A new series based on The Sabbath by Dayan I. Grunfeld

After tanning, the hides had to be scraped to remove any stray hair. Scraping a surface to make it smooth is the melacha of m’macheik. This melacha is not limited to animal hides and similar items; sanding a block of wood or scrubbing a pot with steel wool are likewise m’macheik. Even using bar soap […]

The hides that were removed from the animals had to be preserved and transformed into leather. This entailed salting the skins to remove all moisture, stretching the skins to flatten them, and working the leather to make it supple. Collectively, these constitute the process of tanning, though performing any one of them would violate the […]

After the animal was slaughtered, its hide was removed. This is the melacha of mafshit, skinning. The melacha of mafshit can apply to any animal – mammal, fish or bird – that has a skin which can be removed. Mafshit is one of those melachos that one is not likely to encounter very frequently. For […]

After capturing the animal, the next step in preparing the hides was to slaughter it. This is the melacha of shocheit. Practically speaking, shocheit includes killing a creature, even without causing it to bleed (such as by drowning or suffocation), plus causing bleeding, even without death. Most of us don’t go around indiscriminately killing animals, […]

The next seven melachos involve the hides that were used in the coverings of the Mishkan. The first step in getting these hides was trapping the animal. This is the melacha of tzod. Tzod is an unusual melacha in that it is highly subjective. Closing the door to a room containing a loose bird might […]

As mentioned in the previous melacha, the Mishkan was draped with coverings composed of several panels sewn together. Repairing these coverings required tearing the damaged area so that it might be corrected and re-sewn. This melacha, called korei’ah, is the reciprocal of tofeir, the act of sewing. It’s important to note that this tearing was […]

Chanukah Specific Reminders: Keep the menorah away from curtains or any other flammable objects. Keep the menorahs away from the reach of small children. When making latkes, keep ALL children away from the hot oil. When making latkes, remember to turn frying pan handles away from the edge of the stove, so that they do […]

The Mishkan was draped with a series of coverings. The coverings were made of individual panels that were sewn together into two large tapestries that were then joined by clasps. Connecting the individual panels one to another required sewing, which is the melacha of tofeir. Tofeir entails joining any two objects together, not just through […]