Q&A: Drumming on the Sabbath
Drumming on the Sabbath
Question
The Arukh HaShulchan wrote: “In my humble opinion, a simple reason appears: our clapping and dancing were never prohibited in the first place, because in the time of the Sages this was done while singing with musical instruments, and they would clap, beat time, and dance according to the rhythm of the song, and this also seems to be implied by the Jerusalem Talmud. But nowadays this is not done at all while singing with musical instruments; rather, when people sing songs of joy vocally, they clap hand to hand as mere clapping, not according to the musical rhythm.” (Arukh HaShulchan, Orach Chayim 339:10.) My question is: doesn’t this contradict the rule, “when the reason no longer applies, the decree is not thereby annulled”?
Answer
It seems that he means this was never included in the original decree at all. It is a different kind of drumming, and not merely a change in the reason. The boundary between the cases is of course very fine, but he has many examples for this in the halakhic decisors, among both the medieval authorities (Rishonim) and the later authorities (Acharonim).
In general, the rule that when the reason no longer applies there are still exceptions, based on various mechanisms (like the one I described above). See my article on changing rabbinic enactments: