The Shabbos Weekly
Halachos Series on Hilchos Shabbos

Published by

A Project of
The Shema Yisrael Torah Network

Rabbi Dovid
Ostroff, shlita
developed from the Chabura of the
Pirchei Shoshanim Shulchan Aruch Learning Project

These Halachos were shown by Rabbi Ostroff to
HaGaon HaRav Moshe Sternbuch, shlita

May I handle a pocketknife which some of the items are non-usable on Shabbos?

A pocketknife is comprised of a blade, which is often used for cutting food etc, nail clippers and other utensils. Seemingly this would fall into the category of a basis l’davar ha’assur v’hamutar, i.e. the handle of the pocketknife holds items permitted to use on Shabbos and items forbidden to use. Therefore, if the permitted items are more valuable and more important than the forbidden items, the pocket knife would not be muktze. If the forbidden items are more valuable, the pocketknife would be muktze.

However, since the muktze items are at most melachto l’issur – utensils used for forbidden purposes on Shabbos, and not chisaron kis – valuable to the point that they would not be used for anything other than their intended purpose, even if the forbidden items are more valuable, the pocketknife may be handled l’tsorech gufo um’komo – may be handled in order to use it or to move it out of the way.

Accordingly, a pocketknife whose nail clippers or screwdriver unit are more valuable than the knife, may be handled in order to use the blade but may not be handled in order to protect the pocketknife from the rain. [1]

Nail clippers are attached to my bunch of house keys, are they muktze? What about the car key on the bunch?

The same rule applies to a key ring to which a muktze item is attached. Even though the nail clippers are muktze, nevertheless, since the keys are surely more needed than the clippers, the ring is a basis to the heter – the keys, and is not muktze.

It is advisable to remove the clippers from the ring before Shabbos because one may easily handle the muktze item on Shabbos. Also, the muktze item may sometimes be more valuable (a car alarm control) than the keys, in which case the ring would be a basis to the alarm and hence muktze. [2]

As for car keys: if the ignition key cannot be used for opening the doors it is muktze she’mlachto l’issur, and since it does not have a permitted function certain  poskim hold that it may not be handled even l’tsorech gufo um’komo, i.e. for a permitted use for its space. If it is used also for opening the car doors it is classified as a regular k’li she’mlachto l’issur and may be handled on Shabbos l’tsorech gufo um’komo.

If I need an onion that is buried in a pile of raw potatoes, by extracting the onion the potatoes will move. Am I permitted to extract the onion?

The indirect handling of muktze is called tiltul min hatsad, and the halacha is that when handled for a permitted purpose, it is permitted. [3]

By extracting an onion from within raw potatoes – which are muktze, even though the potatoes will move, one may remove the onions due to the abovementioned rule.

An interesting point is that although the onions may be buried within the potatoes, the onions do not become a basis l’davar ha’assur, i.e. they do not take on the muktze of the potatoes, because the onions do not perform as a base to the potatoes. [4]

Likewise, if one’s ice cream is stashed in the freezer behind raw meat (which is muktze nowadays because most people would not eat raw meat) [5] it is permitted to pull out the ice cream even though it will move the raw meat. However, it is forbidden to handle the raw meat directly because there is no heter to move muktze directly for the sake of a heter.

What would be the halacha if the onions were buried within the potatoes? How am I supposed to reach them?

The Shulchan Aruch [6] tells us that one may use a skewer to stab the onions and extract them from within the potatoes. Although the potatoes may move when inserting the spit, nevertheless, since it is indirect tiltul (handling) for a permitted purpose – to get at the onions – it is permitted. [7]

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