[Avodah] Subjectivity-from the OU

[Joel Rich]

*Q. I am a finicky person. Many things that I find repulsive are innocuous
for most people. Is the halacha of bal teshaktzu established by the
reaction of most people or is it applied individually for each person
according to their sensitivities?*

A. The Shach (YD 66:15) discusses eating non-fertilized eggs that had been
incubated by a chicken for three days. These eggs are no longer fresh, and
some people won’t eat them because they are stale and have an off taste.
The Shach writes that one who is not disgusted may eat them. However, one
who is finicky and is repulsed by the thought of eating old eggs may not
consume them because of *bal teshaktzu*.

Similarly, the Chochmas Adam )58:10) discusses a case of a mouse that fell
into a large pot of soup and was removed. From a *kashrus* perspective, it
is permissible to eat the soup if the ratio of soup to the mouse exceeds
sixty to one. However, if one is disgusted by the thought of eating soup
that was cooked with a mouse, eating the soup would be a violation of *bal
teshaktzu*.

*Thus, from both sources, it is clear that bal teshaktzu is relative to
each individual.*


*ME-*Any overarching insights into when we look at the individual (as here)
and when we say batla daato (we ignore his individual circumstances) and go
by your average Yossi?
KT
Joel Rich
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