Laws of Blessings (Adv.)
Crash Course in Jewish Blessings
9 min read
9 min read
Smoothing out solids, and cutting things to size.
Think fast: what do brushing your teeth, making something with Play-Doh® and using hand cream have in common? Don't know? You'll find out in this lesson.
First, a brief review. Remember when we discussed the difference between an av melacha and a toladah? (It was way back in our first lesson.) An av melacha (a 'parent labor') is the classic example of a particular labor category – in other words, the way it was performed in the Tabernacle. A toladah (roughly, a 'descendant') is any other activity that resembles the melacha.1
The melacha of Memachaik2 illustrates this distinction well. The av melacha is smoothing out a hard or somewhat flexible object. Such smoothing was done to animal skins after they were tanned. Of course, this kind of work is not something that we normally deal with on Shabbat. On the other hand, there is an important toladah of Memachaik, which is relevant to each of us on virtually every Shabbat.
Let's first look at the av melacha. Under this heading would fall activities like sanding wood (smoothing a hard object); using bar soap; and smoothing leather.3 In each case, the object you are working on will become smoother as a result of your activity.
Now to the toladah, which is known as Memarayach.4 (Since this is an awkward-looking word in English, we'll refer to it as smoothing, in italics, for ease of reference). Under this heading, we will discuss three categories of objects.
(1) Solid but Flexible
The first category includes items which are solid yet flexible.5 That is, they can be molded, but they generally keep their basic shape.
Some examples: stick deodorant; wax; tar.6
The normal use of these substances involves stretching or rolling them, such that they become smoothed out or thinned. This is the essence of smoothing. Other activities falling under this category include using Chap-Stick or lipstick, and making something with Play-Doh® or clay.7
(2) Not Quite Solid
What about materials which are not quite solid, but still hold their shape, such as toothpaste, Vaseline®, anti-fungal creams, and so forth?
These things also fall within the category of smoothing, under rabbinic law.8 In some cases, the activities associated with these substances can be done on Shabbat, though, although in a modified form. For example, if a baby needs to have some ointment put on, we dab it, rather than rub it into the skin, as we normally would. For this reason, we also do not use toothpaste on Shabbat 9
(3) Not Solid at all
When it comes to substances that are truly thin or porous, there is no prohibition of smoothing. This would include liquid soap, baby oil, and hand lotions that pour freely.10
You might be thinking ahead and wondering if you need to stop spreading cream cheese on your bagel during Shabbat. After all, this would seem like a classic case of smoothing. As it turns out, you won't have to forgo this pleasure. The melacha of Memachaik does not apply to activities we do in the normal course of preparing food, such as spreading cheese, jam, peanut butter or the like.11
There is one important exception, though. Smoothing out a food solely for aesthetic reasons is not allowed – for example, creating ripples in a dish of mashed potatoes by rolling a spoon or fork over the top, or applying icing to a cake. Since this action isn't necessary for the food to be eaten, Memachaik applies to it.12
Memachaik thus turns out to be a very important melacha for us to know, with its many common applications.
We now turn to two closely related melachot: the first, Mesarteit, is about preparing (or 'scoring') lines on an object prior to cutting it, and the second, Mechataich, deals with actually cutting on such a measured line.
These were the final two actions taken to complete the processing of an animal hide. As we've seen, the hide was first tanned and smoothed into a workable item. Then it needed to be cut into its desired shape. To do this, the artisan would score lines on the hide, and then follow those lines when cutting.13
Mesarteit is defined narrowly – you have done this melacha only if you make visible lines on an item so that you know where to cut (or fold) it later. For example, if you fold a piece of paper in half so that you can tear it at the fold, this would be an act of Mesarteit.14
Making lines or marks for other purposes does not fall within this category.
Mechataich is a broader melacha: it includes "cutting any object to a specific size," if that is your intent.15 Intent is an integral factor here – if you were tearing something on Shabbat,16 and it happened to get torn it in a specific shape, this would not be a violation of Mechataich. An illustration of this principle would be removing the tamper-proof plastic strip on a food container (e.g., cottage cheese). This is allowed, since your goal is just to get the plastic off, not to cut it in a measured way.17
With some packaging, the specific shape is already prepared, and you finish the job by removing or tearing something. Examples include taking off the lid of a tissue box (where there is a perforated line showing you where to tear), and separating garbage bags from each other along a perforated line. Tearing along any such line would be Mechataich.18
Which brings us to the example of toilet paper. Because it comes on a roll, and needs to be intentionally torn in order to be used, toilet paper is a classic case of Mechataich. The solution: pre-rip it before Shabbat.
In Israel, pre-cut toilet paper is widely available, and is a fixture in many observant homes. Of course, regular facial tissues work fine for this, too. But here also, you'd need to be careful about certain 'cheaper' brands where the tissues are not completely detached from one another. In such a case, detaching them would constitute Mechataich.
What if you find yourself in a situation where you are in a bathroom and realize there are no tissues or pre-cut toilet paper? In this case, the Sages allowed one to "break" a rabbinic-level melacha for the sake of human dignity. As we've discussed before, by performing an action in an unusual way, known as using a shinui (literally, a change), the action is reduced to a rabbinic-level melacha. So in this case, one may tear off the paper in a non-customary manner, such as by using your elbows.19
You might be surprised to know that we've now finished the 'Order of Hides.' This is the third set of melachot within the laws of Shabbat. With this lesson, we have now learned together 31 of the 39 labor categories. Coming up, G-d willing, are some very fascinating topics, including writing, building, and carrying in a public place. Stay tuned.
Is the last set of melachot going to be coming some time? These were really good!