Saturday, August 25, 2012

Putting dishes in the dishwasher on Shabbos

Hi,

One may clear dirty dishes from the table and put them in a dishwasher on Shabbos, even though that will expedite the process of washing them after Shabbos. This is not called "preparing for after Shabbos"; it is simply part of the process of cleaning up the room so that people can sit there.

However: One may not sort the dishes into the spots they will occupy in the dishwasher during washing. Aside from the prohibition against sorting, one may not prepare for after Shabbat.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:74: Rechitzah 4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

4 comments:

  1. Is there any issues with opening and closing the dishwasher on Shabbos? Is there any electical response, or are there only some dishwashers that would be ok for this? Thank you.

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  2. Depends on the model of dishwasher, I should think. The ones with which I am familiar have no electrical response until the door is locked, but I could conceive of another model that was different.

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    Replies
    1. Is there a list somewhere of which models are ok for Shabbos? I'm looking to buy dishwashers and I don't want to find out after I buy it that the display lights up every time I open it...
      Thank you for your reply!

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