Q. Is it mutter to squeeze a lemon through your hand (to catch the pits) on shabbos (assuming it’s samuch li’seudah and onto food)?

A. Mishna Berura (319, introduction) mentions as one of the three conditions that permit borer is the removal or choosing of the wanted part or ochel from the p’soles or the unwanted component of the mixture. When squeezing the lemon into solid food the part that flows away from the lemon is the juice, which constitutes the ochel or wanted food part. The pits, which are the p’soles or unwanted part, remain in the hand. However, what is being chosen and what stays behind is open to discussion.

Igley Tal (Meleches Borer 3: 2) quoting Rav’s Shulchan Aruch maintains that what is held in the hand is what is seen as the part chosen and to be permitted it has to be an ochel. On the other hand, he presents dissenting points of view.

Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit”a opinion is that even if the pits left on the hand are seen as the portion being chosen, it would still be permitted since some of the food or juice is likely to remain on the lemon. This would be similar to the permitted removing p’soles such as an insect with some of the liquid in which it fell.

Rabbi A. Bartfeld as advised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a