When Items are Considered Mixed for Borer to Apply
- As stated previously, the melacha of borer on Shabbos only applies where one is faced with a mixture (‘ta’aroves’). This is defined as having two or more different types of objects intermingled, attached, or placed near each other in an unordered fashion. (SA 319:3, SSK 3:3)
- Common examples of this may include different types of food mixed together in a serving bowl, different types of cutlery that are intermingled, different types of toys that are stored haphazardly in a box, drinks which are unordered in a fridge (SSK 3:81), or a pile of unordered books.
- Examples of where items are attached together being considered a mixture include a sweet if the wrapping is stuck to it (SSK 3:43; this wrapper may only be taken off immediately prior to eating, in a similar manner to removing peels).
Large Items in Liquid
- Large items sitting in liquid are not considered a mixture – for example, boiled potatoes or eggs in water. As such it would be permitted to take them out for non-immediate use, or if one desired the water and not these items (SSK 3:4, 20)
Books on a Bookshelf
- When one has books organised on a bookshelf in a tidy manner such that one can clearly identify each book, for example if one can see its name written on the spine, this is not considered a mixture. As such, one may take a book out even for non-immediate use. However, if it is not clear what the book is without taking it out, one should only take it out immediately prior to its use (SSK 3:77).
Separating from parts of mixture where everything is uniform
- If one has one rotten apple in a large bowl of apples, removing the good apples surrounding the rotten one would be considered a selection which requires the three conditions of normal use to be met. However, the good apples which are not next to the rotten apple, but rather are surrounding the good apples which themselves surround the rotten fruit may be taken even without meeting these conditions – these apples are not considered mixed with the rotten apple given there is a ring of good apples in between them and the rotten apple.
When Items are Considered to be of Different Types for Borer to Apply
As mentioned in the introduction, borer only applies where a mixture contains two or more different types of object, not if it is only made up of the same objects.
Pieces Which are Considered Different Types
- In general where the items have a different name, taste, quality or usage, they will be treated as two ‘types’ in regards to borer.
- Thus, if a person has pieces of meat, some of which were cooked and some of which were roasted, or some of which were somewhat burnt, or which are from two different types of animal, these are considered two different ‘types’ which borer can apply to. There is a dispute amongst contemporary authorities whether meat from two different parts of an animal, such as thigh and breast, are considered to be one type or two. Two different types of cake, or white bread and brown bread are also considered to be two different types. (MB 319:15, Dirshu 19, SSK 3:24, fn62).
- Two or more types of object which are of different sizes or colours and are used for different things are considered like two different ‘types’. For example, if one has a mixture of small and large spoons, the restrictions of borer apply as they have different uses. (SSK 3:28)
Pieces of Different Size
- If one has pieces of a single food which only differ in size (ie there aren’t pieces which have gone bad etc), for example different size pieces of a cake, it is not considered borer to separate the pieces out according to size as they are all considered to be of one type (SA 319:3).
Different Commercial Uses
- Different commercial uses: However, if this person has a specific reason to distinguish between the sizes, such as for commercial purposes where one retails each size separately, aside from the prohibition relating to doing business-related activity on Shabbos, in this situation the person would transgress borer as well by separating them out by size. (SSK 3:29)
Lechem Mishna
- In a similar vein, if one has pieces of matza mixed together, some of which are whole and some of which are not, and one is looking for two whole matzos for Lechem Mishna, the restrictions of borer would apply, as in this situation the person has a reason to be particular between the pieces even though they seemingly only differ by size (this is also similar to the point below about the pieces having different utilities). (SSK 3:30)
