Meat And Milk: Knife Status

Q. Can I cut bread with a fleishig knife if I intend to eat the bread with dairy?

A. Shulchan Aruch (YD 89:4) writes that one may not slice bread with a fleishig knife if one intends to eat the bread with dairy. This is because it is assumed that meat residue remains on the blade of the knife, and it may be transferred to the bread. The Taz (YD 89:6) writes that in this case, it is sufficient to first wipe the knife clean. Since the knife is only being used to slice bread and is not coming into any direct contact with cheese, the fleishig knife does not require ne’itza (abrasive cleaning). However, Rebbi Akiva Eiger questions the logic of this argument, and most poskim side with the Shach (YD 89:22) who writes that wiping the blade clean is insufficient even for slicing bread. In practice, poskim write that one should not slice bread with a fleishig knife to serve with dairy even if the knife was kashered! Although strictly speaking this is halachically acceptable, it is customary to designate knives for fleishigs and milchigs and to only use a milchig knife when serving dairy. The Pri Megadim (Mishbetzos Zahav YD 89:6) writes that bedi’eved (after the fact), if a fleishig knife was wiped clean and then used to slice bread, the bread may be served with dairy, as per the ruling of the Taz.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.