“Wow! What an amazing seuda we had! So much kedusha!” said Chani, after the day seuda of the 1st day of Rosh Hashana.
“And such yummy food!” said Miri.
“And so many dishes to wash!” said Imma as she looked in the sink.
“I’ll help you wash them, Imma,” said Moishy as he ran to the sink.
“Wait!” said Imma, “We cannot wash dishes now. The next seuda is at night. Washing dishes now would be preparing for the next day, which we cannot do on Yom Tov!”
“Hmm...So can we at least soak them now to make it easier for us to wash them at night?” asked Moishe.
“Good question, Moishe. I am not sure,” said Imma.
Question: Can the dishes be soaked now?
Hints & Answers* SHMIRAS SHABBOS: Sefer Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchosa (12:3) teaches that it is permitted to soak dishes on Shabbos/Yom Tov to prevent the food from hardening on the plates (even if a person will not need these dishes on Shabbos/Yom Tov), on a condition that it is done before the food hardens. For other leniencies regarding washing dishes in unique cases see ibid., ch.12.
RHYME: “heart”
RIDDLE: He was referring to the halacha of “shalem kodem” (i.e., the bracha needs to be said on the fruit that is whole if there is a whole fruit and a piece of fruit in front of him and he wants to eat both of them). Thus, Reb Yehuda was pointing to a whole date that was on the platter. For more details of this halacha, see the Mishna Berura 211:4.
*Note: The answers are based only on the sources quoted and might not reflect opinions of other halachic authorities. As such, Menucha’s answer are not to be taken as final decisions in halacha, but rather as a springboard for discussions, further study, and questions to a posek, etc.
