Separate Tablecloths

Q. Must one have separate tablecloths for milchigs and fleishigs?

A. Shulchan Aruch (YD 89:4) writes that one should not eat cheese on a tablecloth that had previously been used for meat and vice versa. The Radvaz (cited in Pischei Teshuva 89:8) writes that this requirement to have separate tablecloths for milk and meat only applies to those who place their food directly on the tablecloth. However, the custom today is to serve food on platters and to eat off plates. The only concern would be if a fleishig food were to fall on the tablecloth in the same spot as a dairy spill or vice versa. For this, he writes, it is sufficient to turn over the tablecloth, and designate one side for dairy and one for meat. We need not be concerned that a stain might soak through, as this scenario is unlikely, and therefore two tablecloths are unnecessary. However, the Minchas Yaakov (76:17) cites the Bach (OC 173:5) who writes that even when food is eaten on plates, one may still not use the same tablecloth for milk and meat. The Bach explains that there is an additional concern that hot pots of meat might be placed inadvertently on top of a dairy stain. Because a hot pot has the status of a kli rishon, it can absorb flavor even from stains in the cloth. The more common custom today is to have separate tablecloths for dairy and meat and not to rely on turning over the tablecloth.

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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.