DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 474 KB)
Is It Permissible To Hang a Bag of Bread on a Hook

May one hang a bag or basket containing bread on a hook in a pantry, or on the wall, such that the bread is suspended in the air?

Chacham Benzion Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998) in Or L’tzion, Helek 2, addressed this question and cited the Gemara's comment in Masechet Pesachim (111b), "If something is suspended in one's home, it brings poverty." Rashi explains this as referring to suspending a bag or basket of bread in one's home. Certainly, then, one would want to avoid hanging bread on a hook.

The question was asked as to whether teachers may hang their young students' knapsacks on hooks on the wall in school, given that the knapsacks generally contain the children's lunches. If a teacher hangs the knapsacks, does he expose himself to the risk mentioned in the Gemara?

Chacham Ben Tzion noted that Rashi speaks specifically of one who "hangs his bread," suggesting that the Gemara refers only to hanging one's own bread on a hook. The threat of poverty does not present itself to somebody who hangs a bag of somebody else's bread.

Thus, one must ensure not to hang a bag or basket containing his own bread on a hook on the wall or in a closet, but he need not be concerned of hanging a bag with somebody else's bread.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Taking Fertility or Birth Control Pills on Shabbat
May a Doctor Receive Payment for Medical Services Provided on Shabbat?
Violating Shabbat for a Woman and Newborn After Childbirth, and for Fetal Distress During Pregnancy
Violating Shabbat to Care for a Woman After Childbirth
Violating Shabbat For the Sake of a Woman in Labor
Resuscitating an Unconscious Patient on Shabbat
Using Suppositories or an Enema on Shabbat
Taking A Blood Test on Shabbat
Exercising on Shabbat
The Use of a Baby Monitor on Shabbat
Food Cooked by a Gentile on Shabbat for an Ill Patient
Turning Off a Light for an Ill Patient on Shabbat
Desecrating Shabbat to Help a Frightened Child
Violating Shabbat to Treat a Fever
Desecrating Shabbat for a Tetanus Shot or After Ingesting Something Sharp or Toxic
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found