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Brushing Teeth on Shabbat: Difference between revisions
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(2) In general sechita (squeezing) can be a toldah of either dosh (threshing) or milabein (whitening). For example, one who squeezes juice out of a fruit violates dosh, whereas one who squeeses a garment from the liquid it was just laundered in violates milabein. One violates milabein even if they have no need for the liquid being squeezed out, since it is still cleaning the garment. However, to violate dosh, one has to need the liquid being squeezed out, just like when one threshes they are extracting the kernel from the husk. Here, the water being squeezed out of the bristles is הולך לאיבוד, meaning that it goes to waste, and you have no interest in it. Thus there is no concern of sechita as a toldah of dosh. In terms of sechita as a toldah of milabein, the Seridei Eish claims that since the toothbrush is meant to get wet, there is no problem of sechita as a toldah of milabein either. He bases this on the Magen Avraham Seif Katan 19 on shulchan aruch 320:15, who says that if a garment is meant to get wet then there is no concern that one will come to launder it. [This too is a bad proof, because all the Magen Avraham is saying there is that we aren't concerned ''lest'' you come to squeeze the garment, since it is meant to get wet so you don't care if it's wet. He is not saying that you are ''allowed'' to squeeze it. Squeezing it would certainly violate milabein, it's just that we are not concerned you will come to squeeze it, and so you are allowed to get it wet in the first place.] | (2) In general sechita (squeezing) can be a toldah of either dosh (threshing) or milabein (whitening). For example, one who squeezes juice out of a fruit violates dosh, whereas one who squeeses a garment from the liquid it was just laundered in violates milabein. One violates milabein even if they have no need for the liquid being squeezed out, since it is still cleaning the garment. However, to violate dosh, one has to need the liquid being squeezed out, just like when one threshes they are extracting the kernel from the husk. Here, the water being squeezed out of the bristles is הולך לאיבוד, meaning that it goes to waste, and you have no interest in it. Thus there is no concern of sechita as a toldah of dosh. In terms of sechita as a toldah of milabein, the Seridei Eish claims that since the toothbrush is meant to get wet, there is no problem of sechita as a toldah of milabein either. He bases this on the Magen Avraham Seif Katan 19 on shulchan aruch 320:15, who says that if a garment is meant to get wet then there is no concern that one will come to launder it. [This too is a bad proof, because all the Magen Avraham is saying there is that we aren't concerned ''lest'' you come to squeeze the garment, since it is meant to get wet so you don't care if it's wet. He is not saying that you are ''allowed'' to squeeze it. Squeezing it would certainly violate milabein, it's just that we are not concerned you will come to squeeze it, and so you are allowed to get it wet in the first place.] | ||
(3) The Rambam 22:15 paskens (codifying the Mishnah Shabbat 143a) that one is allowed to use a sponge if it has a handle, but if it doesn't have a handle then it's prohibited because of sechita, since one will inevitably squeeze water out of the sponge. The Ra'avad | (3) The Rambam 22:15 paskens (codifying the Mishnah Shabbat 143a) that one is allowed to use a sponge if it has a handle, but if it doesn't have a handle then it's prohibited because of sechita, since one will inevitably squeeze water out of the sponge. The Ra'avad is bothered with a question - if the sponge has a handle, you will still squeeze water out of the sponge, so why should having a handle permit it!? He answers that if the sponge has a handle, we view the sponge as if it's just a cup full of water and you are pouring out the water, which is certainly permitted. The handle allows us to view the sponge in this way, as opposed to viewing it as squeezing out absorbed water. Presumably, this answer of the Ra'avad can work here too, since the toothbrush has a handle. | ||
(4) You can use a towel to dry off ([[Shabbat]] 147b), even though we should have been concerned that you might come to squeeze it out (like we are concerned in other cases), because chazal were lenient that if we prohibit drying with a towel then people won't even wash (since they won't want to wash if they know they won't be able to towel-dry), and it's very difficult for people to not wash (אי אפשר לעמוד בלא רחיצה). In a similar vein, it is difficult for people to not brush their teeth and so perhaps we can apply similar reasoning to permit it. However, the Seridei Eish acknowledges that אין מדמין שבות לשבות (you can't really compare one isur drabanan to another), and so this last reason is not in-and-of-itself a solid basis for leniency.</ref> | (4) You can use a towel to dry off ([[Shabbat]] 147b), even though we should have been concerned that you might come to squeeze it out (like we are concerned in other cases), because chazal were lenient that if we prohibit drying with a towel then people won't even wash (since they won't want to wash if they know they won't be able to towel-dry), and it's very difficult for people to not wash (אי אפשר לעמוד בלא רחיצה). In a similar vein, it is difficult for people to not brush their teeth and so perhaps we can apply similar reasoning to permit it. However, the Seridei Eish acknowledges that אין מדמין שבות לשבות (you can't really compare one isur drabanan to another), and so this last reason is not in-and-of-itself a solid basis for leniency.</ref> | ||
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===Chavalah=== | ===Chavalah=== | ||
Brushing your teeth can cause the gums to bleed, thereby violating the tolda known as chavala (lit: bruising), which according to most rishonim is under the melacha of [[shochet]].<ref> Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 316:8, Mishna Brurah | Brushing your teeth can cause the gums to bleed, thereby violating the tolda known as chavala (lit: bruising), which according to most rishonim is under the melacha of [[shochet]].<ref> Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 316:8, Mishna Brurah s.k. 30. Mishna Brurah 328:147; 39 Melochos, p. 893-94. </ref> | ||
# Rav Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss thinks this is a concern with toothbrushes, especially ones with hard bristles.<ref> Minchat Yitzchak 3:50 </ref> | # Rav Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss thinks this is a concern with toothbrushes, especially ones with hard bristles.<ref> Minchat Yitzchak 3:50 </ref> | ||
