Q & A
SHABBAS
PAGE 2
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If we have an eruv, can we take out the garbage can
with garbage to the front either on Shabbat or Yom Tov.
- If garbage has decomposed to a state where it is causing a disturbance such as giving off a
bad smell, so that one can’t use the area (e.g. kitchen) comfortably, it is permitted to take
it out. - If the garbage does not have a bad smell, but is overflowing, there is some room for leniency, but one should be stringent if possible (graf shel re'i idea Shemiras Shabbos 22:45
who is lenient ).
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Can children ride their bikes on Shabbas?
- No one should ride a bike on Shabbat.
- However a tricycle is permitted.
- Be’er Moshe 6-16, Children in Halacha pg 138.
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We have a sand box in our back yard.
Can my son who is 4 years old play in the sand box?
- Shabbat KeHilchata 16:4, Children in Halacha (Rabbi Simcha Bunim, pg 137-8), 39 Melachos (Rabbi Ribiat, vol 2, pg 253).
- It's a violation of kneeding dough (Losh).
- A child who understands the holiness of Shabbat should not be let to play with a sifting
toy which sifts out pebbles or dirt from the sand because of the melacha of sifting (Merakaid).
39 Melachos (vol 2, pg 516)
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Is it ok if I take my son to a baseball game on Shabbas
when we can walk there & we don't have to pay to get in?
- It’s not within the sanctity of Shabbas to visit a sports game even if there’s no issue of the admissions ticket.
- Shemirat Shabbat KeHilchata 16:9
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Our lawn gets watered every morning by an automatic sprinkler.
Can I have it water on Shabbas also?
- There is no difference using a timer for a lawn sprinkler or a Shabbas clock for electrical appliances.
- According to the vast majority of Poskim there is no problem using either provided they were
set before Shabbas, because you are not doing any action on Shabbas. - However, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Ztl, held that setting a Shabbas clock before Shabbas would be similar to telling a non-Jew before Shabbas to do work (a melacha) for you on
Shabbas, which is forbidden. - So if your timer can be set to do different things on different days it would be preferable to
set it not to turn on the water on Shabbas, however the accepted halacha is that it is
permitted to use the timer even on Shabbas.
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Can I send overnight mail on Friday & ask for Saturday delivery?
- This involves the prohibition of directing a non-Jew (Amirah L'akkum) to do something
for you on shabbas that you may not do. - This is prohibited if you instruct the non-Jew before Shabbas (O.C. 307:2).
- Some authorities permit this
1. Your instruction for Saturday delivery has to be passed on by this person to another
person who will actually be doing the delivering.
2. It is permitted before shabbas to instruct one non-Jew to direct another non-Jew to do
something for you on shabbas (Chasam Sofer O.C. 60). - Others point out that
1. The non-Jewish person doing the actual delivery, does so as part of the duty as an
employee for the agency or company that hired that employee.
2. Therefore, the employee delivering is doing so because of the employment
requirements & directives of the agency or company that hired the employee & not
because of any direct instructions from,you, the Jewish sender.
(Pri Megadim 247:3; Machzeh Eliyahu 37).
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Can we open mail on Shabbas?
- It is forbidden to tear or steam open a letter on Shabbas.
- It is permissible to tell a non-Jew that it’s forbidden for you to open letters on Shabbas so t
hat the non-Jew will understand to open it. This is not deemed a direct request but only a
hint. (Shemirat Shabbas KeHilchata 30.2) - Once opened, it is permissible to benefit from the letter since the action of the non-Jew was applied to the envelope & not to the letter directly. (Shemirat Shabbas KeHilchata 30.57)
- It’s permissible to open an envelope or a booklet that was stapled shut, just for transmission
by post, by removing the staples. - However, it’s forbidden to remove the staples from two papers that were stapled together permanently.( Shemirat Shabbas KeHilchata 28:5 )
- While it is generally forbidden to read letters on Shabbas of a social or business mail if a
letter of social correspondence arrived on Shabbas it is permissible to read it silently
(without moving one’s lips) because it’s possible that it contains crucial information for
Shabbas. However, business letters may not be read on Shabbas at all. (Shemirat Shabbas
KeHilchata 29:45.)
Q & A Shabbas Page 1 | Q & A Shabbas Page 3
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