Thought for the Day: Yes, You Can Use a Vegetable Peeler on Shabbos; No, You Won't Find That in אגרות משה

Several months ago, I asked R' Fuerst a question he had not gotten before. Honestly, just that should be enough for a TftD. I mean, how often does that happen?

Here's the idea: I like to drink my scotch with a twist. That means you take a sliver of citrus rind (usually lemon, but lime, orange, and even tangerine will do in a pinch), twist it to squeeze out some of the fragrant oils, then drop it in the drink. I also like my scotch with a splash of seltzer; usually neat, but sometimes with ice. The question is: can I do that on Shabbos? I am not using it to flavor the scotch, just so the fragrance from the aromatic oils of the citrus peel mixes with that of the scotch, and that wafts over my mouth and enters my nose as a prelude and enhancement to the drink.

Anyway... the question is/was: am I permitted to twist the rind on Shabbos? It is by hand and for immediate use, as it just doesn't have the same appeal (of course pun intended) if done earlier. I want the extracted aromatic oils and I am simply releasing them. I don't want them added to the liquid; I really want them just exposed so they can waft and stuff. Moreover, those fragrant oils are inevitably expressed when peeling a citrus fruit, which is permitted on Shabbos. (See, for example, R' Ribiat's sefer on the 39 Malachos of Shabbos, section 3/C as to why this does not violate דש/מפרק/threshing/winnowing.)

As it turns out, R' Fuerst does not drink his scotch with a twist. However, the dayan directed me to take a look in ארחות שבת, a new-ish sefer on hilchos Shabbos. I didn't have a copy, but then a neighbor who had volume I decided he wanted a complete set, so would I like his volume א? Why, yes, thank you. Volume א just happens to contain the chapters on בורר and דש. What a happy coincidence! I am learning through the sefer, as I didn't find סקוטש עם טוויסט (sound it out) in the index.

Anyway, I got to halacha 87 in Chapter 3 (I am learning בורר first, then I'll continue with דש) and got a surprise. It says that using a peeler to remove the peel of fruits and vegetables, even for immediate consumption, is forbidden on Shabbos. Footnote 100 gives all the source material, mostly אגלי טל with some additional explanation from the authors rebbi, R' Shmuel Auerbach, shlita.

Why was I shocked? Because R' Fuerst had told me that R' Moshe permitted them, yet there was nothing in the footnote. This sefer is very good about bringing relevant opinions that argue, especially from אגרות משה. So I went to confirm with the dayan. Yes, R' Moshe does permit a peeler. The whole story is that R' Eider brought one to show R' Moshe to ask about using it on Shabbos. R' Moshe looked at it and said, עס איז אַ מעסער/it's a knife. Is it in אגרות משה? No... all word of mouth. In fact, R' Yaakov Kamenetsky also permitted using a peeler on Shabbos. Same reason; it's just a funny shaped knife. Also word of mouth.

I have added my own annotation to  ארחות שבת, so it is there now. I still don't know if I can make a scotch with a twist on Shabbos, but I am learning a lot.

לחיים