DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 726 KB)
Some Laws of Chol Ha'mo'ed

Chacham Ovadia Yosef rules in Chazon Ovadia (p. 193) that it is permissible on Chol Ha'mo'ed to shower or bathe as one normally does, with hot water and soap. One may similarly comb his hair as usual on Chol Ha'mo'ed, despite the possibility that he will thereby detach some hairs. Chacham Ovadia also allows (p. 194) mopping floors on Chol Ha'mo'ed. In accordance with the view of the Shulchan Aruch (532), Chacham Ovadia permits nail cutting on Chol Ha'mo'ed, both on the fingers and toes. It is also permissible to polish shoes on Chol Ha'mo'ed (p. 195).

The Shulchan Aruch (535:1) writes that one may not move from one residence to another during Chol Ha'mo'ed, unless he moves from a rented residence to a residence that he owns. Even if one wishes to move to a more spacious and comfortable residence, he may not move on Chol Ha'mo'ed unless he currently lives in a rented home and moves to a property that he owns.

Although the Shulchan Aruch mentions a prohibition against removing refuse from one's home during Chol Ha'mo'ed, Chacham Ovadia (p. 196) rules that contemporary conditions are such that Halacha would permit removing the garbage from one's home to where it is collected by the local sanitation services. He applies this ruling even in cases where one is able to wrap and store his trash in such a way that it would not emit a foul odor. This is the ruling as well of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (contemporary authority in Israel), as recorded in the journal Mevakshei Torah (106).

Finally, it is permissible to prepare wicks on Chol Ha'mo'ed for candle lighting on Erev Shabbat and Erev Yom Tom (p. 197).

Summary: It is permissible on Chol Ha'mo'ed to bathe, shower, comb one's hair, mop floors, cut nails, polish shoes, remove the trash from one's home, and prepare wicks for candle lighting. One may not move into a new residence on Chol Ha'mo'ed, unless he moves from a rented home to his personally-owned property.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Newspaper Delivery on Shabbat
The Status of Food Suitable Only for Animal Consumption With Respect to Muktzeh
If a Non-Jew Did Not Return a Rented Animal Before Shabbat
Renting Utensils to a Non-Jew before Shabbat
Asking a Gentile on Shabbat to Bring Something From One's Car
Eating After Sundown on Shabbat if One Began Se'uda Shelishit Before Sundown
Handling Mail Received on Shabbat
The Significance of the Word "Shabbat"
Ereb Shabbat: Haircutting, Nail Cutting, Bathing, and Immersing in a Mikveh
Cutting Vegetables for a Salad on Shabbat
Sitting or Leaning on a Car on Shabbat
Wearing a Handkerchief in a Public Domain on Shabbat
Is it permissible to use diapers with adhesive strips on Shabbat?
Home Construction on Shabbat
Hiring a Non-Jew to Perform a Task Which Might be Done on Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found