Borer - Toys

The following question was sent by one of the Chabura to Rav Ostroff:

If my childen's toys are strewn about the room, and the different toys have their designated place, are these toys considered a mixture?

Rav Ostroff replied:

Yes they are.

Usually the toys are not in a pile, which from what we have learned would make it OK to separate them. However, when looking at the messy room from a distance, the haphazard toys are all jumbled up. I was wondering if this would constitute a mixture, or because when looking closer they are really separate?

Even though they are separate, they are a mixture. My friend Rav Chanan Cohen (an expert in borer) says that when you have a platter with assorted cakes that are placed haphazardly on the tray, not in order, and you sort them out, type by type, even though they are not touching, it is borer.

Borer - Arranging Chairs

The following question was sent by one of the Chabura to Rav Ostroff:

If I have two cups on table, my understanding is I can only take the one I want (l'alter). What about arranging chairs? And what if they're stacked?

Rav Ostroff replied:

But it's one min and they're the same, I don't see a mixture. It's like having 10 identical socks in a drawer - there is no mixture.

Borer - What is a Mixture?

The following question was sent by one of the Chabura to Rav Ostroff:

What is the definition of a taroves [mixture]? Does borer apply to all items? In Siman 319:3 the Mechaber writes "two foods which are mixed" and the Mishna Berura (15) adds mixtures of different types of keilim or clothing.

Rav Ostroff replied:

Your question is the hardest issue of borer!! Rav Neuwirth gave a shiur and mentioned 12 cases of where he cannot define whether items are in a mixture or not. One must determine whether jumbled items are together and a mixture, or separate; it is hard to determine.