In the last shiur we looked at showering on Yom Tov and the tricky question of whether the halacha, as laid down by the Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch, is still unchanged today, give the different reality of bathing habits in the 21st Century. In this shiur we will engage with the issue of dancing […]

The next (and final) group of melachos has to do with the assembling, disassembling and transporting of the Mishkan. Remember, the Mishkan was a portable Temple that was taken down as needed and moved from place to place, where it was then re-assembled. The Mishkan was made up of 48 boards that fit together with […]

The hides were scored to enable them to be cut to pre-measured sizes. This is the melacha of m’chateich. (M’chateich is more than just cutting; it specifically refers to cutting to pre-determined sizes and shapes.) M’chateich applies to virtually all substances except food. One need not use a knife or scissors to cut; m’chateich can […]

The hides were scored to enable them to be cut to pre-measured sizes. This is the melacha of m’chateich. (M’chateich is more than just cutting; it specifically refers to cutting to pre-determined sizes and shapes.) M’chateich applies to virtually all substances except food. One need not use a knife or scissors to cut; m’chateich can […]

One thing about hides: they come in unusual sizes and shapes. In order to turn the hides into the coverings of the Tabernacle, they had to be cut into appropriately-sized and -shaped pieces. Before this could be done, guidelines had to be drawn into the hide. This is called scoring, the melacha of m’sarteit. Drawing […]