Shabbat 149 - How to count guests and read cartoons on Shabbat

One can count his invited guests, to know how many loaves of bread he will need, and the deserts he will serve - if he does it orally, but he should not read them from a written note. Why? Because he might come to erase someone from the list, and erasing is prohibited on Shabbat. Another reason is that he might get accustomed to it and start reading business documentation. Some forbid even reading social correspondence.

What practical difference is there between the two reasons, erasing on Shabbat and reading business documentation? If the writing is very high on the wall, he will not come to erase it there. 

Can one read captions under a picture? Not on Shabbat! And the picture itself is forbidden to look at, even on a weekday. Why? Because of "do not turn to idols" which are born of your imagination. Some say that a cursory look is allowed, and others that it refers only to idols that were prepared but never worshiped.

Art: Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window by Johannes Vermeer

Shabbat 148 - How to borrow on Shabbat

In general, financial transactions are forbidden on Shabbat. Prophet Isaiah said that you should honor Shabbat by not pursuing business. However, one can run out of oil or wine on Shabbat or on a Yom Tov and may need more. Enjoying the holidays is also important. How did the Sages solve this dilemma? 

One is allowed to borrow pitches on wine or oil, provided he does not use the term "lend me" but instead says "can I borrow?" In Hebrew, these two terms are different. The first implies a financial loan and may lead to writing down a contract. The second implies consumable goods, where the borrower can return the same kind of produce.

If the lender wants to do good but does not trust the borrower without a written agreement? The lender can offer his cloak as a guarantee

Art: Still Life with Apples and Pitcher by Camille Pissarro

Shabbat 147 - Wet clothes, wet towels

If your clothes got wet on Shabbat, you can continue walking in them. You do not have to worry that people will suspect you of having washed your clothes on Shabbat. Neither are the Sages concerned that you may come to wring them dry, out of respect for human dignity. However, once you arrive at a safe place, you should take them off, and you can spread them in the sun to dry - but not in front of people.

If you bathe on Shabbat and dry yourself, you should not carry the towels back to your home, lest you squeeze them, even if you used ten towels. However, if there were ten people bathing, it would be the opposite: they could carry the towels back home, even if they all used the same towel. They will remind each other not to squeeze the towel.

Art: Bathroom Scene by Carl Larsson  

Shabbat 146 - How to open coke on Shabbat and other sundry issues

Let's say you have a cask of dried figs on Shabbat. You can open it and take out figs, but you should not plan to use this cask for storage afterward. You might think that making an opening somehow violates Shabbat, but in truth, it does not because you need the food, and for that, even destructive acts are permitted.

Similarly, you can open a Coke can on Shabbat. And yet, very careful people may squash the can afterward. 

Why did our rule mention dry figs? It wanted to address a complication we would otherwise not have guessed. Dried figs were usually pressed into a cake, and one would need a knife or a sword to cut them. Since he is allowed to use the knife to cut the figs, he would also be allowed to use it to open the barrel. However, this was a stringent position of only one Sage, Rabbi Nechemia, and therefore would not represent the final law. The Talmud derives this from the ruling and goes on to draw many other subtle observations.

Art: Still Life with Figs and Bread by Luis Melendez