ABSTRACT
The moment certain foods are designated as prohibited, the question arises: What must one do if a forbidden food comes to be mixed with permitted foods? There are a variety of ways to imagine the realities that would lead to asking this question. In the rabbinic context, what should one do if a drop of milk is accidentally dropped into a pot of meat? What should a Jew, rabbinic or not, do if a piece of prohibited meat comes to be mixed with permitted meat? What if some other prohibited substance comes to be mixed in with permitted foods? The ways such a problem might arise are endless, and it is impossible for a system of eating regulations to exist in reality unless solutions to such problems are available.
