DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 830 KB)
Opening an Umbrella on Shabbat

Is it permissible to open an umbrella on Shabbat, or does this violate the prohibition against making an Ohel – a tent-like structure – on Shabbat? Needless to say, this question assumes that one does not carry the umbrella in an area where carrying is forbidden on Shabbat. Does opening the umbrella itself constitute a violation of Shabbat?

This issue generated considerable controversy among the later authorities, as discussed at length by the Bei'ur Halacha (supplementary work to the Mishna Berura by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, the "Chafetz Chayim," Lithuania, 1835-1933), in Siman 315. Those who allowed opening umbrellas on Shabbat equated umbrellas with a "Kisei Traskal," a kind of chair mentioned by the Gemara which resembled modern-day folding chairs. The Gemara ruled that one may open such a chair on Shabbat, even though he creates a "tent" over the area underneath the chair, because the chair is a single piece that requires no assembly, and one merely pulls the seat down to open the chair. Seemingly, this rationale should apply to an umbrella, as well, since opening an umbrella entails merely extending it outward, and not any kind of assembly or construction.

Others, however, distinguished between the case of a folding chair and that of umbrellas. The Gemara allowed opening a folding chair because one does not open it for the purpose of using the seat as an "Ohel" to protect him from the elements. An umbrella, by contrast, is intended for the specific purpose of protecting one from the rain or sun, and therefore indeed constitutes an "Ohel." Accordingly, the Noda Be-Yehuda (work of responsa by Rabbi Yechezkel Landau of Prague, 1713-1793), among others, forbade opening umbrellas on Shabbat. This is the position taken by the vast majority of recent and contemporary authorities, as well, including Rabbi Moshe Halevi, in his work Menuchat Ahava, and Chacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Yechaveh Da'at. It should be noted that once Halacha forbids opening an umbrella, closing an umbrella becomes forbidden, as well.

Summary: One may not open or close an umbrella on Shabbat.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Yom Kippur-Kohanim &Levi’im Washing Their Hands
Yom Kippur: The Prohibitions of Melacha, Eating and Drinking
Yom Kippur-Halachot of Eating and Smelling
Reciting the Beracha Over a Candle on Mosa'e Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur – May Somebody Receive an Aliya or Serve as Hazzan if He Needs to Eat or Drink
When Does Yom Kippur Begin?
If One Must Eat on Yom Kippur
The Yom Kippur Fast – Guidelines For a Woman Who Has Just Given Birth
Kapparot For a Pregnant Woman
Yom Kippur- What if a Person Faints on Yom Kippur?
Yom Kippur- How Much should a Sick Person Drink on Yom Kippur?
How is a Brit Milah Performed on Yom Kippur?
Yom Kippur- When Can Those With Heart and Kidney Conditions, Diabetics and Those Recovering from Surgery Eat?
Yom Kippur: Kiddush for One who Eats if Yom Kippur Falls Out on Shabbat?
The Yom Kippur Eve Prayer Service When it Falls on Friday Night
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found