DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 5.86 MB)
Shabbat – Using Mouthwash, Eating Food for Medicinal Purposes

The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 328:36) writes about a certain gum-like substance that people would chew as a remedy for dental problems, and he writes that it is forbidden to chew this substance on Shabbat. Since this is chewed as medicine, it violates the prohibition of Refu’a (healing) on Shabbat. However, the Shulhan Aruch adds, one is allowed to chew gum for the purposes of freshening his breath. Bad breath, the Shulhan Aruch writes, is not considered an "ailment" for purposes of Halacha, and so "curing" it is allowed on Shabbat.

Based on this ruling of the Shulhan Aruch, Hacham Ovadia Yosef writes that it is entirely permissible to use mouthwash or other breath-freshening substances on Shabbat. One is allowed to gargle mouthwash or spray his mouth to freshen his breath on Shabbat, as this does not constitute "Refu’a." By the same token, it would be permissible to apply non-medicated powder into one’s shoes, or onto one’s socks or feet, to eliminate the odor.

In the next passage (328:37), the Shulhan Aruch writes that any food which healthy people normally eat is allowed to be eaten for medicinal purposes on Shabbat. A classic modern-day example would be drinking tea with lemon and honey to alleviate a sore throat. Even if the patient drinks the tea solely as a remedy, to soothe his throat, it is nevertheless permissible, since tea is something which even healthy people drink. The same would apply to sucking a candy to alleviate pain in the throat.

Another example is drinking prune juice to cure constipation. Since prune juice is also commonly drunk by healthy people, and is not used only as a remedy, one may drink it as a laxative. Hacham Ovadia also mentions the example of eating vegetables as a remedy for heartburn, which is entirely permissible, since vegetables are also eaten by healthy people.

Summary: It is permissible to use mouthwash or other breath-freshening agents on Shabbat. Any food or drink which people normally eat or drink may be eaten or drunk for medicinal purposes on Shabbat. Thus, for example, it is permissible on Shabbat to drink tea to alleviate a sore throat or to drink prune juice to alleviate constipation.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Is There a Requirement Nowadays to Give Portions of a Slaughtered Animal to a Kohen?
Showing Respect to a Kohen
Lighting a Candle in Memory of the Deceased
Reciting She’hehiyanu Upon Seeing a Friend or Loved One for the First Time in 30 Days
Can a Minor be Counted as the Tenth Person for a Minyan?
Saying the Name of a City That is Named After a Pagan Deity
Does One Recite a Beracha When Seeing the President of the United States?
The Disqualification of a Kohen Who Accidentally Kills
Reciting Tikkun Hasot in the Afternoon During the Three Weeks, and Every Night
Sources of the Concept of Gematria
Does a Minor Recite Birkat Ha’gomel?
Praying at the Graves of the Righteous
The Prohibition Against Taking A Short Cut Through a Synagogue
Eating a Special Meal on Rosh Hodesh
Reciting “Va’ani Tefilati” and “Mizmor Shir” When Praying Minha Privately on Shabbat Afternoon
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found