Q: Ozer Helfman is a wonderful young man who loves to help other people. Whenever he is home from yeshivah for Shabbos, he is eager to assist in any way possible. He helps clean the house, wash the dishes, serve the food, and clean up afterward.
Ozer is also very careful with halachah, including properly observing the halachos of Shabbos. One Friday night, as Ozer is getting ready to go to sleep, he reflects on his Shabbos evening. He and his family had enjoyed a delicious Shabbos meal, with zemiros and divrei Torah. He had helped serve the food, including taking the challos out of their plastic wrap. Following the seudah, he had washed the dishes and swept the floor. Ozer is troubled by these three things, because they all involved separating a desired item from an undesired item: taking the plastic wrap from the challah, washing dirt and food from the dishes, and removing dirt from the floor.
The next morning, Ozer approaches the rav of his shul, Rav Machria, and shares his question with him. Rav Machria smiles. “These are excellent points, Ozer. But let me assure you, there is nothing wrong with what you did.”
Why not?
A: Even though there is a connection between the items, since these items are very different from each other, and they are not truly mixed but simply connected, or even somewhat attached (as in the case of plastic wrap on the challah, which may be tightly wrapped and possibly stuck on), they are not considered a “mixture.” Thus, it is not considered Borer to separate them.
