Other Applications of Dairy Bread

Q. Does the prohibition of Chazal not to bake dairy bread apply to any other food?

A. The Tzemach Tzedek (siman 80) writes that it is forbidden to make dairy wine. He explains that just as Chazal forbade dairy bread because it is a staple food which is commonly eaten at every meal, the same is true with wine as well. In addition, the potential mix-up for wine is greater than for bread; bread only stays fresh for a few days, but wine can last for years. Therefore, there is an even greater chance of making a mistake with wine. The Tzemach Tzedek also ruled that one may not add a small amount of milk to wine that will be batel bishishim (nullified in 60 parts), even if one does not intend to serve it with meat. Since the concern of a mix-up is so prevalent, he viewed this as though one is intentional diluting the milk to eat it with meat. (It is not permissible to intentionally dilute milk in water or juice and then add it to meat.) Many other poskim, including the Magen Avrohom (447:45) and Kineses Hagedola, disagreed with the Tzemach Tzedek on this second point. They argued that since there is no intent to serve the wine with meat, one may add a small amount of milk. However, all agree that one may not add a significant amount of milk to wine if it will not be batel bishishim. In this regard, dairy wine is the same as dairy bread.

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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.