Daily Halacha: Choosing Food for Guests on Shabbat: What’s Allowed?

Is it permitted to select food for a friend on Shabbat?

Yes. According to halacha, it is permitted to select something like an onion from a salad or peas from rice and give it to your friend to eat right away. Since it’s for immediate use, this is allowed and not considered a violation of borer (sorting on Shabbat).

What about selecting a utensil to lend to a friend?

This is also permitted. Even if your friend is not planning to use the utensil immediately, choosing it for them is still considered immediate selection, and it is not a problem. This halacha is brought in Yalkut Yosef.

If I have a mix of fruits, can I prepare a large amount for guests?

If guests arrive on Shabbat, and you select and set out food for them, you should not prepare a full bowl of fruits if you know they’ll only taste a little. The reason is that anything they don’t end up eating would be considered as selected not for immediate use, which is not allowed on Shabbat.

So, it’s best to prepare a reasonable amount enough that they’re likely to eat so that all the food served is part of the immediate selection.
This ruling appears in Yabia Omer.

From “Ach Tov VaChesed – Daily Halacha” by Hidabroot