May one use a sponge when washing oneself on
Shabbos?
Squeezing a sponge
causes it to expel the water or liquid held within. Although squeezing falls under the
umbrella of either Libun – laundering or Dash – separating, in
this case we are only concerned with separating.
Many Rishonim
are of the opinion that Dash is transgressed when one squeezes to expel the liquid.
We must therefore examine this particular squeezing to see whether Dash applies or
not.
The process of
cleaning oneself with a sponge (or dishes for that matter) requires the area being cleaned
to be wet. This is because sponging a dry area will obviously not have the same effect as
sponging a wet one.
The advantage of
using a sponge or cloth is that it continuously wets the area, which is brought about
through squeezing the sponge or cloth during sponging. Consequently, the expelling of the
water or liquid within is not merely a p’sik reisha (a by-product of the
sponging) but a required part of the sponging.
Accordingly we would
say that squeezing a wet sponge is ossur mid’oraisso.
Does that mean that all sponges are prohibited?
Basically yes. The
only sponge permitted is the kind that does not hold water, such as the special type used
to wash dishes on Shabbos. Since it is not practical to use such a sponge on one’s
body, one should only use one’s hands without any sponge.
Where else might we be concerned with this halacha?
A very pertinent
case involves cleaning an area prior to the insertion of a syringe. Before inserting a
syringe it is necessary to disinfect the area with alcohol. This is usually done by
soaking cotton wool in alcohol and rubbing it over the required area. Rav Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach writes that this action involves Dash because one squeezes the alcohol
from the cotton wool thereby wetting the area and enabling one to rub the area clean.
The alternative is to pour alcohol on the arm and rub it clean with a dry piece of cotton
wool. The cotton wool should be precut before Shabbos or one should use tissues etc.
This implies that wet wipes are a problem as well.
Wet wipes that are
used to clean a baby are also a problem when one wants the expelled liquid in order to
clean the baby. One should seek rabbinical guidance in this matter.
Is using soap a problem when washing hands and
face, for example?
Without getting too
involved in the details of using soap on Shabbos, suffice to say that there are various
problems involved such as molid, i.e. creating a liquid from a solid,
Memare’ach – smoothing, as sometimes one wishes to smooth the soap. The Mishna
Berura writes that the accepted custom is not to use soap on Shabbos.
Would liquid soap be permitted?
Many poskim
permit the use of liquid soap on Shabbos, being that it is already a liquid and one is
merely watering it down. However, Rav Moshe Feinstein was stringent in this respect
and therefore one should seek rabbinical guidance and follow the accepted custom in one’s
area.
Is swimming in a pool permitted on Shabbos?
The same problems
that apply to bathing apply to swimming and more. The problems of squeezing hair and
carrying water on one’s body more than 4 amos out of the pool area (or river)
are the same as bathing. There is yet another stringency. Chazal were concerned
that if one was permitted to float in water on Shabbos one would fashion a type of raft
for that purpose, which is an issur d’oraisso.
Accordingly, just as
one does not bathe on Shabbos even in cold water, so too one does not swim.
