Uncouth Mealtime Behavior

Sometimes one of my children does something at the table that another child finds disgusting. Are there any rules about this?

Yes. One of the examples that Chazal give is taking a bite out of a piece of bread from a main serving dish and returning the remainder of the bread back to that dish (OC 170:14). Others are understandably repulsed by this. One should be respectful to other people’s sensitivities at the table (within reason) when it comes to doing something that others may find objectionable.

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.