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...
Pouring Into a Sink With a Strainer on Shabbat
Paying a Doctor for Services Rendered on Shabbat; Renting a Hotel Room for Only Shabbat
Is a Wife Bound by Her Husband’s Early Acceptance of Shabbat?
At What Point in the Friday Night Prayer Service Does One Accept Shabbat?
Asking a Gentile to Turn On a Light for a Frightened Child, or To Turn On the Heat or Air Conditioning
Scheduling a Wakeup Call on Shabbat
Opening a Refrigerator Door on Shabbat if the Light Was Not Disengaged
Shabbat Candle Lighting – The Custom to Light Two Candles; Lighting When the Parents are Away for Shabbat
If the Person Who Recited Kiddush is Unable to Drink the Required Amount of Wine
Eating and Drinking Before Kiddush
Until When May a Woman Light Shabbat Candles on Friday Afternoon?
When is the Latest Time for Eating the “Se’uda Rebi’it” Meal on Mosa’eh Shabbat?
Shabbat – Using an Urn with a Water Level Indicator
Shabbat – Wearing a Garment That Causes Static Electricity
Leaving Water on an Open Lame Before Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found