Q&A: The Holiness of Sacred Books
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Holiness of Sacred Books
Question
1. Is it permitted to get dressed in a room that has sacred books in it? (Do they need to be placed inside something, and if so, is there a problem with something transparent?)
2. Is it permitted to place a sacred book upside down, and in what way is it forbidden?
3. Is it really forbidden to place, say, a Talmud on top of a Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), etc., according to their order of importance? And what about when I’m carrying the books, so I put the biggest one on the bottom and the smaller one on top of it, etc.? Or when I want to save space, so I place them one on top of another in the same way?
Answer
- https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/66826
- The custom is not to, out of respect for it.
- The custom is not to place them that way. See here: https://www.hidabroot.org/question/271699. When you’re carrying them, do whatever is convenient for you.