Q&A: Cooking on the Sabbath
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Cooking on the Sabbath
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
I read in Peninei Halakha that it is forbidden to pour water onto a hot solid because of the prohibition of cooking. If I pour water onto a hot solid, the water will not necessarily reach the temperature at which the hand recoils from it; have I nevertheless violated the prohibition of cooking?
In addition, if I put a piece of chicken that is completely uncooked into a pot of boiling water that is hot enough that the hand recoils from it, but the chicken did not reach a state fit for eating, have I violated the prohibition of cooking on the Sabbath?
Answer
Some of the water may reach the temperature at which the hand recoils from it. And the same is true of the piece of chicken: part of it may get cooked.