Hilchot Cholent | Imamother

Sun, Feb 28 2010, 5:50 pm

On another thread someone wrote about her cholent:

Quote:

turn it on just before I light candles and it is delicious by shabbos morning when we eat it!

(moving this to a different forum/thread)

I have a question about this, I thought cholent had to be cooked before shabbat started, is this something with different opinions, or something that if asked everyone gets that answer but yet not everyone necessarily realizes that. I specifically ask bec this was something I would not have know if I hadnt asked another question which lead to this being told to me... and then also learned when taking a class on hilchot shabbat - now I have heard this from 3 different MO orthodox Rabbis of different backgrounds in diff communities. (btw I learned that this is specifically for mix of meat and veggies - not if it was only meat alone- but dont remember exact details)

SO has anyone either asked or learned about this specific question and gotten the answer that cholent can be put up raw right before shabbat?

I hope this doesnt come off in any way that I question what others do, its just that I was surprised at learning this, bec I didnt know before hand - I never noticed when the cholent was put up at my mom's house when I was growing up. AND I would have never thought to ask the question of when it had to be put up. So I wonder if its one of those things thats universally accepted law, but not everyone knows - OR if there are different interpretations about this aspect of hichos cholent.

GetReal

Sun, Feb 28 2010, 8:31 pm

The chachamim were worried if you put up food that is not cooked, you may come to do something to hasten the cooking process - mix it, raise the flame, etc. So one thing we do to prevent this is a blech, another thing is that only food that is already cooked (how cooked is another question) can be put to keep warm over Shabbos.

There is an inyan of a raw chunk of meat that you will not be able to eat friday night anyway, since it will not be cooked on time, so you can put it up raw right before Shabbos since you will not be tempted to hasten the cooking process.

I would advise asking your rav since I heard that there may be issues with this nowadays - since cooking processes are faster.

mamacita

Sun, Feb 28 2010, 8:34 pm

According to my husband (the rabbi) it is better that it is cooked before shabbos. B'dieved if there is something raw in it it would be ok. Meaning if the cholent wasn't fully cooked before shabbos you could throw a piece of raw meat in it and then it would be ok to leave and have for lunch.

If it is makal ben drusai, it's a big problem because someone could come to cook it. That is where it's not fully cooked, but still cooked enough that someone might still eat it in desperate need.

rydys

Sun, Feb 28 2010, 11:07 pm

If it is maachal ben drusai, it is not a problem. That is the point at which food is considered cooked "enough" before shabbos that you can leave it to finish cooking on shabbos.

Ben Drusai was a glutton, who did not have patience to fully cook his food. He would eat it when it was about a third of the way cooked. The chachomim used his example as a guage as to when food is considered edible in its current state. If it is maachal ben drusai when shabbos starts, then it will be edible on shabbos (at least for ben drusai) and there is no concern that you will do a melacha to make it cook faster.

The same is true in the raw meat scenario. If you put up a raw piece of meat just before shabbos comes in and there is no way it will be cooked enough for the evening meal, you will not be tempted to do a melacha to hasten the cooking.

Therefore, a cholent needs to be at least cooked 1/3 of the way before shabbos starts, OR have a raw piece of meat in it and turned on just before shabbos.