Daf Yomi

Even Stricter Than a Prohibition

“We Rely on a Gentile…”

(Chulin 97a)

The Shulchan Aruch(Yorah De’ah 116:2)rules that: “One must be careful not to eat meat and fish together because it can cause tzaraas.” Concise and to the point. The Tazadds (ibid., s.k. 2) that because “a danger is stricter than a prohibition,” even if fish became mixed with meat and became insignificant such as in less than one in 60 parts or vice versa, it is forbidden to eat the mixture. Chazalsimilarly forbade drinking exposed water in any event, even a huge amount of water in which a snake’s venom would be insignificant, as in one in a thousand parts.

Snake Venom Most Potent

However, the Shachdisagrees (Nekudos Hakesef, ibid) and maintains that snake venom is extremely dangerous and potent, and as a result, does not become insignificant in a mixture of 60 parts. Other dangerous foods forbidden by Chazaldo become insignificant in a mixture of 60 parts.

Ability to Distinguish

The author of Tzofnas Paneiach (264) mentions another difference between snake venom and a mixture of meat and fish. In his opinion, we must differentiate between the various foods forbidden because of danger. Some are dangerous in themselves, such as snake venom. Some are harmless on their own, such as meat and fish, but when mixed, they become dangerous. A food dangerous in itself does not become insignificant in a thousand parts, as the danger still exists. However, foods whose danger stems from their mixture must be further considered. If the fish’s taste is not felt in the meat, there is no mixture and, as such, no danger.

Our sugya cites an incident involving Rabbi Yochanan, who witnessed a fish called a kilkis that fell into a pot of meat. He ruled that if the fish could be identified and removed from the meat and there was no trace of the fish’s taste in the meat, the meat could be eaten. He would rely on a gentile cook to taste it, as a Jew would be forbidden to do so. We thus have a strong argument against the opinion of the Taz, who holds that a mixture of meat and fish is like snake’s venom, which never becomes insignificant. If so, why did Rabbi Yochanan permit the mixture? (See Tzofnas Paneiach, ibid.)

The Chasam Sofer, zt”l, when asked this question (see Responsa Dovev Meisharim 3:39), explained our Gemara in such a way that the question remains without a foundation.

Which Fish Constitutes a Danger in a Mixture?

A mixture of fish and meat is dangerous only if the fish is kosher. Non-kosher fish mixed with meat does not create a dangerous food (see ibid., that he proved so from the Ran in Avodah Zarah 35a). Therefore, the question is valid as long as we assume that the kilkis was kosher, and some Rishonim explain accordingly (Rashi, Avodah Zarah, and Ran, 39b; Rambam, as explained in the Beis Yosef 83; and in the Shach, ibid, s.k. 18). However, Rashi explains (s.v. Kilkis) that kilkis is a non-kosher fish. The question thus disappears. Rabbi Yochanan was concerned with forbidden foods, not with danger; forbidden foods become insignificant in 60 parts according to all opinions. We emphasize that most of the poskim rule that in a mixture of meat and fish, the meat or fish becomes insignificant in 60 parts (Shemiras Haguf Vehanefesh 1:4).

Danger of Meat and Fish Today?

Poskim indicate that, in our era, we do not see that eating meat and fish together causes tzaraas. Some poskim state that it could be that nature has changed and such a mixture is not so harmful today (see Magen Avraham, 173, s.k. 1, and Mishnah Berurah, ibid., s.k. 3). According to certain opinions, only one fish is dangerous if mixed with meat, and that is the binta (see Shemiras Haguf Vehanefesh, 1, s.k. 1).