Author Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein

May one unplug a drain pipe on Shabbos?[1] It is forbidden to unplug a stuffed drainage pipe on Shabbos unless lack of doing so will cause flooding to one’s house, in which case one may remove the blockage of the pipe with an irregularity.[2] Example: If one’s rain pipes on […]

Immersing vessels in a Mikveh:[1] It is forbidden to immerse a vessel[2] in a Mikveh on Shabbos if the vessel requires immersion in order to be used.[3] Thus any vessel bought from a gentile and has not yet been immersed may not be immersed on Shabbos. This applies even if […]

Scrubbing, Shining and Polishing dishes and silverware:[1] One may scrub down, shine and polish all dishes and cutlery needed to be used on Shabbos, even if they are made of silver, so long as the shining agent does not remove any layer of the vessel. Thus it is forbidden to […]

Washing dishes on Shabbos: [1] All dishes/cutlery needed to be used on Shabbos may be washed anytime on Shabbos, even much time prior to the meal.[2] Thus one may wash the Friday night dishes immediately after the meal on Friday night and does not need to wait until the morning. […]

Removing the garbage:[1] Although in general one’s garbage is considered Muktzah, nevertheless it is permitted to remove it outside if the garbage is full. It is forbidden to remove the garbage if it is not yet full.[2] [For a detailed elaboration on this subject see Volume 1 “The Laws of […]

Cleaning spills on Shabbos Introduction: Cleaning a spill on Shabbos involves two actions which touch upon a number of possible prohibitions. These two actions are: 1) Wetting the cloth with the spill and 2) Moving around the soaked cloth. Wetting a cloth on Shabbos touches upon a possible laundering and […]

The laws of removing leftovers from ones table:[1] Introduction: Certain leftover foods are considered Muktzah and are therefore forbidden to be moved. The question hence arises how is one to clean his table from leftovers after the Shabbos meal. It is always permitted to shake the leftovers off the table […]

Dragging furniture across one’s floor or ground: [1] It is permitted to drag an average size table, chair, or bed over any floor, including an earth floor, so long as one has no intent to form a ditch in the earth[2] and doing so does not inevitably cause the ditch […]

Mopping on Shabbos:[1] Mopping: It is forbidden to pour water over one’s floor in order to mop it.[2] This applies equally to all floors, even tiled.[3] [This applies even if one does not use a cloth to mop with but rather a plane Squeegee mop. Using a cloth mop, in […]

1. Sweeping on Shabbos:[1] A. Using brooms made of hard strands: Breakable strands:[2] It is forbidden to sweep on Shabbos using a broom made of twigs [or other hard strands] which easily break upon being used.[3] This applies to all types of floors, even tiled floors.[4] [Thus one may not […]