Laws of Shabbat: Recent Episodes
Rabbi Haim Ovadia
In this session we conclude and summarize the discussion of Muktzeh. We learn why packages delivered on Shabbat are not muktzeh and that they can be brought inside. We also learn why it is OK to tear toilet paper, paper towels, Saran wrap, or aluminum foil on Shabbat. We mention, in passing, umbrellas, bicycle and electricity, and learn why it is ok, and even recommended, to play with Lego and make jigsaw puzzles on Shabbat.
On Nov. 16, 2018, Elal flight from NY to TLV was delayed for 5 hours. The captain decided to take off despite requests of orthodox passengers to be let off in NY. The plane eventually landed in Athens, the orthodox passengers were accommodated by Chabad, while the others were taken to Israel by another carrier. The case caused a lot of strife, contention, and mutual accusations. In this podcast we try to find what would Halakha say about this case.
Yes, you can use all these on Shabbat if it is for a purpose which is allowed on Shabbat. For example, cracking nuts with a hammer, or using scissors to open a bag. If you were negligent and forgot to take the Challah out of the freezer, you can slice it with a saw and then warm the slices on the Blech. Beyond that, we discuss the laws of Muktzeh, or, as some people pronounce it - Muktzah.
True story: One Friday night, during dinner, some random Jewish guy showed up at the Hillel of an Ivy-League college located in a "sketchy neighborhood". His car had broken down maybe ten blocks from the edge of campus and his wife and infant were planning to spend all of Shabbat in the car (in the sketchy neighborhood), and asked whether the students could form a human chain to get some food to the car(!)
This is of course an extreme example of how people lose their common sense, but the prohibition against carrying children where there is no Eruv makes Shabbat unbearable for some people. This podcast discusses the opinion of R. Aharon Leib Margaliyot in Peri Tevuah, who says that it is permitted and that not carrying borders on hypocrisy.
We also discuss the interesting evolution of watches, from muktzeh to a necessity.
This session continues the discussion of permissible and forbidden speech on Shabbat. The Shulhan Arukh, chapter 307, seems to reverse his ruling allowing the study of secular matters on Shabbat. This is explained in light of the literature available at the time, but it is also an example of the contradicting opinions one might find in the Shulhan Arukh.
The second part of this podcast is an introduction to the laws of Muktzeh - the objects one should not touch on Shabbat. The main reason for that rabbinic prohibition is to associate the forbidden work on Shabbat, especially commerce, with physical objects.
In this session we discuss the laws of Shabbat related to speech, which are listed in Shulhan arukh, Orah Haim, 306. It is important to maintain the special character of Shabbat and not engage in conversation which cause worries, distress, and anxiety, or which focus on the activities of the workweek. The Shulhan Arukh also mentions that it is a problem to hire rabbis and cantors for Shabbat services and offers ways to bypass the problem
Finally, we discuss the pressing issues of voice-activation, or more correctly, AI devices such as Echo, Google home and Orbi. The conclusion is that one may engage those devices on Shabbat. However, great care should be taken not to erode the character of Shabbat. For example, maybe ask Alexa to turn off the lights or control your Nest, but not to play music.
In this session we discuss several of the actions which might be forbidden on Shabbat because of the concept known as the Spirit of Shabbat. While one should not think of business or travel plans, it is surprising to see that the Shulhan Arukh says that it is allowed to teach a profession on Shabbat. One is even allowed, in certain cases, to sign a contract on Shabbat.
Why some people don't fold their tallit on Shabbat? Because of a misunderstanding of a Hebrew word which now means "to fold". We also discuss cleanliness standards which have changed dramatically since the time of the Talmud and the Shulhan Arukh.
In this session: the definitions of Shabbat domains; There is no public domain today; Sepharadim can rely on any Eruv just like Ashkenazim; You always follow the most lenient opinion on Eruv, and there are plenty. According to R. Yosef Messas, you can carry anywhere without an Eruv.
In this session we discuss the issue of running, jogging, exercising, playing ball, and visiting museums or the Zoo on Shabbat. We explained that the idea of exercising is a relatively new one as in the past people worked physically during the week and wanted to rest on Shabbat.
In this session we cover the practices of the ritual. Why we have so many verses before and after. Different practices and customs: recited while sitting or standing, braided candle, flames, drinking spilling or laughing with the wine. What type of candles can be used, why do we smell fragrant herbs. What kind of wine can be used and can you use water. What if you didn’t do it on Saturday night and how much to eat, if at all, on Saturday night.
The Great Kiddush is actually minor. Don’t avoid drinking or eating before Kiddush. Three meals are not mandatory and don’t drive yourself crazy.
Yes, you can put out a candle, but indirectly (unless there’s danger).
We also discuss the custom of reading the Parasha twice in Hebrew and once in Aramaic.
A blackout during a blizzard - what to do? Also, a brief discussion of the halakhic status of electricity re Shabbat
In this session we speak about the concept that Kiddush must be in the place where you eat and we show that you could rely on the person who did the kiddush and drank the wine. We also learned that you don’t have to eat bread on the meals of Sabbath unless you want to eat it. And we also talk about using candles and lights on Sabbath - what is a permissible and convenient way.
The first session in a series meant to debunk the myth of modesty as a concept defined by the rabbis. The series follows and critically analyzed the book עוז והדר לבושה - Modesty an Adornment for life. Here we discuss the three verses that allegedly mandate modesty. We then analyze p. 1-20 of the book.
In this session we discuss the kiddush of Shabbat and whether one can drink water prior to it. What kinds of wine can be used, and the idea of adding water to the wine before the blessing.
What do you do if you’re on your way home, with your wallet and laptop, and Shabbat starts, and how can you live without an Eruv!
Here we discuss using timers on Shabbat and starting appliances like washer, dryer, and dishwasher before Shabbat.
How the rabbis reinvented Friday and saved Shabbat. Fasting on Friday. Fish fir Shabbat.
If one needs to travel on Shabbat, which way is most desirable to avoid transgressions of Shabbat Laws?
Can you be on a ship on Shabbat? Docking and landing on Shabbat. Stuck in traffic or snow on Shabbat.
Why and how is it OK to partner with or employ a non-Jew on Shabbat.
Email hovadia@gmail.com if you have specific questions.
Chapter 243-247 in shulhan arukh. Construction on Shabbat and what things can we ask a non Jew to do for us.
Ch. 243-247 in Tur discuss telling a non Jew to do work for you on Shabbat. This is the introduction.
What to do if you cannot make it to town before Shabbat? 2 suggestions in the Mishnah and one in the Talmud.
Can one walk to the city limit so he could start working as soon as Shabbat over? Did people try to create their own loopholes? That, flutes at a funeral, and rabbis doing work at theatres and circuses are discussed here.
Misnomers and outdated scenarios which cause some people to think that physical activity is forbidden on Shabbat
Shabbat 20:1 understands wine filtering as building a tent and we segue to the discussion of R Lipshutz of the umbrella.
The twentieth chapter of Shabbat marks the transition into a different arrangement of the Mishnaic material.
The Rabbis believed that there are two different gestation periods and therefore defined a preemie born on the eighth month an inanimate object which must not be touched on Shabbat.
R. Eliezer and R. Akiva debate how far can one go on Shabbat to perform a circumcision. Their debate is rooted in the threat of Hellenism.
How the Mishnah’s mallet became a goldsmith’s one, and Rabbi Karo’s discussion of balls and watches.
How did we get from a rule stating that all utensils can be touched and moved for Shabbat, whether one needs them or not, to a situation where halakha books list hundreds of untouchable items?
Jeremiah and Nehemiah tried and failed to convince people to keep Shabbat. The Rabbis succeeded by attaching the prohibition to a physical object.
One of the few texts in Mishnah touching the subject of asking a non-Jew to perform a forbidden task on Shabbat. What is the origin and scope of the prohibition? Are observant Jews bypassing it regularly?
The laws of extinguishing fire on Shabbat serve as a case study of the evolution of Halakha. We see how some rabbis recognized the changes and others did not, and how arguments were made in an attempt to defend the reasoning and ruling of previous generations.
The war against Amulets and Midrash; how the approach to firefighting changed over time.
In this episode: Torah scroll with errors; anecdotes and laws about mistakes during Torah reading; Priority of text to study in Jewish tradition.
The discussion on Ch. 16 about a house on fire branches out to questions of Jewish literature, the “mitzvah” of eating 3 meals, and the evolution of halakha.
What kinds of knots cannot be done on Shabbat, how this halakha got out of hand, and what to do in the army.
In chapter 21 of the laws of Shabbat, Maimonides segues from the laws of preparing food to those of administering medicine. We examine the grounds for the way he tied the two themes and his use of the concept of grinding ingredients.
In this session we analyze the text in Talmud Yerushalmi dealing with medical treatment on Shabbat.
Is the prohibition against using medicine on Shabbat based on the concern that people will grind ingredients to make the medicine?
The category of killing an animal is not mentioned in tractate Shabbat, except for the list in 7:2,why?
Also, is scientific evidence taken into account when discussing Halacha?
The Mishnah says that one is not liable for tearing clothes as a sign of mourning or to calm anger. The Talmud qualifies the first statement and rejects the second. An interesting example of how we don’t follow the rulings of the Mishnah.
We segue from the laws of writing on Shabbat yo facilitating signage for illiterate witnesses, and from there to printing a Seder Torah.
How can we quantify writing in Shabbat? Is it the number of letters, the context of writing, or message delivered?
This Mishnah asks how much you need to build to be liable for construction. We discuss the scope of construction and the interesting but forgotten opinion that a work is only an accomplished act.
In this segment we gloss over the many details of carrying objects and materials, and focus on the last Mishnah of chapter 10, which speaks of grooming and combing hair.
Chapter 6 of Mishnah Shabbat provides valuable information about lifestyle in antiquity. Women did not cover their hair and men openly carried weapons.
Examining the reason for the prohibition on wearing accessories or military gear on Shabbat. Also fundamental differences between Bavli and Yerushalmi.
Why are women forbidden from wearing jewelry on Shabbat? And how were they able to bypass it?
We discuss also crock pots, pets, how there were animals on the road on Shabbat, and the Dispute whether there was a dispute between r. Elazar and the sages.
This segment paints a picture of Friday which is very different than what we know today. We also discuss the violent vote of the Shammai school and the reservations of rabbis regarding more decrees.
The proof that the list is a later introduction- the inner organization of Tractate Shabbat and the numbers of works as they appear in the Mishnah
We discuss the problems with using voice activated devices on Shabbat, decriminalizing drugs, and how far can rabbis control individual decisions.
In the second part we discuss briefly the different opinions and present the conclusion of Rabbi Yosef Messas that if needed, umbrella can be used on Shabbat without any restrictions.
Why do people think that it is forbidden to use an umbrella on Shabbat? Why were the rabbis OK with watches? Historical and social reasons are explored here.
How do we catalogue the works of Shabbat. The struggle to distinguish categories and sub categories.
We discuss here the transition from the ancient Halacha to the uniform Halacha of the Mishnah. In the ancient one, each work was dealt with separately, whereas the modernizing rabbis of the Mishnah created categories to file different actions under one rubric.
How did the rabbis arrive at the number 39 for Shabbat prohibitions? The many answers raise the question whether any of them is correct. We also discuss the order of the chapters in tractate Shabbat and the extreme approach of sectarian Judaism.
The 39 Shabbat prohibitions are broken into sets of 11,13,9, and 5 which are associated with established processes, not necessarily related to Shabbat. The last one is particularly of Shabbat.
An open discussion on electric and autonomous vehicles, riding metro on Shabbat, key cards and more