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