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A
blech (from the German by way of Yiddish word
for tin or sheet metal) is a metal sheet used by many
observant Jews to cover stovetop burners
(and for some, the knobs/dials too) on Shabbat (the Jewish
Sabbath), as part of the precautions taken to avoid violating
the halachic prohibition against cooking on the Sabbath.
Common use
(Following excerpt with permission of publisher of The
Blech Book—The Complete & Illustrated Guide To Shabbos
Hotplates, by Rabbi Fishel Jacobs.)
- The
food [including water] intended for Shabbat use, should
be completely cooked.
- The
stove’s gas flames or electric coils are turned on.
The blech is placed over these. Alternatively, the Shabbat
hot plate, which needs no blech (when it is the type
which has no knobs to adjust the heat level,) is plugged
in.
- The
pot is placed on the blech. Note: It is permissible
to place another pot on this one.
- The
pot on the blech, or another pot which has been placed
on it, may be covered with a blanket, clothing, towel,
cloth etc. to keep the heat from dissipating. One side
of the pot should be left partially uncovered.
During
Shabbos, the pots are removed according to need. After
removal, it is permissible to return the pot onto the
blech, following these guidelines:
- The
pot should be removed from the blech with the intention
to replace it afterwards and held at all times, not
leaned onto any surface. (A heavy or unwieldy pot may
be partially leaned on a surface, while being held,
if there is no alternative.)
- The
food must be in the same pot, completely cooked, and
has retained at least some of its original heat.
The
permissibility of blech (and unblech, below) and the acceptable
manner of their use is questioned by several modern kashrut
organizations; however, the use of a blech to reheat food
on the Sabbath remains very popular among observant Jews.
Unblech
An unblech, or K'Deira Blech (lit. "pot blech",
commonly referred to as "water blech"), is also
used to heat up pre-cooked food on the Sabbath, but utilizes
different halakhic mechanisms from a standard blech. An
unblech consists of a shallow metal pan filled with hot
water and covered by another metal pan, and thus is akin
to a pot of warm food for halakhic purposes. As such,
it may be more flexible than a standard blech for halakhic
purposes. However, the temperature of an unblech is limited
by the boiling point of water and is not as hot as a typical
blech. |
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