[Avodah] Vegetable Peeler: Clarification

[Naftali Rothstein]

Thanks for the responses. Although, I've seen an opinion that says that
based on the MB ruling that you can take some ochel with the pesoles, and
then it's not borer, you are right that it would not be borer. However,
the reason I believe, that this is reasoning is not accepted so much
with regards to a peeler is that not in every case and not with every
peeler does a part of the ochel actually come off with it. And since
we're dealing with a "d'oraysa" level of melacha here, we want to be
careful, because if in any given case it's just the peel that comes off
with the peeler, it's an issur d''oraysa. I spoke with Rabbi Ephraim
Friedman, dayan at the Chicago Rabinical Council and asked him if he
knew the source to Rav Moshe zt'l 's psak about the peeler not being a
special borer utensil.. He said that he knows that Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst,
dayan at Agudah Israel of Illinois, teaches his students in the name of
R' Moshe zt'l that it is not a special utensil for borer. The reason
is that he saw it just as a knife. It might cut the peel very well and
be a very good knife, but it is still considered more like a "knife'
that happens to be shaped in a way that can cut the peel better than
"regular" knives and is not considered a utensil that is created in order
to sort things. When I asked him if he thinks that this is the main
approach in America today, he said that he did not think so. He said
that both Hilchos Shabbos seforim in Hebrew and in English are usually
a lot more stringent on this matter and do consider it a special borer
utensil and not just a "good knife". So, lema'aseh it seems like some
are somech on this psak of R' Moshe zt'l which has been passed down ba'a'
peh (I guess), while most do consider it a special tool and therefore
only use it if there is no borer issue (i.e acc. to Pri Megadim and SSK
when the peel is normally eaten so it's all considered to be one unit).

Thanks again and Kol Tuv,
Naftali Rothstein

-- 
Rabbi Naftali M. Rothstein
OU JLIC Rabbi
University of Illinois