Torah · Halacha YomitUsing Wipes on ShabbatRabbi Uri Nahum · October 27, 2026 · 39 Melachot-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareTranscript0:01Okay, we're still in the halachot of dash and0:05sechitah, and like we said, we can't cover everything because0:09that's not what the purpose of these halachot are. But maybe we might spend0:13one more two days to speak about things that are relevant.0:17Today, we'll just start with a little bit of background.0:21The issur of sechitah is actually under two different melachot, two different categories.0:25One melachah is what we talked about, dash, which is0:28to beat the kernels to get the inside, get the kernels out,0:32and that's the same idea with milking a cow or whatever it is0:36that you're squeezing. You're squeezing a grape to get what's inside, the juice,0:40to bring it out. Okay, that's one type of sechitah. There's another sechitah, which is also0:44to get the things out, but it's under the category of the0:48melachah called melaben, which is laundry, which is melachah number,0:52I think, number 14, 13, 14, something like that. We'll get to it0:58eventually. And there, it's the same act. You're also squeezing liquid1:02out of a solid. For example, you have a towel that's wet, or you have a shirt1:06that's wet, and you're squeezing it out. Now there, it's under1:10the category of laundry because when people did laundry, that's what they,1:15once upon a time. Today our dryer just does everything. We don't even know what's going on.1:18Not even our dryer; it's our chadamim is putting in the dryer, so it's like, you know,1:22many, many, you know, we don't even know what's going on. So in any case,1:26so what happens is the way normally people do laundry is they take it, they dip it in1:30water, soap, whatever it is, and then it's totally wet. If the clothing stays wet,1:34it's very bad, so they would squeeze it out. They'd wring it out. That's what they1:39wring it out with the W. So then, you know, if you ever seen like those cartoons,1:42you know, when they roll those rollers, it's the same idea. That type of1:47sechitah is under melaben. Now what's the difference in the1:50act? Maybe not, but in the kavanah, in the intention, makes a difference. If your1:54intention is that you want the liquid, then it's the1:58sechitah under the category of dash, right, where I'm squeezing the2:02grapes for the liquid that I want. But if your intention is—2:06I don't want the liquid. I want to get it out. I want it out of my way.2:11For example, when I have a shirt that's wet, with the liquid,2:14it's going to get ruined. So I'm taking the liquid out. So in that case,2:18that would be an issue of laundry. And of course, if you're2:23doing it with food, there's no laundry on food, right? You're doing it with food. You're squeezing2:26a grape because you want the juice from it. That's—even if you don't want the2:31juice from it—that would be still under the category of dash and not2:35laundry. Now the following halacha is a2:39very important halacha, and that is using2:45wet, let's say baby wipes or towels.2:47Let's say if I want a wet towel and then use it to clean the table,2:51right? Or same idea, if I take a sponge,2:55right, that's wet, and I use it to wet the table. In that2:59case, what would be the problem? There would be a problem.3:04Which halacha would it be? So this is also a problem, issue of3:07sechitah. Why? Because I want the liquids. So if I take a towel and I wet it,3:11and I come back now to the table and I'm pressing it,3:14what I'm doing is, with my hand, I'm squeezing out the liquid, and that would be an3:19issue of sechitah as well, where I'm squeezing it, I want it out. So then people3:23ask, okay, that's an issue. Can we use baby wipes?3:27Baby wipes are very commonly used, whether it's on the person himself, on the baby,3:31or even to clean surfaces. People sometimes use baby wipes to clean3:35a rough stain on the floor, on a table. So3:39the answer is this: first of all, let's talk about what's assur. You can't use3:43baby wipes on any garment. We're not there yet. We didn't get3:47to this halacha yet in the category of libun, but since it's a common3:51case where people take a baby wipe or a wet towel and they clean a garment,3:55that is assur mid'Oraita on Shabbat. That's assur of3:59laundry. We're not there yet. But to use a baby wipe, so it depends4:03what it is. I haven't yet seen anything that's so, so, so wet4:07that soaking wet that when you hold it, liquid comes out of it. I've even seen4:11somebody ask Rabbi Pinchasi in front of me.4:14He took a baby wipe, I think it was Kirkland at the time—this is a long time ago,4:19about 18 years ago—and he squeezed it out, and look, this liquid comes out.4:22He said, That's fine. Because when you use it, it doesn't really come out.4:27It's the moisture. That means if I take a baby wipe and just put it on the table,4:30it's also going to get wet. You're not squeezing anything out. It's the moisture that's on top of it.4:34We're talking about over here that's so wet where it squeezes it out. So this will be4:39an issue usually when you use a sponge. To use a sponge,4:42a wet sponge without a handle, with your hand, will be that issue.4:47So therefore, if you're trying to clean up a wet spill,4:51or if you want to clean a table, then you cannot4:54use a sponge that doesn't have a handle. If it has a handle,4:59it'll be mutar. The reason is that, Hashem, we'll talk about why tomorrow.