{"id":611,"date":"2013-08-15T20:14:27","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T20:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/?p=611"},"modified":"2025-07-03T15:36:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T15:36:22","slug":"understanding-batel-bshishim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/611\/understanding-batel-bshishim\/","title":{"rendered":"When It’s Null and Void: Understanding Batel B’Shishim (One-Sixtieth)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published Spring 2011<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is too nervous to come to the phone,\u201d said the woman, referring to the mother of the Bar Mitzvah boy, who had just prepared a huge pot of chicken soup for the upcoming seudas Shabbos<\/em>.   The woman then related the following story to me.  The Bar Mitzvah boy, who was home from school on the Friday before the big Shabbos, had warmed up some pizza in the toaster oven on a piece of aluminum foil.  After completing his lunch, he crushed the used foil into a ball and attempted to shoot it into the garbage can.  The foil ball missed the trash and landed in the large pot of chicken soup, simmering on the stove in preparation for his seudas Bar Mitzvah<\/em>!  The woman on the phone got right to the point. \u201cWe discarded the foil.  Does the soup need to be thrown out, and do we need to start again?\u201d she asked.  We made a quick calculation of the volume of foil and any dairy residue on it, versus the amount of soup in the pot.  It was clear that there was sixty times more soup than the dairy foil and residue.  \u201cMutar<\/em>,\u201d I declared, to an audible sigh of relief on the other end of the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

This case was just one example of an unintended mixture, where the halachah<\/em> of Bitul B\u2019shishim<\/em> applies.  A review of these laws will illustrate when the rule of batel b\u2019shishim <\/em>applies and when it does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be noted that most kashrus<\/em> agencies do not rely on bitul<\/em>.  This means that Star-K policy is that products must be 100% kosher to be granted certification.  STAR-K does not allow companies to add non-kosher ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following halachos<\/em> relate to accidental mix-ups and highlights the general issues regarding bitul<\/em>.  Bitul<\/em> is one of the most detailed, complex, and lengthy issues in all of Shulchan Aruch<\/em>.  A brief article cannot cover the myriad of cases of bitul<\/em>.  When questions arise, individuals should consult with their Rav<\/em> or posek<\/em>.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHERE DOES THE ONE-TO-SIXTY RATIO COME FROM?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Mishna<\/em>2<\/sup><\/a> tells us that not only is non-kosher food forbidden to eat, but any taste of that food is also not allowed.  This is known as \u201ctaam k\u2019ikur,<\/em>\u201d the taste is like the prohibited food (i.e. it is like the prohibited food).   Therefore, if non-kosher food falls into a pot of kosher food, thereby imbuing the kosher food with a non-kosher flavor, we apply the rule of ta\u2019am k\u2019ikur<\/em> and the once kosher food is now non-kosher, even though the non-kosher food was removed.  If, however, no non-kosher taste remains, the product is permissible because the non-kosher is \u201cbatel,<\/em>\u201d nullified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can one know if the food possesses non-kosher taste without tasting it himself?  The Shulchan Aruch<\/em>3<\/sup><\/a> suggests asking an akum<\/em> to taste some of it.  He can tell you if there is still any taste of the non-kosher food.4<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rama5<\/sup><\/a><\/em> holds that in our times, we can no longer rely on an akum<\/em> to conduct a taste test.  Generally, this test cannot be used.  The Rama<\/em> says we know the non-kosher is batel<\/em> if there is \u201cshishim<\/em>\u201d \u2013 60 times more kosher than non-kosher.  The basis is as follows:  The Gemara6<\/sup><\/a> learns the halacha<\/em> of \u201cshishim<\/em>\u201d from the part of the karbon<\/em> of the nazir<\/em>, referred to as the \u201cz\u2019roah b\u2019shaila<\/em>\u201d \u2013 the foreleg of the ram after it had been cooked together with the ram.7<\/sup><\/a>  The ram8<\/sup><\/a> was eaten by the Nazi<\/em>r, even though it was cooked together with the z\u2019roah<\/em> which only kohanim<\/em> could eat.  How could a non-kohen<\/em> eat something cooked with the z\u2019roah<\/em> that was only fit for kohanim<\/em>?  The answer is that the ram was 60 times the volume of the z\u2019roah<\/em>.  From here we derive the general rule of \u201cshishim,<\/em>\u201d if there is 60 times more kosher than non-kosher the food may be eaten after any noticeable non-kosher food has been removed.9<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One can assume that if there is 60 times more kosher than non-kosher food, the taste of the non-kosher food is no longer detectable and is permissible to eat.  \u201c60 times\u201d is determined by volume (and not by weight).10<\/sup><\/a>  This means the volume of kosher must be 60 times greater than the volume of non-kosher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if the amount of kosher is less than 60 times the non-kosher food (i.e. the non-kosher comprises more than 1.6% of the entire mixture),11<\/sup><\/a> the mixture is not kosher even after the non-kosher food was been removed, since we assume there is still non-kosher ta\u2019am <\/em>(taste) in it.12<\/sup><\/a>  The same applies to milk and meat.  This means if meat falls into milk, and the meat does not constitute more than 1\/61 of the mixture, the milk remains kosher.13<\/sup><\/a>  However, if the meat is more than one-sixtieth of the milk, the entire mixture is deemed not kosher.14<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ITEMS THAT ARE NOT BATEL <\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are various cases when we do not apply the din<\/em> of bitul<\/em>, where Chazal<\/em> say \u201cafilu b\u2019elef lo batul<\/em>\u201d \u2013 these non-kosher items are not nullified even if mixed in one thousand, and the entire mixture is not kosher:<\/p>\n\n\n\n