Search results for: ""Shabat""
Shabbat: Flushing Toilet
Flushing a toilet on Shabbat is not a violation of transferring from domain to domain.
Reason It is considered too small a space to be a domain.
Note If the water comes from a pump-operated well, such as in rural or remote areas, consult a rabbi.
Note If the water comes from a pump-operated well, such as in rural or remote areas, consult a rabbi.
Shabbat: Telephones
If Shabbat is over where you are, you may speak by phone to non-Jews in a place where it is still Shabbat.
Shabbat: Taping Card to Hotel Room Door
You may tape a card to a hotel room door on Shabbat in order to prevent its locking you out.
Shabbat: Taping Items Together
You may not tape items together on Shabbat if you intend for them to stay attached for more than 24 hours.
Shabbat: Sunscreens
To use a fluid on skin on Shabbat, even sunscreen that may be needed to protect damaged skin, it must flow without lumps and not be more viscous than honey at room temperature. Therefore, apply sunscreen only if fluid (but not a cream or thick liquid).
Note You may dilute sunscreen before Shabbat with water or alcohol, but some sunscreens do not become more fluid even with added water or alcohol.
Note On Shabbat, you may use oil for pleasure, such as for massage, but not for refu'a/healing purposes, such as to heal chapped skin.
Note On Shabbat, you may use oil for pleasure, such as for massage, but not for refu'a/healing purposes, such as to heal chapped skin.
Shabbat: Soap Bubbles
Causing soap bubbles from lather on Shabbat is not a problem.
Shabbat: Hard Soap
You may not use hard soap on Shabbat.
Shabbat: Secular Studying
Studying secular subjects is not in the spirit of Shabbat but it is not prohibited.
Shabbat: Walking into Room with Motion Detector
Do not walk into a room on Shabbat that has a motion detector that causes LED lights or room lights to go on--unless you can enter the room without turning them on.
Note If you enter a room and then find that there is a motion detector that will turn on a light or an LED, you should not move until someone else has entered the room and the light has turned on. You may then leave while the light is still on.
Note Sometimes motion detector lights do not always go on, due to a defective detector or because you can walk slowly enough or out of the detector range. If so, then it is not a “psik reisha” and you may walk past the detector, even if it sometimes does turn on the lights. However, you may not use the light that goes on unless there is enough ambient light from other sources that you can see without needing the triggered light.
Examples
Note Sometimes motion detector lights do not always go on, due to a defective detector or because you can walk slowly enough or out of the detector range. If so, then it is not a “psik reisha” and you may walk past the detector, even if it sometimes does turn on the lights. However, you may not use the light that goes on unless there is enough ambient light from other sources that you can see without needing the triggered light.
Examples
- If you can avoid triggering the LED by walking slowly, you may enter the room.
- If you can open a door slowly without triggering the LED, and by letting the door swing closed the LED will light up, you may do so and then walk past the detector while the LED is on, but only if the door takes at least 2.5 seconds to close.
Shabbat: Preventing Motion Detector from Lighting Up
If a motion detector will light up when you move, you must cover the detector before Shabbat or turn off the device.
Shabbat: Opening Refrigerator with Light or LED
On Shabbat, do not open a refrigerator door that has LEDs that illuminate when the door is opened. If you forgot to turn off the refrigerator light or if LEDs light up when you open the refrigerator door, consult a rabbi about what to do.
Shabbat: Opening Refrigerator when Compressor not On
On Shabbat, even though you may cause a compressor to turn on while you are using it or soon afterward, you may:
- Open the door to a refrigerator or freezer.
- Use a water cooler.
Note This also applies to water fountains such as in schools and synagogues.
Shabbat: Well Water
You may use water from a pump-operated well on Shabbat (as on Jewish festivals), as long as the pump operation is not a psik reisha (inevitable and immediate consequence of using any water tap).
Example You may use water from a well if it comes via an automatic pump that operates to fill a reservoir once the water level drops, but you may not:
- Operate the pump directly.
- Turn the pump on or off.
Shabbat: Nail Cutting
You may not bite your nails or have them cut on Shabbat (and Jewish festivals). If you have a broken nail, you may ask a non-Jew to cut it off for you if it bothers you.
Shabbat: Listening to Non-Jewish Musicians
You may listen to non-Jewish musicians performing on Shabbat if you do not need a ticket and if they are not playing particularly for Jews.