On Shabbos, where there is no Eiruv, may an allergenic wear a ticket
stating this fact?
In general one may
go outdoors wearing clothing and decorative items, because these
items are subordinate to the person. Most other items may not be
worn outdoors on account of carrying. As stated before, we are
referring to places that are not within an eiruv or when one does
not wish to rely on an eiruv.
There are opinions
that permit wearing medals of honor and society badges as they
dignify the person and are similar to jewelry and ornaments.
On the other hand,
a doctor may not go outdoors with his nametag pinned to his jacket
nor may a warden with an armband around his arm because these items
do not decorate the people wearing them.
In which category would you place the
allergic tag?
The allergic tag
does not decorate its wearer and as such it should be forbidden to
pin to a jacket and go outdoors. If however the information is
engraved or written on a bracelet and worn around the arm, since the
wearer hardly ever removes it and it is worn in a decorative
fashion, there is room to say that it is incorporated in the rule of
an ornament and may be worn outdoors. Halacha is that it most
probably should not be worn as it is neither ornament nor clothing.
May a dignified person carry a silver
topped walking stick?
On the one hand
(excuse the pun) it provides decoration for the bearer but on the
other hand it is carried in the hand when it is prohibited to carry
anything outdoors in one’s hand on Shabbos.
What about spare buttons sewn onto a shirt?
The problem with
spare buttons is that they do not serve the shirt or the wearer. One
may argue that certain clothing has dangling straps that do not
serve a function, or buttons sewn in different places that do not
close pockets and we do not find that one must be certain that every
button serves a function and every strap is used.
The answer is that
these straps and buttons decorate the clothing (beauty, they say, is
in the eye of the beholder) whereas spare buttons do not.
One way to permit
going outdoors with such buttons is if the buttons were considered
unimportant and subordinate to the clothing. This is quite true with
common shirt buttons which are easy to come by, but not so for
expensive clothing and rare buttons.
Yet we find a
machlokes (dispute) over this matter and one should ask one’s
rav as to the correct conduct.
What
is the situation if the drycleaner’s tag was not removed before
Shabbos?
Drycleaner’s tags,
price tags and quality tags are all subordinate to clothing and one
may wear clothing outdoors with these items attached. The same
applies to stray pieces of thread.
If however the band
sewn into the neck of a coat tore and one intends on repairing it,
one may not wear this coat without an eiruv, because the band does
not have the status of an insignificant loose piece of thread.
This too is subject to a machlokes
and one should therefore either repair the noose before Shabbos or
ask one’s rav.
This halacha
is learned from another halacha that says that if the
tzizit strings are torn to the extent that they become possul,
one may not wear the garment on Shabbos where there is no eiruv.
What am I to do if I discover a tissue in
my pocket when in the street?
The initial
reaction is to shout “oi vey” and stop dead in your tracks.
It is the wrong thing to do. The correct procedure is to continue
walking quickly or run and discard the tissue b’shinui,
meaning in a deviating manner. The reason is as follows:
The prohibition of
carrying without an eiruv has two aspects: carrying an item from a
private domain (reshus hayachid) into a reshus harabim
and vice versa and doing akirah and hanachah –
removing and setting down. If one were to carry something into a
reshus harabim and not set it down (this is normally
accomplished by putting it down or by standing still) one would not
be liable for the violation.
By standing still
one is doing hanacha and therefore one must continue walking.
But even when continuing one may not “set it down” because that
would also be hanacha - rather one should turn one’s pocket
inside out, which will allow the tissue to drop and by being a
shinui (deviation from the norm) it will not be a biblical
transgression. If one is carrying the tissue in one’s hand, one
should merely open the hand letting it drop.
Dear Readers: This
newsletter is now four years old and we are interested in knowing
whether you want us to restart Hilchos Shabbos from sh’hiya –
placing food on the fire or some other topic altogether.
Please write us at
shabbosweekly@shemayisrael.com.