Borer in Real Life: Practical Shabbos Questions from the Kitchen to the Rubik’s Cube

I have been studying the halachos of borer for the past three months and have come across some very fine points. There are a number of questions I would like to ask the rov, if possible.

Thank you.Chaim Tzvi Uzvolk

Rubik’s Cube Revisited

Question

A number of years ago, I read an article in the Yated where the rov permitted playing with a Rubik’s Cube on Shabbos. Recently, there was a sefer published on borer which cites, in the rov’s name, that it is forbidden to play with a Rubik’s Cube on Shabbos. Did the rov change his ruling?

Rav Auerbach 

I have been asked this question many times and the p’sak has definitely not changed. In order for an act to be classified as meleches borer, one needs to remove an item from a mixture in a way that some significant change takes place. When using a Rubik’s Cube, neither of these happen. One is merely moving the connected cubes around, so nothing is removed from the mixture, and one is merely playing with the cube, putting it in order and then messing it up, so no significant change takes place. When I was originally asked, I commented that this might be mesacheik bekuvia, literally playing with a cube, but that was only a joke. There is no issue of gambling or any other halachic problem with playing with a Rubik’s Cube on Shabbos or during the week.

Rummaging Through A Mixture

Question

There is a famous heter of the Biur Halacha permitting removing the top items in a pile in order to take out the desired item from within the pile [even though generally, regarding borer, in the case of a mixture of desired items and undesired items, one cannot take undesired items from the mixture in order to separate them from the desired items].

Does this heter only apply with a neat pile or even if the pile is somewhat disorganized?

Rav Auerbach 

The heter will only apply with a neat pile, such as a pile with a layer of oranges with a layer of apples underneath, all neatly arranged. It is permitted to remove oranges in order to take apples.

Searching Through A Mixture

Question

Is it a problem of borer to search through a mixture to find something one wants?

Rav Auerbach 

As long as you do not remove anything from the mixture [while you are searching], this action cannot be classified as an act of sorting the mixture and is therefore not a problem.

Istenis

Question

There are cases of borer where separating things, although generally permitted, would not be allowed to be done for an istenis, a fussy person, such as cutting the crust off a piece of bread, which would generally not be borer because it is one object [and not a mixture of multiple things].

Is it a problem to cut the crust off for a child who doesn't like it? Is he considered an istenis?

Rav Auerbach 

A child who doesn't like something is not an istenis. However, in this case, because he doesn't like the crust, it looks like p’soles and would therefore be considered borer miderabbonon, similar to what the Magein Avrohom writes about slightly moldy lettuce leaves.

Removing Trays and Sefarim

Question

A person wishes to take out a specific tray of food from a pile of aluminum food trays in a fridge. The trays are not labeled and he doesn't know which tray contains the thing he is looking for. Is this considered a taaroves—a mixture—which would mean that there could be issues of borer? And what about a pile of seforim that aren't labeled on the spine?

Rav Auerbach 

A pile of trays like that is not considered a mixture. Each tray is clearly distinct from the next. To sort a pile of seforim is borer. Sorting is borer. A person may take the one he wants out of the pile.

Random Selection

Question

Is there a heter to remove an item from a mixture at random and check what it is only after removing it?

Rav Auerbach 

You may take something out of a mixture and check what it is afterwards, provided that you return it if it is not what you wanted. Because you returned it, it is not considered an act of sorting the mixture.

Dirty Mikvaos

Question

There is a heter of mishtasi b’lav hachi, i.e., to filter a drink that a person would be happy to drink even if it wasn't filtered. Can we extend that heter and permit the removal of hairs from a mikvah that a person would be tovel in anyway despite the hairs?

Rav Auerbach 

[Smiles.] No. Hair in a mikvah is real p’soles!