Chalitah

As documented by the RMb"M, one is not permitted to eat any meat without חליטה (momentarily throwing the kashered meat into boiling water before cooking--water is then discarded).

Practical Discussion: Eating out / friend's house
It could be that we are allowed to be qal (lenient) in the matter. Shouldn't their dishes be considered unfit (ie: at a friend's house that does not do chalitah)? Perhaps it is a case of Bitul b'Rav according to the RMb"M. It is so little nevilah .. that it is nullified with the majority at a Friend's house? However, it was listed as a requirement. How do we resolve this?

1. According to the RMb"M the salt doesn't extract all of the blood from the meat. Therefore, we require chalita, in order that the remains of the (inner) blood should be absorbed into the meat (inasmuch as only the blood which oozes out of the meat is forbidden דם שפרש אסור לאכילה ולא דם המכונס). So the Chalita absorbs the remnants of the blood (or more accurately seals it) inside the meat (דם המכונס לא אסור).

Other Background:

"The effect of chalita is that it "locks the blood into the meat", or "solidifies it in its position in the meat so that it will not move during the cooking process". The blood which is forbidden, either by the Torah or Rabbinically, is only the blood which is "porush". That means the blood which moves in the meat during cooking. This prohibition exists if the blood comes out completely, or even if it moves from its original place to another place in the meat. Blood which stays in the same place is not forbidden even if the meat is cooked with such blood still inside. The process of chalata, accordingly, prevents the blood from moving inside the meat and consequently, such blood does not become osser."

In effect, this seals in the inner blood, to prevent it from oozing out.

In modern times, many feel that eating with friends (who do not do chalitah) is acceptable, because today's meat is (over) salted for an entire hour, which is far longer then the requirement in Talmudic times (referred to by the RMb"M)- I believe it is 18 minutes.

However, this type of analysis overlooks the principles behind chalitah.

Some of the geonim apparently viewed "chalitah" as "difficult" (unverified). However, this is taken out of context. They meant that it is difficult to use "chalitah" to remove all the outer/surface blood, as was the case in Talmudic times (as a sole means of removing both inner and surface blood). In other words, all admit that chalitah as successfully used to remove all blood (inner and outer) during Talmudic times.

Either way, the Yemenite Jews prove chalitah's simplicity. Indeed, one can quickly see the effects of chalitah, in order to verify "mission accomplished". One need only look to see that the meat has turned slightly brown-whitish, and that the pours have closed up. In essence, one can see that no more inner blood is oozing out (on its own). Again, critics who viewed it as "difficult" were not referring to chalitah's ability to remove inner blood. They were referring to its' ability to accomplish the removal of all surface blood. Apparently, salt replaced chalita, in terms of using it to remove the SURFACE blood.

The function of salting is to dry (absorb) as much of the blood from the meat as possible. The function of chalita is to cauterize the piece of meat, and to close up its pores, so that the INNER blood is trapped inside the piece of meat and is not visible to the eye. That type of blood is still allowed.

2. Either way, the utensils of friends (who do not do chalitah) are not traif, because even according to the RMb"M, the fact that there was remaining blood inside the meat, the utensil does not become traif (nothing to do with בטל ברוב).

Regarding ground beef, rav Nachshoni once said that chalita is required before the beef is ground. The RMb"M does not clearly address this issue.

return to questions

More Background:

Now, with that said, soaking and salting is done prior to halita and after cutting. If one cuts meat after it has been soaked and salted he has defeated the purpose of the soaking and salting. Just about all butchers and meat factories will cut the meat after it has been soaked and salted. This is very problematic. They soak the meat for about as much as an hour. This too defeats the purpose (according to the RMb"M) since the blood begins to be reabsorbed into the meat, which is not acceptable.

Indeed, soaking can be problematic, because the blood can be reabsorbed into the meat over time.

One may be able to take a piece of meat that has been cut after soaking and salting and wave it over a flame so that the flame grills the area that has been cut thus cauterizing the wound. This could also accomplish chalitah.

The Talmud discussed two methods of koshering the meat from its blood. One is chalita and the other is salting. The RMb"M chose to codify both (by the way so did the Shulhan Arukh (Siman 69:19). However, the author of the Shulkhan Arukh later considered it too difficult, and so he didn't stop only at that opinion. As mentioned above, chalitah is actually quite simple. This is a bit baffling, as the laws of salting and soaking are surely just as complicated as chalitah (perhaps more so). Especially when they didn't have stop watches and exact measurements, in order to deal with the salting process. As anyone that has ever baked matzah will attest, the timing is not an easy thing. But again, chalitah accomplishes one thing, while salting and soaking accomplishes another. The RMb"M's view is that salting only extracts blood that is close to the meat's surface. This blood is called "the exterior blood." (not literally the exterior blood, but the dried blood on the surface which is removed by the first hadacha. The blood that is close to the surface.) The interior blood does not come out by salting as we see from the fact that blood continues to be expelled after salting has finished. Therefore it has to be frozen in position by chalita. So the arguments against chalitah, asserted by commentators like the Rashba and Ravad, are clearly countered. However, it is important to show kavod in citing their opinion, although we certainly require chalitah as a minimum requirement.

The RMb"M will explain on the Gemora (Pasachim 113) as talking about the surface blood. That is what requires the seder of salting described. The internal blood, however, surely requires chalita. This process called chalita was at one time one of the three possible ways of removing the issur of blood from meat.

As to why both are needed, salting and chalita. Salting can not get out the interior blood and thus we need chalita. Since we are not experts on chalita (in terms of being able to use chalita to remove all inner and surface blood), however, the RMb"M will say that we need salting for the blood close to the surface. Chalita may not seal in this blood immediately. He is therefore concerned that this external blood may be poresh (will move and come out) in the cooking process. This is why we also need salting. We need salting for the blood close to the surface, which may not be removed by chalitah. It is not surface blood, and neither is it inner blood. So we use salting too. But we are smart enough to use chalitah to remove the inner blood.

Question: What about eating in a person's home that does not practice Halita. This is a tough hurdle to get over. One way to get around the entire chalita issue is to ask that people grill the meat. This form of preparation requires neither soaking and salting nor chalita.

The "extra salting " answer is problematic according to what is mentioned above. The Netsiv and the Aruch HaShulchan explain that the RMb"M's concern, that salting will not remove all the blood, is based on the period of salting of the Gaonim which is from 18 to 20 minutes. If however the meat is salted for an hour, which is the custom of the world to do initially, then even the RMb"M would agree that the salting for this longer period removes all the blood and no further process of chalita is required. This is the position of the Shulchan Aruch who brings down the period of salting as a "mil" i.e. 18 to 20 minutes. That is why he is concerned about the view of the RMb"M as a strictness (chumra). If, however, the meat would be salted for an hour, then the M’chabar would agree that chalita is not necessary.

This view is rejected by Talmidim of the RMb"M, for a few reasons.

1-As mentioned above, blood can and does flow back into the meat during such long salting times. This too defeats the purpose (according to the RMb"M) since the blood begins to be reabsorbed into the meat which is not acceptable.

2-In addition, our chachamim could have easily added (ie: tried to substitute longer salting and soaking times for chalitah) in Talmudic times. However, there is no mention of longer soaking and salting, as a substitute, for either view.

On a different (but related) subject, one should be meticulous that the knife of the slaughterer be checked before and after every slaughter. From what I can investigate, this is never done. Please correct me if I am wrong.

א,כ: ]כד[ וצריך לבדוק כן אחר השחיטה - שאם מצא בה פגם אחר השחיטה, הרי זו ספק נבילה: שמא בעור נפגמה, וכששחט הסימנין בסכין פגומה שחט. לפיכך השוחט בהמות רבות או עופות רבים, צריך לבדוק בין כל אחת ואחת: שאם לא בדק, ובדק באחרונה ונמצאת הסכין פגומה - הכול ספק נבילות, ואפילו הראשונה.