The seventh day of the week and a day of rest. Also use this tag for questions that apply equally to yom tov and Shabbat.
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Candle Lighting Time: Why Then?
Why 18 minutes (or other minhagim). Where did these numbers come from?
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2answers
71 views
Kiddush BeRov 'Am
Does BeRov 'Am Hadrath Melech (the King's glory is in the multitudes, ie., the more people praise HaShem together, the more glorious it is for Him) apply to making Kiddush? I've heard it said so ...
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4answers
417 views
Lecha Dodi (לכה דודי) - Last Stanza
At Boi Veshalom (in Lecha Dodi), we turn around to greet the Shabbos queen. Firstly, to which direction are we supposed to turn? Is it towards the door of the synagogue, always to the rear of the ...
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5answers
155 views
Shabbos Hagadol
Why is the Shabbos before Pesach called Shabbos HaGadol? Please contribute as many answers as possible.
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1answer
191 views
Tefillin On Shabbos
Why do we not put on Tefillin on Shabbos?
Why is one not allowed to put on Tefillin on Shabbos?
And similarly, why is Tefillin Muktzah?
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1answer
250 views
If no one else was available, could a mohel ride a bicycle on shabbos to perform a circumcision?
If a healthy baby boy's eighth day of life is on a Saturday, that's the day his bris milah / circumcision should be performed if at all possible. While elective surgeries are prohibited on Shabbos, ...
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1answer
103 views
Owning stock in companies that operate on shabbat
It is my understanding that one may only have ownership in a business that operates on shabbat if you co-own with a gentile and have an explicit arrangement that all profits derived on shabbat belong ...
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2answers
191 views
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5answers
216 views
Shabbos and Yom Tov menus
Is it permissible to prepare a menu for use on Shabbos and Yom Tov, without violating the prohibition on שטרי הדיוטות? This is particularly relevant during the "three-day Yom Tov"s that we will soon ...
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2answers
124 views
Bleeding gums on Shabbos
If someone has gum disease and his gums frequently (or always) bleed when he eats, is he restricted to a liquid diet on Shabbos and Yom Tov?
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2answers
105 views
Repeating Seder HaKitores
Why do Nusahos Ari, Sefard, Edot HaMizrah, and Ashkenaz of Eretz Yisrael repeat the order of the kitores (incense offering) at the end of Shaharis every day and why does Nusah Ashkenaz of Hutz LaAretz ...
6
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2answers
191 views
Can a Jew own a business that employs or pays atheist Jews on Shabbat?
I am an atheist who happens to be Jewish, and would like to work for a business owned by a religious Jew.
Is he allowed to pay me for my work on Shabbat?
What if the payment is global (e.g. 10% of a ...
6
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2answers
91 views
Keychain with muktzeh items (e.g. usb)
This has been asked in the past with regard to a muktzeh key, and i was uncertain if it would be the same with something like a usb. If i have a keychain with a usb on it that i wear week round, come ...
6
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1answer
132 views
Melacha on Shabbat - At which stage of removal does something become legal?
I had heard of something relating to melacha on Shabbat from an (orthodox!) rabbi who mentioned something really interesting. At a certain level of removal, one can indirectly perform melacha. It was ...
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2answers
522 views
How do you build an eruv from your house to your sukkah?
I know people do this (if there's no eruv in town, or if you're afraid the eruv will be down at the end of a 3-day yomtov); I think it involves a string from the sukkah to the house? Please explain.
...
6
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1answer
152 views
Shema in Musaf Kedushah - Source and reason
I grew up on the Birnbaum siddur, I admit it. I read the little explanations at the bottom of the page over and over. Later, I bought a set of Artscroll machzorim and used those on Rosh Hashana and ...
6
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1answer
99 views
Is it permissible to be mechalel shabbos to save a fetus?
Is it muttar to set aside the rules of shabbos to save a fetus? If so, how is it possible to reconcile that with the permissibility of killing a fetus (abortion)?
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1answer
143 views
Cole slaw in the Cholent on Shabbos
In a discussion I overheard, I seem to understand that there is a Halachic Issue of mixing Coleslaw into the Cholent in my plate on Shabbos. I also heard, but it may be a separate topic, that the ...
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2answers
104 views
Source for the concept of learning 1 hour on Shabbat is like 1000 during the week?
There is a Benayahu on Taanit 11a I think that may hint to this, but not clear enough. Is there an actual source for "1 hour learning on shabbat is like 1000 hours during the week"?
6
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1answer
104 views
May one “use the facilities” outdoors on shabbat?
May one urinate on the lawn on shabbat, or is that forbidden the same way that watering it is forbidden? What about defecation? Feces may or may not contain nutrients that are beneficial to the soil ...
6
votes
1answer
178 views
Do Orthodox synagogues have audio induction loops? Can they use them on Shabbat?
Let's assume we follow Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's ruling that hearing aids are permitted on Shabbat, but microphones are not.
What about installing an audio induction loop in the synagogue? It would ...
6
votes
2answers
137 views
Is using a book with letters stamped on the sides melacha (erasing) if the book wasn't closed in the first place?
A comment on this question points to the following from OU:
Likewise, when words are stamped on the edge of a book (as is the case with most library books), these letters are separated when the ...
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1answer
83 views
Why does Nusach Ashkenaz skip מה רבו on Shabbos?
In the birchot keriat shema of Shabbat morning, we add a number of pesukim in the beginning, and we switch the piyut of קל ברוך גדול דעה for the piyut of קל אדון. But all the pesukim said on a weekday ...
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1answer
101 views
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86 views
Koh Ribon - what connection does it have to Shabbos?
One of the songs that is sung Friday night is Koh Ribon. There is not a single mention of Shabbos in it. Why do we sing it on Shabbos?
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2answers
341 views
Where does the concept of a Kli Shlishi come from?
When it comes to cooking on Shabbos, most people hold that things that are not allowed to be put in a Kli Sheni (a vessel once removed from the vessel that was on the fire) because it is considered ...
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2answers
96 views
Shabbos Chol HaMoed / Shabbos Yom Tov
Why is Kabbolas Shabbos shortened on Shabbos Chol HaMoed / Shabbos Yom Tov?
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1answer
121 views
Why celebrate Lag Ba'Omer on the 33rd according to the MaHaRIL?
There are several different opinions about when the students of Rabbi Akiva died, and which days we mourn for them.
Sefer HaToda'ah quotes the Maharil, who says that the students of Rabbi Akiva died ...
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1answer
54 views
What if you undo a shabbat melacha?
If you plant a seed shortly before the end of shabbat (zoraya) and then un-bury it after shabbat, or you put an uncooked food into an oven and then take it out within seconds without it having baked ...
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1answer
161 views
How long until a bean chulent is totally cooked (mevushal kol tzorko)?
My son has started raiding the chulent Friday night. To be able to return the chulent crock pot back to the casing, everything must be fully cooked. I rarely cook with beans, but would like to try ...
6
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2answers
226 views
Why do some women light additional shabbat candles for the past weeks they didn't light?
Some women have the custom to light an additional shabbat candle for every week which, for whatever reason, they did not have a chance to light shabbat candles in the past. For example, if a woman ...
6
votes
1answer
125 views
Lechem Mishneh : holding challos procedure
What's the exact procedure for holding the challos in lechem mishneh.
I'm not asking about the number of challos used or which one to cut (top / bottom) but how do we hold them :
do we hold them ...
6
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1answer
324 views
Asking Questions on StackOverflow on Erev Shabbos
Is there a problem with asking a programming question on StackOverflow (or any other StackExchange site) on Erev Shabbos, so that they will eventually be answered by the time Motzei Shabbos arrives? ...
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1answer
71 views
Can you destroy a spider web on Shabbos?
Can you destroy a spider web on shabbos if you simply do not want it around (you consider it unseemly)?
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1answer
93 views
Presents on shabbas
Can one give a present on shabbas? If the answer is no, then how does it work when one eats by someones house the food one gets is a present (it is changing reshus). Sources please.
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1answer
127 views
Askinu Seudasa and Azamer Bishvachin before Kiddush
There is a variety of placement in siddurim which include Askinu Seudasa and Azamer Bishvachin. Some (Tefila Yeshara, Artscroll if memory serves correctly) put both before Kiddush. Some (Tehilas ...
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1answer
136 views
Should separating pull apart Challah rolls be considered a forbidden act of completion?
I have heard many people state that using Challah* rolls that are baked in one unit to be pulled apart might be a problem for making Leḥem** Mishneh on Shabbath. In fact, there are rolls that are sold ...
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1answer
74 views
Is it permitted to use a thermochromic cup on Shabbos?
A novelty cup, see for example here, appears black when cold. When hot liquid is poured into it, the black changes to white and the previously concealed writing (underneath, so to speak) becomes ...
6
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1answer
147 views
Hand movements when lighting shabbat candles
When women light shabbat candles I often see them making hand gestures. These look like two or perhaps three circles around in the air. What is the source for this practice? Is it a law or custom? Is ...
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2answers
59 views
Does a fan or light on Shabbos need a Blech?
Obviously they wouldn't need a "blech" like we think of one, but would they need some sort of physical alteration to remind one not to adjust the knobs/switches on Shabbos?
More specifically, to ...
6
votes
1answer
93 views
Ask a friend to carry on Shabbos
Suppose there are two friends: one holds of the eiruv and the other doesn't. Is the second allowed to ask the first to carry for him?
And if the first anyways carried it, can the second benefit from ...
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0answers
98 views
Which types of light bulbs are 'only' an issur d'rabbanan to activate on Shabbat
I'd be very interested to know if anyone has definitive advice on which types of light bulbs are considered an issur d'rabbanan (Rabbinic prohibition) vs an issur d'oraita (Torah prohibition) to turn ...
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0answers
101 views
Mandatory evacuation on Shabbat: what can and can't you do?
A major storm hit New England starting this past Friday. While people knew this was coming and precautions were already in place, apparently (according to a news article I read tonight) some areas ...
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0answers
67 views
Decorative food plating on Shabbath
This question asks about using an ice cream scoop on Shabbath, and an internet forum linked in the question has a discussion about the permissibility of decorative plating of food generally. According ...
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6answers
286 views
fish before meat - why?
To the best of my knowledge eating fish after meat has the same Halacha as eating meat after fish. You are supposed to eat a cracker and take a drink to seperate between them. Why is it most common ...
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2answers
175 views
Why is squeezing a ketchup bottle on Shabbos not considered Dosh (Melechet Dash)?
Why is squeezing a ketchup bottle on Shabbos not considered Dosh (Melechet Dash)?
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296 views
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222 views
Is repeating the chorus in Lecha Dodi problematic?
Some tunes for Lecha Dodi are conducive to repeating the chorus ("Lecha dodi ...") twice each time. I've noticed that some people, when using one of these tunes, repeat, while others avoid repeating ...
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2answers
214 views
If my home is on fire on Shabbos or Yom Tov, what can I do?
G-d forbid, but let's say that my house catches fire either on Shabbos or a Yom Tov. Can I call 911 or must I find a non-Jewish neighbor to call? We have an eruv. Can I take my car keys, cell phone ...
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2answers
161 views
Source of shabbat evening kiddush text?
The beginning of the shabbat evening kiddush (vayehi erev, vayehi boker, yom hashishi...) is from Bereshit, 1:31 ff. Where does the second part (khi hu yom tehilah lemikraei kodesh...) come from? Is ...
