[Avodah] Brewing coffee on Shabbos

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

R' Micha Berger raised several points:

> What about removing a teabag with a spoon, so that one is making
> sure to remove tea with the bag?
>
> Removing peas is doing boreir on only part of the okhel.
>
> Removing the teabag with tea is pesoles-ve'okhel mitokh okhel.

I concede that I was stumped by these questions. So I want back to the
books to review these halachos. I found this on page 136 of Rav Eider's
Halachos of Shabbos. Please note that this is paragraph A10 in the chapter
on Borer:

>>> Many poskim hold that the melacha of Borer is an issur of "selection"
not of "removal". Removal of p'soles from ochel (or ochel from p'soles with
a utensil, or not for immediate use) without selecting is permissible.
Therefore, where the ochel and the p'soles are not mixed together, but
stand apart from each other and are discernibly separate or are clearly
distinguishable so that there is no need to search for that which he is
selecting, there is no issur of Borer.

He gives examples of this on page 161. (This is 25 pages later, but the
"A10" makes the reference unmistakable.)

>>> We have learned (see A10) that one may remove large objects from water
or any other liquid - where they are not considered mixed. Since there is
no need to search for that which he is removing, he is not considered as
selecting. Examples: Removing eggs from a pot of water, large pieces of
fish or chicken from a pot of soup. This is permissible even from Shabbos
morning for the Seudah Shlishis, even with a spoon.

Based on that, it is clear to me that a teabag is not considered as mixed
in the tea, and there is no Borer in removing it. (I must point out that
some may look at his examples of eggs, fish, and chicken, and think that
they are all selecting Ochel Mitoch P'soles. Not so! By telling us that one
can do this even for later on that day, such actions are not *selecting* at
all.)

Conclusions:

If a small insect is in one's drink, that is considered a mixture, and one
must be wary of Borer when he figures out how to remove the insect. Using a
spoon and taking the insect together with some liquid is one of several
strategies. (See Rav Eider pg 160 for other ideas.) But a teabag is a large
object, and the teabag and tea are not a mixture. Therefore, removing the
teabag is not Borer at all, and one may remove the teabag *without* taking
some tea with it.

BUT the tea that is *inside* the the bag *is* mixed into the leaves.
Therefore, letting the tea drip out from the bag *is* problematic. And that
is why we use a spoon to remove the teabag: simply to prevent dripping.

Akiva Miller
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