Waiting Time Between Meat and Dairy: Can Exceptions Be Made for New Mothers?

Is it true that a new mother can be permitted to eat dairy food even after waiting less than six hours after finishing a meat meal?

In the Talmud Chullin (105a), the waiting time between eating meat products and dairy products is mentioned as being from 'one meal to the next meal,' and the early authorities disagreed about the exact duration of this time.

The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 89, 1) ruled according to the Rambam's opinion that one should wait from the morning meal until the evening meal. However, the Rema ruled that according to the strict letter of the law, one hour is sufficient, but as a stringency, one should wait six hours.

Therefore, if we are dealing with a mildly ill person of Ashkenazi origin who follows the Rema's ruling, they can easily be lenient and eat dairy products after waiting one hour from the end of eating meat products, provided they clean their teeth thoroughly of any meat residue, rinse their mouth with water, eat something pareve (neutral), recite the Grace After Meals, and then they would be permitted to eat dairy products. However, if we are dealing with Sephardim who follow the ruling of Maran the Shulchan Aruch that one must wait six hours, apparently there is no room for leniency. Nevertheless, the 'Zivchei Tzedek' wrote that even though Sephardim have accepted the rulings of Maran the Shulchan Aruch and need to wait six hours, for the sake of mild illness it seems straightforward to permit eating dairy products even after eating beef, after waiting one hour according to the Rema's opinion, and so ruled the Ben Ish Chai (Parshat Shelach Lecha, section 11).

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef z"l wrote in Responsa Yabia Omer (Part 1, Section 4) to include in the case of a woman who has given birth within thirty days, as well as those who are ill but not in danger, the opinions of the early authorities who are lenient in this matter.

Young children: Some later authorities consider a minor to have the same status as someone who is ill but not in danger, and after it has been explained that for an ill person there is room to be lenient to eat dairy products after eating meat products with a one-hour wait, the same applies to a minor, especially today when weakness has descended upon the world, and there is great distress for young children to wait six hours from meal to meal. It is important to note here that this refers to feeding the child foods that are necessary for their body, and not to be lenient in feeding them sweets that contain dairy mixtures within six hours of eating meat products, even for very young children. This ruling also applies to a new mother.

Summary of the law: A person who is ill but not in danger, or a woman who has given birth within 30 days, as well as young children even of educational age, can be lenient and eat dairy products after waiting one hour from the end of eating meat products. This is provided they clean their teeth thoroughly at the end of eating meat products and also perform kinuach (eating a pareve food) and hadacha (rinsing the mouth or drinking a beverage). And if they forgot to do kinuach and hadacha, they should do so at the beginning of the dairy meal, before they start eating dairy products. All this applies specifically to dairy foods that are essential for bodily health, but one should not be lenient with eating dairy sweets within six hours of eating meat products, even for young children.

Rabbi Shai Amar is a rabbi in the Hidabroot Halacha department

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