Laws of Shabbat - Class #10 - JewishPathways.com

Laws of Shabbat - Class #10
Separating things by use of wind or air power.
written by
Alan Goldman
edited by
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
© 2007 JewishPathways.com
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We’ve spent a lot of time dealing with the labor category of Dosh. Now
we’ll turn to a new melacha, called ‘Zoreh’. 1
Zoreh Then and Now
‘Zoreh’ literally means “winnowing” – that is, a further separation of
the wheat kernel from inedible parts of the plant. (This process was
begun by threshing, which we read about in Dosh, part #1.) To
winnow, a person would toss the threshed wheat into the air, and the
lighter, unusable parts (the “chaff”) would get blown off by the wind.
Zoreh is the first of three melachot that deal with separating parts of a
mixture. (The other two – which we’ll examine soon, G-d willing – are
Borer and Meraked.) Even back in the Talmud, the Sages wondered
why we have three labor categories that deal with essentially the same
activity.
One answer is that, although all of these melachot lead to a similar
result, the separating is accomplished by different means. So, as we’ll
see
• Zoreh involves separating through wind or air power 2
• Borer involves separating by hand
• Meraked involves separating via a strainer or similar tool. 3
As it turns out, there aren’t that many practical applications of this
melacha. Let’s examine some of them.
1 Pronounced ‘zoh-REH.’
2 Some include “the scattering of anything into the air” under the heading of Zoreh (see Jerusalem
Talmud - Shabbat ch. 7; 39 Melochos, p. 375).
3 See 39 Melochos, p. 375, for a discussion of this issue, based on Talmud - Shabbat 73b.
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In Practice
Beyond the actual winnowing of grain, what other activities would be
covered by Zoreh?
Examples would be blowing the seeds off a dandelion, or throwing
confetti into the air. Similarly, one would not be allowed to shake
crumbs off a tablecloth out the window, as this would probably cause
the crumbs to be blown by the wind.
One contemporary author suggests that the list should also include
blowing dust off a book; blowing excess sugar off a cookie or other
pastry; shaking dust from a blanket; and similar things. 4
A seemingly logical extension of
Zoreh would be using an
aerosol spray (ozone issues
aside), since this appears to
work by using air power to
project material outwards. In
fact, however, aerosols work by
using pressure, not air.
Therefore, it is acceptable to
use them. 5
4 Based on Magen Avraham 446:2, Rabbeinu Chananel – Shabbat 74; 39 Melochos, p. 376.
5 39 Melochos, p. 377-8; Halachos of Shabbos, IX:D.6 (p. 131) as heard from Rabbi Moshe
Feinstein.
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A Further Issue
Okay, you may be thinking, what if there’s no wind? Would it then be
permissible to do the activities we’ve been discussing?
The halacha says that you should avoid Zoreh activities even if at that
moment there is no wind or a very light wind, since wind is
unpredictable (i.e. you don’t know if a strong wind is about to come
along). 6
In Closing
Zoreh has a limited number of practical applications, but conceptually
it’s an important link in the chain of activities comprising ‘the Order of
Bread’.
We now move on to Borer (Sorting), one of the most fascinating and
detailed of all of the melachot.
6 See Iglei Tal, Borer 4.
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