Did You Know?.........................
by Steven Oppenheimer, D.D.S.
There is a custom to eat dairy foods on
Shavuot. Before the giving of the Torah, the
Jews were permitted to eat non-kosher meat.
After the giving of the Torah (on Shavuot), this
became forbidden. All their dishes became
prohibited, and they could only eat dairy foods.
There is a custom to wait up to six hours after
eating meat before partaking of dairy. The
custom is different regarding meat following
dairy. If one drank a glass of milk, he need only
rinse out his mouth before partaking of meat
(many recite a bracha acharona and wait one
half hour in between). One who ate cheese
must additionally wash his hands and eat solid
food to clean his mouth before eating meat.
Why do many people wait up to six hours
between meat and milk, but eat meat very soon
after having milk? If I have a steak, I have to
wait up to six hours before drinking a glass of
milk. But if I have a glass of milk, I can have a
steak at most half an hour later. Why? We may
also ask why some people wait six hours
between meat and milk, while others wait three
hours and some people only one hour?
Common misconception associates the
proscribed 6-hour interval to the time required to
digest the meat eaten. This is not the accepted
rationale. Rashi explains that meat leaves a
fatty residue in the throat and palate, and
Rambam maintains that particles of meat may
remain lodged between the teeth. Once six
hours have passed, the fatty residue has
dissolved and the meat particles are sufficiently
decomposed by the saliva. Dairy foods do not
leave a fatty residue in the throat and palate,
nor do they remain lodged between the teeth.
Thus one need not wait after dairy foods the
longer period of time required after meat foods.
The Talmud (Chullin 105a) relates that Mar
Ukba waited from one meal to another before
eating dairy after meat. In those days, people
only ate two meals a day.
(Shabbat 10a)
The Talmud
explains that a talmid chacham ate his first meal
in the sixth hour (of the day). The
Talmud (Yoma 74b) states that blind
people, since they can't see their food,
eat without becoming satisfied.
Therefore, Abaye said, one should only
eat a meal in daylight. In a perfect day,
the sun rises at 6 AM and sets at 6 PM.
Mar Ukba, who was a talmid chacham,
ate his first meal at noon and in order to
be satisfied, ate his second meal at 6
PM while it was still light. This is the
reason for the custom to wait six hours
between meat and milk. Not all days,
however, contain twelve hours of
daylight. In the winter, many countries
have only nine hours of daylight. This is
the case in Babylonia where Mar Ukba
lived. Therefore, when daylight began at
7 AM, Mar Ukba ate his first meal at 1
PM (sixth hour). The second meal must
have been eaten at 4 PM. That was when
it got dark, and Mar Ukba would have to
have eaten his meal before night in
accordance with Abaye's statement. We
see that there were times when Mar
Ukba ate dairy after meat after waiting
only three hours. This is the source for
the German Jewish custom to wait only
three hours.
Dutch and Scandinavian Jews follow the
custom brought by Rama (Y.D., 89:1) to
wait one hour and say a bracha
acharona. This is because there are
Rishonim who maintain the essential
point is not to eat meat and dairy in the
same meal.
Sorry, you are not allowed to switch to
the more lenient custom. People who are
ill, nursing women, infants and small
children may modify their custom on the
advice of a Rabbi. Ask our Rabbi if you
have any questions.
.....…And Now You
Know