| Practical Halacha of the month: Tishrei 5761 Q: I was cooking a meat stew when a cup of milk accidentally fell into the stew pot. What do I do? A: The answer depends on the ratio of the amount of milk to the amount of meat: Case 1 - There is at least 60 times as much meat as milk. In this case, everything is kosher and you don't need to do anything. Case 2 - There is less than 60 times as much meat as milk. In this case, everything is unkosher. The food needs to be discarded and the pot needs to be kashered. Q: Why? A: We know that mixtures of milk and meat are forbidden. However when there is 60 times as much meat as milk (or vice versa) the taste of the meat overwhelms the taste of the milk and it is considered as though the milk is nullified. Hence we view this as though it were 100% kosher meat. This is known as bitul b'shishim (nullification in 60). This would also work if some pork accidentally fell into a pot of kosher food. Whatever is recognizable as pork should be removed but whatever is cooked in, even if the whole thing disintegrated will be nullified if there is a 60:1 ratio of kosher food to pork. Please note that bitul only holds when the mixture is accidental. One may never intentionally add a non-kosher ingredient planning on it to be batel (nullified). |
 Q: Are there cases where bitul
b'shishim does not apply?
A: Yes. One of the most famous is when chometz falls into non-chometz food during Pesach. Even if there is a greater than 60:1 ratio of chometz to non-chometz, the chometz is not batel (nullified). Questions? You can contact Rabbi Lederman at (858) 613-0222 or RBL613@Juno.com Click Below for archives of previous Kosher Halachot:
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