May
one remove an avocado pit from water on Shabbos?
It is
common to place an avocado pit into a jar filled with water and watch it
grow. It is forbidden to remove the avocado pit from the water for the
following reasons: if the pit has already sprung roots, the pit is
considered as ‘planted’ in the water and removing it would involve the
melacha of ÷åöø – reaping; if roots
have not as yet sprung forth, because it was placed in the water in order to
grow, it is considered ‘planted’ and may not be removed from the water.
What difference does it make whether there was
intention to plant it or not, isn’t it enough that it is in water to
prohibit its removal?
We
find in the Shulchan Aruch
a
case where people were accustomed to deposit fragrant leaves in soil a day
before shabbos in order to keep them fresh, with the intention of removing
them on Shabbos.
The
Shulchan Aruch rules that they may be removed
if 1) they have not yet sprung roots and 2) if there was no
intention to plant them. The Mishna Berura
explains that when one intends to plant them and then decides to remove them
from the soil, one might not realize that they have already sprung roots.
Therefore Chazal prohibited the removal of leaves, grains etc. from
soil (or water) when there was an intention to plant them, even though they
have not yet sprung roots.
May one move a pot-plant from one location to
another?
Several factors will determine the halacha and its
severity, ranging from muktze to uprooting.
Plants planted in a holed potholder are equivalent to being planted
directly in the ground. Removing them from where they are situated, in many
cases, is considered uprooting - a melacha d’oraisso. The
Bais Yosef says that if one raises such a plant and places it on a
non-permeable item such as
glass or wood, one has violated an
issur d’oraisso.
This will depend of course on where the pot-plant is located. If it is in
the garden or over soil it is definitely considered attached to the ground.
The
Shulchan Aruch tell us that one should not even raise a pot-plant that
does not have absorption holes but the potholder is made from clay or wood.
What if the pot-plant is in an apartment on the
tiles or stone floor?
The
Chazon Ish held that plants are capable of absorbing nutrients through a
stone floor from the soil beneath the stone and therefore it is an issur
to raise such a pot and place it on a table etc.
The
general rule is that pot plants are treated as being muktze as a
result of the various prohibitions involved and therefore one may not move
pot-plants on Shabbos from one location to another.
To
conclude this issue - all pot plants are muktze and may not be moved
around on Shabbos.
The kitchen sink is blocked! Is one permitted to
use a plunger to unblock it?
There are two ways to view this problem. One way is to say
that an entirely blocked drain or sink is considered broken and
therefore unblocking it will be repairing, which is forbidden on Shabbos.
Another way is to say that it is not considered broken as the pipes are
merely blocked and unblocking the drain is not called repairing the pipes.
Harav
Moshe Feinstein ztz”l
is
of the opinion that a (totally) blocked pipe is comparable to not having a
pipe at all and unblocking it is like making a new opening. It is therefore
ossur to unblock. One may however instruct a gentile to unblock it
when very necessary.
Several other poskim share the same view as Rav Moshe.
Rav
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztz”l
is
of the opinion that we cannot say that the pipe is non-existent, and
therefore unblocking a blocked pipe is not considered as repairing anything.
Being
that it is a machlokes, one must ask for rabbinical guidance in such
an event.
