Mishneh Torah, Rest on the Tenth of Tishrei 2

Sugya Map

• Primary Issue: The objective definition of shiurim (measures) for the prohibition of eating and drinking on Yom Kippur.
• Core Question: Why does Yom Kippur utilize a k'kotevet (size of a date) for food rather than the standard k'zayit (size of an olive) found in other ma'achalot asurot (forbidden foods)?
• Nafka Mina:
  • Whether the measure is a function of "eating" (physical consumption) or "mit'yashva da'ata" (satisfaction of the appetite).
  • Whether the shiur is subjective (individualistic) or objective (communal standard).
• Primary Sources: Yoma 80a-81a, Keritot 14a, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shevitat Asor 2:1-3.

Text Snapshot

"On Yom Kippur, a person is liable for eating [an amount of] food that is fit for humans to eat and is equivalent to the size of a large ripe date... i.e., slightly less than the size of an egg." (Hilchot Shevitat Asor 2:1)

• Leshon Nuance: Rambam specifies "large ripe date" (k'kotevet ha-gasah). The dikduk here is critical: the date is chosen specifically because it is the threshold of mit'yashva da'ata (satisfaction). Note the phrasing "slightly less than an egg"—this is a precise geometrical approximation aimed at bridging the mishnah and the gemara’s debate on volume vs. weight/displacement.

Readings

1. The Chiddush of the Sefer HaMenucha

The Sefer HaMenucha posits that the deviation from the standard k'zayit is an explicit takanat chachamim (Rabbinic ordinance) based on the psychological state of the eater. The Torah dictates the prohibition (lo te'uneh), but the Sages defined the shiur based on when the mind settles. He argues that even if a man were as large as Og, King of Bashan, he would still be liable for a k'kotevet because the shiur is objectively pegged to the threshold of human satisfaction, not the size of the individual.

2. The Chiddush of the Ohr Sameach

The Ohr Sameach focuses on the distinction between tavchuin (types of food) and the combination of measures. He addresses the gemara in Yoma 81a regarding why food and drink do not combine. He suggests that since the prohibition of Yom Kippur is not purely about the taste of the food (as it is in ma'achalot asurot where one must eat k'derech achilatan), but rather about the act of sustenance, the Sages treat eating and drinking as fundamentally different "domains." He reconciles the Ra'avad and the Tosafot by suggesting that for karet to be triggered, the act must qualify as a singular, coherent act of consumption; thus, the lack of combination is a structural feature of how the Torah defines the "filling" of the stomach.

Friction

The Kushya: The Magen Avraham (Orach Chayim 486) and the Tosefot Yom Tov (Keilim 15:11) highlight a staggering contradiction: If the shiur of k'kotevet is approximately the size of an egg (or slightly less), and the gemara in Keritot 14a states that the beit habli'ah (throat/esophagus) cannot hold more than two olives, how can the shiur be an egg? If one cannot swallow more than two olives at once, the k'kotevet measure seems physically impossible as a single, forbidden act of swallowing.

The Terutz: The Seder Mishnah offers a sophisticated resolution. He suggests that the gemara’s measurement in Yoma 80a includes the food trapped between the teeth and gums. The shiur is not just what passes through the throat in a single gulp, but the totality of the "eating process" that occurs within the span of k'achilat pras. The throat's capacity for a single "swallow" is indeed limited, but the definition of "eating" includes the mastication process. Thus, the k'kotevet is a cumulative measure of the entire oral experience, not a single bolus of volume.

Intertext

• Parallel 1: Zevachim 78a. The discussion regarding piggul, notar, and tamei being mixed. The logic there mirrors the Yom Kippur concern: if the substances are distinct, do they combine? The halacha hinges on the definition of the "act."
• Parallel 2: Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 612. The SA codifies the Rambam’s view on k'kotevet but adds the stringency regarding k'achilat pras (the timeframe for the measure). The interplay between the volume of the food and the time elapsed is the axis mundi of all shiurim in the Torah.

Psak/Practice

The contemporary psak follows the Rambam’s logic of objective measures: for the purpose of karet and pattur on Yom Kippur, the shiur remains fixed regardless of body size.

• Heuristic: When assessing if a dangerously ill patient needs to eat, we do not wait for them to reach a k'kotevet. Per Hilchot Shevitat Asor 2:7, the moment of danger (or the patient’s insistence) overrides the shiur.
• Meta-Psak: We prioritize the tza'ar (anguish) of the individual in illness, but we maintain the shiur as a rigid, objective barrier for the healthy.

Takeaway

The k'kotevet is not merely a quantity of matter; it is the physical instantiation of the psychological threshold of hunger. The law treats the human appetite as a communal, universal standard, proving that in the eyes of the Torah, the definition of "satiety" is a law of nature, not a matter of subjective opinion.