Splitting hairs, so to speak: Shampooing on YT
With the Yom Tov/holiday of Shavuot rapidly approaching, I felt it necessary to revisit the question of whether one may shampoo one's hair on the Shalosh Regalim/Pilgrimage Festivals.
You might want to start here, and follow the links.
Here's follow-up number one.
And you're reading follow-up number two. :)
The issue, per a sh'elah/question posed to Rabbi Yehuda Hausman:
"Can I brush and comb my hair afterwards?
If necessary, one can comb hair for aesthetic purposes only. (Or Yitzchak OH 137) Combing hair to remove loose or damaged hair is forbidden. (Cf Yalkuth Yosef 303.13)"
The problem with shampooing on a Yom Tov/Festival is that those of us with medium-to-long hair will almost inevitably pull out hairs, knots, and/or tangles, in the process of combing for aesthetic purposes.
So I'm going to split the difference, rather than the hairs--I'll refrain from shampooing on the first (and seventh) day(s) of the Shalosh Regalim/Pilgrimage Festivals, but I'll take advantage of the interesting halachic status of the second (and last) day(s), observed in galut/the diaspora only, and shampoo on those days.
For those whom this topic may concern, I suggest that you check the linked halachic discussions and make your own decision (in consultation with a rabbi, if that's your preferred approach.)
You might want to start here, and follow the links.
Here's follow-up number one.
And you're reading follow-up number two. :)
The issue, per a sh'elah/question posed to Rabbi Yehuda Hausman:
"Can I brush and comb my hair afterwards?
If necessary, one can comb hair for aesthetic purposes only. (Or Yitzchak OH 137) Combing hair to remove loose or damaged hair is forbidden. (Cf Yalkuth Yosef 303.13)"
The problem with shampooing on a Yom Tov/Festival is that those of us with medium-to-long hair will almost inevitably pull out hairs, knots, and/or tangles, in the process of combing for aesthetic purposes.
So I'm going to split the difference, rather than the hairs--I'll refrain from shampooing on the first (and seventh) day(s) of the Shalosh Regalim/Pilgrimage Festivals, but I'll take advantage of the interesting halachic status of the second (and last) day(s), observed in galut/the diaspora only, and shampoo on those days.
For those whom this topic may concern, I suggest that you check the linked halachic discussions and make your own decision (in consultation with a rabbi, if that's your preferred approach.)
posted by Shira Salamone at 12:39 PM
15 Comments:
You might see what the C movement has to say about the issue in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews now available on Kindle, and shortly in hardback. They have a large section on Shabbat,
" . . . now available on Kindle, and shortly in hardback."
???
"They have a large section on Shabbat," which I won't be able to read on Shabbat!
I said many times that the rabbis would have to figure out a halachic way to read from an electronic reader (or whatever these gadgets are called) on Shabbat and Yom Tov, because print will soon become obsolete--until it was pointed out to me that we're just about the only ones left who are still writing our sacred texts by hand with a quill pen on parchment! :)
"They have a large section on Shabbat," which I won't be able to read on Shabbat!
Unless you hold by the C ruling that holds electricity is not intrinsically forbidden. Then the issues are whether painting the screen counts as writing, whether the screen lighting elements are permitted, and the basic question of whether using a Kindle is in keeping with the spirit of Shabbat.
If you are going to produce a 1000+ page guide, I think making it electronically is a good idea.
The book is also available in hardcover. Shira, drop me an email for a discount code to buy it for $22.
"Unless you hold by the C ruling that holds electricity is not intrinsically forbidden." Of all the Conservative rabbis who formerly served our synagogue, I don't think even one of them would have turned on a light on Shabbat (though one would have turned on a light on Yom Tov, on the grounds that using a previously-lit "flame" is permissible, and the "flame" was previously lit at the power plant).
"whether painting the screen counts as writing,"
Hmm, is that any more a form of writing than using the Shabbat message board?
An incandescent like is plainly a forbidden use even according to the C teshuvah, I think, since heating something until it glows is explicitly foribdden, Turning on a fan is a better example of the sort of things the electricity heter allows you to do.
Ah, so incandescent lights aren't among the forms of electricity use that the Conservative heter (lenient interpretation?) permits for Shabbat. Thanks for the clarification.
I'll ship you that e-mail. Thanks for the discount-code offer.
You might also be interested in the audio shiur Rethinking the ban on electricity on Shabbat by Rabbi Daniel Evans. I haven't listened to it myself, so I can't review it for you.
Some more web research shows me to be mistaken about what the teshuvah does and does not allow. I like my rule better. :>)
See Lights on Shabbat from the Shechter Institute in Israel.
With the death of incandescent light bulbs, a whole lot of electricity on Shabbat thing needs to be looked at... There needs to be a way to read, and books are on their way out...
From your mouth to G-d's ear, Miami Al, although, as I commented earlier, the invention of the printing press hasn't stopped us from writing our sifrei Torah/Bible scrolls by hand. :) Still, the advent of printed siddurin/prayer books, haggadot, Bibles, Talmuds, etc. was certainly of great benefit to the Jewish People, possibly especially the female half. The ability to carry an entire Talmud--Yerushalmi and Bavli!--in the palm of one's hand is something that simply can't help but aid the spread of Jewish learning. Now if only we can figure out a way to use e-readers on Shabbat without violating the halachic law . . . Calling the Tzomet Institute!
Except, we have stopped by hand scribing except for ritual purposes: Torah Scrolls and Mezuzah Scrolls.
I mean, in Shul, one hears Megillah read from a scroll, but nobody has one at home, if you want to read a Megillah for non-ritual purposes, you grab your Chumash, same with the Haftorah.
True. Let's hope that the engineers from the Tzomet Institute (or elsewhere) come up with an idea that the rabbis can live with.
I'm just getting ready to leave the office, so, in case I get similarly crazy busy tomorrow, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Chag Sameach. Enjoy your cheesecake, bourekas, and/or whatever's your favorite dairy treat for Shavuot. Let's worry about the extra pounds/kilos *next* week. :)
The link seems to have vanished, but this post appeared in Haveil Havalim # 361: The Post-Shavu-oth 5772 Edition.
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