If I find an apple under my apple tree on Shabbos, am I permitted to eat it?

First we must understand what problem might be involved with eating an apple that fell off a tree. We know that it is an issur d’oraisso (biblical prohibition) to pick a fruit off a tree on Shabbos, but once the apple has fallen off the tree what could be the problem?

The poskim tell us that there are two problems.

The first problem is that Chazal were afraid that if one were permitted to eat the apple that fell off the tree on Shabbos, one might ‘forget oneself’ and pick another one and violate an issur d’oraisso.

The second problem is that the fruit is muktze. The reason is that when Shabbos began, it was known that the fruit was on the tree and it is therefore out-of-bounds for Shabbos. When in due course it fell off the tree it remains out-of-bounds, or muktze, for want of a halachik term. [1]

If I do not know when it fell off the tree, may I eat it on Shabbos?

The Yerushalmi [2] teaches us that even when in doubt one may not [3] eat the fruit.

Even if the fruit fell off the tree before Shabbos, one may not gather a few together and bring them inside, because of the issur of ????. [4] The maximum a person may do is eat one fruit at a time. [???? is an Av Melacha and it entails the prohibition of collecting items found in the field where they were grown. This melacha involves other details which we will be”H discuss in later shiurim].

Am I permitted to fashion a toothpick on Shabbos?

Several details must be taken into account when deciding whether one may fashion a toothpick on Shabbos.

The first pertains to muktze. If the piece of wood one wishes to fashion the toothpick from was not prepared for use before Shabbos it is muktze. The halacha talks about fashioning a toothpick from straw used to feed animals which is not muktze. [5] Another possibility is to use a matchstick. Although a match is muktze on account of it being a k’li shemlachto l’issur, nevertheless it may be used l’tsorech gufo.

The second pertains to making a k’li.

Chazal tell us that it is permitted to fashion a toothpick from food intended for an animal such as straw, even with a knife. [6]

However, if the straw is not animal food, or if one wishes to fashion a matchstick into a toothpick, it is forbidden to do so. Breaking the matchstick with one’s hands is an issur d’rabanan and shaping it with a knife or any other instrument is an issur d’oraisso.

What if there are pieces of meat stuck between the teeth and it impinges on human dignity?

We find that Chazal cared for a person’s dignity and waived aside their restrictions in certain circumstances. In such a case, when a person is embarrassed to open his mouth because of pieces of food stuck between his teeth, one would assume that one would be permitted to handle muktze in order to clean his teeth. However, the halacha is that since one should have known that it is possible that it may be necessary to clean one’s teeth on Shabbos, a toothpick should have been prepared before Shabbos. Therefore one may not violate any issurim. If however one is invited to a friend and thus he could not have prepared a toothpick before Shabbos and he finds himself in an awkward predicament, as mentioned, he may handle muktze to clean his teeth or even break a piece of wood with his hands (not with an instrument) and use it as a toothpick. This is on condition that it is indeed an embarrassing situation. [7]

What about breaking an herbal sprig in order to smell the fragrance?

Since the purpose of breaking the sprig is not to fashion a k’li, rather it is merely to break open the cells encasing the fragrance, it is permitted. One may not cut a hard branch or stem with an instrument, one may only break or rub it between one’s fingers. Therefore, if one wishes to break a hadassim branch (myrtle), one may do so but one may not cut it with a knife or scissors. [8] One may not break such a branch in order to use as a toothpick.