Lash: Principles of Shinnui in Lisha
THE LAWS OF SHABBAT
By Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon
Shiur
#21:
Lash, Part III
VI)
Principles of Shinnui in Lisha
The Gemara (156a) explains that
lisha can sometimes be allowed with a
shinnui (alteration; plural, shinnuyim). In the course of the Gemara, a number
of types of shinnui are mentioned:
1.
When it comes to flour made from parched grain (kemach
kali) the Gemara says that one may knead it al yad al yad in
other words, a bit each time.[1]
2.
Concerning shatit,[2]
the Gemara says that one may knead it using a
shinnui in ingredient sequence: During the week the vinegar is
[first] poured in and then the shatit,
whereas on Shabbat, the shatit is
poured in [first] and then the vinegar [is added].[3]
3.
When it comes to bran (wheat husks used for animal feed), the Gemara
says that one may knead it sheti
va-erev (literally, warp and woof).[4] In other words, one must not mix the
flour and water with a circular motion, as is normally done; rather, one
alternates between stirring the mixture horizontally and vertically.[5]
Other solutions include shaking the
vessel and pouring the mixture from one vessel to another.
4.
When it comes to mustard, garlic and cress, the Gemara gives the
following directions: One may not beat them, but one may mix them. This is explained in one of two ways:
either one must mix it gently, but not vigorously (Rashi); or one must mix by hand instead of with a spoon (Mordekhai,
Ch. 433).[6]
Thus, we find that a shinnui is halakhically effective whether in
the order of adding the ingredients, in the form of
lisha (sheti
va-erev, shaking in a vessel) or in
the quantity of lisha (al
yad al yad).
However, the Gemara (156a) indicates that there are two differences
between ingredient sequence and other
shinnuyim. First of all, as we
have already seen, the shinnui in
ingredient sequence is effective only with a
belila
rakka (literally, a soft mixture,
i.e., a thin one), not a belila
ava (thick mixture). As we have already mentioned in the
approach of the Chazon Ish, this
shinnui is not a complete
shinnui, and therefore it is only
effective for a belila
rakka, the kneading of which is prohibited only rabbinically, not for a
belila
ava, which may not be kneaded by Torah law.
On the other hand, the Gemara indicates that all of the
shinnuyim are effective only according
to the view of Rabbi
Yosei bar Yehuda, while the
shinnui of the sequence of ingredients
is effective to permit lisha even
according to the view of Rabbi. This is because according to
Rabbi, even adding water is part of
the lisha, and one is liable for it. Therefore, the
shinnui cannot make the lisha
permissible unless it is done at the stage of adding the water e.g., adding
the ingredients in a reversed order.
The other shinnuyim are done later, at
the stage of kneading, and they cannot retroactively change the status of adding
the water, which has already been done.
Preparing
a Belila
Rakka with a Shinnui
As we have said, the Gemara allows one to prepare a
belila
rakka of shatit even according
to Rabbis view, as long as one
alters the sequence of adding the ingredients normally, one pours the
shatit into the vinegar, but on
Shabbat one pours the vinegar into the
shatit. This is the ruling of
the Shulchan Arukh (321:14):
One may knead with
vinegar and the like a large quantity at one time, if it is soft; but if it is
hard, it is forbidden, because it looks like
lash. (And even if it soft),
one must do it differently. How so? One puts in the
shatita, and afterwards one puts in the vinegar.
If so, one may make a belila
rakka on Shabbat if one changes
the order of adding the ingredients: if one generally puts in the granules
and then the liquid, one should put the liquid in first; and if one normally
puts the liquid in first, one should put the granules in first on Shabbat.
When
There Is No Set Order
What does one do in the case that there is no customary sequence? The words of the Taz (321:11)
indicate that in this case one cannot prepare the
belila at all, since however one
chooses to put in the ingredients, it will not be considered a
shinnui:
One is allowed to
knead a [belila] rakka through
a shinnui,
because on a weekday one
generally puts in the vinegar first and on Shabbat one puts in the flour first,
so that the shinnui is obvious to
everyone. However, with matza flour,
there is no known way of what is put in first in order to know what the
shinnui would be. Therefore,
it is forbidden on Shabbat in any case.
On the other hand, the Terumat
ha-Deshen (Ch. 53) writes that the
shinnui mentioned in the Gemara, that one puts in the granules and then the
liquid, is effective even in a case that there is no set order:
It appears that even
for us, who have no set custom during the week as to which one to put in first,
in any case the shinnui which is
expressed in the Talmud suffices for our purposes.
In practice, the Mishna Berura
(321:57) rules in accordance with the view of the
Terumat ha-Deshen, that when there is
no set order, one should first put in the granules and after that the liquid,
while the Chazon Ish (58:5, s.v.
U-ledaat; ibid. 6, s.v. Ve-im) rules that in this case, a
shinnui in the sequence of ingredients would not help, but one may
permit preparing the mixture through a
shinnui in the form of lisha, for
example that one mixes it sheti
va-erev.[7]
The Chazon Ish (ibid. 8, s.v.
Ha) points out that if one puts in the granules first, one should dump in
all of the liquid at one time, because if one were to do it in stages, it would
first become a belila
ava!
One
Shinnui or Two
Shinnuyim?
When we change the order of adding the ingredients, must one change
the form of lisha (stirring it
crosswise) as well, or may one stir it normally?
The halakhic authorizes have different views on this issue.
First
View
The first view is that one must change the sequence of the ingredients
as well as the method of mixing.
This is what the Terumat ha-Deshen
writes in his Responsa (Ch. 53):
It seems that there
is a permitted method according to all views
for example, one can make a
belila
rakka
and it also says there (Shabbat 156a), that, according to
Rabbi, one needs to make a
shinnui in the [order of] adding of
liquids, for example to put food into the vessel first and after that the
liquid
Furthermore, it appears that
even with a belila
rakka one must afterwards mix it up in
the vessel itself or with ones finger, because according to the one who says
that putting liquid is not considered kneading, it does not help to perform a
shinnui by putting in the food first,
because one does not execute a melakha until one kneads it, and we
require a shinnui in the kneading
itself.
According to him, one is allowed to knead (according to all views) on
three conditions. First of all, one
must do belila
rakka. Aside from this,
two shinnuyim are mandatory:
1.
Shinnui of
ingredient sequence this shinnui
enables the addition of water according to the view of
Rabbi, who believes that there is a prohibition of
lisha in adding liquid.
2.
Shinnui of
mixing (sheti
va-erev, with ones finger, etc.) this
shinnui is to allow kneading according to the view of
Rabbi
Yosei bar Yehuda, who believes that putting the water in is not part of
the lisha, and therefore the
shinnui which is done with at that
stage does not make the following lisha permissible. The melakha of
lisha relates only to the act of kneading, and therefore one must
introduce a shinnui specifically in
the kneading process.
The
Rema (321:16) seems to rule
accordingly:
And if one puts the
food in first and after that the vinegar or the wine and mixes it with his
finger, it is allowed, because it is a
shinnui, just as with shatita
above. In this way, we are
accustomed to allow it through a shinnui.
The Rema is talking about
belila
rakka (as he writes: just as with
shatita above), but nevertheless one may see from his words that one
must both change the sequence of ingredients and mix it with a finger, i.e.,
change the method of mixing.[8] This is how the Magen Avraham
(24) explains his view, and it seems that the
Mishna Berura (68)[9] and Ben Ish Chai
(Year 2, Mishpatim 18) understood it this way as well.
Second
View
Preparing a belila
rakka only requires one
shinnui either in the sequence of
ingredients or the method of mixing.
This is the simple reading of the ruling of the
Rambam (21:33), who mentions the
shinnui in the sequence of ingredients
only, and the same is implied in some other Rishonim (see Ritva
and Meiri, 156a). This is
also the simple reading of the abovementioned ruling of the
Shulchan Arukh (321:14), who talks
about belila
rakka and only mentions the
shinnui of ingredient sequence.
The Chazon Ish (58:5, s.v.
U-mashma, s.v. Ve-im) rules in accordance with this view, and he
argues that this is implied by the Gemaras phrasing.
And it is implied by
the Gemara that with a [belila] rakka, it is enough to have the
shinnui of putting in the flour first, and there is no need for a
shinnui in the kneading, but the
Terumat ha-Deshen writes that it seems that one needs a
shinnui in the kneading as well
and
the Derisha already disputes this.
However, the following difficulty arises with this position: the
Rambam and the
Shulchan Arukh rule in accordance with the view of Rabbi Yosei bar
Yehuda, that one cannot be liable for
lash unless one actually kneads something, not if one merely puts in
water; if so, how can it be that the
shinnui at the stage of putting in water makes the kneading permissible? The act of
lisha itself is not done with a
shinnui! It appears that, according
to them, Rabbi
Yosei bar Yehuda concedes that the process of
lisha includes putting the water in as
well, but nevertheless is not liable for
lisha unless one executes the entire process. Therefore, even a
shinnui at the stage of putting in the water is considered a
shinnui for
lisha (see Derisha, 321:4, s.v. U-ma She-katav Beit Yosef).[10]
Following this line of thinking, it turns out that, according to the
Shulchan Arukh, who rules like Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda, one can make a
belila
rakka with one
shinnui, and one may choose whether to change the sequence of
ingredients and mix normally or to put the substances together normally and
change the method of mixing.
According to the Ashkenazim, who are stringent in accord with the view of
Rabbi, when one makes a belila
rakka, one is obligated to change the
sequence of ingredients (because according to the view of
Rabbi, one must introduce a
shinnui already at this stage), and once one has done so, there is no need
to add an extra shinnui. The
shinnui in the method of mixing is
neither effective nor required, and it is useful only in a case in which the
water was poured in before Shabbat (or for a
belila
ava under certain circumstances, as we will explain in the next shiur).
Summary
In conclusion, one is permitted to knead a
belila rakka (that which
can be poured continuously from one vessel to another) with a
shinnui. Many Sefardim are lenient in
accordance with the simple reading of the
Shulchan Arukhs view, that one
shinnui suffices, either in the sequence of ingredients or in the method of
mixing. The Ashkenazic halakhic
authorities have a dispute whether a
shinnui in ingredient sequence suffices or whether one must also change the
method of mixing (the Ben Ish Chai also cites this stringency).
In practice, when there is no great difficulty, it is preferable to
change both the sequence of ingredients and the method of mixing (as the
Mishna Beruras ruling indicates), in
particular because it is often difficult to determine definitively whether a
belila is
rakka. However, when there
is a pressing need, one may rely on the view of the
Chazon Ish and suffice with a
shinnui in the sequence of ingredients.
Similarly, when one has a belila
which is clearly rakka, so that there
is no doubt about its thinness, one may be lenient in accordance with the view
of the Chazon Ish, since the doubt is
certainly only on the level of a rabbinical prohibition.
Similarly, the Minchat Yitzchak (Vol. I, Ch. 74) writes that
since the shinnui in the method of
mixing (after the shinnui in the
sequence of ingredients) is a stringency which some people dismiss, there is no
need to execute an extreme shinnui and
mix it with ones finger, as it appears from the wording of the
Rema.
Rather, rather one may suffice with mixing it in a way other than the norm,
and one should do so gently, not vigorously.
Thus, for example, one who normally mixes with a spoon may mix with a
knife gently, and one who prepares baby food for an infant in the bottle may
prepare it in another vessel (reversing the sequence of ingredients) and mix it
gently, transferring it to the bottle afterwards.
Translated by Rav Yoseif Bloch
[1] According to the
Magen Avraham (321:17), the allowance of al yad al yad only applies to
kemach kali. The
Mishna Berura (53) cites this view
and explains it in his Beiur Halakha
(321:14, s.v. Shema) as follows: the allowance of al yad al yad is
only for something which is fit to be eaten even before the process of
lisha, so that its
lisha is defined as permitted
tikkun okhel (food preparation), as we will discuss in a later shiur. However, according to the
Chazon Ish (58:1), the allowance
exists for everything, and it is based on the concept of
shinnui. According to him, this
is allowed even for a thick mixture; apparently, he understands that this is
considered a full and total shinnui.
[2] The Rishonim argue
whether shatit is made out of kemach kali mixed with liquids (Rashi,
Ramban, Rashba, Meiri) or out of coarse flour made from grain which has not
yet reached a third of it ripeness (Rambam
21:33).
[3] According to the
view of Rashi et al. in the previous note,
shatit is made from kemach kali as
a belila
rakka, and thus changing the order of ingredients is effective in such a case. According to the Rambam cited in the
previous note, the permit to knead when changing the order may be limited to
coarse flour, which cannot easily be kneaded, and may not apply to
kemach kali or granulate substances
which can be easily kneaded (see Taz, 321:11). However, from the words of the
halakhic authorities (following the
Terumat ha-Deshen which we will cite later), it emerges that the
shinnui in the sequence of adding the ingredients is effective to allow
lisha of any substance (within the
limits which will be explained below), not only with coarse flour and the like. This indicates that we are not
concerned about the Rambams view.
[4] Even though the
shinnui of sheti va-erev is mentioned in the Gemara only concerning bran,
the Ritva writes (156a, s.v. Amar Rav Yehuda) that it makes sense
that it is effective also for kemach kali. And indeed the halakhic
authorities (see, for example, Chazon Ish
58:8) apply this permit to other cases as well.
[5] Rashi (s.v.
Sheti) implies that one is limited to one time
sheti and one time erev, but
the Rambam himself (21:4) makes clear
that it is permitted even many times, and so writes the
Beiur Halakha (324:3, s.v.
U-maavir).
[6] In terms of the
practical ruling, the Shulchan Arukh (321:15) rules that it is permitted
to mix mustard, garlic and cress gently even with a spoon, while the Rema
(321:16) cites the view which limits the allowance to mixing by hand and not
with a spoon.
The Bach (Ch. 321, s.v. U-ma She-katav Rabbeinu) understands that
the Mechabber would allow one to mix only a small quantity gently. However, the Chafetz Chayim
(Mishna Berura 58; Shaar Ha-tziyun 74) writes that according to the
Mechabber one may mix gently even a great quantity. Nevertheless, he writes in
Beiur Halakha (ibid. s.v.
Yakhol Le-arvo) that he is flabbergasted by the idea: how is it possible to
allow one to commit an act which would be kneading on a biblical level with a
shinnui as small as this whipping
the mixture gently instead of vigorously?!
He concludes that this shinnui
is effective only for dough which has already been kneaded on Erev Shabbat. We will discuss in future shiurim
the concept of lisha achar
(after) lisha.
This shinnui works for pulped
vegetables as well. However, the shinnui
of mixing by hand, which is a more significant
shinnui, is apparently effective in every case, as is implied by the words of
the Rema (321:16) which apply it to shatit as well.
[7] The
Chazon Ish explains that indeed we
are stringent according to the view of Rabbi, and according to him one may be
obligated to change the order of adding the ingredients, and changing the method
of mixture would not accomplish anything.
However, when it comes to a belila
rakka, the lisha of which is only
prohibited rabbinically, when we do not know what the sequence is in order to
change it, one may rely on those who rule in accordance with Rabbi Yosei bar
Yehuda, sufficing with a shinnui in
the method of mixture.
[8] However, the Rema,
in an earlier ruling there (14), does not dispute the view of the Shulchan
Arukh on the issue of shatit, and
this seems to imply that he concedes that the
shinnui of ingredient sequence
suffices against his words here, that one must change the method of mixing as
well. See the Shalmei Yehonatan 321, 14:41; ibid. 16:53.
[9] The
Mishna Berura writes earlier (57)
that when we do not know the normal sequence of ingredients, it is preferable
to be stringent and alter the method of mixing as well, and it is implied
that the need for two shinnuyim exists only in this case, and even then it is a mere stringency, not
the letter of the law. However, from
his words in section 68 it appears that one must always be stringent and employ
two shinnuyim, at least in the first
place.
[10] According to
this, it may be that the question of whether we require two
shinnuyim or one
shinnui depends on the distinction we raised in our first shiur on
lash regarding the view of Rabbi Yosei
bar Yehuda. According to the
Terumat ha-Deshen and the Rema,
Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda believes that kneading is lisha, while putting in
water is not part of lisha, and
therefore the shinnui of putting water
in will not be effective to allow the subsequent kneading. On the other hand, the Shulchan
Arukh believes that lisha includes
the entire process, implying that one must mix the substances until they are
made into one agglomerated mass (just that one is liable only on the conclusion
of the process). Therefore, a
shinnui in the method of mixing the
substances is considered a shinnui in
lisha, and one can allow the
subsequent kneading.
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