My son recently stopped wearing a necktie and lace-up shoes on the Sabbath. He explained that otherwise he fears transgressing the prohibition against tying knots on the Sabbath. I am concerned, as I do not wish that he appear slovenly especially on the Sabbath, which might not reflect well on him regarding possible shidduchim. Is he correct in this matter?
A Concerned Mother
Via E-mail
Synopsis: The proximity in Parashat Vayakhel of the mitzvah to rest and refrain from work on the Sabbath to the description of the construction of the Tabernacle is explained by Rashi citing the Mechilta as a warning that the 39 melachot – labors used for the Tabernacle – are forbidden on the Sabbath. Among them is “ha’kosher v’ha’matir” –tying and untying [a knot]. The Mishna (Shabbos 111b) mentions that tying and untying knots like camel drivers and sailors is forbidden on the Sabbath.
Rashi explains these as knots of permanence. Chayyei Adam (Topic 26-27: 1-2) states that any knot tied to last for a lengthy period is of permanence, but some view a tightly squeezed (tied) knot as permanent as well, so some people avoid such knots. The Mechaber (Orach Chayyim 317:1) adds that knots similar to skilled craftsmen’s incur a Korban Chattat. Rema brings Rashi, Rosh, Rabbenu Yerucham, and Tur who disagree about the length of time a knot must remain tied to be considered of permanence (24 hours to a week).
Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Kaf HaChayyim, Orach Chayyim, ad loc sk 2) observes that while there is no sin offering today, there remains a consequence – one’s testimony as a halachic witness is invalidated, which becomes especially relevant when serving as a witness for a betrothal or kiddushin.
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Answer: The Gemara in Shabbos (74b) seeks to find the actual instance of tying employed in the Tabernacle that serves as the source for the av melacha of kosher – tying. (Here the word kosher is from the root koof–shin–resh, which means to tie. The word kosher used with food comes from a different root, chaf–shin–resh, meaning ritually fit for use, and while spelled the same in English it is an entirely different word in Hebrew unrelated to kosher – tying.)
The Gemara first offers that they would tie the curtain to the pegs driven into the ground that held the Tabernacle in place. Then the Gemara questions this because that tying was not for any sort of permanence as the Tabernacle would be assembled and disassembled as the encampment moved from place to place.
The Gemara then offers an alternative: When the curtains were being woven, strings would break, necessitating the two broken ends to be tied together. The problem with this explanation is that we do not see a source for including untying as a forbidden labor. The Gemara then explains that if the weavers noticed two knots adjacent to each other, they would untie the one and tie the other. (Rashi s.v. “ve’katar chad” explains that rather they would leave the other tied as it was.) The Gemara does not accept this as it would be unseemly. (Rashi explains that there would be a visible hole remaining in that process as the threads used were thick, and that a different process that involved longer strings must have been used so that knots did not occur close to each other.)
Thus, the conclusion of the Gemara is that the melacha of tying and untying was employed by those engaged in the capture of the chilazon – the Murex trunculus, the creature necessary for the techelet – the royal purple dye. Tying and untying was a necessary labor for producing, using, and enlarging the ropes and nets the trappers used.
Nevertheless, the Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbos 7:2) states that the source for the melacha of kosher is derived from the process of weaving the curtains for the Tabernacle, as Rashi himself states in the Babylonian Talmud, as we noted earlier (111b s.v. “V’elu K’sharim”).
The knots in our Mishna (Shabbos 111b) – of camel drivers and sailors – were mentioned as they exemplify the property of permanence found in the knots that were tied in the Tabernacle, and the Mishna does not mean to say that camel drivers’ and sailors’ knots were found there.
Do we actually know what these knots are? The answer is: not exactly. We do know that camel drivers’ knots accompanied piercing a hole in the camel’s nose (similar to the piercings in ancient times that were done for human nose rings). They would then run a short rope through the camel’s nose piercing, which would form a sort of ring when knotted. To this would be attached the camel drivers’ reins to enable leading or driving the animal.
Similarly, the sailors’ knot is employed in attaching a rope through a hole in the bow of the boat, to which another rope or chain is used for either mooring or anchoring a boat in place. According to Taz (Orach Chayyim 317:sk1) explaining Rambam and Rif, the knot must be one that is firm and sturdy [tight] and one that will be [long-] lasting. In such instance, it will be biblically prohibited to tie it on the Sabbath, but if it is either one that will not be [long-] lasting, or one that is not sturdy, then it is only rabbinically prohibited.
Now Taz explains the opposing view of Rashi and Rosh that it matters not whether the knot is sturdy or not, but rather what was the person’s intent, i.e., does he expect the knot to remain tied indefinitely so that he will not have to retie it? In that case, it would be a biblical violation to untie the knot on the Sabbath. However, if his intent was to untie on the very same day that it was tied, then no violation is encountered, neither biblical nor rabbinical, in his untying it. We see this view clearly in the text of Tur (ad loc.).
(To be continued)
