Ask The Rabbi

Ask The Rabbi

category:  Jewish Law

gentile heating a home on shabbos

Good evening RabbiWe have a question regarding our property which has a log burner as the only source for heat with no way of using gas or electricity and also no goyim to light the stove for the ShabbosBut when it comes to Shabbos what is the halachahWe have in our family 6 children 1 of which is only a few months old and the temperature can get too cold for him, I believe many years ago when it came to health there were no prohibitions to light fire for heat (but not cooking etc.)? Are there also any sources that say you would desecrate the Shabbos lighting the stove for health reasons? Of course when the Sadducees read only the Torah and not oral law they took it to mean that the Torah meant no fires at all and sat in darkness and the cold… Many thanks! Bo

In the halachos of kashrus we find that the mixing of milk and meat can either by done by the milk and meat mixing.
Or by their taste mixing The taste of food can transfer either when the food is at the heat of 45 Celsius (while some are machmir at 40 Celsius) or if the food is sharp and cut with a knife. if the food is not sharp or hot the taste which is in the food will not transfer over via the vessels which are being used unless the vessel being used is unclean as the hen there is actual food left there which is giving over the taste.
Therefore, theoretically speaking if you wash down the mixer after usage you can surely use it for dairy and thereafter for pareve with no concern at all.
For this reason there is no problem to use the same machine for both dairy and pareve yet if the machine is not totally clean you should wipe it down the machine after using for dairy before you use it for pareve if you want the pareve to certainly remain pareve.

Sources

ראה יורה דעה סי’ צ”ד ס”ו סי’ צ”ו סי’ א’ וס”ה וראה סי’ צ”א ס”ב.