[Avodah] When Things Are Only MAYBE Assur

[Meir Rabi]

It is noted by the Acharonim that when the Gemara discusses questions to do
with transfer of non-Kosher flavour, there is no suggestion that a
connoisseur be employed to provide an expert opinion and determine the
Halachic rule. For example, in the Gemara's debate if soaking is like
cooking or if salting is like cooking, it is not suggested that we run a
series of tests to determine if it is or is not so.

Why not?

And perhaps we can ask (because I don't think this question is asked by the
Rishonim or Acharonim) how did each side of the debate come to their
conclusion. It's the old (general) question, how can we have a debate in the
Gemara about matters of verifiable fact?

It is therefore proposed that it is not absolutely known if the flavour has
or has not been transferred. Sometimes it does and sometimes it does not. We
can verify this from the Halacha that a single Kezayis lowered consecutively
into even 1000000 separate boiling pots each of 59 Kezaysim of Kosher foods
will render all the pots non-Kosher. But how many Kezaysim of non-Kosher
flavour are in the one Kezayis? They could not possibly all be non-Kosher.

So it must be that we actually don't know where the flavour has been
transferred. In the above mentioned 1000000 pots would it not be appropriate
to say that even if there is in fact one pot which is not-Kosher (because we
may have had only a fraction of the Kezayis exuded into several pots - in
which case all the pots are K) it is anyway Battel in the majority of the
other pots that must be Kosher?

Furthermore, does this not make all theses situations into cases of Safek -
doubt which must be treated differently than cases of Vaday - certainty?

Just imagine we have one Kezayis in our hand which is chopped into several
pieces. Before us are 10 pots. With our eyes closed or the lights off the
Kezayis handful is (inadvertently) thrown towards the nest of 10 pots. We
verify that all the pieces fell into the pot/s, i.e. none are found on the
floor. Are all the pots Kosher, none?

 

 

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