This episode continues the laws of Shabbos as they intersect with transactions and legal acts. We cover why consecrations, valuations, gifts to the Temple, separating tithes, firstborn redemption, and issuing divorces are generally prohibited on Shabbos, since they resemble commerce or legal acquisition. The Mishnah Berurah clarifies when actions are valid after the fact, and the unique exception of tithes separated intentionally. The discussion then turns to marriage around Shabbos—especially weddings on Friday—explaining how and when marriage takes halachic effect, with special focus on widows versus first-time brides, seclusion, and ensuring all acquisitions are completed before Shabbos begins.
This episode explores the halachic limits of judicial and legal activity on Shabbos. We learn why courts do not judge cases, issue punishments, imprison offenders, or carry out penalties on Shabbos—rooted in concerns of writing, commerce, and preserving Shabbos as a day of rest even for the guilty. The discussion then turns to key exceptions, including urgent testimony (such as preventing a woman from remaining unable to remarry) and stopping someone from fleeing to cause permanent harm.
The second half focuses on marriage-related restrictions: why engagements, weddings, levirate marriage, and related ceremonies are generally prohibited on Shabbos due to legal and financial consequences. Limited leniencies are examined for cases of great need—such as avoiding severe financial loss, fulfilling the mitzvah of having children, or preventing major embarrassment—especially around twilight before Shabbos. Practical concerns, including writing documents, financial obligations, and handling items like candles, round out the discussion.
This episode concludes the laws of managing rainwater leaking into the home on Shabbos, including when collected water may be moved and when creating an unpleasant situation is prohibited. We then begin a new section covering common Shabbos activities: riding animals, swimming in pools and ponds, and the classic debate over clapping, dancing, and rhythmic movements. The discussion explains the original concerns behind these restrictions, practical distinctions between permitted and prohibited cases, and why later authorities note widespread leniency today—especially in the context of mitzvah-related joy.
This episode explores classic Mishnah Berurah discussions on sound and activity on Shabbos. Topics include mechanical clocks and musical chimes set before Shabbos, alarm clocks and alarms going off on Shabbos, winding watches and stopping alarms, and the distinction between fixing an item versus normal use. We also cover children’s toys, automatic and kinetic watches, clapping and making noise to scare animals, ball games and board games on Shabbos, concerns about weekday-like activities, and when communal custom is relied upon. The episode concludes with practical cases such as drawing water with wheels and protecting fruit from rain on Shabbos. Clear, practical guidance on where noise, play, and preparation cross Shabbos boundaries.
This episode explores the halachic background of playing music on Shabbos, focusing on the original rabbinic decree against music due to concern over repairing instruments. We examine a historical leniency that allowed asking a non-Jew to play (and even repair) instruments for the sake of bringing joy to a bride and groom, based on the concept of a double rabbinic prohibition for a mitzvah. The Mishnah Berurah surveys dissenting opinions, limits of that leniency, and contrasts weddings with other celebrations. The episode concludes with the clear ruling of later authorities that this practice has been fully discontinued, and that today there is no basis to permit instrumental music on Shabbos—even via non-Jews—reflecting the universally accepted custom.
This episode continues the Mishnah Berurah’s discussion of sound production on Shabbos. We clarify the core rule: objects specifically designed to make sound are generally prohibited, even when the intent is not musical. Practical cases include door knockers, rings fixed to doors, bells, tuning forks, and similar sound-producing items. In contrast, making noise with one’s body (knocking with a fist or knuckles, whistling) is permitted. The shiur explores key distinctions—designated purpose versus incidental sound, intent versus outcome—and major views regarding opening doors or curtains that cause bells to ring, including leniencies for mitzvah needs and cases of necessity. We conclude with practical synagogue scenarios, such as silencing a room by banging on a table with a non-designated object.
This episode completes the laws of floor maintenance on Shabbat and opens the topic of sound-making prohibitions. We review why spreading oil or scrubbing floors is restricted—even on paved surfaces—due to concerns of leveling ground and related actions. The discussion extends to placing heavy barrels on the ground, the risk of creating furrows, and why lifting rather than dragging is required.
The episode then introduces the laws of making sounds on Shabbat: musical instruments and music-like sounds are prohibited, while non-musical sounds—such as knocking on a door—are generally permitted. Practical cases include clapping, noise-making to scare birds, soothing a child, dripping water for sound, and using noise to wake someone. The guiding principle is whether the sound is musical, pleasant, and instrument-like, or merely functional.
This episode continues the laws of unintended consequences on Shabbos, focusing on sweeping floors and household cleaning. We explore whether sweeping an unpaved floor is permitted, given the concern that it may level the ground and resemble forbidden labor. The discussion contrasts lenient and stringent views, explains why paved floors are treated differently, and examines concerns of inevitability versus intention.
The episode also covers practical allowances, such as using soft materials (cloths, feathers, soft brushes), asking a non-Jew to sweep, and removing items that are considered repulsive. It concludes with an important related law: avoiding cleaning tools that may break during use, since damaging utensils on Shabbos is itself prohibited.
This episode opens Siman 337 and explores the laws of unintended consequences on Shabbat. Using ploughing as the model case, it explains when an action is permitted if a prohibited result is not intended—and when it becomes forbidden if that result is inevitable. Practical cases include dragging furniture across dirt or grass, watering dusty floors, and ploughing via animals. The key distinction is between a possible side-effect (permitted) and an unavoidable one (prohibited), with clear guidance for everyday Shabbat scenarios.
In this episode, we finish the siman discussing plants and trees on Shabbos, beginning with the laws of dried fruits still attached to dried or living branches. Even when fruit appears detached for tumah, halachically it is still considered attached for Shabbos regarding plucking. We review cases where plants take root in odd locations—like onions under collapsed debris—and when removing them creates biblical liability.
The second half focuses on the rules of using trees: direct use is prohibited, but “side-of-the-side”—an object leaning on something attached to the tree—may be permitted. Practical examples include ladders, pegs, baskets, and hammocks. We clarify when leaning on a tree is allowed (healthy individuals) and when it is prohibited (someone weak who relies on the tree). Any situation that causes the tree to move is forbidden for everyone.
A practical overview of Hilchos Shabbos regarding plants, blocked gutters, sinks, smelling fragrant plants, and handling flowers or branches in water. We explore when vegetation is considered attached, when one may clear blockages with a shinui, when smelling attached plants is permitted, and key rules about soaking grains, placing branches or flowers in water, and avoiding inadvertent “planting” or “sprouting.” Includes modern applications such as blocked sinks and vases of flowers in the home.
This episode covers Mishnah Berurah 336.4–8, focusing on outdoor activities on Shabbos—especially handling seeds, plants, and potted herbs. We review when scattering seeds for animals is permitted, concerns about accidental sowing, the status of plants growing from moisture on utensils, and the rules for inserting decorative plants into moist soil. We also discuss the halachos of pots with and without holes, moving potted plants, and avoiding inadvertent planting or uprooting.
In this episode, we continue the laws of using trees and their roots on Shabbos. We explain when roots and low branches are considered ground and therefore permitted to use, based on whether they rise above three handbreadths. We also cover complex cases such as uneven ground, roots that bend downward, and when appearance from different sides affects the ruling.
Next, we review the permissibility of walking on grass—why it is generally allowed even when the grass is long—along with precautions when grass becomes detached. We also discuss why washing hands over grass is prohibited due to watering, while pouring certain liquids or urinating on grass is permitted because they do not promote growth. Finally, we note added restrictions when eating in large gardens due to carrying concerns.
A clear overview of the halachos of using trees on Shabbos: why Chazal prohibited climbing or using trees, whether the rules apply to live or dried trees, and what to do if someone accidentally finds themselves in a tree on Shabbos. Includes the Mishnah Berurah’s parameters for hanging objects, leaning on trees, vegetation rules, reeds, rigid stalks, and the debate between major poskim on vegetation that resembles tree-like rigidity. Practical guidance on descending from a tree when climbed unintentionally or when climbed before Shabbos.
This episode reviews the laws of rescuing wine, liquids, or food when a barrel breaks on Shabbos. We examine when a person may place a single vessel to save as much as possible, and when using multiple vessels is restricted due to concerns of weekday-like behavior or accidental carrying.
We clarify the differences between rescuing up to three meals’ worth versus larger amounts, how invited guests affect permitted quantities, and why one cannot invite guests merely as a legal workaround. The episode also analyzes cases of dripping grape juice that is not yet considered usable liquid, the issue of making a vessel designated for prohibited material, and permissible workarounds to prevent loss.
Finally, we address the rules for gathering scattered fruit on Shabbos—when it may be collected, how it must be eaten, and the limits created by concerns of weekday practice and selecting.
This episode concludes the discussion of Siman 334—the laws of extinguishing on Shabbos—focusing on when one may put out glowing metal or smoldering wood if it poses a danger to the public. We clarify when moving the hazard is preferable to extinguishing it, the halachic status of metal versus wood, and the principles of melachah she’einah tzerichah legufah that affect the rabbinic nature of extinguishing. The practical ruling: one may extinguish either wood or metal when there is danger to people.
We then begin Siman 335, addressing the laws of a barrel that breaks on Shabbos. We review how much food or liquid may be saved (normally up to three meals’ worth), when multiple vessels may be used, leniencies when carrying into a public domain is not a concern, and why soaking up spilled liquids with a sponge or one's hands is restricted. The episode concludes with the debate over saving liquids dripping from a cracked vessel and distinctions between moving items within courtyards with an eiruv versus without.
A practical and detailed overview of the halachic principles governing how to respond to a fire on Shabbos. This episode explains when one may hint to or request assistance from a non-Jew, the limits on protecting property, and how sudden loss changes the halachic framework. We also explore the Rema’s ruling that in modern settings every fire involves possible danger to life—making extinguishing it not only permitted but praiseworthy. The shiur reviews distinctions between property protection and life-saving action, obligations to prevent danger, and the Mishnah Berurah’s discussion of repentance, fasting, and monetary substitution for transgressions.
A clear, practical overview of indirect fire prevention on Shabbos in the Mishnah Berurah. This episode clarifies when one may prevent a fire’s spread through indirect actions, such as placing wet materials, vessels of water, or protective barriers near a blaze. We examine extinguishing when clothing catches fire, using plates to block flames, concerns of laundry when wetting garments, and distinctions between acceptable indirect causation vs. direct extinguishing.
Additionally discussed: when a non-Jew may extinguish a fire on Shabbos for a Jew, why a child must be stopped, and how intention affects halachic status. Essential guidance for applying the laws of Shabbos during fire-related emergencies, property loss, or safety concerns.
This episode continues our study of Mishnah Berurah 334, focusing on the laws of saving items from a fire on Shabbos. We examine when one may rescue tefillin stored together with money, distinctions between private and unenclosed domains, and the leniency of placing a loaf of bread or a child with valuables to permit carrying them to safety. We also explore the permissibility of asking a non-Jew to save sacred writings, the status of detached book margins, and the prohibition against rescuing writings produced by idolaters. Additional discussion includes coins bearing divine names and improper customs involving storing mundane objects in the holy ark. This installment clarifies practical halachic guidelines for protecting sacred items while maintaining Shabbos restrictions.
In this episode, we continue exploring the laws of saving property from fire on Shabbos, focusing on Megillas Esther and amulets. We discuss whether Megillas Esther—unique among the biblical books for not containing the Divine Name—has the sanctity required to be rescued from a fire, and what conditions (such as proper script, parchment, or ink) determine its status.
We also examine differing opinions on saving amulets that contain holy text, including cases involving illness and potential danger to life. The episode concludes with guidance on saving Torah scroll cases, tefillin cases, and other holy book coverings—even when they contain money—without needing to remove the contents during an emergency.