Removing a Hair from a Plate on Shabbat
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Question
Hello, If a person has a hair in their plate on Shabbat and wants to remove it, will it help to take a piece of good food, place it next to the hair, and then collect the good food with the hair using a napkin?
Answer
Hello
According to your question, currently, the hair is separate from the food. In such a case, there is no problem removing the hair from the plate by itself.
The issue arises only when the hair is mixed with the food, and then it is forbidden to remove it by itself due to the law of borer. The solution in such a case is to remove it with the surrounding food, thus not separating the waste from the food but discarding the entire mixture together.
Source
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, Siman 319.
Mishnah Berurah, Se'if Katan 61
Therefore, when a fly or something else falls into food or drink, one should not remove the fly either by hand or with a utensil, as this would be considered separating waste from food, but should take some of the food or drink with it and discard it: