Cohn, Jacob. The Royal Table - VWC: Faculty/Staff Web

134 THE ROYAL TABLE
then the other. If after this procedure the center of the
dish has still remained out of the water, it should be burned
out. 21 The handles of a dish must be purified as well as
the container. 22
When a vessel which needs to be heated on a flame is
merely boiled out, it may not be used even with hot foods
removed from the fire, but it may be used with cold foods
temporarily, pending its proper purification. It may not
be used in this way indefinitely, however, lest its defect be
forgotten, and it be pressed into service with hot foods. 23
Knives have a law unto themselves. If it is desired to use
them only with cold things, and their surfaces are per-
fectly smooth, they may be freed from all trace of surface
grease by plunging them into hard earth ten times. They
should not be stuck into the same hole twice, however,
since only hard earth has this abrasive action. 24
If it is
desired to use the knife for sharp foods, such as radishes,
garlic, and the like, the same procedure suffices temporarily.
But the knife should eventually be boiled out, lest it be
used unwittingly with hot foods at some future time. 25
When the knife has a rough surface, or it is desired to use
it with hot foods at once, sticking it into the ground will
not suffice. For the purpose of cutting radishes it may be
temporarily rubbed off on a grindstone; but for hot foods
it must be boiled out as well. Burning in a flame until a
glowing heat is reached is a preferable treatment. But
when the handle is such as to make this impossible, part
of the blade may be heated to a glow and then the knife
may be boiled out. 26
"Ibid.
33 Ibid.
23 Y. D. 121, 5, Ramah.
M Y. D. ibid. 7.
85 Ibid. Ramah.
"Ibid.