Q&A: Umbrella on the Sabbath 2
Umbrella on the Sabbath 2
Question
Hello Rabbi, a0
I would be glad to hear your view on the arguments for forbidding and permitting an umbrella on the Sabbath - a0
I have seen people reject the reasoning to forbid it because of a tent from several angles - a0
A. An umbrella has no walls
B. An umbrella does not stand stably; you have to hold it the whole time
C. An umbrella has a built-in opening mechanism, so it is similar to a tallit that has strings intended for opening, or to roofs with a mechanism and opening hinges, as mentioned by the Rema in 626.
And all the more so if it was already open from before the Sabbath, there is even less of a problem. And I saw that even the Biur Halakha, who forbids it, mentions there a different kind of umbrella, one that actually requires connecting parts, unlike ours.
And a further question – suppose that the custom is to forbid it; does that justify a person not going to pray on the Sabbath solely because of appearance to onlookers? Or because if he gets wet he may come to wring out water?
Answer
Indeed, it is very difficult to forbid an umbrella strictly as a matter of law. Simply speaking, this is only a custom.
As for the force of customs, there is no clear-cut way to lay down hard and fast rules. The question is whether people will understand that this is a leniency and not come to permit other things that are actually forbidden.
That person does not go to pray because he does not want to get wet, not because of appearance to onlookers (like the story about the yeshiva student who did not want to pay the train fare to go visit his parents, because we hold: from their money and not from his, and Rabbi Chaim told him to walk).
A few weeks ago someone sent me a business proposal he had developed to create an umbrella kosher for the Sabbath, and he wanted a halakhic opinion. Wait a bit and maybe something will come onto the market. I myself once initiated something like this too, and I had a very amusing story with one of the leading halakhic decisors about this matter, but this is not the place to go into it.
Discussion on Answer
There is no prohibition of making a tent here because it is temporary (as with opening the canopy on a baby stroller). There certainly would be no tent prohibition if the umbrella were opened before the Sabbath began (at least a handbreadth). In the past there was a prohibition here of building—I think the Noda B'Yehuda forbade it on those grounds—but today the main prohibition is because people think there is a prohibition here because of a tent… Because of that very concern, the Chazon Ish forbade umbrellas. But opening huge umbrellas (that are attached to a table) was permitted, because they did not exist at the time of the decree (maybe in the Mishnah Berurah / Biur Halakha).
I'm very curious about the amusing story with one of the leading halakhic decisors. Can the Rabbi share it with us?
I just remembered it. Nothing earth-shattering. I had an idea to produce a rigid umbrella (not one that opens), so that it would be clear that it is not really an umbrella from the standpoint of appearance to onlookers, and I asked his opinion whether I would be allowed to use such a Sabbath umbrella. He thought for a moment and said that in his opinion yes. Then I asked: and what if I manufacture and sell it to the public? At that point he stopped me and said: wait, I need to think. He went into the room, and after a few minutes came out and said that it is forbidden, since it is no less a case than a "Jerusalem hat," which the Shulchan Arukh forbade (a hat whose brim is a handbreadth).
I went home fairly amused, because on the personal level I would come out with a ruling permitting it for me, but on the public level things are examined with greater strictness. The story stirred thoughts in me on various levels, but this is not the place to elaborate.
Isn't it forbidden because of the law of making a tent?