Q&A: Washing Dishes on the Sabbath
Washing Dishes on the Sabbath
Question
My parents have a hard time with a dirty sink on the Sabbath. Is there a prohibition of preparing from the holy day for the weekday when washing the dishes in the sink and leaving them out to dry?
And if so, what can still be done?
Thank you, and may you be sealed for a good year!
Answer
If it really bothers them, then wash them. That is something done for the sake of Sabbath enjoyment. Of course, they should be washed properly according to Jewish law (not with hot water, and with a sponge suitable for the Sabbath).
Discussion on Answer
And is putting them out to dry considered preparing from the holy day for the weekday, or not?
Oren,
Indeed. Rabbi Ovadia, for example, permits it.
Amir,
I don’t know what exactly you mean by putting them out to dry. You need to place them somewhere.
Meaning a dish-drying rack (for those of us without a dishwasher). The question comes from the fact that when I put them there, I’m letting them dry on the Sabbath for the sake of the rest of the week. Similarly, maybe that could be compared to folding clothes and putting them in the closet for the rest of the week.
It’s not comparable. You have to put the dishes somewhere, and naturally they dry. So put them in the drying rack.
Rabbi, is there any practical difference if it bothers them only on the Sabbath as opposed to during the week?
That is, if during the week they’re able to leave dishes in the sink until the next day, and only on the Sabbath it bothers them more for some reason, would it still be permitted? Because it seems that in that case they are being more lenient about the honor of the Sabbath than during the week.
If it truly bothers them, then it’s permitted. If it’s just an excuse, then not.
I think the last response from our holy and illustrious Rabbi Michi sums up, in a nutshell, all questions of this kind.
I heard that some permit hot water that comes from a solar water heater, no?