Is bathing in hot water permitted on Shabbos?
Several
factors are taken into account in providing a ruling.
-
The
bathing itself.
-
The hot
water system used; a boiler, sun heater etc.
-
Was the
water heated before or on Shabbos?
What can be wrong with bathing - I
don't see any melacha involved?
Indeed
bathing does not involve a melacha but is
nevertheless prohibited.
The
gemora Shabbos 40a
relates that initially people would bathe (in bath-houses)
in water heated before Shabbos, but the attendants would
heat the water on Shabbos and declare that it was heated
before Shabbos.
So
Chazal prohibited bathing but permitted the
sauna.
People
would continue to bathe in hot water and declare that they
were wet from sweating in the sauna, so they prohibited the
sauna as well.
The
gemora concludes that bathing in hot water and sweating
are prohibited but bathing in cold water is permitted. This
will be dealt with later.
Well maybe a shower in hot water is
different to bathing?
Another
gemora on Shabbos 39b
cites a machlokes between R' Me'ir and R' Yehuda and
halacha is in accordance with R' Yehuda, who states
the following.
One may not
shower one's entire body with hot water on Shabbos and
Rashi annotates that this is even with water heated
before Shabbos.
To
summarize:
one may not shower or bathe in hot water on Shabbos, even
with water heated before Shabbos and even if a
'water-heating' system is not involved. It is the actual
bathing that is prohibited.
Why does the gemora say one's
entire body?
The
gemora on the same amud makes a distinction
between water heated before or on Shabbos and states that
one may wash one's face, hands and legs
with water heated before Shabbos but not with water
heated on Shabbos.
Although
one could argue that the same reason that prohibits washing
one's entire body should prohibit washing face, hands and
legs, nevertheless Chazal only prohibited bathing the
entire body.
The
Shulchan Aruch HaRav
(based on the Magen Avraham) adds that the majority
of one's body is considered the entire body, whereas face,
hands and legs are the minor parts.
Consequently,
one may wash the minor parts of one's body - not only face,
hands and legs, provided that one does not wash the
majority.
Isn't there something about washing
one limb at a time?
That
leniency is applied to Yom Tov not to Shabbos.
You mentioned that one may not
bathe even one limb with water heated on Shabbos, how was
the water heated?
We find
several permitted heating modes.
-
Heated
by a gentile for a sick person.
A gentile may heat water to bathe a sick person but a
healthy person may not bathe even a single limb in that
water.
-
Water
placed near a heat source,
in a way that it would not reach the temperature of
yad soledes bo.
Certain restrictions exist, such as it cannot be placed
on a hot-plate or blech
on Shabbos, nor can it be placed near heat if it can
reach yad soledes bo over a period of time. One
may not place cold water on a radiator intending to
remove it before it reaches yad soledes bo. If it
cannot reach yad soledes bo it is permitted.
This water
is heated on Shabbos and may not be used to wash hands or an
arm etc.
And water heated before Shabbos?
Water
placed on a hot-plate or blech before Shabbos and
heated on Shabbos, is considered as heated before Shabbos.
Sun heated water may also be used to wash face, hands and
legs.
Do the sick and infirm share the
same halachos as the rest of the populace?
R' Akiva
Eiger writes that an ailing person may bathe in hot water
heated before Shabbos even though he is not a choleh
she'ein bo sakana (sick in bed).
May one use water from a solar
heater (when water was heated before Shabbos)?
We have
dealt with this issue in vol. V shiur 9, where it was
demonstrated that while drawing water from the water boiler,
fresh cold water enters and might be heated from the
existing water. Another problem was how to define the solar
panels.
A regular
boiler heated with a heat element is far more severe and is
off limits on Shabbos; it is far too complicated.
