unaware of the ones in EY, but we own one that has 3 heat settings. as well, we only use it with foods with no visible liquid, therefor, Ein bishul achar bishul.

Sorry Shaya, but the issue is not ein bishul achar bishul, a concept RSYE is definitely aware of. If in fact the hot plate is like an oven, then there's a problem of "mechzi k'mevashel".

The heter that most people rely on is the fact that nobody actually cooks on these things (i think for a hot plate with different settings the chashash is higher than if it doesn't allow the heat to be changed).

Since no one cooks on them, we can't be afraid that people will think you're cooking on them.

Does RYSE mention what the problem is with this? Even if it's like an oven, if no one practically cooks on them, will people think you're cooking?

I understand the issue to be that the food gets too hot (yad soledet bo) with the hotplate. We were shocked when we arrived in Israel and saw people using the plata in this way.

when I first heard the idea that the hotplate "cannot" cook,, I thought it was strange because it gets very hot. Then it was explained to me that it is not considered normal to cook on a hotplate - people just don't use it for that.

Jerry - that issue was not discussed in the article I read. I guess because he equates it with a "kira she'aina grufu u'ktuma" than it does not matter.

where was this article?
The reason most people allow these hot plates because one would not use them to ccok regardless hoe hhot they get and there it does not look like cooking.

I saw the article in the newspaper "Ha'Shavua B'Yerushalayim" (a free Haredi weekly paper given out in Jerusalem)

B"H

I seemed to remember that there were plata's out there that were in accordance with one of the Chazon Ish's ta'anoth. It has something to do with the heating elements on the inside must not be in direct contact with the inner side of the plata. It has something to do with the heat source being truly "garuf," but I could be mistaken. Otherwise, it is "hatum" and not "garuf."

But like it was stated, others hold that this is not a problem.

Did Rav Eliashiv say that foil was sufficient? Or was an additional kli needed to place on the plata?

the article was unclear. I was wonderign about foil. On the one hand he said "kisui nosaf" - another cover (or layer), which might mean foil is enough. But then he said "that lessens the heat" which foil does not do and only a kli would do. So I do not know.

I use one, but only for Chazara, the reason is, I asked my wife if she could use it for cooking, and though it gets pretty hot,it would take to long to cook.But I do not use it to put on if it was not on before Shabbos.
Also one can not raise or lower the heat on it.It is vey impractical to cook on, but will keep your food warm.

jerry,

I can't speak for EY, but here with hot plates, there's no mechzi k'mebashel bv/c EVERYONE knows they are just for warming the food, not actual cooking. If they get too hot, you may have a yad soledes bo problem, but one could NOT tell that from just looking, therefore the "Mechzi" part still doesn't apply. The main concern My LOR said with the platas is the bishul. People think they can put anything on the plata and end up sometimes warming soup mistakenly.

I was always under the impression that there are 3 main opinions for chazora of cooked solids onto a hotplate:

1) place directly onto hotplate (minority opinion, Rav Ovadia?)

2) standard pesak was to have a single covering i.e. kedaira raikonis upside down.

3) In addition to #2 to have a second layer such as silver foil under the kedaira reaikonis (minority opinion)

#3 would be similar to an uncovered stove top and this is what I had understood Rav Elyahiv's opinion was when I learnt this in yeshiva.

I remember this becuase the rav told us that he had some guests for Shabbos and they thought he followed #3 but in fact he just wanted to keep his hotplate clean!

Just to clarify one point. When I said chazora I ment chazora lechatchila e.g. placing a cold solid from the fridge onto the hotplate on shabbos.

OK, just for a quick recap. We are obviously only talking about putting on dry, cooked foods, where the potential problem is a mechzi kemmivashel in one of two instances. It may be that the hotplate is considered "Garuf Oh Katum", in which case you can return hot foods, but not cold ones, and certainly can not do "nesina lechatchila". That is the opinion of R' Shlomo Zalman and R' Moshe (when there is only one setting.)Others, like R' Elyashiv, are saying that it's not even Garuf, so if you removed something from the hot plate, even with intent to return it, you can not. When there are different settings, then you have a different issue, a "shema yechate" (if that applies- see R' Moshe).

The question that bothers everyone is why, if in most places it is only used for rewarming, is there a mechzi. If you look in Igros Moshe, Chelek Daled, Siman 74, in the Teshuvos to Rabbi Eider, you will see that R' Moshe seems to be saying that something that is used for warming food, but is able to cook it, has a mechzi.