Torah · Halacha YomitLaws of Mukseh: Animals and SnowRabbi Uri Nahum · September 5, 2022 · Laws of Mukseh-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareA Shabbat halacha class with Rabbi Uri Nahum.Recorded by BSD Productions.Transcript0:00Welcome to the Halacha Hour here on JRoot Radio.0:03We are filming now live.0:05We are on the air on0:08jrootradio.com. You can listen to us.0:09You can also view us,0:11and you can see the video live at0:14jrootradio.com. Today, Wednesday afternoon, Yud Zayin0:21Shvat, תשע״א, and let's just give you a quick phone numbers before we get to the actual halacha class.0:24The number, if you'd like to call in for any questions,0:30718-683-5858. And as we always say, you can call in at the end of the class.0:33Maybe, maybe we'll have time today to take some phone calls on the air at the end of0:36the class.0:37Maybe not.0:38We'll see how the day goes.0:40The best way to reach us is, as always, you text in at0:47347-927-8398. Today's subject within the laws of מוקצה, we're continuing where we left off last week0:51in the Ben0:52Ish Hai. We're continuing in the discussion of מוקצה, but specifically the laws of מוקצה when it1:01comes to animals, pets, fish in aquariums, parrots, and all the goodies that have to1:07do with that.1:08Bezrat Hashem, that will be today's first half of the class.1:11The second half of the class, bezrat Hashem, we will be discussing the subject of1:18snow.1:19As you know, everybody's talking about the snow, the snow, the snow.1:22I personally didn't believe it was going to come.1:24I thought they're making a big deal.1:25I knew it was going to be snowing, but I didn't think it was going to be so much.1:28And Baruch Hashem, gabar1:31aleinu chasdo. We had the snow. We had the gezeirah of the snow that we're supposed to have, and Hashem gave1:35us wonderful weather afterwards to make sure that, you know, we don't have to suffer with the aftermath1:40of the snow.1:41The snow was melting, as we see.1:44So it's a big question.1:45A lot of questions came up on Shabbat, and it's possible every time when snow falls on1:50Shabbat or the leftover snow on Shabbat,1:52some very important halachot to talk about on how to deal with snow on Shabbat.1:58So bezrat Hashem, we'll dedicate today's second half of the class towards that.2:03Okay, I think we're good.2:05Let's get to the actual class,2:07Halacha Zayin in the Beit Nishchai. We're dealing with animals and what their status is on Shabbat2:13regarding2:16muktzeh. One second, we're adjusting the camera. Have to be a little straight.2:20Okay, it's not מיוסק, right?2:23Okay, we... אסור... we're going to continue.2:25אסור לטלטל בהמה חיה ועוף אפילו לצורך גופם ומקומם. Comes the Ben Ish Chai, and he quotes2:31to us a halacha that's in Shulchan Aruch. It's forbidden for a person to move any sort2:37of animal, any bird, even for using them for something.2:42It's still2:45asur, מפני שאינו ראויים בשבת כשם חיים. So long as the animals are alive, they are not considered ראוי; they have the status2:51of מוקצה מחמת גופו. ולכן, and therefore, says3:04the Ben Ish Chai, אפילו עוף שראוי לצחק בו התינוק כשבוכה, אסור לטלטלו. Even a bird that a child can play with.3:08Again, you know, in our days, I don't know anybody who has this, you know, a stam, you go take3:12birds and give it to kids to play.3:14The parents are probably more scared than the birds and the children might be, so at3:19least living birds.3:20So if you have birds, even birds that the little kids can play with, even though it3:24could be used as a toy, says the Ben Ish Chai, no, it's3:28muktzeh. Even though last week we mentioned toys, not every toy is muktzeh. Toys that are made to make3:36little children, infants, be quiet, those are not muktzeh, לכל הדעות, because it's like a pacifier.3:43They keep the kids quiet.3:44They have a כלי; that's called a3:46כלי. Over here, when it comes to animals, even though it can keep the kids quiet, no, it's3:51אסור לטלטלו. It's still muktzeh. And what kind of3:54muktzeh? It's the worst level of muktzeh, known as3:59muktzeh מחמת גופו. Yet, there's a halacha that's also brought down in Shulchan Aruch, which here the Ben Ish Chai brings4:03over here.4:16ואף על פי כן מותר לכפות הסל לפני האפרוחים כדי שיעלו וירדו בו, ואין בזה משום בטל כלי מהיכנו, אפילו שאחד לפיש בידו לפרחא מיד, כשנוטל עליו, שלא יעמדו עליו אפילו רגע, וחשיב ידו עליו, מותר לטלטלו. Back then. We don't have it today, but let's say you live in a farm, maybe, okay, and you4:23have these little chicks, little baby chicks.4:26So they need to go up on a certain basket. They need to get to a certain step. So you4:31can't pick it up, but you need them to, let's say, go back into their nest, to go back into4:35their cages, whatever it may be.4:37So could you take a basket and turn it upside down so they could climb on top of it to jump4:42into their cage to come back to the way it's supposed to be?4:45The answer is yes, it's mutar.4:47How could you tell me it's mutar if you told me that the animal is4:51muktzeh? We learned when something is muktzeh, you're not allowed to place it in a vessel, because4:57then you turn the vessel into a basis for the bara muktzeh, becomes something that's5:05made to hold muktzeh, machmat gufo, and since you cannot move the muktzeh, you also cannot5:13move what the muktzeh is on.5:15So your mevatel kli meheichano, it should be a problem of mevatel kli meheichano, which means, like we said in the past, now you cannot move the5:22kli anymore.5:22Remember, in the past we gave the example of if a person has pits, let's say pits of olives,5:28those are not edible.5:29They're not edible, they're not ראוי למאכל בהמה. We said you should not place it on an empty plate,5:34because now once you put it on an empty plate, the plate which is holding the pits becomes a5:39basis to the pits, and as a result, you cannot move the plate.5:43That is known as mevatel kli meheichano. That's5:47asur miderabanan. How could it be now that all of a sudden you're telling me you could turn the5:51baskets upside down, allowing the birds to jump on top of them so they get to where they5:56have to get?5:56Aren't you5:58mevatel kli meheichano? And the answer is there's a difference between placing the olive pits on a plate. Then allowing6:04the chicks to jump in front of the basket, or setting up the basket to allow the6:08chicks to jump on it.6:09What's the difference?6:10When it comes to the pits, since the pits are muktzeh once you put it down from your6:15hand or from your mouth, so then you cannot move it afterwards. That's it.6:20When it comes to the chicks, also you can't move them; they're muktzeh machmat gufo, but there's a difference.6:24I could shoo away the birds. When I say, Shoo, right, and I go, Boo, and they'll run away.6:30So since I have the ability to be mafriach the birds, I could shoo them away from the6:36basket, thus making the plate or the basket, in this case, now not a basis anymore; it'll6:42be mutar.6:43We are not going to learn this halacha later on, but the halacha is brought down in6:49Shulchan Aruch that it's not a problem, b'tel keli meichano, when the muktzeh falls on an item on Shabbat and6:56we know we have the ability to remove it on Shabbat.6:59In the case of the olive pits, it's asur to place them on an empty bowl because, you know, without7:06something happening, external something happening to the bowl or to the plate, the pits will7:11remain there, and therefore I'm never going to be able to use this plate on Shabbat.7:15That's called7:17b'tel keli meichano, not so by the birds, by the chicks. I could shoo them away. It's in my control, so therefore7:22they're not considered7:26muktzeh. Now, this is only true on Shabbat, meaning to say, I'm placing, I'm setting up the basket7:31so the chicks should jump on it on Shabbat.7:33Be'ezrat Hashem continues and brings a halacha, which we're not going to go into so much7:37because this halacha is really, we're saving it for next week when we discuss the7:46final category of muktzeh, and that is7:49known as basis לדבר האסור. That's a whole big discussion by itself. That's in something that comes into Shabbat, but from7:54before Shabbat, you've placed muktzeh machmat gufo on a kli shemelachto leheter.8:00And it went just about that way.8:03Such a case where the chicks were on top of the basket before Shabbat came in, and while Shabbat came in,8:08even though the birds jump off of it, the basket remains8:12muktzeh. The reason for all that, that's not our discussion today because it needs a whole class for itself.8:19Bezrat Hashem, that will be next week. And by the way, hopefully by next week we'll be able—maybe next week,8:25maybe we need one more week or two more weeks—to finish all the laws of muktzeh in the Ben Ish Chai and in the way of our classes.8:33Baruch Hashem, we've given over 16 classes. I think it will be 18 classes altogether on the halachot of8:40muktzeh. Believe it or not, as much as we spoke about muktzeh, we still didn't cover every single detail.8:46But you have, if you've listened to the classes, or if you want to get access to the classes and you listen to them from beginning to the end,8:52you will have a very good and thorough knowledge of muktzeh that you're able to pretty much, you know,8:59navigate yourself on Shabbat in these halachot of muktzeh, which are very, very, very practical and applicable.9:06Now,9:08we've discussed the animals a little bit, but so our question we want to know: are there situations where9:16animals,9:18or usage of animals in our days, would not be a problem muktzeh or a problem of Shabbat?9:24Let's begin with the first9:27question. The question is as follows:9:29Could a man who's blind walk with a dog, what's known as a blind dog?9:34Not the dog is blind; the person is blind, and he needs a dog to walk him.9:38And, you know, like you see today, they know how to navigate, the dogs know how to9:42navigate. So the person is walking, holding onto a leash, and the dog is walking him, taking him from place to place.9:50Is that permitted on Shabbat or is that asur? There are a few points to9:55discuss over here. Number one is, like we said, dogs are9:59muktzeh. So is this a problem of muktzeh because the dog is an animal, and10:03baalei chayim, animals while they're alive, they're considered muktzeh, and therefore maybe it should be a problem over here,10:09or maybe this is a little bit different.10:12Number two,10:13hotza'ah. You're carrying, you're going out with a leash.10:16Is that called carrying, that the person who is blind is walking out with a leash to allow the dog,10:22you know, wherever the dog is going to direct it, wherever he has to go?10:25That's another point also. And number three,10:29which is a special gezeirah, if we're not familiar with it,10:32we'd like to bring it up, and that is there's a special10:37gezeirah. Chachamim made a special decree that on Shabbat one is forbidden to use an animal.10:43The reason for that gezeirah is that we're scared that by using an animal,10:47you might come to take a stick or break a branch off a tree and come to hit it. So therefore, all animals10:54become forbidden now. That's how the gezeirot of Chachamim work, of Chazal work.11:00When they're making gezeirah, it's got to be all across the board, otherwise it won't get accepted. So therefore, all11:04animals11:06are in this category. One is forbidden to use animals on Shabbat. Would this be such a problem? So let's11:13analyze each one by itself. Regarding11:17muktzeh, the11:21Acharonim, like Rav Moshe Feinstein zatzal, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zatzal,11:25Chacham Ovadia zatzal, all of them discuss and they all agree, and Rav Moshe was the first one to11:31actually be matir this, and they say that such a case where a blind man is using a dog to navigate him, to walk him around,11:39it is not a problem, that the dog in such a case is not11:44muktzeh. Why isn't it a problem of muktzeh? Because you're not touching the dog. Muktzeh is when you directly deal with the11:51muktzeh item, a stone is muktzeh when you actually pick it up physically with your hand.11:55That's when it's muktzeh. The animal is muktzeh when you touch it, when you move the animal, you pick up the animal.12:01Let's say, for example, you're carrying the dog, that would be a problem12:05of muktzeh. But over here you're not touching the dog, you're touching the leash, which is connected to the dog. That's not a problem12:11of muktzeh. Oh, what about the second issue? Maybe it's a problem of hotza'ah. Are you carrying the leash outside?12:18So... So let's go in on all cases. If a person lives in a place where there's an12:21eruv, or at least you think there's an eruv, whatever it is, you're hold of the12:24eruv, so then, no, it's no problem, because hotza'ah is only a problem when there's no12:29eruv. Ah, so now obviously the question is, in a case where there's no12:33eruv, what would be the din to walk out with such a dog in a place where there's no12:36eruv? So really, you should ask your rabbi12:40if it's mutar or not,12:42because it is not a simple thing. There is a machlokes. I'm not going to give a psak.12:46I'll just tell you the difference, the different opinions on this and why it's a problem.12:51The question is as follows: the halacha says that an animal is allowed to walk out with something12:57that is for its own protection. Anything that the animal wears can be, if it's for its own protection,13:02is not a problem. If the animal,13:06quote unquote, wears13:07something, that it's not for its protection,13:10it's just something to make it look good for13:13noi, unlike a human being who is allowed to walk around with a tie. A tie doesn't give you so much protection.13:18You close the top button of your shirt,13:21and it's fine. When you put a tie, it's there just for decoration, looks nicer.13:27An animal who walks out with a tie on Shabbat,13:30besides that you have to feel bad for the owner, you know, like, okay, whatever, okay.13:33In any case, if he walks out with a tie on Shabbat, that's asur. There's another issur known as mechamer, animals who13:41carry—that it's the problem of the owner.13:44Your animal cannot carry. There's an issur from the Torah that an animal is not allowed to carry on Shabbat.13:48Your animal, of course, if it belongs to a Jew.13:51So in such a case, if the animal is wearing something that's extra, that doesn't need—now, what's called carrying,13:56what's not called carrying? Anything that's needed for the animal,14:00again, not for looks, but for protection or for whatever it may be, then it will be mutar.14:05There is a machloket amongst the14:08Acharonim. Rav Shlomo Zalman Orbach is quoted14:11in14:12Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchata, as well as in14:15his14:17notes on the sefer called Lev14:20Avraham, as saying as forbidding14:22walking out with a leash on Shabbat.14:24He holds that's not for the protection of the animal; it should be asur. However,14:29like we said before, Harav Moshe Feinstein,14:34Chazon Ovadia, Menuchat Ahava, and Chacham Ovadia also quotes Rav Shlomo14:39Amar, they all permit a blind man to walk with a dog holding the leash. Why?14:45Because the leash could also serve to protect the dog.14:49How is that so?14:50Well, it prevents the dog from running away. If there's no leash, the dog could just run away.14:55So the leash, in actuality, what it's doing is, of course, it's helping the blind man15:00because the dog is leading when he has to go, but it also could work as a protection for the animal.15:04So therefore, it's not called a masa. It's not considered that the animal is carrying anything,15:09and the owner is allowed to hold on to it. It's not considered that he's holding; it's part of the animal,15:13and you're not considered that you're touching the animal because it's not15:17muktzeh. So for these reasons, a person who's blind could use his dog to walk him to shul.15:24Now, putting a dog in the shul, if it's kavod, the Beit Knesset or not, it's a whole different discussion by itself.15:31Obviously, in the special cases when a man needs to come to,15:35the congregation has to know how to deal with such a situation.15:38Each congregation has to, you know, discuss that with its own members and the rabbi of that shul.15:44But now we move on to another question: what about pet animals?15:49Is a pet animal considered also muktzeh? Now, we mentioned, yeah, why not? We just mentioned two seconds ago15:55that all animals are15:58muktzeh. Why? Because.16:00As I'll say, the mukseh, the mukseh machmat gufo is when they're alive.16:03So why should a pet be different?16:06I'll tell you why a pet may be different.16:08Because maybe in such a case where the animal is designated,16:11remember we learned in Hilchot mukseh machmat gufo,16:14you can make a stone, you can turn a stone into a16:17kli shemelachto l'heter, even though stone is mukseh machmat gufo.16:19If I designate it for a purpose, for a16:23keli, so then it becomes16:24kli shemelachto l'heter. For example, we said that you could take a brick and turn it into a16:29doorstopper. You can hold your door open on Shabbat with a16:33brick. Why? Because before Shabbat he came16:36and he designated this brick to be a16:38doorstopper. So do we say if a person bought a small little cute little puppy,16:42and now he wants to use this puppy as a meshak, as a toy,16:45not necessarily as a toy, you know, as a companion,16:48do we say that it turns it? Could you designate an animal or not?16:51Believe it or not, this question is a very old question.16:56This question is discussed already from the times of the Rosh,16:58Rabbeinu Asher ben Yaakov, the father of Rabbi17:05Yaakov בעל הטורים. The Baal HaTurim was the Rishon Rosh, his father,17:08one of the three pillars of halacha that the Beit Yosef relies on.17:12There is a question that was presented to the Rosh17:16from none other than another great Rishon who's known by his sefer, the17:21Or Zarua. The Or Zarua writes to the Rosh saying17:24that birds which are placed in a cage or placed in the house in order to make noise,17:34they sing, they have a beautiful voice, and they make beautiful sounds,17:39and the people purchase them for that purpose.17:43The Or Zarua wants to say that since they're made to give beautiful sound,17:48they should not be considered17:50mukseh. On that, the Rosh responds and he says,17:52No, it's asur.17:54Chazal made the use of any animal asur, which happens to be, by the way,17:59the same reason that's given by Tosafot in18:04Masechet Shabbat, that Chazal kovea that you cannot use an animal.18:07That's it. That's something that the rabbis established.18:10Animals cannot be used.18:11And you tell me maybe, oh, wait a second,18:13I'm designating for something that's mutar. I'm allowed to listen.18:15What's the problem with listening? It's not a tape recorder.18:17It's not bringing a musician.18:20What's the problem? The bird is singing.18:21What's the problem with that?18:23The answer is no. The animals are too18:26chashuv. They're too important. To be considered18:32that you could change them into, like basically an instrument.18:36They, as long as they're alive, they cannot change.18:40You cannot designate them to be something else.18:42They still retain the status of a living animal,18:45which in halacha is mukzeh and should be18:50mukzeh machmat gufo. Other18:52poskim explain that there's a special gezeirah when it comes to animals.18:54Chazal established this is mukzeh and there's nothing to do about it.18:57It's not a kli. All the leniencies of designating a19:02stone and turning it into a doorstopper,19:05that's only applicable by something that's a utensil.19:08When it comes to animals, Chazal said this is19:10mukzeh. It's not a kli they could change.19:12Kli is something that you do something with it.19:13You don't do something with an19:15animal. Even though we use animals for work, it doesn't make a difference.19:18That's not going to be mutar.19:20That's how the Acharonim explain the Rosh.19:23So it comes out that we have a19:25machloket between the Or Zarua and the Rosh,19:27and really it's not presented in Shulchan Aruch one way or the other.19:31Maran doesn't bring this in the19:34Beit Yosef. Now we have a machloket, so what do we do now?19:36Do we rule like the Or Zarua or like the Rosh?19:38So the Rosh happens to be obviously more famous,19:41and Maran usually relies on him,19:43and that's the way many Acharonim rule.19:47Many Acharonim rule like the19:49Or Zarua that animals are19:52mukzeh. Who are some of these19:53Acharonim, some of them that we know?19:55The Grot Moshe,19:57Rav Moshe Feinstein, chelek dalet,19:59in the end of teshuvah20:02tezayin, he writes over there that animals are20:11mukzeh. Chacham Ovadia, in Chazon Ovadia, menuchat ahavah, and Shemirat Shabbat20:12Kehilchatah, and20:16Yabia Omer, Chut Shani, Rav Nissim Karelitz, all rule that animals are20:21mukzeh. What about if they're pets?20:23Doesn't make a difference.20:24I did see, however,20:26that the Gra Moshe brings down in20:29Chelek Hei, they ask him a question regarding animals,20:31and he says over there animals are20:33muktzeh. And then you see it says over there in small writing,20:36which means it didn't come from Rav Moshe Feinstein.20:39Whoever wrote over there,20:40whoever is copying the words of Rav Moshe Feinstein,20:42he writes, unless they are made for pets.20:46I had a hard time with that20:48because you're contradicting what Rav Moshe writes in20:51Chelek Daled. He writes all animals are20:52muktzeh. It doesn't help.20:55So, I don't know.20:56You want to resolve it, figure out how to resolve it.20:58In any case, even if you're going to tell me Rav Moshe was21:00chozer or whatever it is,21:01at the end of the day you have many21:03Acharonim who rule not that way,21:04that animals, even though they're designated for display21:10or for a sound, or in our case for pets,21:15pets are animals,21:17animals are21:18muktzeh. They're muktzeh machmat gufo.21:19They cannot be handled on Shabbat.21:22Now, once we discuss pets,21:24the same should apply by all types of pets,21:27even parrots, which are made for, you know, sound.21:30People have parrots in the house,21:31and they come in and they tell you, Shabbos, and if you're Sefardi, they tell you21:33Shabbat shalom, right?21:35They hear you enough,21:36they can repeat to you,21:37they can sing with you21:38the Chadodi, whatever you like.21:40These are, you know, some of the functions of their parrots.21:44And even though that's why you bought it,21:45in order that it should be entertainment,21:48still it will become21:49muktzeh because as long as they're alive,21:50you cannot designate for anything else.21:52It remains21:54muktzeh. The leniency of transforming21:57muktzeh machmat gufo into22:00kli she'melachto l'heter only applies by22:03kelim, not by living animals.22:05However, I do have to tell you22:07that I did see some22:10Acharonim. That bring down that animals22:14like birds in a cage,22:16like parrots, that meant22:18they're, you know, you put them there for display,22:20or fish in an aquarium.22:22You have a little aquarium, a little fish tank,22:24and you want to pick it up on Shabbat.22:25Could you move it or not?22:26So based on what we just said till now,22:27it's asur because22:31a muktzeh. Even the aquarium is also going to be asur22:33because the aquarium becomes a22:35basis. It's meant there, the water and the22:37tank is all there to hold the fish.22:39So in such a case, it's going to be asur.22:42However, like I told you,22:44the some Acharonim bring down,22:45like22:48Sotah Shulchan HaChaim Naeh, he writes, him and22:50the Avnei Nezer also brings down that,22:53no, since you designated it22:55for the sake of display,23:01so it becomes like a picture frame.23:03Like a fish tank becomes like a picture frame. Therefore,23:06it's a picture frame or a flower vase23:10with flowers in it.23:12It's a23:12muktzeh. No, it's there for display.23:14He wants to say the same thing should be by animals.23:16However, Chacham Ovadia disagrees.23:17Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah also,23:19in the name of23:21Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, disagrees. Animals are23:23not keilim. You cannot designate them.23:24They remain muktzeh, and that's the way it is.23:28That's it.23:28You cannot move it on Shabbat,23:29even if they're in an aquarium.23:32However, in a case where there is tzaar baal23:36chayim, for example, let's say you have the fish tank23:37and the sun is shining on it23:38and that really causes them23:40tzaar, or let's say you have the bird by the23:42window and the sun is shining on it23:43and it causes tzaar to the animal,23:46then because of the leniencies that we find23:48from the23:49Or Zarua, the leniencies also by the23:51Acharonim, Chacham Ovadia brings a23:54sfek-sfeika. You can make a23:56safek sfeika, and he allows you to move the birds.24:00On Shabbat, obviously, in their cages, and to move them away from the sun to avoid the problem of24:06tzaar baalei chayim. The sfeik-sfeika is as follows:24:10maybe the halacha is like the Rosh, maybe it's like the24:14Or Zarua. Even if you tell me the halacha is like the Rosh, who's machmir, maybe in the case of tzaar baalei chayim, Chazal would24:19not go there.24:19You could be docheh the issur mukzeh for the sake of24:24tzaar baalei chayim. Another case that's brought down by Rav Shmuel Vosner in Shevet HaLevi, he says24:30in the case where a person has many, many fish, and he has all these fish that are made to24:36sell, and one of them died, and therefore he has a whole big fish tank with many fish, and24:41it's going to cost a lot of money, and it's going to be a great financial loss because24:45that dead fish could ruin all the other fish.24:47So in that case, he says, since the dead fish technically could be24:54ra'ui l'ma'achal behemah, you could technically give it to an animal, if there's cats or dogs around, since you24:58could technically give it to them, in a case over here where there's financial loss, even25:02though, obviously, you don't want it, you're not going to fish it out. It went, you know, it goes up to the top of the tank. You could25:07pick it up and remove it in order to avoid the big financial loss of losing all the other25:13fish inside of it.25:14That's a special case.25:15Now, although we explained that fish in a fish tank are mukzeh, like the same thing with25:20all other animals, in the case of a fish tank, your— and this is a big question that always25:25comes up— hacham Ovadia, as well as Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchata, both bring down that it's25:30permitted to feed the fish on Shabbat,25:33since they cannot eat without you. It's considered mezonotan alecha. They fall in the category25:39of animals that the responsibility of feeding them is on you, and you're allowed to25:44feed them on Shabbat.25:45Not only that, a person is also allowed to add water on Shabbat to the fish tank. And25:50it's not a problem.25:52Only emptying the fish tank. Remember, moving it, muktzeh. But to add water, to take water,25:57fresh water, and to add to the fish tank, why do people do that?26:00In order to give it more oxygen. All this is mutar on Shabbat. Giving them food and26:07putting fresh water in the tank.26:09Moving them is what's forbidden because they are26:15muktzeh. Now we have a question like this. The question is, could a person pet an animal on Shabbat?26:22Not to have a pet. I'm not petting the animal, you know, stroking your hand over26:26it. Could you do that on Shabbat, or do we say, no, it's asur?26:32So technically, if you think about it, we discussed in the past that muktzeh is only asur to be26:37moved. To touch muktzeh is not asur. Take the worst case of muktzeh: a dollar. Muktzeh machmat gufo. A stone, muktzeh machmat gufo. Moving26:46the dollar around is asur on Shabbat, but to touch the dollar on Shabbat is not asur.26:51To touch the stone is not forbidden. It's only moving it.26:55So technically, to touch the animal is not forbidden. The only thing is, if you want26:59to pet the animal, most animals are like, for example, let's say a dog. I'm not talking27:03about a chihuahua, which doesn't have any hair. We're talking about, let's say, a dog27:06that has long hair. Moving the hair of the animal is also a problem of muktzeh, because27:11tiltul b'miktzat is also asur for the sake of the animal. So therefore, if you just want27:17to touch the animal, or if you have an animal where petting it is not going to move it,27:21technically it's mutar, but lechatchila, poskim bring down that a person should not pet the animal on27:28Shabbat. Remember, moving it is for sure asur, and just petting it without moving the hairs,27:34that will be the time when it's not going to be a problem.27:37I'm going to attempt to take a phone call over here. I don't know if you'll come up27:40on the air. Let's try it.27:42Hello?27:44Hello?27:44Yes, you're on the halacha hour. You have a question?27:49It's Shirley from, how are you?27:51Hi, how are you?27:52Good.27:53I was just mentioning that what you said with the Igros Moshe, with the pets, animals and28:00pets. Right.28:01Yeah, so like you said, it's in little letters because Rav Moshe didn't like them and he28:05didn't hold like that.28:06Yeah, I don't want to say that on the air.28:10Yeah, that's what my father said clearly. He had a lot of other things to say too about the28:14people that wrote it, but I just thought I'd mention that.28:18Yeah, yeah. I think it says in the hakdama over there that the people who put out the book,28:23they say any small letters is our explanation, you know, it's not Rav Moshe28:26said. Right, exactly, exactly. I'm giving a shiur in halacha now, and a lot of things also, Hashem28:31and I wrote, and the wording of the question was changed and the wording28:36of the answer. He says that he has the writing permission, and a lot of things were changed.28:40Right. So here we have in chelek daled, he says mefurash that animals are28:45mukzeh. Right, exactly, and that's what he held.28:47Thank you.28:48Shkoyach, I appreciate that. Thank you very much.28:50Take care.28:52Okay. One last—not one last—we have a few more things to talk about animals before we28:57jump to snow.29:00Question? Is it a question?29:01No, not a question.29:02Okay, stam small halacha. We said animals are mukzeh, right? Just want to point out that29:08when animals become graf shel rei, when they become disgusting, then you're29:13allowed to move them, dead or alive.29:15We discussed in the past the halachot of graf shel rei. Those are things that are repulsive,29:20the person can't stand them. So if there's a rat, even if it's alive and you're strong29:26enough—I mean to say by nature, right—you're... Brave enough to go pick it up by the29:31tail and throw it out of your house, go ahead, gezunte heit, no problem. You could do that. It's not29:37muktzeh. Ah, it's animal, it's alive. True, but a rat—you ever see a rat? It's really, really29:44repulsive, disgusting.29:45And if it's bothering you in the place where you're sitting, and again, you're29:48brave enough, you could pick it up and throw it right out of your house. Same would be by a29:51possum or anything else. That will be the29:55halacha. Somebody actually told me a crazy story. He said he once walked into his sukkah on Sukkot, and30:01he sees a possum right there. And of course everybody's freaking out and yelling, and all the ladies30:05are jumping on top of the beds in their bedroom. Forget about the sukkah, all the way in the30:08house, right?30:09So one of the guys comes in, a brave young man, picks up the possum by the tail, swings30:14it around, and chucks it over, you know, outside of the backyard.30:19Ah, it's Yom Tov, it's30:21assur? No. If it's repulsive, you can't sit there because of it. It's a graf shel rei, you're30:25allowed to throw it out. You're allowed to pick it up with your yadayim and throw it30:28out.30:28Same thing would be if a person has a fly or a mosquito on top of him. Although they are30:34muktzeh and they're not a graf shel rei, it's not so disgusting, but they're just annoying,30:38you're allowed to brush it off. You're allowed to shoo it off for sure. You can shoo it off and brush it30:41off, even though you're hitting it. That's fine, to brush it off of you on Shabbat.30:47Now one last point about animals before we jump to the snow. Question is as follows.30:55The question is brought down: if a person is walking on Shabbat and he finds a nest31:01in public area, and on the nest is a kosher bird, and there are inside the nest small31:09little baby chicks.31:10Ah,31:11there's a mitzvah de'oraita over here of kol shiluach hakan.31:14There's a mitzvah min haTorah when you see a nest in a public area, not in a private31:19area—a lot of people make this mistake.31:21If it's on your balcony, then you have to go through the whole thing of being mafkir31:25your balcony, this whole thing. So31:26take a case where this is halacha. It's in a public area, you're in the park,31:31and you see a nest, a kosher bird, the mother is there, and there's little chicks over there.31:36Question is... Can I perform the zav shiluach hakan over here?31:40I have to pick up the mother bird, shoo it away, and then pick up the eggs or the baby or the chicks31:47over there.31:47Can I do that on Shabbat?31:49Why?31:50What's the yes why and the yes why not?31:52Well, why not?31:53We know why not.31:54Animals are muktzeh, and therefore these are birds. They are animals.32:00In the category of muktzeh, and therefore it says to pick it up, and they're alive.32:03Why? Yes, maybe you could say because muktzeh is32:10deRabbanan. Shluah hakan is32:12mitzvat aseh deOraita. Do we say that the mitzvah deOraita of shluah hakan32:17pushes away the mitzvah of the issur deRabbanan of32:23muktzeh? So, Chacham Ovadia, in Chazon Ovadia quotes32:27the Chatam Sofer, who writes, Chatam Sofer writes32:31that it's assur. Chacham Ovadia quotes it in a way, halfway.32:34He says it's assur. Chatam Sofer says it's assur because of32:38muktzeh, so Chacham Ovadia goes and he says, Yeah, true, it's assur because of32:41muktzeh, but when it's issur of muktzeh, you're32:46performing the32:48mitzvah deOraita, you could put aside the laws of muktzeh, which are only32:52deRabbanan. However, the Chatam Sofer gives another reason why you should not perform32:57the mitzvah of shluah hakan on Shabbat besides33:01the issur muktzeh, and he explains that based on the Zohar, whenever we do the mitzvah of shluah hakan,33:07so in Shamayim Hashem starts remembering and basically bemoaning the fact33:14that we're still in galut.33:16He says that's not supposed to happen on33:18Shabbat. Shabbat is not the time when we should bring about such a bemoaning33:22of the destruction of Beit HaMikdash and that we're in exile.33:25So therefore, for that reason also,33:27since such a yelalah, such a bemoaning should not happen on Shabbat,33:30do not perform the mitzvah on Shabbat.33:32Chacham Ovadia does not discuss this reason.33:34Mistama we're assuming because Chacham Ovadia's rule is33:37that we don't mix in Kabbalah with33:41halacha. As he calls it somewhere, in another place33:42he says when he mixes Kabbalah and halacha it's like33:45shatnez. But it's funny because over there he quotes the Chatam Sofer himself.33:50In any case, the second reason why hatam sofer is not brought down by hacham33:54Ovadia, but the Shevet HaLevi does bring the second reason of Hatam Sofer,33:58and he goes with it. And that's really what we'll tell you probably to do.34:03I will tell you there's a machloket really between Shevet HaLevi and hacham34:05Ovadia. If a person comes across a nest on Shabbat,34:08could you perform the mitzvah of shiluach hakan according to Hatam Sofer,34:11Shevet HaLevi, no.34:11According to hacham Ovadia, yes.34:16The mitzvah de'oraita could push away the issur of34:21mitzvat aseh de'oraita could push away the issur of muktzeh. We have two more calls. Let's take them on before we move on to the next subject.34:25Hello.34:26Hi, can I ask a question?34:27Sure.34:29Hi, you said about adding water to our fish tank.34:32Again, I can't hear you.34:34Sorry, you said before that you're allowed to add water to our fish tank on34:38Shabbos? Yes.34:39So sometimes when you add water, it's a different temperature than the water,34:42and it makes the heater go on. Is that allowed?34:45If it's going to be automatic,34:46which means the moment you add the water,34:49automatically the temperature or the electric is going to work,34:52it will be a problem because that'll be something known as34:55psik reisha. But if it's not automatic, it's something that perhaps will happen,34:59maybe it will happen, maybe it will not happen,35:01and, you know, it's going to happen later on35:03when the temperature maybe cools off a little bit, then it will be fine.35:06Thank you.35:08You're welcome.35:13Okay, there is one more halacha in the Ben Ish Hai regarding moving animals,35:18but since we don't have this, at least it's not so applicable in our days,35:22it's talking about an animal that walked out on Shabbat.35:25You're allowed to basically hold its sides and allow it to come back35:28when there's a fear that there's going to be some sort of harm to the animal.35:32You're not allowed to pick it up.35:33You're not allowed to carry it in a reshut harabim, obviously,35:35but to מיד that day, which means hold it by the sides35:39to kind of direct it to come back to its place for its own protection,35:44it's going to be mutar on Shabbat.35:45And now we move on to a special subject,35:48Ben Ish Hai. It's scattered throughout Shulchan Aruch.35:52We've collected the halachot together. To discuss,35:55we had nice snowfall this past Shabbat,35:57and the questions come up on Shabbat:35:59what is going on? How to deal with snow?36:02So let's go through all the different categories of snow,36:04and since we're in the discussion of halachot mukzeh on Shabbat,36:09so we'll discuss that first.36:11What is the status of snow on Shabbat?36:14Is snow mukzeh or is snow not36:18mukzeh? So we quoted the Gra Moshe before; we're quoting him again.36:24It comes as a surprise, but the Gra Moshe is quoted in36:28Chelek hei, se'if chaf-bet, ot36:34katan lamed-zayin, that snow is36:37mukzeh. That's Rav Moshe Feinstein's opinion.36:39Snow that falls on Shabbat is36:41mukzeh. However, many other36:43poskim—many, I'm telling you many means a lot of other36:47poskim—they all hold that snow is not36:51mukzeh. Some of the list of names are36:53Be'er Moshe, the Debretziner Rav,36:57Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchata in the name of36:59Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Chut Shani,37:01Hachama Badia. All of them are of the opinion that snow is37:07mukzeh even when it falls on Shabbat.37:09Now, I want to clarify something.37:11When mukzeh fell before Shabbat,37:12kind of like, you know, it doesn't look like it's going to snow this week,37:16so this Shabbat all the snow that you have already in your house37:19that has already fallen, everybody agrees,37:21even Rav Moshe Feinstein would agree, that it's not37:24mukzeh. The discussion is only mukzeh that fell on Shabbat,37:27like we had last week. Friday night was wonderful,37:30and we all came back home,37:31we all had our Shabbos meal,37:32we didn't think it's going to snow.37:33Maybe we saw some little bit flickering afterwards.37:35So that snow that falls down on Shabbat,37:39that's the discussion over here.37:40According to Moshe, he says yes, it is37:42mukzeh. Other poskim hold it's not37:44mukzeh. The question is why yes and why not.37:47So in order to understand that, let's go to rain.37:50Is rain mukzeh on Shabbat?37:53Why should rain be37:54mukseh? Why should rain not be37:55mukseh, and how do we deal with it?37:56Well, there's a concept called nolad.38:00Nolad is something that wasn't here before,38:03and now it is here.38:05When there is nolad on Shabbat,38:07it's considered38:09mukseh. Anything that has, quote unquote, been created38:12has a status of38:14mukseh. So when it comes to rain,38:16the Pri Megadim38:16in his Hakdamah, Tolchot Yom Tov,38:19quotes, I guess what we would say,38:21a half of38:23a Tosafot, that says that rain is38:26mukseh. Why?38:27Because he holds,38:28or he quotes this opinion of38:31Tosafot that says that it's considered nolad.38:33Why is rain considered nolad?38:35The question is, how do you treat the clouds?38:38Are the clouds the rain itself,38:41or the clouds really are38:43just a little bit of hot air,38:45and the rain is absorbed,38:48that's swallowed inside of them?38:49So he quotes an opinion in38:52Tosafot that holds that rain in the clouds38:56has a status of39:00water that's absorbed into hot air,39:03which means when it falls down on Shabbat,39:06it's been created. It's a nolad. It's a new creation39:08that wasn't in this world beforehand,39:11and therefore they have the status of39:13mukseh. That is the opinion of the Pri Megadim.39:16The Pri Megadim, by the way, is39:18an Acharon. However, if you look in the Tosafot itself,39:20the Pri Megadim himself quotes,39:23it's very difficult because39:24Tosafot themselves reject this opinion.39:26They prove from Gemara in Eruvin39:27that really we look at rain,39:31the clouds themselves are the rain.39:33The clouds themselves are rain that travels all over.39:36So therefore they are in the world.39:38You didn't see them, but you know,39:39you came up, let's say they came up from Florida,39:41and they were here in the world.39:43They just reached you by Shabbat and now it fell.39:46But they were there the whole time.39:47They were in the clouds the whole time.39:48It's not something that was absorbed into the clouds.39:51It's something that was in the world.39:53It's just in the form of a cloud that came down39:55eventually over here into our world.39:57So therefore, based on that, according to—40:00The opinion of Tosafot themselves, they reject the first understanding, and they hold that rain is what we call in halacha minad naydi.40:10Rain just moves around; it travels from one place to another, and therefore it does not have the status of mukseh.40:17That's the two opinions in Tosafot.40:19The Beit Yosef, in Shibolei HaLeket, he quotes in siman shin yud, the Shibolei HaLeket, the following. He says like this:40:28Matar hayored b'Shabbat v'Yom Tov. Rain that falls on Shabbat and Yom Tov, on the holidays.40:33Af al gav d'mitpol lo hayu avim. Even though yesterday it wasn't cloudy, it's only today that it became cloudy.40:39Mutar lirchotz v'lishtot bahem. You're allowed to wash; you're allowed to suffer that water; you're allowed to drink from that water.40:47De'asikna maya b'avim minad naydi v'lo havu mukseh. Because we come out in the Gemara that water that is in the clouds is just traveling, it's moving, it's here in the world.40:57It's not mukseh; it's not something that has been created.41:00So clearly, according to the Beit Yosef, who quotes the opinion of Shibolei HaLeket without any argument,41:05he is holding that rain that falls on Shabbat doesn't have the status of mukseh.41:10And to take it further, Maran in siman shin lamed chet se'if zayin brings the halacha.41:14He says if a person has a leak on Shabbat, you're sitting in your house and your roofer didn't do such a good job,41:19and all of a sudden it starts pouring, and it's coming down, and your son says,41:25Tati, Abba, look, it's raining again.41:28Yes, we know. No, no, it's raining in the house again,41:30and you look up and you see the leak.41:32Maran says you take a bucket and put it under the leak.41:37Wow, one second.41:38This rain, where did it come from? It came from outside.41:41The leak is due to the rain, just the rainstorm we just had, and it's raining on Shabbat.41:46Why are you allowed to put a bucket under?41:47Didn't we learn that you can't take an empty vessel to put mukseh inside of it?41:52So Mishnah Berurah writes over there, you know why you can do such a thing?41:55It's not called41:57mevatel kli mehechano, because rain is not42:00muktzeh. So therefore, clearly, according to Shulchan Aruch, Maran,42:03rain is not42:05muktzeh, and that is a halacha.42:06Rain that falls on Shabbat, not the one that came before Shabbat, that's for sure not42:10muktzeh. But rain, even that fell fresh on Shabbat, it wasn't rain, it was dry,42:13and now rain on Shabbat, it is not42:16muktzeh. Question is, why in the world is the Pri Megadim42:19bringing the opinion of Tosafot? I mean, Pri Megadim is after Beit Yosef.42:23How can he argue?42:24And the answer is, a lot of explain the Pri Megadim42:29as that he's not bringing really this to halacha,42:31he's bringing more as a discussion,42:33or perhaps, you know, maybe he really holds that way,42:36but at the end of the day, we're not going to hold like the Pri Megadim,42:39because we have Maran Shulchan Aruch, and kemot all the Acharonim who rule42:43that rain that falls on Shabbat is not42:48muktzeh. Good, now we did rain.42:50Move on. What about snow?42:52Someone who comes to snow, many, many42:55Acharonim, almost all the Acharonim that I came across,42:58say that snow and rain should be the same thing.43:01There's no difference. It's just a different form of it.43:04Rav Shlomo Zalman, or even as a43:06chidush, he says it really falls down as rain,43:08and then along the way it turns into snow due to the cold weather.43:12So it's really the same thing. It's rain, it's snow, it's the same idea.43:14It's like you add water, you put it in the freezer, it turns into ice.43:17It's the same thing.43:19Hainu hach. And who is the list of these Acharonim that hold that snow is not43:28muktzeh? Chacham Ovadia, Chut Shani, Rav Elyashiv zatzal, and the Be'er Moshe, the Betsiner Rav,43:29and it seems to be also the same opinion from the43:33Chazon Tzvi. So when we come back now, what happened?43:35Rav Moshe Feinstein, how can he write that it's43:37muktzeh? And this is not something that's small letters.43:39This is something that he writes himself: snow is43:42muktzeh. Over there they bring a note on the bottom43:45that try to explain Rav Moshe,43:47and they say that's different from rain,43:51because rain, you could say this concept that it was in the clouds,43:55but snow, that's something that was created afterwards.43:59In any case, we still have over here many other44:04poskim, a majority of the Acharonim, who ruled that snow is not44:08muktzeh. Okay, so snow is not44:10muktzeh. The question now is, okay, if you hold it's not44:14muktzeh, what about shoveling it?44:15Would it be a problem of shoveling?44:17Do you need a special permission to shovel it?44:21And the answer is no. If snow is not44:23muktzeh, even the fresh snow that falls on Shabbat,44:25you're really allowed to shovel it, even with a shovel,44:29with whatever it is.44:30The only thing is you have to be careful44:32when you're shoveling. Be careful that you shouldn't be44:37over the issur of hotza'ah, which is carrying from your reshut, from your area,44:42to, let's say, throwing the snow in your neighbor's yard.44:45Let's say you're cleaning from your backyard or your front yard,44:48and your neighbor is right next to you,44:49so you got to be careful that your snow, you shouldn't throw the snow over to his house44:53or to throw the snow over into the street. That's asur.44:57Shoveling in your property is mutar by pushing it to the side. That's fine.45:02Another thing is also, you have to be careful,45:06as45:07it's כבר mentioned, that you shouldn't shovel over where there's dirt,45:10because that could be a problem of digging45:13and hashvagat gumot and creating, basically evening out the ground.45:16That would be a problem.45:18Now, I want to point out something.45:20I want to point out something,45:21not to do so much with45:23halachot of muktzeh, maybe with halachot of derech eretz.45:25You know, you discover this on Shabbat.45:27This is the first year that I actually have to shovel myself.45:29We moved to a new house,45:31and in this new house,45:33we have to shovel ourselves.45:35In the past, we had other people shoveling for us.45:37In any case, I did notice45:40that sometimes you clean, you clean,45:42and somebody comes along45:43and they want to clean their car or something else,45:46and they shovel all the snow away from them,45:48but they throw it right back into your property.45:50So it's not right.45:51So you got to be careful when you shovel45:53not to throw your snow into your neighbor's yard.45:56It's not right for him.45:57So you want to get rid of your snow,45:58but why should he have a bigger mess now?46:00The same thing would be46:01in the parking spot.46:02You want to clean your spot, it's fine.46:05Just don't throw it46:06in, you know, that person who cleaned up the front of his street.46:09He shoveled that. He worked his tail,46:12you know, his very hard work,46:14or he paid somebody to do it.46:15At the end of the day,46:17he put effort in cleaning the street.46:19Now you want to get, you dig your car out,46:21don't throw it back into the street.46:23Same thing would be, by the way,46:24if you're cleaning in front of your house46:26so people shouldn't fall,46:28chas v'shalom, besides that's so low, but besides that,46:30you care that people shouldn't fall,46:32but don't dump your snow on somebody else's car46:35or around the person's car46:37that he shouldn't be able to get out so easily.46:39Especially those guys that have the snow blowers,46:41and I felt so bad.46:42He drives down some of the blocks,46:44or you walk down some of the blocks,46:45you see some cars that are completely,46:49completely buried under a pile of snow.46:52Where'd that come from?46:53People with snow blowers,46:54and they're just, you know, throwing it.46:56It's not even going into the street;46:57it's going on somebody else's car.46:58Remember, that guy has to get that car out eventually.47:01So just be considerate when you're shoveling47:03not to throw it on somebody else's back.47:05Now the question is like this:47:07speaking of shoveling,47:09can I tell a goy on Shabbat47:10or prior to Shabbat47:11to shovel my snow?47:13Is that mutar or not?47:14The answer is yes, you can tell the47:17goy. Why? Because we just learned,47:19you yourself can do it. Since you yourself can do it,47:21the goy can also do it.47:23The only thing is you have to be careful of a few things.47:25Number one is,47:26if you're telling the goy on Shabbat,47:29even though it's snow that he's going to take money for it,47:31don't mention a word about money.47:33Ask him. The guy comes and says,47:34Can I shovel? So he said, Listen, I don't pay you.47:37Right, this is my Shabbat. I can't pay.47:39But he understands.47:40If you tell it to a guy who doesn't understand,47:42he's not going to shovel for you.47:44Whoever's going to shovel for you without talking about money47:46obviously understands he's going to get paid afterwards.47:48Whether he's done this for you in the past,47:50he knows his job. He comes, he does it.47:52He doesn't say a word.47:54Afterwards, you want to talk price,47:55you can deal with it afterwards.47:57If you can do it before Shabbat,47:59make sure it's a kablanut.48:00Which means you don't pay him by the hour; be paid by the job.48:04And you don't tell him to do it on Shabbat. You tell him when it snows, you clean up.48:08And if you clean up, I'll give you $20, $50, whatever it may be; depends on the size of your house.48:13In such cases, you could tell the goy, as long as you're not dealing with money.48:18Again, before Shabbat, you could tell him a price, but do it per job, not per hour.48:24On Shabbat itself, you could tell him to do it without speaking.48:28Now, if on his own he knows he has to shovel, all of a sudden he comes with a snowblower,48:34do you have to stop him? It's electric, or not electric, runs on gasoline.48:38The answer is you don't have to stop him. Why is he bringing the snowblower? Not for you.48:42He's doing it because he's getting his $50 regardless,48:45and he wants to make it easier for himself. Instead of shoveling it out with a shovel,48:49he wants to use a snowblower. It's not a48:51problem. However, there could be an issue of avsha milta. Ashkenazim are more machmir in this area,48:58so I would suggest you should ask your rabbi before you jump to the49:02heter. Again, you can't tell him to use the snowblower. You could tell him to clean.49:06If he decides on his own that he's going to use a snowblower, you don't have to necessarily stop him.49:12Also, if the goy decides he wants to clean in front of your house as well, you don't have to tell him.49:17Over there, the Mishnah Halachot, for sure, is matir49:19even if you're worried that some people might slip and might fall.49:23In that case, you can even tell a goy to clean up in front of your house,49:25but you shouldn't do it, but you can tell a goy to do so.49:28Another question that comes up is, could you put salt on ice?49:36So, you know, after you shovel, there's that little spot at the end,49:40and then, you know, it becomes very scary because people could slip.49:43Or sometimes the snow melts, and then the cold air comes and it makes it icy.49:49That's already a big problem. People could slip and fall on it.49:52So on your steps, on your front yard,49:55in such cases, it's brought down that you could put salt on it in order to melt the ice.50:00That's not a problem50:02if you worry that somebody—why aren't you over there sort of melting the snow?50:08Isn't that asur to melt the50:09snow? The answer is that's happening in the grama. It doesn't happen right away;50:12it happens by itself.50:14In a case where it gets very icy all of a sudden,50:17you know, all out of the blue, you know, for example, like a warm day on Friday50:22and everything is melting, all of a sudden Shabbat comes in50:25and it's icy, icy, icy, and you're scared in front of your house50:29that's very icy, people might slip,50:30you could tell a goy to put, what's it called, salt on the ice.50:36You shouldn't do it, but you could tell a goy to put snow—I mean, excuse me, salt on the ice.50:42Another question is making snowballs and building50:48snow castles. Let's start with the simpler one.50:50It's asur on Shabbat to make a snowman or a50:58snow castle. Why is it asur?50:59You just told me it's51:00not muktzeh. Even opinions that hold it's not muktzeh, by forming a snowman or a castle, it's an issue of boneh. Derabanan, but it's an issue of boneh.51:11Also, it could be also a problem of dash because it's51:15sechitah, because in order to form anything, you know, they have to press the snow together,51:18otherwise it doesn't stay.51:19Sometimes you even have to put a little bit of water on the snow to keep it in place.51:23So therefore, it's brought down by the51:28Biur Halacha, it's forbidden for children and adults to make a snowman or51:32snow castle. In general, kids who are very, very young, under six years old,51:35do you have to stop them if they're playing by themselves?51:38That is something that you need to discuss with your own rabbi;51:41has its own halachah for it.51:43What about snowballs?51:45There's a big discussion about snowballs.51:48I'll tell you in short is as follows.51:49The Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah writes it's asur to make a snowball.51:54Making a snowball itself, it's asur,51:56not about throwing it yet, just making the snowball.51:58While he quotes52:00the52:07Rambam who says the following: Kol hamekabetz chelek el chelek vedabek... Hakol ad sheya'asu guf echad. Whoever takes many different parts and he makes them all into one part,52:11how does it domeh lebinyan? This is similar to a52:14boneh. It could be deOraita or52:18it could be deRabbanan. For sure it's deRabbanan of52:21boneh, and therefore it's forbidden.52:22The Be'er Moshe has a teshuva where he discusses making a snowball on52:27Shabbat. He goes through all the different possible52:30issurim, and he comes out with the following three52:33halachot. He says like this:52:34If there is no eruv, it's forbidden to make a snowball.52:40You can't make a snowball.52:41Why?52:41Because if you make a snowball, what are you going to do with the snowball?52:43You're going to throw it at people.52:44And when you throw it, so that's a problem of52:49hotza'ah, and everything's going to go. Even to throw something out of your reshut is going to be a problem,52:51especially if you don't know how to aim.52:53Number two is, what if there is an52:55eruv? You have the whole city has an eruv and you have no problem of52:58hotza'ah. There he still says it's asur for adults to do it.53:01Like the Mishnah writes, like we said before,53:03to make a snowball means you have to crush the snow together.53:07It's going to be a problem.53:09However, for children who are under the age of ten, he writes,53:13if they make a snowball, you don't have to stop them.53:16They have some leniencies that they can rely on,53:19again, but only in a place where there's no problem of53:22hotza'ah. If there's a problem of hotza'ah, then even for children, he says53:26you should not allow them to do so.53:28There is one more—we're out of53:30time—one more last detail regarding the snow,53:33and that is walking on snow on Shabbat.53:36Although the halacha allows it,53:38but if you have an option, for example,53:41you have a street that's completely shoveled53:45and you have to step on snow,53:46and you have another street that you have to step on snow,53:48it's better to avoid the street that has the snow53:51and go on the street that has been shoveled.53:53First of all, it's easier,53:54and number two is it's better according to halacha as well.53:57This way you cover all opinions.53:58We thank you for listening.53:59If you have any questions, you can call in54:03718-683-5858. We'll take your questions off the air,54:04or you can text in54:07347-927-8398. We'll answer by text.54:08This class will be aired on again tonight at 10 o'clock here on54:14JRootRadio.com. Thank you for listening.54:15We'll see you next week.54:18... continuation of halachot of muktzeh. Thank you, Iran, and the whole JRoot Radio staff.