Meet Ben

No, Ben is not a new student in our class. But he did make his presence felt today as we cotinued our unit on bishul, cooking.

"Ben derusai" refers to highway robbers who ate on the run and would typically consume their food before it was fully cooked. Their behavior sets important precedents for the laws of bishul, since it shows that food can technically be considered "cooked" (qualitatively changed) well before it reaches a state of 100% completion.

At what point do we consider food to be "cooked" at the level of "ben derusai"? Some say 1/3 cooked, while others maintain that it must be 1/2 cooked.