The End, for now

Hi,

It is with a great deal of regret that I announce that I do not expect to send out daily Torah Thought and daily Jewish Law emails in the foreseeable future.

I began sending out these emails in 1997, and I am grateful to those who have been with me since those days when this was a local email list confined to the Jewish community of Pawtucket/Providence, Rhode Island, as well as to those who joined more recently. I have enjoyed our on-line and off-line exchanges, and I have benefited from the pressure to come up with a new email each day. Some of these posts have come at sensitive times in my life, and have offered a chance to express what was on my mind. Some have just been whatever I opened up to that day. Some have been from source sheets for my classes. I take some pride in noting that there are more than 2,000 posts in each of my daily blogs, and the great, great majority are not duplicates.

However: at this stage in life I feel a strong need to impose strict priorities on how I use my time, in order to improve my chances of accomplishing some of the goals I have set for myself.

I am not going anywhere; I am still reachable by email, and I hope that the fact that I won't be in your Inbox each morning won't lead you to forget me. And who knows? Perhaps there will come a time when I will come back to this. I intend to leave these sites on-line; at the least, they may be useful for people who are researching a particular idea or law.

Thank you for reading, and please keep in touch,
Mordechai

Smoking to calm nerves while saving lives on Shabbat

Hi,

One who is engaged in saving lives on Shabbat, and who wants to smoke to calm his nerves, should find another means of calming his nerves, among the many means available. This is not a fundamental part of saving lives, such that it would justify violating Shabbat.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:249:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Using an egg-slicer on Shabbos

Hi,

Sources prohibit use of mechanical blades on Shabbat to chop up food that comes from the ground, due to the prohibition against grinding. However, this will not apply to an egg slicer, because these blades only slice. Also, one may argue that the egg is not part of the class of foods that "grow from the ground."

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:248)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Pesach material

Hi,

We are supposed to begin learning the laws of Pesach thirty days before Pesach - so it's already late!

Please look in the sidebar of http://halachahbyemail.blogspot.com for links to Pesach-related posts; there is quite a bit to choose from.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Adding water to chulent on Shabbos

Hi,

One may add water to a chulent on Shabbos, if the water is poured from a kettle that has been on a blech. The chulent should be removed from the heat first and held by someone else while water is added, and then returned to the heat afterward.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:256)

[Note: The chulent pot should itself be on a covered flame, and the water in the kettle must be fully heated. Also, there is some debate regarding whether the lid must be placed atop the chulent before the chulent is returned to the heat. For a good collection of details/sources, look here.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Salt on Matzah?

Hi,

As the 30-day countdown to Pesach begins, here is a Pesach law:

Am I supposed to put salt on matzah at the Seder?

We are taught to put salt on bread before reciting the berachah, to honour the berachah; refining the bread by adding salt or other foods later in the meal would reflect poorly on the bread used for the berachah. [Note: This is not only a Shabbat or Yom Tov practice; it is a daily practice.]

Various Ashkenazi authorities record a custom of refraining from using salt at the Seder, because (1) matzah is "clean bread" and does not need salt, (2) adding salt would reduce the "poor man's bread" aspect of the seder's matzah and (3) we show love of the mitzvah by refusing to mix in anything else. Some even refrain from salting matzah all through Pesach. On the other hand, others specifically use salt to improve the taste of the matzah, making the mitzvah more attractive. One should follow his family custom.

Regardless of one's custom regarding adding salt, one should keep salt on the table in order to link the food with the salt-laden korbanos brought in the Beis haMikdash.

(Maharil Seder Haggadah 32; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 167:5, 475:1; Mishneh Berurah 167:26-28; 475:4; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 475:5)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Giving Mishloach Manot as a Couple?

Hi,

Do a husband and wife fulfill mishloach manos by giving a joint gift?

Men and women are independently obligated in all of the mitzvos of Purim. Therefore, husbands and wives are obligated to send their own gifts of mishloach manos, and not to rely on each other's gifts.

Historically, many have relied on their spouses to send on their behalf; this may have been a measure to avoid inappropriate intimacy in cases in which men sent gifts and women received them, or vice versa. Halachic authorities recommend avoiding this problem by having men and women send to their own gender.

(Darchei Moshe Orach Chaim 695:7; Rama Orach Chaim 695:4; Magen Avraham 695:14; Pri Chadash Orach Chaim 695:4; Shevut Yaakov 1:41; Birkei Yosef Orach Chaim 695:8; R' Akiva Eiger to Megilah 4a; Shaarei Teshuvah 695:9; B'Tzel haChochmah 5:51:5; Mishneh Berurah 695:25)

חג פורים שמח,

Mordechai

The mitzvah of drinking on Purim

Hi,

On Purim we celebrate the ultimate joy of a sudden national rescue, and our sages have taught that we should imbibe alcohol at the Purim Seudah as part of this celebration. Just as we abstain from various foods and from drink at certain times of the year to induce sadness, so we indulge in various foods and in drink at other times of the year, to induce joy. The gemara’s standard for imbibing is to drink until we cannot tell the difference between “Cursed is Haman” and “Blessed is Mordechai” (Megilah 7b).

Authorities differ on how much to drink, but the following is clear: An adult who is medically, psychologically and emotionally able to drink, and who has a designated driver, should drink some amount of alcohol - preferably enough that he will feel lightheaded (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 695:2). One should enjoy his Purim meal relatively early in the afternoon, drink a little, and then sleep off the effects of the alcohol.

Many people, and I include myself in this number, have embraced the practice of drinking minimally at the Purim Seudah and then fulfilling the state of intoxication by taking a nap after the meal. This approach is sanctioned by the Rama (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 695:2), and supported by the Taz, who believes that the gemara's conclusion opposes drinking. One might consider doing the eating/drinking/nap before participating in a communal seudah.

I know the following is obvious, and I apologize for taking your time with it, but if my blog has any reach at all then I feel an obligation to state this obvious point. Please:

1) There is no reason to give alcohol to minors who are pre-bar mitzvah to drink on Purim. It is not necessary for their fulfillment of any mitzvah. The practice might be secularly legal as sacramental wine - consult an attorney - but it is a foolish and dangerous ritual and therefore prohibited as endangering our children as well as violating our obligation of chinuch for our children.

I do believe there is a difference between giving children under the age of obligation in mitzvot a taste of wine from the formal Shabbat Kiddush (not the one in shul; I mean the one at dinner/lunch!) and engaging them in Purim drinking. The former is a formal setting, and no one (I hope) is drinking to get a buzz. On Purim, though, because the general drinking is more loose and more geared toward celebration, I believe that the rule should be that children drink no alcohol at all.

2) If your own child is a minor, but older than bar mitzvah, and able to handle a small amount of wine, then it makes sense to help your child fulfill the mitzvah with a small amount, in a supervised setting, assuming this is legal in your jurisdiction.

3) I beleve adults should not drink on Purim in the presence of young children, beyond what would normally be consumed at a meal on Shabbat. Immature children cannot tell when we are in control and when we are not, cannot comprehend the dangers associated with alcohol, cannot accept the idea that adults can do what children are not permitted to do, and cannot understand the difference between Purim and the rest of the year.

The finest joy is a celebration which centers around a Mitzvah, and this is the essence of Purim – the four mitzvot (Megilah, Sending Gifts of Food, Giving to the Poor and having a Feast) which are about experiencing joy and spreading joy and thanking HaShem for saving us from destruction.

I apologize for wasting anyone’s time by stating the obvious, but as I said above, I feel the responsibility of stating this in any forum I have available.

And not to be a party-pooper at all, but those who want to know more about this theme should see Shaarei Teshuvah of Rav Chaim Margaliyot (printed with a standard Mishneh Berurah), in his final comment on Orach Chaim:

ויותר יש לזרז עצמו בד"ת במקום שיש שם איזה שמחה אף אם היא שמחה של מצוה ועיין בסוף סוכה בענין שמחת בית השואבה וכן מבואר לעיל סימן תקכ"ט אדם אוכל ושותה ושמח ברגל ולא ימשוך בבשר ויין ובשחוק וקלות ראש לפי שאין השחוק וקלות ראש שמחה אלא הוללות וסכלות ולא נצטוינו על הוללות וסכלות אלא על שמחה שיש בה עבודת היוצר עכ"ל והוא לשון רבינו הרמב"ם ז"ל והמפרשים ז"ל פירשו לשחוק אמרתי מהולל ר"ל שיהיה באיזה ענין שיהיה השחוק הוא הוללות עבט"ז לעיל
אך לשמחה מה זו עושה ר"ל שלענין שמחה אין להחליט שאינה יפה שבאמ' יש שמחה של מצוה ולכן יש ליתן לב לדעת מה זו עושה ר"ל מה טובה אם הוא שמחה של מצוה או לא אך הואיל ואפשר כי מתוך אכילה ושתיה והוללת יתמשך לשחוק וקלות ראש לכן יקח תבלין לבסם השמחה בד"ת וחדוות ה' יהיה מעוזו ויטב לבו בד"ת וז"ש וטוב לב משתה תמיד

It is even more necessary to energize one’s self with words of Torah in a place where there is joy, even if it is joy associated with a mitzvah. See the end of Succah regarding simchas beis hashoevah. And so is explained in the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 529, “One should eat, drink and be happy on the holiday, but not draw himself after meat and wine and laughter and lightheadedness, for laughter and lightheadedness are not joy, but empty celebration and foolishness. We are not instructed in empty celebration and foolishness, but in joy which includes service of the Creator.” This is a citation from the Rambam.
The sages explained the verse (Kohelet 2:2), “I have called laughter ‘empty celebration’” to mean that in any form, laughter is empty celebration. See the Taz earlier. [I don’t know which comment from the Taz he means.]
But “What does joy accomplish (Kohelet 2:2)” means that regarding joy, one should not conclude that it is not good. In truth, there is joy associated with mitzvot! Therefore, one should set his heart to know what joy can accomplish, meaning, what is its nature – is it joy associated with a mitzvah, or not. But since it is possible that one will be drawn to laughter and lightheadedness as a result of eating, drinking and empty celebration, therefor, one should take spices to sweeten the joy with words of Torah, and his strength will be in the joy of Gd, and his heart will be good with words of Torah. This is the meaning of ‘One of good heart is always at a feast.’

May we have wonderful and safe Purim - ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר!

Chag Purim Sameiach,
Mordechai

Giving to Everyone on Purim

Hi,

Is there a requirement to give tzedakah to all who request it on Purim?

Normally, one is required to investigate a tzedakah recipient or fund before giving a gift that would reduce his tzedakah for others, lest he cheat authentically needy people. [There is an exception where the need is dire and immediate, as in a request for food.]

However, on Purim we are instructed to increase people's joy and to give gifts of money and portions of food. Therefore, the majority view of halachic authorities is that one should give to anyone who asks. [There is a minority view which contends that this rule applies specifically for official distributors of communal tzedakah funds.]

(Bava Metzia 78b; Bava Batra 9a; Yerushalmi Megilah 1:4; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Megilah 2:16 and see Tzofnas Paneiach ibid.; Ramban to Bava Metzia 78b; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 694:3; Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 249:7, 257:1; Rivivos Ephraim 6:386)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Mishloach Manos for Mourners?

Hi,

Does a mourner send or receive Mishloach Manos?

Even though the mitzvah of sending mishloach manos involves joy, a mourner is obligated to send mishloach manos. This applies even during shivah. However, the mourner should not send items like wine and delicacies, which increase joy.

One should not send mishloach manos to a mourner, meaning a person who is within the year after losing a parent, or one who is within 30 days after losing a spouse, sibling or child r"l. However, a mourner who receives mishloach manos is not required to refuse them.

One may send to a mourner's family members, where the sender has a relationship with them.

One may send mishloach manos to a needy mourner, as a form of tzedakah. One may send to a mourner who holds a professional position in which it is expected that people will send him mishloach manos as a means of support.

May we know happy occasions.

(Sefer Chasidim 713; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 696:6; Taz Orach Chaim 696:3; Mishneh Berurah 696:18; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 696:8-9; Teshuvos v'Hanhagos 1:692; Divrei Malkiel 5:237; Shevet haLevi 10:107:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Temporary Hiatus

Hello,

Unfortunately, I need to take a hiatus from the Daily Torah Thought for a week or so, due to obligations elsewhere. I hope to return some time next week.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Threading a shoelace

Hi,

One may not thread a shoelace into a shoe on Shabbat, unless the lace was already in use for that shoe. The reason is that designating the lace to remain in this shoe is an act of rendering the shoe functional.

Based on this logic, it would appear that one could insert a temporary lace, where it was clear that the lace would not remain there - such as where the colour was wrong for the shoe, or where the lace was borrowed from someone else. However, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ruled not to distinguish among cases in this matter.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:243)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Extra buttons and other attachments

Hi,

There is halachic debate regarding whether one may travel outside an eruv on Shabbos wearing a shirt that has extra buttons attached to it. Those who permit it contend that the buttons are considered nullified to the shirt, and many people are lenient along these lines.

A similar approach permits travelling outside an eruv with clothing that has a laundry tag or a shaatnez-certification tag stapled to it.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:242)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Fallen Buttons on Shabbos

Hi,

If a button falls from my shirt on Shabbos, is the button muktzeh?

Items that perform a function when Shabbos starts, like a button that is attached to a shirt, are not muktzeh. Even should they cease to perform that function during Shabbos, they would not become muktzeh so long as they were intact. Therefore, a fallen button is not muktzeh. However, it may not be re-attached until after Shabbos.

Note:

• Some rule that a button loses its status if it is not functional right now. It would be good to satisfy that opinion, where possible, and treat a fallen button as muktzeh.
• If one were to decide not to re-attach the button to the original garment, then the button would lose its status as a functional implement, and it would be muktzeh.
• A button that has never been attached to a garment is muktzeh.

(Shabbos 122b, 124b; Mishneh Berurah 308:35; Az Nidbiru 7:46; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 15:72, 15:(222); Rivivos Ephraim 1:223:7; Yalkut Yosef Orach Chaim 308:87)

Have a  great day,

Mordechai

My hat fell off!

Hi,

One whose hat falls off in an area outside and eruv on Shabbat may pick it up and put it on. One is not transporting it for the prohibited lateral distance of four amot (about seven feet), and one is not transporting it between public and private areas.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:241)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Taking a dead fish out of a fish tank

Hi,

One may remove a dead fish from a tank, where its presence harms the other fish. However, one may not filter the fish from the rest of the contents, so one must take out water with it.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:239)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Moving a fish bowl on Shabbat

Hi,

Fish, like members of the animal kingdom in general, are muktzeh on Shabbat. [There is discussion regarding creatures that have particular roles to play, like service animals, but that is beyond the scope of this post.] Therefore, a fish bowl containing fish may not be moved on Shabbat; the bowl is a base for the muktzeh items.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:239)

[Note: Other authorities disagree, and particularly where the place where the bowl is currently located is endangering the fish. You might wish to see Yabia Omer 5: Orach Chaim 26; Ketzot haShulchan 121 footnotee 4; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 18:footnote 62 and 27:footnote 96; Az Nidbiru 8:37:2.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Medical ID bracelet on Shabbos

Hi,

[Please see the disclaimer atop this blog - like all of the "daily halachah" listings, this represents the views brought in the cited responsum below, and it is not necessarily a universally accepted ruling.]

There are conflicting opinions regarding wearing a medical bracelet outside an eruv on Shabbat. Some contend that there is no halachic concern at all, since this is a garment. Others argue that it is only permitted because of medical need, and if so one should opt to stay indoors where that is reasonably possible.

Therefore, it would be best to find some other way to note one's medical information. Where that is not possible, one could satisfy all of the views by attaching the bracelet to one's sleeve. And where that is not possible, one may rely on the views that see the bracelet as a garment.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:237)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shehechiyanu for new fruit

Hi,

Next Wednesday is Tu b'Shevat. There is a custom of eating fruit, and particularly fruit associated with Israel, on this day. Here are some of the laws of Shehechiyanu for new fruit:

One who sees a seasonal, newly available fruit, and feels great joy at seeing it, recites the berachah of Shehechiyanu.  One whose personal joy is not that great should not recite Shehechiyanu.

Technically, one recites Shehechiyanu even when seeing someone else's fruit, but we generally recite Shehechiyanu only upon eating; this is when most people feel the greatest joy.

We recite Shehechiyanu before the borei pri ha'eitz recited for the fruit. One who eats many types of new fruit at the same sitting should recite one collective Shehechiyanu.

One does not recite Shehechiyanu on underripe fruit, even if it is somewhat edible. One does recite Shehechiyanu on cooked fruit.

Fruit which is available via import all year still warrants a Shehechiyanu when it begins to grow locally and one eats it for the first time, if the local fruit is fresher or better. Fruits which are available during two distinct times of the year, with a significant (at least one month) period of non-availability between them, warrant Shehechiyanu each time the fruit becomes available and its presence induces joy.

One should avoid reciting Shehechiyanu on fruit produced via a graft prohibited by the Torah. Shehechiyanu is not recited for items on which we recite a berachah of borei pri ha'adamah.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 225:3, 6; Mishneh Berurah 225:11-12, 18; Aruch haShulchan 225:7, 12; Birkei Yosef 225:4; Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:87, 2:58, 3:34)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

When a child refuses to walk, on Shabbos

Hi,

What may one do, when a young child stops on the way somewhere on Shabbat, and refuses to walk any further, and there is no eruv to license carrying?

[Note: This responsum assumes there is no immediate danger to life; the child is not in the street, the weather is not dangerously cold, etc.]

Because our communities tend to be private domains by biblical standards, so that transport is a rabbinic prohibition rather than a biblical one, there are leniencies one may use where the child does not respond to coaxing.

Ideally, one would arrange with a non-Jew to carry the child. Where that is not an option, one could carry the child distances of fewer than four cubits [7 feet] at a time, picking up and setting down the child each time. Alternatively, one person could pick up the child and transport him, and hand him off to another person in the air, without pausing; this way, one carrier would perform the act of picking up the child, and the other would perform the act of setting down the child, so that each would be performing an incomplete act of transport. In either of these cases, one should avoid transporting the child directly into the house or enclosed yard, where possible; the transition from public area to private area carries special liability.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:233)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Throwing out trash on Shabbat

Hi,

Items which are not useful are muktzeh on Shabbat, and may not be handled. However, where there is a pile of trash in a room, such that one who wanted to sit in the room would be repelled by its presence, one may throw it out.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:232:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The empty chulent pot

Hi,

An empty cooking pot is muktzeh as a kli shemelachto l'issur on Shabbat, since it is dedicated for a use that is prohibited on Shabbat. One may move it only for the sake of 1) using it for a permitted purpose, or 2) using the space in which it is located.

A chulent pot, from which the chulent has been removed, may be moved on Shabbat for either of the aforementioned purposes. In addition, one may move it if it is repellent, and it is in a space in which one does not leave such items.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:232:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Fetch!

Hi,

One may not instruct his dog to go outside and bring in an object, where the space is not enclosed by an eruv. This is part of the law requiring that our animals rest on Shabbat.

There is room to contend that where an animal brings in an object on its own, one may use the object. However, there are grounds to prohibit as well, both in terms of having one's animal perform a prohibited act on Shabbat, and in terms of marit ayin (the appearance of wrongdoing).

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:231)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Paying a Shabbos babysitter

Hi,

One may not pay someone for work performed exclusively on Shabbos, even where the work itself is entirely permitted on Shabbos. However, one may include wages for Shabbos work as part of payment for work that occurs when it is not Shabbos.

Therefore: One may pay a Shabbos babysitter for work performed on Shabbos, but one would need to hire the babysitter for something during the week as well and pay for both together, or pay the babysitter additional funds for preparation performed during the week.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:230)

Have a great night,
Mordechai

Folding a tallis for next Shabbos

Hi,

One may not clean clothing on Shabbat, and this applies to non-laundering actions which make clothing better suited for wearing. This may apply to folding clothing, too, although justifications are offered for folding which does not create a lasting crease, or for folding which does not improve the appearance of the garment. However, the consensus of authorities is that one may not fold a garment on one Shabbat to prepare it for the following Shabbat, as in the case of folding a tallit after davening. One may not prepare on Shabbat for after Shabbat.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:229 - see more there)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Wearing a glasses chain outside the Eruv

Hi,

One may travel outside an eruv on Shabbat with a chain or cord attached to the handles of his glasses, so long as the glasses are worn normally rather than carried by the chain/cord. The chain or cord is consided part of the arms of the glasses. However, one may not travel with the glasses suspended by the cord, around one's neck.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:227)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shoes with leather inserts on Yom Kippur

Hi,

On Yom Kippur, one may not wear leather shoes. However, one may wear a shoe with a leather pad insert that cushions the bottom of his foot; the insert is not, itself, a shoe.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:225)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shoe inserts on Shabbos

Hi,

One may put a shoe insert into a shoe on Shabbos, to make the shoe wearable; it is considered part of the shoe, and not a separate entity that is "fixing" the shoe. One may also wear the shoe outside of the eruv, with the insert in it.

[Note: Some prohibit putting an insert in a shoe for the first time; this view is referenced in the Rivivot Ephraim here, but he does not state his own view.]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:225)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Wearing a battery-operated watch on Shabbos

Hi,

Wearing a battery-operated watch on Shabbat does not present a problem of muktzeh, although some are strict.

The battery is part of the structure of the watch, and the watch itself is a functional implement, which may be worn for its use. It is the same as carrying an implement that includes a screw in its structure - the screw is muktzeh on its own, but it does not render the entire entity muktzeh.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:20)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A lining outside the eruv on Shabbat

Hi,

One may travel outside of an eruv on Shabbat with paper lining his hat, in order to make it fit better. The paper is considered part of the hat, and it need not be physically attached. Ideally, though, the paper should be inserted before Shabbat [to avoid the appearance of a trick meant to transport the paper].

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:17)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shoelaces outside the eruv

Hi,

If one is walking outside the eruv, and his shoe becomes untied, is he obligated to tie his shoes, lest he be considered "carrying" his shoelaces?

If the shoelaces are still keeping the shoe somewhat closed, one need not stop to tie them. There are those who permit him to continue walking even where the shoes are entirely open; since the laces could be used to tie the shoe, they are considered part of the garment.

[I have seen a similar question discussed regarding the belt of an open raincoat, but there it seems that the consensus is that one need not close the coat with the belt; a belt in beltloops is considered part of the garment. - MT]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:15)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Wearing a coat over your shoulders

Hi,

On Shabbat, one may walk outside an eruv with a coat worn over his shoulders, without his arms in the sleeves, where that is a normal mode of wearing a coat. This is considered "wearing" it, not carrying it. We are also not concerned that it might fall off and then you might carry it.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Use a bookmark!

Hi,

[Note: I hesitate to call this "law", but I cite it in order to teach an important sensitivity to the honour of Torah.]

There is no problem with folding over the corner of a page on Shabbat in order to mark one's place. This is not called "improving" the book.

However, where the book is of Torah, it may be inappropriate to fold over the page during the week, particularly where the folded part includes text. First, it shows a level of disrespect; one would not do this with text he valued. Second, it can damage the page. Therefore, it would be better to use a bookmark.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lying through song at the Shabbos table

Hi,

Some are concerned regarding singing Shabbat songs when the words don't apply, out of concern for uttering falsehood. For example, they suggest not to sing Tzur miShelo, which says "we have imbibed His wine", if one has not personally imbibed wine.

Others disagree with this concern, contending that despite the first-person language, it is meant to refer to what people do in general. Nonetheless, it would be good to sing the song at the end of the meal rather than the middle, to satisfy the language of "we have been sated, and we have left some over".

[Rivivot Ephraim does not address another popular Tzur miShelo question: whether singing this song, which is designed to summarize Birkat haMazon, might qualify as an act of Birkat haMazon in itself.]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Earmuffs outside the eruv

Hi,

[Introductory note: Both earmuffs and gloves function as garments, and therefore they should be fine for wearing on Shabbat without an eruv. However, one may not wear garments without an eruv if there is a reasonable possibility that one might remove them, such as to display them for someone. Hence the following halachah.]

One may wear earmuffs on Shabbat outside an eruv, especially on days that are very cold. There is no concern that one might remove them, due to the cold. This is certainly true according to the view that one may wear gloves outside an eruv, even though gloves are removed from time to time.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:9)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Folding paper on Shabbos

Hi,

Folding garments makes them more wearable, by eliminating wrinkles and sharpening creases. Therefore, folding garments on Shabbat may be prohibited, under the categories of מתקן מנא (improving an implement) or כיבוס (laundering). However, neither of these applies to paper, and so one may fold paper on Shabbat.

There is an additional reason to permit folding paper table napkins: they are disposable, and meant to be disposed of.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A button that fell off on Shabbos

Hi,

A button which was attached to a garment when Shabbat began has the status of a kli [functional implement]. Should the button fall off but remain intact, it would not lose its status, and therefore it would not be muktzeh.

Buttons which have never been attached to garments, and broken garments, do not have kli status and are muktzeh.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lifting weights on Shabbos

Hi,

One may not lift weights on Shabbat, because this would violate the biblical requirement that one differentiate his behaviour on Shabbat from that of the week.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:223:6)

[Note: One might contend that the requirement of differentiating one's behaviour is broad and vague, and could apply to a whole host of behaviours, including sitting in a chair, eating at a table, and sleeping in bed. However, the classic understanding of this requirement is to apply it to activities involving physical strain, which would prevent one from identifying Shabbat as a day of halting activity and of rest. See, for example, Ramban to Vayikra 23:24. - MT]

Have a great day,
Mordechai