Arranging Salads in Their Places on Shabbat
Question
Is it permitted to arrange bowls of salads, each one in its place, on Shabbat?
Answer
Shalom u’vrachah
The case in the question is not clear.
Of course, there is no problem with taking salads out of the container and placing them into bowls, even when there are many salads, since at this point there is no mixture at all.
I assume that your intention is to ask whether it is permitted to take salads from the small bowls back into their containers. In such a case, your issue is whether the small bowls on the table are considered a “mixture,” and then, when one places each one in its place, he is “selecting” from the mixture.
The answer to this is that, indeed, there are rare cases in which there is a very large number of small salad bowls, and they are standing crowded together and in disorder, to the point that they are considered “mixed” with one another. In such a case, it is forbidden to separate each type into a separate place, because “sorting” is included in the prohibition of “selecting.”
But in the usual cases, where the small bowls are placed on the table without crowding, this is not considered a mixture. Consequently, it is permitted to arrange them in their places.
