Chapter 259

Miscellaneous laws of insulating and Muktzah [relevant to insulating]

Introduction:

The following chapter will discuss the laws of Muktzah which are relevant to the different forms of insulating materials, which may be used to insulate ones hot food for Shabbos. As well the laws regarding a plastered oven and opening and closing an oven on Shabbos will be discussed.

In the end of the chapter the Alter Rebbe summarizes the laws of Shehiyah and Hatmanah which had been discussed in the previous chapters [253-259]

Halacha 1

The Muktzah materials:

Are Mochin insulators Muktzah? Mochin[1] that were used to insulate a pot from before Shabbos, in an unplanned way, [meaning] that one did not designate [these Mochin] to be used for this purpose, then it is forbidden to move the Mochin on Shabbos, being that they are Muktzah[2]. As [unless there is change of designation] they are considered designated to be used to make sheets, and not to insulate pots in them or do other uses that are permitted on Shabbos, and thus [they are Muktzah as] they are not considered vessels at all[3].

However those shears that have been placed in storage to be sold as merchandise (and he is thus careful to not use them for any other purpose, then) if it happened that he insulated with them, it is forbidden to move them on Shabbos, unless they have been designated to be always used for this purpose.

 

Halacha 2

What does one do if he insulated using a Muktzah material?

If one insulated with a material which is forbidden to move, and one now wants to remove the pot from within the material on Shabbos, how is this to be done? If part of the lid of the pot is not covered by the insulation, then one grabs on to that part which is uncovered and removes [the cover. This then causes the insulation to entirely fall off the top of the pot and consequently also uncovers the top of the walls of the pot, which one can grab onto and use to remove the pot.]

The reason the pot does not have the status of a Basis[4]: Now, even though the insulation which is Muktzah is resting on the pot, [nevertheless] the pot is not considered to have become a base for something Muktzah, being that the [purpose of the] lid [of the pot which is being held on to in order to remove the pot] is not at all meant for the insulating material but rather is meant [to be used] for the pot[5].
[Now, once the cover has been removed] one holds on to the head of the walls of the pot which have become revealed from under the lid, and he then removes the pot entirely from within the insulation.

If the lid of the pot is completely insulated: If there is no part of the lid which is uncovered [from the insulation], then if one is able to stab a stick or a knife into the lid and lift it and remove it from the pot, then this is permitted to be done. As even though by doing so he is moving the [Muktzah] insulation through [moving] the lid, [nevertheless] this does not hold [Halachic] meaning, being that this is considered moving [a Muktzah item] indirectly, which is not [Halachicly] considered to be [under the prohibition of] moving [a Muktzah item], as will be explained in chapter 311 [Halacha 14].[6]

Halacha 3

What does one do if also the cover of the pot is Muktzah?

The above [allowance to remove the lid of the pot] is only referring to if the lid of the pot is considered a vessel[7], and is thus not Muktzah. However if also the lid is made of an item that is Muktzah[8], [the cover may not be lifted]. [However] if part of the walls of the pot are not covered by the Muktzah insulation material, enough so one can grab that area with his hands, then one may grab it in that area and lift up the pot and remove it from the insulation, [thus] having the insulation fall off of it on its own. Afterwards one shakes the pot until the Muktzah lid falls off of it.

The reason that the pot is not considered a Basis: [This is allowed] since the pot has never become a basis for the lid and insulation, being that the lid and the insulation are there for the purpose of heating up the pot, and not [the other way around] that the pot is there to serve a purpose for them. [Thus it does not have a status of a basis, as an item can only become a basis if its purpose in being there is to serve the Muktzah item].

 

Halacha 4

Returning the pot to its insulation on Shabbos:

One who insulated [a pot of food] in a box that is filled with Mochin that are forbidden to be moved [Muktzah], and he then removed the pot from the box in one of the permitted ways explained above, then as long as the Mochin remain inside the box in their pit making form[9], one may replace the pot there.

However if the pit making form [within the Mochin] has been ruined[10], it is forbidden to return it there, as by doing so one moves the Muktzah material through returning the pot.

The reason that it is forbidden when the Mochin have fallen: This is not similar to the moving of the insulation through [lifting up] the lid [which is allowed to be done], as the insulation moves on its own through [one lifting up] the lid, and he only intends to move the lid itself [as opposed to the insulation], and it is just that it is impossible to remove the lid without also moving the insulation with it. However here he moves the insulation with his hands through [placing down] the pot, as [since the insulation has fallen into the hollow opening of the box] he needs to move the insulation into the different sides in order to widen the hollow space [of the box] which the pot meant to sit in.

Nevertheless, [despite the above prohibition to return the pot when the Mochin have fallen] it is initially permitted to remove the pot [from the box] with intention to return it there afterwards if the hollow space has not been ruined, as we are not worried that [since this is allowed] one may come to return the pot there even if the Mochin have fallen and ruined the hollow space.

 

Halacha 5

Rocks and wood that are placed around the oven:

One who places stones and bricks around the Kirah, needs to permanently designate them to be used for this purpose [from now on], in order so it be allowed to move them on Shabbos.

Similarly wood that is designated to be used as fuel, which were used to block the opening of the oven on Shabbos, need to be designated to be always used for this purpose [from now on]. As so long as they have not been designated [for the above purpose] they are not considered of importance to him and he [plans to eventually] throw them out. Therefore [they are not considered vessels and] are forbidden to be moved unless one puts them away and designates them for this [purpose]

However those stones which are placed on top of the Kirah, do not need explicit designation, as they are generally [anyways] considered designated to be used.

 

Halacha 6

Insulating with stones on Erev Shabbos which is Yom Tov:

When Yom Tov falls out on Erev Shabbos, it is forbidden to insulate hot food for Shabbos with stones, as it is forbidden to gather stones on Yom Tov, as this is similar to [the prohibition against] building [on Shabbos and Yom Tov].

Although if one has nothing else [available] to insulate with, other than the stones, then it is permitted for him to insulate with them. As [by doing so] he is not making a permanent structure, but rather a temporary one, which is only Rabbinically forbidden to be done, and due to the [Mitzvah to] honor of Shabbos the Sages did not decree [in this situation, against using the stones to insulate], being that [in this case] it is not possible for him to insulate in any other way.

 

Halacha 7

Breaking the clay off from the opening of the oven which has been plastered shut:

An oven which one places the hot food in for Shabbos and closes its opening with a sheet of wood, which is then sealed with clay, is permitted to [be opened on Shabbos even though that by doing so one needs to] break through the plastering on Shabbos, in order to remove the hot food that is in it.

Now, although one has no intention to light them up, nevertheless [it is forbidden to open the oven] as [by opening the oven] it is inevitable[11] [for the coals not to light up with the wind].

It is even permitted for a Jew to close it as long as he does not close it completely, and as long as he leaves much of it open. However if he [only] leaves it a little bit open, then certainly the wind will blow inside it and is forbidden to be done.

 

Halacha 8

Closing the oven on Shabbos when the food inside is not yet fully cooked: Even if there are not any fiery coals [in the oven] it is not permitted to return and close it on Shabbos, unless one knows for certain that the food has already been completely cooked. However if there is room for doubt that perhaps the food has not been completely cooked, such as at night close to the time that the food had been insulated, then it is forbidden to close the oven, even through a gentile, as this causes it to expedite the cooking.

A summary of the laws of Shehiyah and insulation in accordance to the custom of these provinces[13]

The laws applicable today for leaving food inside ones oven from before Shabbos: The general rule of today’s times, that we place the pots in the ovens while they are uncovered, and we do not place any insulation around their walls and on their top, is that only the laws of Shehiyah and not [the laws] of insulation are applicable. Thus if the food was cooked to the point of the food of Ben Drusaiy from before Shabbos, it is permitted to leave the pot there [over Shabbos], even if the oven was not swept and not covered.

Raw foods: Meat, if placed raw in a pot very close to Shabbos, then it is permitted. However with varieties of dough, whether cooked or baked, and with varieties of legumes and with water and with meat roasted on a spit, it does not help [to place right before Shabbos] if they are raw, and rather they must be [cooked to the point] of the food of Ben Drusaiy from before Shabbos.

A sealed oven: With an oven which is sealed with clay everything is permitted in all scenarios. [However] if there are fiery coals in it, one should not open it unless done through a gentile.

Removing the pot if it is surrounded by or sitting on coals: If the coals are surrounding the pot, then a Jew should not remove the pot from it, but rather [have it done through] a gentile. [However] if the pot is [only] sitting on the coals, it is permitted [for a Jew to remove] if it is unable to be done through a gentile.

However when the oven has not yet been lit then it is the custom to be lenient [to place food directly on top of the oven], even if one plans to have it lit [by the gentile] immediately [after placing the food there].

Placing cold liquid food by an oven on Shabbos: However by cold food [which contains liquid], even before the oven has been lit, it is forbidden to even place the food next to the oven, with exception to if this is done through a gentile before the oven is lit, in which case it is permitted [to place the food] even on top [of the oven]. However once the oven has been lit, then it is forbidden to even place the food there through a gentile, unless it is being done for a sick person, or a child which does not have anything else to eat.

Placing a cold solid food by an oven on Shabbos: Food which does not contain liquid, even when cold has the same laws as if it were still hot.

Placing water into the set pot on and before Shabbos: As well it is forbidden to place water into this [set] pot even before the oven has been lit unless it is done through a gentile, in which case it is permitted to benefit from this water on Shabbos, if the gentile placed it there before the oven was lit. However if a Jew placed it there, then it is forbidden to benefit from these waters until enough time has passed after Shabbos to be able to cook the water. [Furthermore] even if one placed the water there [inside the set pot] before Shabbos, close to sunset, after the oven was already lit, it is forbidden to benefit from it until enough time has passed after Shabbos to be able to cook the water

Insulating a pot  of food on Shabbos: It is forbidden to wrap on Shabbos a pot that has in it (hot) food, with pillows and blankets or other clothes, in a way that it is completely insulated within it. However if one removed the food [from the pot that it was cooked in] into a different pot, then it is permitted to wrap it in there.