Search results for: ""Shabbat""

Reheating on Hotplate with Timer
Once Shabbat begins, you may not put food on a hotplate with a timer that turns on the hotplate during Shabbat.
How To Cover the Challot
On Shabbat (and Jewish festivals), you should place a white cover above the challot and another below (unless you have a white tablecloth).
Reason To recall the layers of dew above and below the mun that the Israelites ate for 40 years in the desert.
Note If you have a fancy or beautiful cover for your challa that is not white underneath, you may put a white cloth or paper towel between the cover and the challa in order to have a white cover above the challa.
Jewish Festivals: Braiding Hair
As on Shabbat, you may not braid (or unbraid) hair on Jewish festivals.
Reheating in Microwave Oven with Timer
On Shabbat, you may not put food in a microwave oven and have a timer turn it on, even if no light will be lit.  However, you may put the food into the microwave oven BEFORE sunset on Shabbat and have the timer turn on the microwave oven on Shabbat.
Note You must cover the microwave controls from before Shabbat.
Introduction to Eruv Chatzeirot for Buildings
On Shabbat, you may not carry items in a building (such as a condominium) owned by more than one Jew (even if the other owners are not religious), from a condo into the hallway or from the hallway into a condo unless:
  • There is an eruv around the building, or
  • You have made an eruv chatzeirot with all the other owners.
Note If none of the other owners are Jewish, you do not need to make an eruv.
Note If you do not normally rely on municipal eruvs, you should not carry outside your apartment (such as in the building's halls--even if your building is within a municipal eruv), unless the building has an eruv chatzeirot. 
Transferring Object from Domain to Domain
On Shabbat (or Yom Kippur), you may not transfer an object between and among domains unless there is a city eruv (which allows carrying within the borders of the eruv).
Note Domains may be of three types:
  • Private Domain (reshut ha'yachid),
  • Public Domain (reshut ha'rabim), and
  • Carmelit.
Introduction to Havdala
Havdala is said after Shabbat, Jewish festivals, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur.  Shabbat havdala is more extensive than after Yom Kippur and Jewish festivals. 

Shabbat havdala consists of:
  1. Beverage: Wine, Grape Juice, or Chamar Medina
    Wine is always the preferred beverage for all havdalas because it is prestigious.
  2. Spices
    The extra soul we are given on Shabbat leaves after Shabbat is over, so we sniff a pleasant odor to cover for that loss.
  3. Flame  
    The Shabbat havdala flame commemorates that Adam HaRishon (the first man) created fire after the first Shabbat.

 
Sofer: Non-Observant Jew
A non-shomer Shabbat Jew may not be a sofer.
Jewish Festivals: Squeezing, Dabbing, Smearing
As on Shabbat, you may squeeze a tube of cream on Jewish festivals, but you might not be able to use the cream on the Jewish festival for other reasons—consult a rabbi.
Note Smearing creams or ointments is permitted only in life-threatening situations. Otherwise, you may not smear cream on skin on a Jewish festival (or Shabbat) even using a shinu'i such as using the back of your hand or a toe.
Dabbing is permitted, but only when you are permitted to use medicine. 
Example
You may use cream on a Jewish festival (and Shabbat) by dabbing (you may ONLY dab--you may not SMEAR cream) for a bee sting if it will affect the entire body. You may not use cream for a mosquito bite, since it is only a local irritation.
Jewish Festivals: Changing LCD/LED
As on Shabbat, you may not use any item on a Jewish festival that will cause an LCD or LED to form letters or change an LCD display.
Jewish Festivals: Moving Flame Heater
Unlike on Shabbat, you may move a kerosene or other heater that has a flame burning on Jewish festivals.
Jewish Festivals: Squeezing a Lemon
As on Shabbat, on Jewish festivals you may squeeze a lemon (or other fruit) onto solid food—or mostly solid, even wet, food--that you will eat right away, but not into a container or into a liquid.
Jewish Festivals: Removing Unwanted Cards
Unlike on Shabbat, on a Jewish festival you may select (boreir) and remove unwanted cards (such as Jokers).
 
Jewish Festivals: Children and Melacha
As on Shabbat, you may not have a child, even younger than gil chinuch, do melacha for you on a Jewish festival.
Jewish Festivals: When Is
Jewish festivals (and Shabbat) end at “dark”: when three medium-sized stars are visible overhead.
Note When stars appear in the west (these are “large stars”), medium-sized stars should be visible overhead and the Jewish festival (or Shabbat) will be over.