Q&A: Tightening the Metal Strip of a Mask on the Sabbath
Tightening the Metal Strip of a Mask on the Sabbath
Question
In the Gemara in Beitzah (28b), which says that it is forbidden on a Jewish holiday to fix “a spit that was crushed,” even by hand, because of the labor of the final hammer blow, and this is how it is ruled in the Shulchan Arukh (509:1): if the spit became bent to the point that it cannot be used, repairing it is a Torah prohibition, and if it can still be used even while bent, it is rabbinically forbidden to fix it because of “repairing a vessel” (see the Biur Halakhah there, s.v. “oto”). In light of this, the Magen Avraham rules (340, subsection 11) that it is forbidden on the Sabbath to straighten a needle that became bent, and for this reason it is also forbidden to straighten the arm of eyeglasses and the like (Kaf HaChayim, subsection 60). Accordingly, one might say that it is forbidden to tighten the metal strip of the mask over the nose because of the labor of the final hammer blow.
Answer
A needle or a spit are utensils, and straightening them prepares them for use. Here, bending the metal wire is itself the use, not preparation for use. These cases are not comparable at all. You are making formal analogies here (in both places, metal is being straightened), but common sense says there is no connection whatsoever.
When does something begin to count as use and stop being preparation of the object? (Maybe it depends on the dispute between the Magen Avraham and the Shulchan Arukh HaRav versus the Chazon Ish regarding covers of vessels.) Seemingly, the leniency here should be that sometimes I prefer it tight and sometimes not, so this is not really a repair.