an animal that was expressed on a festival.

As the Alter Rebbe implies in that source, even the authorities who generally rule leniently regarding nolad on festivals accept this stringency.

Perhaps the Alter Rebbe mentions the issue of nolad here and not the decree against using liquids that ooze from fruit, because that concern does not apply when the milk is absorbed by food. See subsection 2, above. See also sec. 305:32.

In that source, the Alter Rebbe speaks about an egg laid on a Shabbos that directly precedes a festival, explaining that since the egg is forbidden on Shabbos by Rabbinic Law, it is also forbidden on the festival that directly follows. The rationale is that were the egg to be permitted, it would appear that Shabbos is preparing for the festival.

See sec. 513:10, where the Alter Rebbe rules in a similar manner regarding an egg laid on a Shabbos directly preceding the first day of a festival.

As the Alter Rebbe explains in sec. 325:9 and sec. 515:1, there are instances when if a non-Jew performs a forbidden activity on Shabbos or on a festival on behalf of a Jew, the Jew – and in some instances, all Jews – are forbidden to benefit from the results of that activity immediately upon the end of Shabbos or the festival. Instead, the Jew must wait bichdei sheyaasu, until the amount of time it would take to perform the activity from which he would like to benefit has passed. The Sages instituted this restriction as a safeguard, so that a Jew would not instruct a non-Jew to perform forbidden activities on his behalf.

As explained in sec. 253:12, 24, 25 and in sec. 318:1, there are instances when this safeguard is also employed when a Jew performs a forbidden activity. In these instances, however, the safeguard is not employed for the reason the Alter Rebbe proceeds to explain here. See sec. 497:9, where similar concepts are stated.

The explanation that the Alter Rebbe proceeds to give for his lenient ruling is based on the fact that the second festive day observed in the Diaspora is only observed due to a Rabbinic ordinance that was instituted because of a doubt that once existed as to when the festival should be observed. However, according to Scriptural Law, the festivals should be observed for only one day. Thus, fundamentally, only one of the two festive days celebrated in the Diaspora is holy, and the other is essentially a weekday. See sec. 496:1-2 and footnotes, where this topic is discussed in depth.

Even though the owner is permitted to instruct the non-Jew to milk his cows on Shabbos or a festival, the Jew is forbidden to benefit from the milk until after the conclusion of the holy day.

In that source, the Alter Rebbe explains that due to the suffering of the animal, the prohibition against instructing to a non-Jew to perform a forbidden activity was not enacted. See also the Kuntreis Acharon to Choshen Mishpat, Hilchos Ovrei Derachim VeTzaar Baalei Chayim, note 3.

See also sec. 305:29, where the Alter Rebbe explains that when instructing the non-Jew to milk the animal on Shabbos, the Jew must tell the non-Jew to keep the milk. The Jew may then purchase the milk from him, even if only for a nominal price, after Shabbos.

See sec. 328:40, where the Alter Rebbe discusses this issue in depth, and rules in this manner.

I.e., expressing the milk.

It is not normal for a person to nurse from an animal. Therefore, although nursing is classified as mefareik, extracting, the person is considered to be performing the melachah in an abnormal manner.

Yevamos 114a.

See sec. 495:9.

If either of these options is followed, there is not even a Rabbinic prohibition involved in expressing the milk.