Shabbat 71 articles

In the past several melachos, we stretched our vertical warp threads on the frame, set the heddles, and wove our cloth. The final stage of the weaving process is potzei’ah, detaching...

We have threaded the warp with the vertical threads (see Melacha #17) and set the heddles to raise and lower these threads in succession (see Melacha #18). Our loom is now...

After the warp threads have been stretched on the frame, the heddles have to be set. The heddles are the part of the loom, typically made of wire, that separate the...

We now enter the first of several melachos pertaining to the weaving process. There are several prerequisites that one must accomplish before sitting down to weave. The first is threading the...

By this point, we have nice combed, dyed wool, ready to be spun into thread. Spinning entails the twisting of fibers together; this is the melacha of toveh. This melacha can...

After combing out the wool, but prior to spinning it to thread, the material was dyed. The coverings of the Tabernacle were dyed by dipping them into various colored solutions; changing...

After shearing the wool off of the sheep and scrubbing it clean, the wool had to be combed to untangle it. This is the melacha of menapeitz. Menapeitz applies to any...

So, here we have wool that has been shorn off the sheep and we are ready to turn it into cloth. Wool is pretty filthy at this point, so the first...

The first eleven melachot were agricultural in nature, relating to the production of dyes (and/or the lechem hapanim). The next thirteen melachot were those involved in making the curtains and coverings of...

As noted earlier, the first eleven melachot are collectively referred to a “sidurah d’pas,” the order of bread. Accordingly, the eleventh melacha listed in the mishna (Shabbos 4:2) is ofeh (baking), the...