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P««e 14 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE April 7, 1978
Photographer
Paul
B
Harry
Portraiture
Wedding*,
Commercial,
614
‘Only In America’
9.15
Tax Free Municipal Bonds
Interest Income Exempt From
Fedorol Income Tax
Medical Facility First Mortgage and Revenue
Bonds For further details and an official
statement—call our Atlanta office at (404)
952-0051 or mail the coupon below.
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. State.
.Telephone.
Hereto, Orr & Jones, Inc.
1775 The Exchange. Suite 680
Atlanta, Georgia 30339 (404) 952-0051
Underwriters and Distributors
of Municipal Bonds Exclusively
‘Pampers’ on Shabbat?
by J. David BIfich
Disposable paper diapers
(commonly referred to by the
popular brand name. Pampers)
which in some areas have all but
displaced the traditional cloth
diaper have proved to be a boon to
mothers who hitherto had been
forced to choose between spending
considerable time in the tedious
task of diaper washing or
subscribing to a diaper service.
The relatively inexpensive paper
substitute is discarded immedi
ately after use. An added
convenience is the strip of gummed
tape, already affixed to one side of
the diaper, which is simply pressed
firmly to the corresponding side
after the diaper is in place. This
effectively eliminates the use of
safety pins and the attendant
danger of piercing either the baby
or the diaperer’s own finger. It is
the use of this tape on Shabbat
which presents a halakhic
question.
Sewing is one of the thirty-nine
categories of labor forbidden on
the Sabbath. The end result and
the purpose of which sewing is
undertaken is the fusion of two
previously distinct components
into a single entity.
Other procedures designed to
achieve the same effect, when
produced by a process other than
sewing, are also forbidden as a
derivative (toldah) of sewing.
Thus, for example, Rambam,
Hilkhot Shabbat 10:11, rules that
the pasting together of two or more
pieces of paper or leather by means'
of glue is forbidden on Shabbat as
a derivative of sewing.
The applicability of this
principle to the use of disposable
diapers on the Sabbath is
examined by Rabbi Menashe
Klein, Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivat
Bet She’arim, in the Iyar 5733 issue
of the Yeshiva’s publication,
Sha'arei Halakhot. Rabbi Klein
cites Bet Yosef, Orach Chayyim
317, and Rema, Orach Chayim
317:3, who record two conflicting
views with regard to whether or
not the prohibition against sewing
encompasses sewing of stitches
which are not designed to be
permanent in nature.
Some authorities are of the
opinion that the category of
“sewing” includes only sewing of
stitches designed to effect a
permanent bond between the
articles.
Other authorities are of the
opinion that permanence is
irrelevant and maintain that the
act of stitching is forbidden under
all circumstances. Since gluing or
pasting is classified as an activity
forbidden on Shabbat as a
derivative of “sewing," it stands to
reason that those authorities who
view temporary stitching as
permissible would also deem
pasting for purposes of forming a
temporary cohesion to be
permissible.
Rema rules in accordance with
the lenient opinion but
admonishes that such actions
should not be performed in the
presence of the untutored who are
likely to be unaware of the
distinction between permanent
and temporary stitching.
However, Shulchan ‘Arukh,
Orach Chayyim 440:7, fails to
make any distinction between
permanent and temporary
stitching, thereby implying that
even the sewing of temporary
stitches is forbidden on Shabbat.
Rabbi Klein cites Tehillah le-
David 440:6 who opines that this
distinction applies only to the
biblical prohibition, but that all
forms of temporary sewing are
rabinically proscribed.
Rabbi Klein also suggests a
distinction between an act which
by virtue of its nature is
intrinsically temporary and an act
which produces an effect which is
permanent in terms of potential
durability but is temporary only by
virtue of intent. A truly temporary
act of sewing (or pasting) he
argues, is one which must
necessarily become undone of its
own accord.
Pampers are removed not
because the gummed tape becomes
ineffective and cannot keep the
diaper fastened over an extended
period of time but because one
desires to change the soiled diaper.
The original fastening of the diaper
may well be deemed “permanent"
rather than temporary.
Despite these considerations.
Rabbi Klein recognizes that
according to the opinion of a
number of authorities the use of
disposable diapers on the Sabbath
is not objectionable. In his
opinion, however, their use should
be discouraged.
Removal of a disposable diaper
on Shabbat presents no halakhic
problem. Since the diaper is not
reusable, removal of the tape is
preparatory to disposal of the
diaper. Accordingly, since the
effect is “destructive" in nature, the
gummed strip may be removed in
order to change the diaper.
C ondensed from Tradition by the Jewish Digest
ALICE
meets
JENNIFER
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slipped through to a world of
enchantment and found endless
adventures in wonderland.
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in wonderland.
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