Question: If one eats a (parev) challah that was warmed up on top of a meaty pot, does one need to wait six hours before eating dairy?
Discussion: Let us first define the food item in question:
Food that is cooked in a meaty utensil is defined nat bar nat (abbreviation for nosein ta’am bar nosein ta’am; i.e. the meat originally cooked in the pot imparts b’liyos into the pot and these bliyos are defined nat [short for nosein ta’am] rishon. When a parev food is subsequently cooked in the pot these nat rishon bliyos are imparted into the parev food item rendering the parev food nat bar nat.)
The only restriction regarding a nat bar nat food item is eating it together with food of the other “type” according to the Remo (Yoreh De’ah Siman 95 se’if 2) if the utensil is ben yomo (i.e. was used for meat during the last 24 hour period); however, there is no obligation to wait six hours after eating a nat bar nat food item before eating dairy (see Remo Yoreh De’ah Siman 89 se’if 3). According to the Shulchan Aruch (ibid) the parev nat bar nat food item may be eaten together with food of the other “type”.
The situation at hand is slightly different from the classic nat bar nat, because the parev food item was placed on top of the pot while there is hot meat inside the pot. Therefore, although the transfer of meat bliyos is still absorbed into the parev food item through a utensil (as it is in a standard nat bar nat scenario), it is not unanimous that this situation (referred to as nat bar nat bish’as bishul) has the same status as the standard nat bar nat:
The Pischei Teshuva (Yoreh De’ah Siman 95 s.k. 1) brings conflicting opinions regarding nat bar nat that occurs during cooking, i.e. where the dairy or meat bliyos are absorbed into a utensil while a parev food item is being cooked inside the utensil:
• The Beis Efrayim (Yoreh De’ah Siman 37) maintains that we apply the same rules of (standard) nat bar nat.
• The Chavos Da’as (Yoreh De’ah Siman 95, bi’urim s.k. 1) differentiates and posits that we cannot apply the rules of standard nat bar nat, since in this situation the dairy or meat is connected to the parev food item through the utensil, and is therefore similar to a parev food item that was cooked together with dairy or meat (where the parev food item is only nat rishon).
The focus of the Pischei Teshuva is regarding eating the parev food together with food of the other type; but he does not discuss the necessity of waiting six hours after eating this nat bar nat food before eating dairy.
• The Ben Ish Chai (Rav Po’olim volume 3, response 13; also quoted briefly in Ben Ish Chai Year 2, Shelach #13) discusses waiting six hours after eating a parev food that was heated up on top of a meat-containing pot, and clearly rules that one does not need to wait six hours.
• The view of Rav Meir Bransdorfer was that this food item requires waiting six hours before eating dairy. However, this appears to be a minority opinion, and this is not the general consensus of the Poskim (see also sefer Hadar Hashulchan Perek 6, #9 who discusses this scenario and rules leniently).
Conclusion: A parev food cooked or placed on top of a meat-containing pot is classified nat bar nat bish’as bishul. Consequently, it has a more stringent status than the standard nat bar nat and should not be eaten together with dairy foods. Regarding waiting six hours before eating dairy, the consensus of the Poskim (both Sephardi and Ashkenazi) is that there is no requirement to wait.
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