17) QUANTIFYING THE
EXTENT OF TA’AM (TASTE)
It is
important to establish just how far a TA’AM (taste) of milk, is able to
penetrate and affect the meat with which it was cooked.[1]
There is a
clear ceiling and limit as to how far a TA’AM (taste) can penetrate.
The reach of TA’AM (taste), for the average food or beverage, is only up to 60 times its own volume.
This means
that if a drop of milk were to fall into a pot of meat that was cooking on a
stove, one would need to establish the volume of the drop, and then determine
whether or not there was 60 times more meat against the drop of milk. If there
was 60 times more meat to the milk, the milk is said to be BOTEL (nullified),
and the entire pot of meat would be absolutely permitted. This is known as BOTEL BE’SHISHIM (nullification in 60). If, however, there
was not more than 60 times the volume of meat against the volume of milk, the
TA’AM (Taste) of milk would still be considered effective, and the food and pot
would be considered a NEVEILAH (forbidden entity of meat and milk).
To be clear here - this description refers to milk falling into a pot of meat covered by liquid. And in this case, the walls of the pot are included. How much of the walls i.e. below the covered line or all of the walls, is discussed later.
ReplyDeleteThe laws pertaining to solid food (not submersed) are different and dealt with later.
Having stated this, however; is there room to question our pots of today? That there is some level of absorption in most substances, is clear. And clearly there are many substances in which absorption is throughout. But other than the obvious, like glass, are there other modern materials in pots that are similar to glass, which do not absorb. If this were the case, then one could not count the volume of the vessel walls in determining the 60 multiple.
ReplyDeleteMy concern would not be in the extreme cases - clay vs glass - but in the between.
Save this discussion for after the completion of the course, for when you are repeating it...