Laws of Shabbat - Class #27 - JewishPathways.com

a way that a person wants. As a result, many authorities say that this
kind of coloring is permitted on Shabbat. 18
Other authorities don’t like this exception. They recommend that we
should wipe colored stains with a cloth that is (1) not white and (2)
not the same color as the stain. 19
Disposable cloths (such as napkins and paper towels) can be used
according to everyone. There’s no issue of improving their appearance
since they are thrown out right away. 20
(It is important to take care in handling a paper towel that is fully
saturated, as moving it will inevitably cause liquid to be squeezed out,
which is a prohibition of sechitah – see Lesson #9.) 21
Spinning - Toveh
Once the wool was dyed in the
Tabernacle, it needed to be spun into a
form that could be used to create fabric.
Such spinning is known as Toveh, 22 and
was accomplished by twisting the
individual strands of wool into a stronger,
“continuous thread.” 23
The idea behind Toveh has little
application outside of spinning thread or
some other fiber (for example, twisting cotton to form a wick). 24 These
would be prohibited whether the spinning is done by hand or using a
spinning wheel.
18 Mishnah Berurah 320:59; 39 Melochos, p. 753-54.
19 Principles of Hilchos Shabbos, ‘Tzoveyah’. White is not recommended because any color will
show up on it, and using the same color as the stain is not recommended because the stain acts to
deepen the color of the fabric.
20 Mishnah Berurah 302:57; 39 Melochos, p. 755.
21 As discussed there, some opinions are lenient regarding paper towels.
22 Pronounced toe-VEH.
23 Mishnah Berurah, appendix to Orach Chaim 344; 39 Melochos, p. 757.
24 Sha’ar HaTziyun 514:52; 39 Melochos, p. 758.
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