גריי מאטר ב, הלכות שבת, סחיטת לימונים בשבתGray Matter II, Laws of Shabbat, Squeezing Lemons on Shabbat
א׳
1Halachic authorities have debated the permissibility of squeezing lemons into a liquid (such as tea) on Shabbat ever since the time of the Rishonim. This issue thus presents us with an interesting example of how the same point can repeatedly generate debate from one generation to the next.
ב׳
2Talmudic Background
ג׳
3Although the Gemara does not explicitly address squeezing lemons on Shabbat, several Talmudic passages discuss the general ban on squeezing fruits on Shabbat and thus shed light on our specific issue. The act of juicing a fruit constitutes mefareik (detaching, also called sechitah), a subcategory (toladah) of the general category (av melachah) of prohibited activity on Shabbat known as dash, threshing (see Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat 8:10 and 21:12).1See, however, Tosafot (Shabbat 73b s.v. mefareik), who present a dispute regarding the general category to which mefareik belongs. However, Rav (Shabbat 145a) rules, “The only fruits forbidden by the Torah to squeeze on Shabbat are olives and grapes,” and nearly all Rishonim accept his view. The Ran (Shabbat 61a in pages of the Rif) explains that olive oil and grape juice are inherently more important than other fruit juices.
ד׳
4The Gemara (Berachot 38a, as understood by Tosafot s.v. Hai) expresses a similar idea regarding the laws of berachot, commenting that only wine merits a unique blessing (hagafen) because other fruit juices are considered as ze’ah be’alma, “mere sweat.” The Rashba (Shabbat 145a) also argues that only the juices of olives and grapes are considered significant drinks. According to him, though, they do not possess any inherently superior qualities. He explains that we use grapes and olives primarily to produce wine and oil, whereas other fruits function mainly as food, even if they also provide us with juice. Regardless of the reason for the distinction, classical sources agree that squeezing fruits other than olives and grapes on Shabbat does not violate a Biblical prohibition.
ה׳
5Nevertheless, the Rabbis prohibited squeezing berries and pomegranates on Shabbat. The Gemara (Shabbat 144b) explains that people sometimes squeeze these fruits for their juice, so the Rabbis enacted a decree to treat their juice as a significant beverage, which one may not squeeze on Shabbat. The Rama (Orach Chaim 320:1) adds that this prohibition applies to any fruit in a place where some people squeeze it to drink its juice.2Regarding the status of juices that are squeezed only for medicinal purposes, see the continuation of the Rama’s comments. On the other hand, the Gemara (Shabbat 144b) permits squeezing she’ar peirot, (“other” fruits, which are rarely squeezed for their juice) on Shabbat. Even if some atypical individuals do juice a particular fruit, we consider their practice eccentric and halachically insignificant (batla da’ato eitzel kol adam), hence permitting the fruit to be squeezed on Shabbat. Today, however, as Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth (Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah 5:2 note 2) points out, the modern food industry produces a vast array of fruit juices, so one seldom finds a fruit that may be squeezed on Shabbat.
ו׳
6Rishonim
ז׳
7Lemons differ from most other fruit, for hardly anyone drinks lemon juice without first diluting it and (in most cases) adding sugar. Consequently, the Rishonim offer multiple ways to view the halachic status of lemons. Some Rishonim focus on the fact that lemons are frequently squeezed, thus placing them in the Talmudic category of berries and pomegranates (rabbinically prohibited due to the popular practice of squeezing them). By contrast, many Rishonim note that people consume lemon juice only after adding other ingredients to it, perhaps rendering its juice halachically insignificant regarding the prohibition to juice fruits on Shabbat.
ח׳
8The Shibolei Haleket (90) cites Rabbeinu Yoshiah, who prohibits squeezing lemons on Shabbat. He equates lemons to pomegranates and berries because people routinely squeeze them for their juice. On the other hand, the Shibolei Haleket also cites Rabbeinu Yehudah ben Rabbeinu Binyamin as permitting one to squeeze lemons on Shabbat:
ט׳
9It is permitted to squeeze lemons for lemon juice onto a plate, even if there is no food presently on the plate, since one will later mix the juice with food, and it is understood... that lemons are squeezed only to add flavor to the food and not to be consumed [on their own] as a drink.3It is normally permitted to squeeze fruits onto solid food; see Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 320:4-7).
י׳
10The Rosh (Teshuvot Harosh 22:2) adopts a lenient ruling based on similar logic: “Lemons are squeezed for the purpose of flavoring food and not for consumption as a beverage.” The Rosh and Rabbeinu Yehudah base their lenient rulings on the assumption that people do not drink lemon juice, so presumably even they would forbid juicing lemons in those locales where people drink lemonade. Accordingly, the Beit Yosef (Orach Chaim 320 s.v. Tutim) expresses bewilderment at the common practice of Egyptian Jews to squeeze lemons into sugary water on Shabbat, without any of their Rabbis questioning this practice (see Teshuvot Radbaz 1:10). Since people routinely drank lemonade in Egypt, squeezing lemons should have been prohibited in their locale.
י״א
11The Beit Yosef offers two ways to defend this practice. First, he proposes that the prohibition to squeeze fruit applies only when people consume its juice independently, whereas people drink lemon juice only after adding other ingredients, such as sugar and water. Alternatively, he suggests that we forbid squeezing only types of fruit that people normally squeeze directly into empty containers. Accordingly, the Beit Yosef concludes that one may squeeze lemons, since their juice is almost always squeezed into containers that already have water in them. Hence, lemon juice by itself lacks the status of a significant drink.
י״ב
12The Shulchan Aruch and its Commentaries
י״ג
13Rav Yosef Karo (the author of both the Beit Yosef and the Shulchan Aruch) does not definitively indicate in the Beit Yosef whether he feels that lemons may be squeezed into another drink on Shabbat. In the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 320:6), however, he permits squeezing lemons on Shabbat in a succinct ruling. Although he does not explicitly write which of his two lenient considerations in the Beit Yosef lies behind his ruling in the Shulchan Aruch, Rav Hershel Schachter (personal communication) suggested that the highly terse manner in which Rav Karo writes that concern for sechitah does not apply to lemons indicates that he even permits squeezing the juice into an empty barrel. According to this inference, Rav Karo accepts the approach that the prohibition of mefareik does not apply at all to juices that are not consumed independently, rather than the approach that permits squeezing lemon juice only into non-empty containers.4Presumably, those later authorities who prohibit squeezing lemons under some circumstances reject this inference. The Shulchan Aruch would thus not merely permit squeezing lemon juice directly into tea on Shabbat, but he would even permit squeezing lemon juice into an empty container.
י״ד
14Commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch, while they do fundamentally accept his lenient position regarding lemons, dispute the reason for it. The Magen Avraham (O.C. 320:8) appears to permit squeezing any fruit whose pure juice, without added ingredients, is not drunk (the first reason quoted above from the Beit Yosef). On the other hand, the Taz (O.C. 320:5), adopts the reasoning of Rabbeinu Yehudah ben Rabbeinu Binyamin (quoted above from Shibolei Haleket), who permits squeezing lemons only because lemon juice generally serves to flavor solid foods, rather than being consumed as a drink. This difference in reasoning affects our practice today, because we drink lemonade, so the Taz’s leniency might no longer apply, whereas we still do not drink pure lemon juice, so presumably the Magen Avraham’s lenient ruling would still stand.
ט״ו
15Acharonim
ט״ז
16This dispute continues even among the later authorities, including the Shulchan Aruch Harav, Chayei Adam, and Mishnah Berurah. The Shulchan Aruch Harav (320:10) appears to adopt the lenient view of the Magen Avraham. He notes, however, that there may be other reasons to be strict.5See the end of the above source and contrast with Biur Halachah 320 s.v. Mutar Lesochtan. The Aruch Hashulchan (O.C. 320:17) appears to wholeheartedly accept the most lenient opinion of the Shulchan Aruch and the Magen Avraham:
י״ז
17There is no concern [for mefareik] regarding lemons, because they are not squeezed in order for their juice to be drunk independently. Rather, [lemon juice] is squeezed for use as a condiment, or as an ingredient in a beverage... Therefore, lemons are entirely excluded from the prohibition of sechitah [mefareik].
י״ח
18The Chayei Adam (14:4), Mishnah Berurah (320:22), and Eglei Tal (Melechet Dash 16:30) adopt a compromise position. They agree with the aforementioned second reason of the Beit Yosef, that we do not consider lemon juice a significant drink as long as lemonade is usually made by squeezing the juice into a container that already has another liquid present. However, when the normal procedure for making lemonade is first to squeeze lemon juice into a container and then to add water, the status of lemon juice rises to the same significance as other fruit juices. Hence, squeezing lemons would constitute a rabbinic prohibition even if the juice then went directly into another liquid.
י״ט
19These three authorities all point out that the procedure for making lemonade in their time was to first squeeze lemon juice into empty containers and then to add water. Therefore, lemon juice was elevated to the status of a significant drink, rendering lemons’ juicing on Shabbat a rabbinic prohibition.
כ׳
20The Chayei Adam and Mishnah Berurah cite a simple way to squeeze lemons into tea without violating any prohibition, the Radbaz’s suggestion that one first squeeze the juice onto sugar (Teshuvot 1:10). As we mentioned earlier, there is no prohibition of squeezing any juice onto a solid. After the sugar absorbs the lemon juice, the mixture can be placed into the tea. Indeed, many observant homes today follow this practice.
כ״א
21However, while the Mishnah Berurah wholeheartedly endorses juicing lemons onto sugar, the Chayei Adam expresses some reservations about it. The Chazon Ish (56:7) firmly objects to it, arguing that people truly seek to squeeze lemon juice into their tea, so they share the same status as one who squeezes it directly into the tea (also see Livyat Chein pp. 83-84).
כ״ב
22Contemporary Authorities
כ״ג
23Contemporary authorities continue to disagree regarding which opinion to follow, and one can find people who follow all of the aforementioned views. Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (reported by Rav Yosef Adler) and Rav Ovadia Yosef (Livyat Chein pp. 83-85)6Also see Halichot Olam (5:98), where Rav Ovadia rejects the critique of his opinion by those who thought that he ruled too leniently. rule in accordance with the lenient view of the Shulchan Aruch, Magen Avraham, and Aruch Hashulchan that one may squeeze lemons directly into a liquid even in a place where people commonly squeeze lemon juice into empty containers. Rav Shimon Eider (Halachos of Shabbos p.101) and Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth (Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah 5:6) fundamentally adopt the Mishnah Berurah’s approach, to first squeeze the lemon juice onto sugar.7Rav Eider does write, however, that it is preferable to act strictly in deference to the Chazon Ish. Rav Neuwirth also cites the Chazon Ish as a secondary opinion. Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, however, told me that he believes one should follow the opinion of the Chazon Ish, who requires either juicing the lemon before Shabbat or placing it directly into the tea. One should consult a competent rabbi for guidance regarding which opinion to follow.