Ke'zayit
Encyclopedia
Ke'zayit is a Talmud
ic unit of volume approximately equal to the size of an average olive. The word itself literally means "like an olive." The rabbis differ on the precise definition of the unit:
Its uses in halacha include:
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic unit of volume approximately equal to the size of an average olive. The word itself literally means "like an olive." The rabbis differ on the precise definition of the unit:
- RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
defines it as one-half of a beytza (a beytza is the volume of an egg). - Rambam defines it as one-third of a beytza.
- According to some interpretations, including the Chazon Ish, the zayit is not related to other units by a fixed ratio, but rather should only be conceived of independently as the size of an average olive.
Its uses in halacha include:
- The minimum amount food that, when eaten, is halachically considered "eating." This has implications throughout the spectrum of halacha, including:
- For prohibitions of consumption, as in the eating of milk and meat
- For the saying of a Bracha Ahrona (the traditional grace after meals)
- If a person is exposed to at least a ke'zayit of the flesh of a dead body, he or she becomes ritually impureRitual purificationRitual purification is a feature of many religions. The aim of these rituals is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a particular type of activity, and especially prior to the worship of a deity...
.