Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email

Salting meat on Yom Tov

Salting the meat of an animal is permitted on Yom Tov, even if the animal was shechted before Yom Tov. Although there may have been ample time before Yom Tov to salt the meat, one is not obligated to do so. The reason is based on the following: The proper order of kashering meat is to first wash the meat, then salt it to remove the blood, and then wash it a second time. At that point, if one wishes to preserve the meat to eat at a later date, he would have to heavily salt it (for the second time) and keep in that salted state until the meat is cooked and eaten. Meat preserved in salt tastes worse than meat which is freshly salted and washed. The leniency of ochel nefesh allows one to prepare food on Yom Tov in a way that maximizes taste and freshness, so the original salting may be put off (for up to seventy-two hours) until just before one plans to eat the meat on Yom Tov.

[ שו"ע תק, ה, ומשנ"ב כה; וראה ביה,ל ד"ה אף]

Salting an entire animal on Yom Tov

One who shechts on Yom Tov is permitted to salt all the meat of the animal (even the parts that he is not planning to eat) using one of the following methods: 1) He may line up all the pieces and throw a large handful of salt on all the pieces at one time. All the pieces can then be turned over and the same motion repeated a second time. 2) Ha’aramah (subterfuge) can also be used to facilitate salting on Yom Tov. This can be done by picking up and salting one piece of meat at a time with the intention of eating it, but then deciding that a different piece would be preferable. The same action is repeated until all the pieces are salted. This method can only be utilized if the morning meal was not yet eaten. The poskim disagree about whether these methods may be employed in a case where the animal was shechted before Yom Tov.

[ שו"ע תק, ה, משנ"ב כא-כה, ושעה"צ כט ו־לא]

Food preservation on Shabbos and Yom Tov

As we have learned, only one of the above-mentioned methods may be used to salt pieces of meat that are not necessary for Yom Tov. The salting cannot be done directly because it is forbidden to salt food for preservation on Shabbos and Yom Tov. This prohibition is mid’rabonon, and the Rishonim disagree about why it is forbidden. Some explain that it is similar to preserving hides, which is the melachah of me’abed (tanning). It is not forbidden min haTorah, since foods are not preserved for as long as one would preserve and tan a hide. Others explain that preserving foods is similar to pickling and soaking foods, which is comparable to bishul (cooking). Bishul is only permissible for ochel nefesh on Yom Tov, not for future needs.

[ משנ"ב תק, כב ו־כו; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 17]

It is forbidden to weigh or measure objects on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Measuring for a mitzvah purpose (e.g. measuring a kiddush cup to determine that it holds a revi’is) is permitted. The poskim disagree about whether it is also permitted to weigh for the purpose of a mitzvah.

The prohibition of weighing on Shabbos and Yom Tov encompasses even weighing that is not done to an exact measurement.

It is forbidden to cut food into intricate forms or pictures on Shabbos and Yom Tov. It is also forbidden to etch out a picture or words on food,

Eating raw unsalted meat

Salting after seventy-two hours

Is raw meat muktzeh?

PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.