Beitza 33a.
Lag B’Omer.
1- Our Gemore mentions both Rashbi and his son Reb Elazar in regard to muktzeh on Yom Tov.
2- The word ‘chingeh’. חינגא. Rashi translates it as a dance. In our Gemare that word is used to describe a market place being that people go around in circles around the aisles and stalls.
3- We next discussed the issue of using a fresh branch as a spit. Since such a moist twig will not be used as firewood, if a person didn’t prepare it as a spit before Yom Tov, it is Muktzeh and cannot be used to roast a hot dog on a BBQ.
[As Yankel reminds us – a BBQ is with coals. Not gas.]
4- From here we went to discuss the age old question of lowering the fire on a gas range on Yom Tov.
Before we continue let’s be clear – in general, don’t reduce a flame on Yom Tov.
Case: Someone has a pot on the fire and realizes that the flame is too high and the food will overcook or burn. Moving the pot a bit off the fire will not help.
Now, if he has only one burner, and he wants to keep the food hot, then there seems to be no issue. He may indeed lower the gas.
Why? Because just as one is allowed to ignite a fire (from an existing flame) to prepare food for Yom Tov one may equally extinguish (or partly reduce a fire’s intensity) for the same purpose – ensuring that the food does not burn and remain edible.
We indeed find that reducing a fire is allowed on Yom Tov. Such as in our Mishnah concerning the scraping the oven for the preparation of baking even with a wet scrape.
The question is when, B”H, as in our homes, we have more than one burner.
So when a pot is about to burn and we want the food to remain hot, one has two options:
1- Lower the gas under pot.
2- Move the pot to another burner and ignite a new smaller flame.
If we tell him to choose option two, to start a new fire and to avoid reducing or extinguishing the exsisting flame, what has been gained? He did a melachah (lighting a fire) to avoid another one!
Unless extinguishing is worse than igniting.
This topic is wide ranged and we will discuss it more in the future BL”N.
5- We continued the topic of the Chidush of the Alter Rebbe concerning tearing and ripping on Shabbos and Yom Tov.
Last week someone mentioned that modern production of paper may define paper as ‘not one piece’.
Pulp
fibers
Paper
Mendel Nemanov remind us that we spoke about this in the past.
Here it is:
MAKOS 4A – SHIUR (6/17/14)
JUNE 17, 2014 DAF LEAVE A COMMENT
Makos 4a.
- We spoke about the big chiddush of the A”R in Hilchos Shabbos. In short, the A”R states that there are two ‘melochos’ pertaining to cutting/tearing/ripping on Shabbos:
A- Chotech-, which only applies when cutting an object something to measure and/or in an exact line. Such as a perforated sheet or tissue.
B- Ko’rea- which only applies in a case where cutting, ungluing or taking apart any composite material. Meaning that is put together from a bunch of parts. Such as a piece of cloth that is woven from many strands.
Therefore, cutting a paper, which is not a composite, there is no issue to do so on Shabbos unless one forms something new by cutting it.
The Mishna Brurah mentions this chiddush of the A”R but does not mention the A”R’s name! See the attached PDF.
We mentioned that an Israeli Yemenite Rov, a true talmid chochom, Reb Pinchos Zevichi, writes that due to the change in the method of producing paper nowadays (it is a composite of many materials) A”R would agree that even today you would not be allowed to tear a paper on Shabbos.
It is in his book עטרת פז. ח”א.
Others who mention it:
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pagefeed/hebrewbooks_org_51762_62.pdf
http://atranet.co.il/aviadstollman/responsan_new.asp?m=6
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