Ask The Rabbi...
August 13, 1994 Issue #30

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This issue is dedicated in the memory of Mr. Isadore Kaplan O.B.M.

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This edition contains:
1.  Velcro and Shabbat.
2.  Throwing coins into a wishing well.

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Ed from the University of Georgia writes:

>Dear Rabbi,

>Is Velcro permissible on Shabbat? My thought is that unsealing Velcro must 
>tear the threads because the material can wear out.  

>Thanks. 

* * * * * *

Dear Ed,

Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth in his classical book Shemirath Shabbath Kehilchata 
writes that it is permissible to use Velcro on Shabbat.  Velcro is 
essentially the hooking of strands on the one piece through loops on the 
other.  Even if some strands do in fact tear, they are an insignificant 
few, and besides, they are not designed to tear.  Velcro does eventually 
wear out, but only after a great deal of use.  An analogy would be walking 
across a lawn on Shabbat.  Even though an occasional piece of grass may be 
uprooted when you walk over it you certainly didn't intend to uproot it.  
Since it is not for sure that a strand will tear, it is not forbidden to 
use Velcro on Shabbat.

Just to give you a sense of how Velcro has become a part of Shabbat 
fashion, Rabbi Twerski of Milwaukee, who is the scion of a Chassidic 
dynasty, has a gartel (ceremonial belt worn during prayer) that is fastened 
by Velcro.  And who said that Chassidic clothing is straight out of the 
18th century!!!

Sources:
o  Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth - Shemirath Shabbath Kehilchata 15:78.
o  Maimonides - Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shabbat 1:5.

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Rivka from Maryland asked:

>Is there anything wrong with making a wish and then throwing a coin into a 
>wishing well?

* * * * *

Dear Rivka,

There are a number of possible scenarios here; I'll deal with two of 
them here.  In the first one, a coin is thrown into a fountain or the 
like, but it will eventually be retrieved by someone and given to charity.  
In this case it would be permitted for a Jew to throw the coin and make a 
wish, provided of course that the wish is directed to Hashem, asking 
Him to fulfill the wish.  (Asking another force or power to grant a wish 
is tantamount to idol worship).  The Talmud states that it is permitted 
for a Jew to give charity and ask that such and such happen, because even 
if he is not granted his request from Hashem he will not regret having 
given charity.

In the second scenario, the money is being thrown into a well, where it is 
irretrievable.  I asked Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, shlita, a renowned 
Halachic authority, and he told me that it would be forbidden in this case 
because it would be a waste of the coin, which violates the prohibition of 
'bal tashchit,' (do not waste).

The second scenario reminds me of a joke I once heard.  Three men, one of 
whom was a Jew, were standing around the grave of a friend.  According to 
the local custom, all the friends threw money into the grave so that the 
deceased would have money in the Hereafter.  The grave was filled and the 
friends went off to have a drink in honor of their dear friend.  While 
sipping their respective beverages, one of the friends announces "I threw 
in five hundred dollars!"  The next friend, proudly exclaims "I threw in a 
thousand dollars!"  Looking meditatively into the distance, the Jewish 
friend says "I removed the five hundred dollars, and I removed the thousand 
dollars, and I left a check for twenty-five hundred." 
 
Sources:
o  Talmud - Tractate Rosh Hashana 4a.
o  Maimonides - The Commentary of the Mishna, 
   Tractate Sanhedrin, ch. 11, principle no. 5.
o  Deuteronomy 20:19. 

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