Medicine to improve one's appetite

Hi,

One may take medicine on Shabbat if (1) he would otherwise suffer illness affecting his whole body (even without actual danger), or if (2) the medicine is normally consumed by healthy people as part of normal eating.

Therefore, one may not take medicine intended to improve one's appetite on Shabbat, unless it meets one of those two criteria.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:54)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Medicine for a secondary illness

Hi,

One who is permitted to take medication on Shabbat for a certain severe condition is not automatically permitted to take a separate medication on Shabbat for an unrelated, non-severe condition.

[Note: Rav Moshe elsewhere permits treatment of pain, where that pain might make healing from a dangerous condition more difficult. That must not be the case under discussion here.]

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:53)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Electric blankets on Shabbat

Hi,

One may use an electric blanket on Shabbat, assuming it was turned on before Shabbat. One may not adjust the temperature, though. One must also cover the controls as a reminder to keep him from adjusting them, and one must do something similar at the outlet as a reminder not to unplug it.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Orach Chaim 3:50)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

Moving a fan or clock on Shabbat

Hi,

One may move a plugged-in electric clock or fan on Shabbat in order to use it in another location or in order to use the space in which it is currently located, so long as there is no risk of accidentally un-plugging it in the process.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:49)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

Pinning a handkerchief to transport it

Hi,

One may not transport a cloth or handkerchief to one's clothing in order to be able to transport it on Shabbos in an area where there is no eruv. Granted that it is considered halachically attached to the garment, it is neither a garment nor an ornament in itself. Even if the cloth is intended for a mitzvah, this is prohibited.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:48)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Moch dachuk where there is no eruv

Hi,

A woman should not travel with a moch dachuk in an area where there is no eruv.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:47)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

Sending a letter through the mail on Friday

Hi,

One should not put a letter in a mailbox on Friday in an area where it is likely that Jews work in the post office on Shabbat. This is not a problem if the likelihood is low, though, even if it is still a possibility.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:46)

[Note: This is only tangential to a more complex issue, regarding express letters and requesting work from non-Jews for Shabbat. There is much more to say on that topic.]

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

Bringing a gartel to shul without an eruv

Hi,

One who wishes to bring a gartel [special belt worn by some when praying] to the synagogue on Shabbat, without an eruv, is required to wear it as one would wear a normal belt, so that it is a standard garment. Therefore, one may neither wrap it around his chest and say it is to keep his tie in place, nor invent any other pseudo-use; only normal use as a garment or ornament is acceptable.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:46)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

"Shel Chanukah"?

Hi,

Should the ending of the first blessing on the Chanukah candles be "l'hadlik ner shel Chanukah", "l'hadlik ner Chanukah", or "l'hadlik ner shelChanukah"?

There is considerable debate regarding the correct text for this berachah. Our edition of the gemara says "l'hadlik ner shel Chanukah", but some suggest that the original edition was just "ner Chanukah". Our edition of the Rambam says "shelChanukah" as one word, but other editions have it as "shel Chanukah", in two words.

For reasons both mystical and legal, many authorities say to recite "ner Chanukah", and this is the practice in much of the Sephardic world. However, some Ashkenazic communities customarily say "ner shel Chanukah". It is recommended that people retain their family customs, and contact the Rav if there is a need to institute a family custom.

(Shabbat 23a; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Megilah v'Chanukah 3:4; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 676:1; Sdei Chemed 8:Chanukah כ; Shoel v'Nishal 5:Orach Chaim 112; Ateret Paz I 2:Yoreh Deah 7; Yabia Omer 8:Orach Chaim 11)

Chanukah sameach,
Mordechai

Mixed-up blessings at Kiddush

Hi,

Regarding one who accidentally says the blessing of ShehaKol at Kiddush even though he is using wine or grape juice: He has fulfilled Kiddush, and no new blessing is required.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:45)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Turning around at "Bo'i b'Shalom"

Hi,

The explanations for why we turn around at the "Bo'i b'Shalom" paragraph of Lecha Dodi include the idea that we face west because the Shechinah is manifest there.

Therefore, if the shul's entrance is not in the west, we still turn to face west at "Bo'i b'Shalom".

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:45)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Self-adjusting lenses

Hi,

On Shabbat, one may wear photosensitive glasses which change their tint based on the level of sunlight to which they are exposed. This is neither a problem of 'fixing' them nor of 'coloring' them.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:45)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A light which a Jew will extinguish on Shabbat

Hi,

One may not turn on a light before Shabbat, even for a mitzvah like prayer, if he knows that a Jew will turn it off on Shabbat. However, one may turn it on if he is uncertain whether a Jew will turn it off.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:43)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Turning down the air conditioner on Shabbat

Hi,

If one's air conditioner is making one's home unbearably cold on Shabbat, one may have a non-Jew turn it off. This is because one is not expected to leave his home [as opposed to a synagogue], and because all are considered 'ill' when it comes to cold temperatures.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Words which are written one way and pronounced differently

Hi,

Regarding words which are spelled one way in the Torah and pronounced in a different way: One who is reading on behalf of the community's Torah reading obligation is required to look at the word as he reads it, as he does for all other words in the Torah, even though the spelling does not match the pronunciation.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:41)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shnayim Mikra

Hi,

The obligation to review each week's Torah portion twice in the original text and once in translation applies to Shabbat readings, but not to Yom Tov readings.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:40)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lighting the menorah if one will be out at a Chanukah party

Hi,

May I light the chanukiah at my family's Chanukah party?

One may not light at a Chanukah party located in another person's house. One who will return home after traffic outside his house has ceased should light before going to the party, after plag haminchah (3:47 PM in Thornhill at the start of Chanukah this year), assuming the chanukiah will remain lit until more than 30 minutes after the stars emerge.

If the above solution is not possible, one should have someone light in his home at the proper time, or one should light after returning from the party, making sure that someone else is awake to see his chanukiah.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 677:1; Mishneh Berurah 677:12, 679:2; Rivivot Ephraim 4:163:12, 16, 32)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Kiddush with a paper cup

Hi,

The cup used for kiddush must be whole and something people would admire. Therefore, a paper cup is not acceptable; it is disposable and not something people admire.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:39)

[I don't know how Rav Moshe would have addressed an ornate paper cup, protected by some form of laminate such that it could be used multiple times.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A husband's acceptance of Shabbat

Hi,

An individual within a community must accept Shabbat early when the community does, assuming there is no local congregation which will accept it closer to sunset.

A wife is not bound by her husband's acceptance of Shabbat; she may still perform melachah. However, she may not be permitted to perform melachah on his behalf.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:38)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Late for shul Friday night

Hi,

One who comes to shul Friday evening before sunset and sees that the shul has accepted Shabbat already and is up to maariv, may respond to Barchu at the start of maariv and then daven minchah only if he explicitly intended not to accept Shabbat with his response to Barchu.

Note that he would need to step out to daven minchah, so as not to veer from the communal acceptance of Shabbos.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:37)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

"New fruits" which are available all year long

Hi,

Fruit which is not naturally available all year long, and which is eaten more for pleasure than for nutrition, warrants a Shehechiyanu blessing if one has it for the first time that season - even if it is accessible via import all year.

However, it might be wise to minimize use of this blessing, since authorities have recommended that and since the blessing is optional.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:34)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Order of hand-washing for bread

Hi,

One should wash his right hand first when washing netilat yadayim for a meal. It is true that Kav haYashar (Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover, 1705) recommended that one wash the left first, for mystical reasons, but this is a minority view and it is not echoed by the normal halachic authorities.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:32)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

How much pat haba'ah b'kisnin triggers HaMotzi?

Hi,

We have learned that one who eats פת הבאה בכיסנין pat haba'ah b'kisnin, a type of grain-based bread which is not considered 'normal' bread in the eyes of Jewish law, need not wash beforehand and recite HaMotzi and Birkat haMazon. This may apply to pizza, for example.

However: One who eats a volume of pat haba'ah b'kisnin which is equal to the volume of bread consumed in a normal meal - as determined by the general practice in that society - is required to wash and recite HaMotzi and Birkat haMazon.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:32)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A housekeeper washing dishes on Shabbos

Hi,

May my non-Jewish housekeeper wash my dishes on Shabbos, beyond those needed for that day?

One may ask a non-Jew to wash the dishes without violating a melachah of Shabbos [for example, without a sponge and without heating water]. The only prohibition against a Jew doing the washing himself would be that of undue strain on Shabbos, and one may ask a non-Jew to engage in strenuous activity which does not involve prohibited melachah.

Permitting a non-Jew to wash in a way which violates a melachah of Shabbos – heating water on Shabbat, for example - is problematic. We are concerned for marit ayin – onlookers may not realize that the non-Jew is doing this on his own. This is subject to debate among recent halachic authorities.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 307:21; Tzemach Tzedek Orach Chaim 32-33; Mishneh Berurah 244:30; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 30:31-32; Teshuvos v'Hanhagos 1:Orach Chaim 223)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Chanukah!

Hi,

With Chanukah coming up in a few weeks, here are links to past posts on different laws of Chanukah:

Menorah Lighting

Menorah Lighting on Friday and on Motzaei Shabbat

Recitation of "Al haNisim"

Recitation of Hallel

The Torah Reading for Chanukah

Please note that any lighting-times mentioned in those emails were for Allentown and for a different year.

Have a great day,
Mordechai