Kitchen-Related Questions on Yom Tov
Question: May one use a match on Yom Tov to transfer a flame from one place to another?
Discussion: Kindling (hav’arah) is one of the melachos that are permitted on Yom Tov. However, creating a new fire is prohibited on Yom Tov. This is true even if one wants to ignite a fire for a legitimate Yom Tov purpose, and even if one could not light a fire before Yom Tov.23 Therefore:
It is prohibited to strike a match in order to create a new fire.24
It is prohibited to place a match near or on an electric coil which is hot, but not red-hot, in order to ignite the match. This is considered creating a new fire,25 since the hot coil is merely a heat source and not actually “fire.” However, if the electric coil is red-hot, one may place the match on the electric coil in order to ignite the match. A red-hot coil is halachically equivalent to fire and, therefore, using it to ignite a match is considered transferring an existing fire from place to place.26
It is questionable whether it is permitted to ignite a match by placing it near a red-hot coil (or by touching it to a hot light bulb). Some Poskim permit this, since an existing fire (the red-hot coil, or the “fire” in the bulb) is the source of the heat. We may therefore assume that fire is merely being transferred and nothing new is being created.27 Others, however, maintain that transferring a fire is permitted only if the fire itself is being transferred, but not if one is transferring via the heat which emanates from that fire.28
Question: Are there any restrictions on how food may be cooked on Yom Tov?
Discussion: It is permitted to cook food even if it is spiced or prepared in an unusual manner, even though most people would not eat it that way.29 Food in general is a universal need, so the particular way in which it is prepared is inconsequential.
Question: Besides cooking and baking, what other types of food preparation are prohibited on Shabbos but permitted on Yom Tov?
Discussion: The following types of food preparation are permitted on Yom Tov, provided that the food will be used on that same day [or if Yom Tov falls on Friday and an eiruv tavshilin was set, and the food will be used for Shabbos]:
Forms of sorting:
Peeling eggs, fruits, or vegetables with either a knife or a peeler.30
Deboning chicken, meat, or fish.31
Removing seeds from melon or fruit.
Sorting cutlery in order to set the table.
Note that in the above scenarios, if it is possible to perform these actions before Yom Tov without compromising quality or freshness, it is preferable that one do so. If one was able to do so but did not, although there is room to be lenient and remove the undesired part from the desired part (pesoles mitoch ha’ochel), it is preferable to take the desired from the undesired (ochel mitoch hapesoles).32
Grinding, dicing, and mashing
Dicing vegetables, with either a knife or a vegetable dicer.33
Grinding or mashing cooked potatoes, onions, bananas, or apples, even with a grater or a masher.34
Kneading or mixing
Adding oil, mayonnaise, or other liquids to egg or tuna salads, or any other such foods, and mixing them in the usual manner.35
Preparing instant mashed potatoes or baby cereal.
Other preparations
Placing water in the freezer to make ice is permitted, even according to those who prohibit doing so on Shabbos.36
One should prepare any food that can be prepared before Yom Tov if it will be just as tasty as if it were prepared on Yom Tov itself. This includes the preparation of whipped cream, mayonnaise, pudding and other such desserts before Yom Tov.37
Question: On Yom Tov, is it permitted to use a measuring cup or measuring spoon to measure ingredients for a dish that will be served on Yom Tov?
Discussion: Chazal considered all forms of weighing or measuring to be a weekday activity which should be restricted even on Yom Tov.38 It is therefore prohibited to weigh or measure one’s weight or height,39 to hang a thermometer outdoors in order to determine the temperature, or to measure the size of a room with a tape measure.
When it comes to measuring food items, though, since it is for the sake of enjoying Yom Tov, Chazal were more lenient. Therefore, on Yom Tov it is permitted to measure food to ensure its quality. For instance, if a particular food would not taste good unless prepared exactly as the recipe specifies – e.g., a dressing that must be spiced or flavored just so – it is permitted to use a measuring spoon or cup to measure those ingredients precisely.40 But it is prohibited to use a measuring cup to measure foods where a little more or a little less of an ingredient would not affect the overall taste and quality of the dish; for example, preparing a pasta salad or rice pilaf, where more or less pasta or rice will hardly make a difference in the taste of the finished product.41 However, it is permitted to use a measuring cup or spoon if it is used for approximation and not for measuring an exact amount.42
23 See Mishnah Berurah 502, note 1, as well as footnote d ad loc.
24 Mishnah Berurah 502, note 4. Under extenuating circumstances, it is permitted to ask a non-Jew to do so (Shevet HaLevi VIII:121).
25 Mishnah Berurah ibid. See Az Nidberu VII:61.
26 Chazon Ish (cited in Imrei Yosher, Nashim 70, and in Orchos Rabbeinu, 5753 ed., II, page 126); Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah II:75.
27 Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 13:3 and footnote 14, citing R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach; Yabia Omer II:27.
28 R’ Ya’akov Yisrael Kanievsky (cited in Orchos Rabbeinu ibid.); R’ Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (cited in Hilchos Hamoadim 8, footnote 10); Tzitz Eliezer VII:27-5.
29 R’ Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, cited in Shevus Yitzchak, Yom Tov 2, 1:3; R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, cited in Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 19, footnote 5.
30 R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, cited in Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 4, footnote 29; R’ Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, cited in Mevakshei Torah, Yom Tov I, page 257; Be’er Moshe VIII:203.
31 Shulchan Aruch 510:2 and Beiur Halachah, ד"ה הבורר ad loc.
32 Beiur Halachah 510:2, ד"ה אם רוצה.
33 Mishnah Berurah 504, note 19.
34 R’ Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, cited in Mevakshei Torah, ibid., page 251; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 7:2. See also Orchos Rabbeinu II, page 73, citing Chazon Ish and R’ Yisrael Ya’akov Kanievsky.
35 Since kneading is permitted on Yom Tov; see 506:1-3.
36 See Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12:9 and footnote 31 ad loc.
37 Rema Chapter 495, Passage 1. Although Rema permits preparing with a shinui, these are difficult to prepare with a shinui.
38 Mishnah Berurah 306, note 34; 500, note 8.
39 See Shulchan Shlomo 306:16-2 for an elaboration.
40 Mishnah Berurah 504, notes 21-22.
41 Mishnah Berurah 506, note 1.
42 Rema 323:1 and Mishnah Berurah, note 5 ad loc.