Hatmanah on Shabbos: Wrapped Kishkeh in the Cholent Pot

I started making my own kishkeh and put it into the cholent pot before Shabbos so that it will stay hot until tomorrow morning. However, I do wrap it in silver foil, so is there a problem of hatmanah since it is on the hot plate, would it be considered as being matmin in something that is mosif hevel?

Thank you for your question.

The answer:

Since some poskim consider this as Hatmanah bedavar hamosif hevel, however, lehalacha it depends: if it is wrapped only once, then it is fine; but if, for example, it is wrapped more than once, then  it would be considered as a davar hamosif hevel. Therefore, the best solution is to perforate the silver foil. This way, the cholent will absorb a little taste of the kishkeh and vice versa, and it will then be regarded as part of one dish.

The answer explained in-depth:

I would like to share with you the different approaches to this question, but first let’s look at the sources for the halacha of Hatmanah on Shabbos.

In the olden days, a person would “bury” a pot in something that not only kept it warm, but also generated heat. This is called הטמנה בדבר המוסיף הבל – covering or burying the pot in a material that generates and increases heat.

The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos (34a) teaches that this is forbidden even if it is done before Shabbos. The reason is that people used to ‘bury’ their pot in remetz which is earth mixed with coals in order to keep it hot. The problem is that if one were to cover a pot in remetz, one may come to stoke the coals on Shabbos, which is assur.

Chazal extended the prohibition, that not only is remetz itself forbidden, but any material that adds heat (mosif hevel) similar to remetz may not be used for Hatmanah, since one might come to use remetz.

And that is the reason why we may not do Hatmanah with a pot of food in anything that adds heat.

However, if one were to wrap a pot in something that is not mosif hevel – meaning it does not generate heat, but only preserves the heat already inside – then one may do so before Shabbos. However, it is not permitted to do so on Shabbos itself.

The reason for this is that if a person were to do Hatmanah on Shabbos, he might notice just before wrapping the pot, that the food has cooled off a little, and so he may come to reheat the pot before wrapping it, which is forbidden. To prevent this, Chazal said that Hatmanah with a davar she’eino mosif hevel may only be done before Shabbos, but not on Shabbos itself.

Circling back to your question, when one places wrapped kishkeh into the cholent pot, we could argue that since it is “buried” in the cholent, and it is also mosif hevel, because the pot is constantly being heated by the hot plate, it should then be forbidden to do so.

On the other hand, we could say that a person’s intention in putting the kishkeh into the cholent is not specifically to cover it in the cholent with the intention of Hatmanah. Rather, it is simply a way to keep it from falling apart and mixing into the cholent, and therefore it should be considered part of the dish that is in the pot.

Lehalacha, it would depend, if it is wrapped only once, we can say that his intention is merely to keep it from mixing into the cholent. However, if he wraps it more than once, it seems that he also wants it to retain the heat, and then there would be an issue with Hatmanah bedavar hamosif hevel. Therefore, the best solution is to perforate the silver foil. By doing so, the taste of the cholent and the kishkeh will mix together, and it can then be regarded as one dish.

I would like to add another example on the subject of Hatmanah. For instance, if one wants to fill a thermos on Shabbos, it is permitted to do so. Even though it may appear like Hatmanah, since it is not mosif hevel, it is allowed. And although we wrote earlier that Hatmanah she’eino mosif hevel may not be done on Shabbos, in this case it is different.

There are two reasons why this is permitted, and they will help us better understand the halacha of Hatmanah in general.

One reason, is based on the Rambam in Hilchos Shabbos, that when we pour the hot water into the thermos, it is considered as a kli sheini. Halachically, a water in a kli sheini is viewed as if it has already cooled down somewhat, and therefore the Rambam writes that there is no concern of Hatmanah bedavar hamosif hevel when it is only a kli sheini.

The second reason is that the thermos itself is really just one vessel. We can therefore regard it like a regular pot, just with thicker walls. And just as placing food inside a pot is not considered Hatmanah, so too filling a thermos is not considered Hatmanah.

Wishing you much success.

 Gemara Shabbos 34a

 Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 257:1–8