Search results for: ""Shabbat""

Nine Days: Restrictions
Restrictions during the Nine Days before Tish'a b'Av are the same as for Three Weeks, plus:
  • You may not eat meat or drink wine.
    Exceptions
    1. You may drink wine on Shabbat (but not on Rosh Chodesh Av or erev Shabbat.)
    2. You may drink wine for havdala (but ideally give the wine or grape juice to a child between ages 6 and 10).  
    3. You may eat meat or drink wine at a brit, siyum, or pidyon ha'ben.
  • You may not wear freshly laundered clothes, or wear or buy new clothes.
  NOTE You may wear clean socks and underwear. Ideally, throw them on the floor
  first but, b'di'avad, it is OK to wear them even if you did not.
  • You may not wash yourself for pleasure.
    Note Showering or bathing to clean one's soiled body is permitted (except on Tish'a b'Av).  So you may bathe or shower during the Nine Days if you are dirty, sweaty, or smelly.
  • You may not do any activities that involve luxury.
  • You may not say she'hecheyanu except on Shabbat.
    Note Therefore you should not buy new fruits or new items that you will enjoy during the Nine Days.  But if you DO eat a new fruit or buy something new, you must say she'hecheyanu anyway.
Jewish Wedding: Witnesses: Four Pairs
A Jewish wedding requires four pairs of witnesses, but the same witnesses may be used for all four parts: tanayim; ketuba; kiddushin; yichud. Each witness must be:
  • A shomer-Shabbat, adult male,
  • Not related to the bride or groom,
  • Not related to each other, and
  • Known to be an honest person.
Note There is no requirement to have only people who were born into shomer-Shabbat families as witnesses.
Note For more on relatives as witnesses, see Witnesses: Relatives in Jewish Courts.
Follow Nearest Jewish Community for Non-Setting Sun
If the sun does not set for more than 24 hours, such as north of the Arctic Circle in the summer, follow the nearest Jewish community's Shabbat starting time.
 
Yehi Ratzon of Refa'einu for a Sick Person
To pray for a sick person, say the yehi ratzon inserted into the refa'einu (8th) paragraph of the amida on weekdays (but not on Shabbat or Jewish festivals) either:
Unintentional Violation; Receive No Benefit (Psik Reisha...)
Psik reisha d'la nicha lei (halacha whose violation you don't intend and from which you receive no benefit) is not permitted.
Example
You open the refrigerator door on Shabbat and the light comes on.  This is forbidden on Shabbat and Jewish festivals, even if you don't want or need the light. 
However, you may ask a non-Jew to do an action for you that will be psik reisha d'la nicha lei.
EXAMPLE
 You may ask a non-Jew to get your jacket from the car on Shabbat or a Jewish festival, even though a light will go on, but only during the daytime; if it is night and the light would be needed to find the jacket, you may not ask.
Lulav: Storing: Replacing into Water
You may put the myrtle and willow branches into water after using them only if they were in water before the Sukkot holiday began. You may not add water on Shabbat, but you may on the other Jewish festival days. You may change the water only on chol ha'moed.
 
Yom Kippur: No Kiddush If You Must Eat
If you must eat on Yom Kippur (for health reasons), do not make kiddush and do not use two loaves of bread, even if Yom Kippur coincides with Shabbat.
Men and Women Must Say/Hear Havdala
The following must each hear or say havdala for themselves:
  • Men and boys 13 years old and up, and
  • Women and girls 12 years old and up.
Note As on Shabbat, any male Jew above 13 years old and any female Jew above 12 years old may say Jewish festival havdala for himself/herself and for anyone else.
Note A husband's or father's hearing havdala at synagogue does not cover his family's obligation to hear havdala.  He may say havdala for his wife and children even if he fulfilled his personal havdala requirement at the synagogue. (Men who say havdala for their families normally intend not to be covered by the synagogue's havdala).
Jewish Festivals: Coloring (Tzovei'a): Cloth

You may wipe a stain off of your face or hands onto a cloth or piece of paper if you do it to clean your face or hands on Jewish festivals (and Shabbat), but not if you want to color the cloth or paper.

Jewish Festivals: Candles: Lighting Two Days
The custom is to light candles:
  • Before sunset on the first day of a Jewish festival, and
  • After dark on the Jewish festival's second day (except when the second day coincides with Shabbat!).
Jewish Festivals: Tablecloth
A tablecloth should cover the table during Jewish festival meals, but you may remove and switch tablecloths. Even if you have a beautiful and valuable table, you should still cover it for Jewish festival (and Shabbat) meals.
Gefilte Fish
Eating gefilte fish, made of fish in which bones have been removed, avoids the necessity of doing the melacha of selecting (boreir) the bones from the fish. This allows a fish course to be eaten at a Shabbat meal (which, in addition to the meat, makes the Shabbat meal special because both fish and meat would not have been commonly served in poor areas during the week).
To Whom To Give Food and Lodging
We are commanded to give food and accommodation (hachnasat orchim) to people who do not have food to eat or a place to sleep.  This applies to any day, not just to Shabbat and Jewish festivals.
 
Human Dignity (Kavod HaBriot)
Although human dignity (kavod ha'briot) cannot override Torah commandments, kavod ha'briot allows violating some d'rabanan laws in order to avoid embarrassment.
Examples
  • Tearing Toilet Paper
    Situation You need to use toilet paper on Shabbat but none is torn.
    What To Do You may tear some toilet paper using any non-standard method or change from the normal way (shinu'i), such as not using your hand, or dropping something on the paper.
  • Hearing Aid
    Situation You may speak to someone who uses a hearing aid on Shabbat to avoid embarrassing him or her.
Stockholder in Business that Violates Torah Law
You may be a minority owner or shareholder in a business that violates Torah law, but not if the majority of the business is owned by Jews (even if they are not shomer Shabbat Jews). Consult a rabbi for details and exceptions.