Q&A: Brushing Teeth on the Sabbath
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Brushing Teeth on the Sabbath
Question
Hello Rabbi, it is commonly said that if brushing will definitely cause bleeding, then it is forbidden to brush on the Sabbath because it is an inevitable result. But isn’t that a case of neither possible nor intended, which the Rabbi said is permitted even in a case of an inevitable result?
Answer
With an inevitable result, there is no exemption of unintentional action. Whether it is possible or not possible does not play a role in the laws of the Sabbath. I once discussed the explanation of this matter in my lectures, and at the moment I do not remember.