In what manner would it be permissible to tear open a “starbucks via” single-use coffee packet on shabbat? If you google-image it, you’ll see it has a pre-made “tear here” line where words would be torn through. Aside from opening it before shabbos, is there any way to open it ON shabbos while avoiding the melachos of tearing & erasing?
Answer:
There is no problem of tearing here, but there is a problem of erasing letters.
Because of this, the packet should be torn open somewhere alone the packet where letters won’t be erased. You can tear in between letters, but not the letters themselves.
Best wishes.
Sources:
Based on the Yerushalmi, which discusses tearing the leather around a barrel, it is clear that tearing a packet to get the food out is not considered kore’a.
The problem however, which emerges from Poskim discussing cutting cake (and similar questions) with lettering, is tearing the letters. This should be avoided by tearing around the letters.
