[Avodah] Just How hot is Yad Soledes Bo anyway?

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 10:12:30PM +0000, kennethgmiller at juno.com wrote:
: R' Micha Berger commented on "kol shecreiso shel tinok nichveis":
: > Which is an odd test, since I'd be much less likely to
: > actually try that on a baby or toddler than to actually
: > see if an adult's hand would recoil. ...

: My understanding is that Chazal did not decide, on the basis of
: scientific experimentation, how to define bishul. Rather, the definition
: of bishul is a Halacha L'Moshe MiSinai, just like for all other shiurim.

I agree, which is why I didn't see value in RRW's chemist's friend's
tests. However, the HlMmS is "yad soledes bo", which means that this bit
about getting a more precise measure by determining what would scald a
toddler's stomach is still from Chazal, and so I still don't understand
how this test would ever be used.

: It is unfortunate that the phrase "yad soledes bo" is used so frequently, and in such contexts as would lead us to believe that it is the true definition. But it is not. It is only a reliable approximation.

Unless it's HlMmS too that it's the approximation we're supposed to use.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Live as if you were living already for the
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