Chullin 105 – Waiting Between Meals

There is a Jewish custom to wait some length of time, up to six hours, after eating a meat dish and before a dairy dish. This is a precaution: the taste of meat lingers in one's mouth, and meat pieces get stuck between the teeth, as in “The meat was still between their teeth.”

Agra said, “Fowl and cheese may be eaten one after the other in a carefree manner, without washing one's hands and without cleaning the mouth with food and drink.” Rav Yitzchak visited Rav Ashi's home. They brought him cheese, and he ate it; they then brought domestic animal meat, and he ate it without washing his hands. They questioned his behavior, “Agra taught that fowl and cheese may be eaten in a carefree manner, but not any meat!?” He answered, “This applies only at night, but by day, when I can see that my hands are clean from cheese, no washing is required.”

Mar Ukva said, “Regarding this matter I am like vinegar the son of wine compared to my father. For my father waited for twenty-four hours after meat before eating cheese, and I eat cheese at the next meal.”

Art: Joris Van Son - Still-Life with Cheese