Chapter 80:3
Some Activities Forbidden on Shabbos
3. It is forbidden to pour boiling sauce [or soup, directly from the pot,]
onto pieces of bread or Matzah on Shabbos (1). Instead, one should pour the
sauce into a dish and let it cool until it is fit to be eaten, and then
place the bread or Matzah in it. As long as it is boiling ("Yad Soledes")
(2), it is forbidden to place the bread or Matzah in it, even though it is
in a bowl (and not in the pot that it was cooked in) (3).
Similarly, one should not place salt or spices in sauce [or soup] even if
it is in a bowl - and, of course, not in the pot - as long as the liquid is
"boiling." Rather, one should wait until they are fit to be eaten (4)
[before placing the condiments]. Certain authorities rule more leniently
regarding salt that has been boiled during the production process (5). May
blessings come to those who are stringent regarding this as well.
Similarly, one should not pour boiling coffee or tea onto a cup that
contains sugar. Instead, first, one should pour the tea or coffee, and
afterwards add the sugar. In case of necessity, however, one may be lenient.
FOOTNOTES:
(1) One of the thirty-nine categories of activity Biblically forbidden on
Shabbos (called "Melachos") is cooking in all its forms (baking, frying,
etc.). The prohibition applies whether the cooking is achieved through
direct contact with the heat source or through contact with an object which
was itself heated by the heat source.
The cases found in today's Halacha Yomi are based on the following principles:
a) The further a thing gets from the vessel it was cooked in, the less
chance there is that it will be hot enough to cook something placed in it.
The Sages differentiated between the vessel which had been on the fire
("Kli Rishon") and the vessel into which the contents of the pot was
transferred ("Kli Sheni"). If the contents were transferred a second time,
the vessel would be called a "Kli Shelishi." Different laws apply to each
of the grades of vessels, and one should consult a book on the laws of
Shabbos in order to learn the many details involved.
b) Even though a solid food which was already fully cooked in liquid, may
be reheated on Shabbos using the same method of cooking, there is a dispute
as whether one may employ a different mode of cooking (for example,
baking). The Halacha follows the opinion of those who hold that it is
forbidden to cook (in liquid) an item that was previously baked, such as
bread or Matzah. However, a deep-fried item (like some brands of soup
croutons), may be placed in boiling liquid on Shabbos, because deep-frying
is considered the equivalent to cooking (in both cases, liquid is involved
in the process, as opposed to baking which is direct exposure to the source
of heat).
(2) Our Sages defined "boiling," within the context of the laws of Shabbos,
as the temperature at which a person's hand would recoil ("Yad Soledes").
This is interpreted as referring to a temperature of approximately 110
degrees Fahrenheit or 43 degrees Celsius (Iggeres Moshe, Orach Chayim Vol.
IV, P. 134). Others say 113 degrees F, or 45 degrees C (Rav Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach Zt"l).
(3) If the soup was transferred from the pot into the bowl using a ladle,
then baked items may be added to the bowl, even if it is still Halachically
"boiling". However, if the ladle was left in the pot for an extended period
or was immersed many times, baked items may not be added until the soup
cools (as in the case where the soup was poured directly from the pot).
(4) That is, as long as they have cooled below "Yad Soledes" - see note (2).
(5) According to these authorities, it is permissible to place seasoning
that was boiled during processing (salt, sugar) into a bowl of hot soup
(but not into a pot in which the liquid was cooked).
