555. Crushing Spices

In an introductory note to this chapter, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch writes that most Jews are already familiar with the prohibited labors of Shabbos and that he is only addressing common situations with which people may not be familiar. Clearly, the laws of Shabbos constitute an area requiring much greater study than this email alone will allow. 80:19 If a fly or something fell into one's drink, one may not remove the fly alone. Rather, one must take with it some of the food or beverage and throw it away with the fly.   80:20 If one needs to crush salt, pepper, or similar condiments for his food, he may do so against the table with the handle of his knife or something similar. (One may certainly do so by hand - Mishnah Brurah 321:29.) One may not, however, use a tool like a mortar and pestle or a mill.