DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 588 KB)
Mukse – the Status of Chicken Bones and Eggshells

Objects that are not suitable for use by human beings, but are suitable for animals, do not have the status of Mukse on Shabbat, and thus may be handled. A common example of such an object is soft bones, such as chicken bones. Although people cannot make use of bones, they are suitable for dogs. Therefore, in a place where there are dogs, chicken bones do not have a status of Mukse, and may be handled on Shabbat.

However, an object that can be used by neither people nor animals does, indeed, have the status of Mukse. A common example of this kind of item is an eggshell, which has no value to humans or animals, and is therefore consider Mukse. In fact, Rav Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1869) held that it is forbidden to peel a boiled egg on Shabbat, unless one does so in a manner that does not require handling the pieces of shell, meaning, the egg comes out of shell, rather than pieces of shell being removed. Hacham Ovadia Yosef disputes this ruling, noting that there is no indication in the Talmud or later authorities that peeling an egg is forbidden on Shabbat. Certainly, however, after an egg is peeled, the shells have the status of Mukse and may not be handled. It is therefore advisable to peel an egg directly over a garbage can. If one peels an egg over a counter, for example, and the shells fall onto the counter, it would be forbidden to remove them from the counter until after Shabbat.

Another concern involving eggshells is the prohibition against rendering a functional utensil Mukse on Shabbat. If one peels an egg over an empty utensil, such as a bowl or dish, the utensil becomes Mukse by virtue of its serving as a "base" for a Mukse object. Halacha forbids rendering a usable item Mukse on Shabbat, and it is therefore forbidden to peel an egg over an empty utensil on Shabbat. If one wishes to peel an egg over a utensil, he should first put some food into the utensil. This way, when the eggshells fall into the utensil, the utensil will be a "base" for both permissible and forbidden objects, and thus does not become Mukse. As mentioned, one can simply peel the egg over a trashcan, and thereby avoid all Mukse-related problems involving the shells.

Summary: Chicken bones are not considered Mukse on Shabbat, because they are suitable for dogs. Eggshells, however, are not usable for people or animals, and are therefore considered Mukse on Shabbat. One may peel an egg on Shabbat, but after peeling the egg he may not handle the eggshells. Furthermore, one may not peel an egg onto a functional utensil unless there is already something usable (such as food) in the utensil. It is advisable to peel boiled eggs directly over a trashcan, in order to avoid all Mukse-related problems.

 


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