The Law of Walking on Shabbos
[1] (Halacha 508)
Question: Is it permitted to run or jump or leap on Shabbos?
Answer: The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos1 says: 'וכבדתו מעשות דרכיך .. מעשות דרכיך - שלא יהא הילוכך של שבת כהילוכך של חול .. אלא שלא יהא הילוכך של שבת כהילוכך של חול .. כיון דלא אפשר - שפיר דמי .. ' ("And you shall honor it by not doing your own ways .. by not doing your own ways - that your walking on Shabbos should not be like your walking on a weekday .. rather that your walking on Shabbos should not be like your walking on a weekday .. since it is not possible - it is well permitted ..").
If so, we have seen that one should not walk on Shabbos in the manner of his weekday walking [and the details of this will be explained in the coming halachos], but nevertheless in a case where he has no other option it is permitted.
And so too regarding running on Shabbos, the Gemara in Maseches Brochos2 says: 'אמר אביי: '.. למיעל [להכנס - לבית הכנסת] מצוה למרהט [=לרוץ], שנאמר נרדפה לדעת את ה'. אמר רבי זירא: מריש כי הוה חזינא להו לרבנן דקא רהטי לפרקא בשבתא [=שרצים בשבת לשמוע את הדרשה], אמינא: קא מחליין [=מחללים] רבנן שבתא. כיון דשמענא להא דרבי תנחום אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי: לעולם ירוץ אדם לדבר הלכה ואפילו בשבת, שנאמר אחרי ה' ילכו כאריה ישאג וגו' - אנא נמי רהיטנא' ("Abaye said: '.. to enter [to enter the synagogue] it is a mitzvah to run, as it says "let us pursue to know Hashem." Rabbi Zeira said: At first, when I would see the Rabbis running to the lecture on Shabbos [=running on Shabbos to hear the derasha], I would say: The Rabbis are desecrating the Shabbos. Once I heard that which Rabbi Tanchum said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: A person should always run for a matter of halacha, even on Shabbos, as it says "they shall follow after Hashem, He shall roar like a lion" etc. - I too run'").
If so, we have seen that even for a matter of a mitzvah it is permitted to run even on Shabbos.
Question: Is this merely a dispensation to run when one is hurrying to prayer, or is it a mitzvah just as it is on weekdays, in accordance with the words of Abaye?
Answer: The Meiri3 wrote: 'One who comes to the synagogue or to hear words of Torah, it is a mitzvah to run even on Shabbos, for it was said that one's walking on Shabbos should not be like one's walking on a weekday only regarding an optional matter.' It is explicit in his words that even on Shabbos there is a mitzvah to run to the synagogue.
Indeed the Tzelach wrote4: 'There, "a person should always run etc. and even on Shabbos." And one must examine that which Abaye said above regarding "to enter it is a mitzvah to run," why he did not say that even on Shabbos it is so. And it appears to me, in my humble opinion, that Abaye above is speaking even where his time is not pressing, that he can come to the synagogue even if he does not run and will arrive there before they begin to pray, even so it is a mitzvah to run to show his desire for this mitzvah, and then specifically on a weekday it is permitted but on Shabbos it is not permitted except when he is compelled to run because the time will pass, and those who were running to the lecture on Shabbos are speaking of where his time is pressing5 such that if they do not run they will not arrive at the beginning of the derasha'.
That is to say, according to his words, on Shabbos there is no mitzvah to run to the synagogue, but rather it is only a dispensation in a case where, if he does not run, he will be late for prayer.
And some have inferred thus from the language of the Rambam6, that although in Hilchos Tefillah7 he wrote: 'and it is a mitzvah to run to the synagogue', nevertheless in Hilchos Shabbos8 he wrote: 'it is permitted to run on Shabbos for a matter of a mitzvah, such as running to the synagogue or to the beis midrash'9.
But the Mechaber wrote10: 'It is a mitzvah to run when one goes to the synagogue, and likewise for every matter of a mitzvah, even on Shabbos when it is forbidden to take a large stride, but when one exits the synagogue it is forbidden to run'. And from the plain meaning of his words it appears clear, like the words of the Meiri, that even on Shabbos there is the mitzvah to run to the synagogue.
And so it is explicit in the words of the Alter Rebbe11: 'It is a mitzvah to run to the synagogue and likewise for every matter of a mitzvah, as it says "let us pursue to know Hashem" etc., but in any case he should run only until the entrance of the synagogue, but in the synagogue itself he should walk with awe and fear, and even on Shabbos when it is forbidden to take a large stride, and also on a weekday it takes away one part in five hundred of the light of his eyes, even so he should run for every matter of a mitzvah'.
We see in their words that even on Shabbos there is a mitzvah to run to the synagogue, and this is not merely a dispensation when one is late for the time of prayer12.
If so, although in general there is a restriction on walking and running on Shabbos [and we will see the details of this in the coming days], it is permitted and a mitzvah to run to the synagogue even on Shabbos.
Notes:
1 קיג, א ↩
2 ו, ב ↩
3 בית הבחירה ברכות ו, ב ↩
4 ברכות ו, ב. וראה לקו"ש חי"ז ע' 374 הערה 29 ↩
5 השדי חמד במכתב לחזקיהו ברכות ו, ב. כתב על הצל"ח: 'והוא דוחק דמוקים אוקימתא לדברי האמוראים..' ↩
6 ראה גם שו"ת ציץ אליעזר חי"ב סי' יז ↩
7 פ"ח ה"ב ↩
8 פכ"ד ה"ה ↩
9 אך אולי י"ל שמכיון שמצד הלכות שבת מותר, חזר הדין שמצד הלכות תפילה מצוה לרוץ. וראה גם אג"ק חט"ו ע' קפה ↩
10 או"ח סי' צ סי"ב ↩
11 או"ח סי' צ סי"ג. ובהשלמה לסי' שא ס"ב ↩
12 וראה גם בסידור בית מנוחה (להרב יהודה שמואל אשכנזי) קח, ב שכתב: 'ומצוה נמי איכא לרוץ לדבר מצוה או לבית הכנסת אפי' בשבת ש"ע סי' ץ וריש סי' ש"א'. הובא במכתב לחזקיהו שם ↩
[2] (Halacha 509)
In the previous halacha we saw the words of the Gemara that there is a prohibition to walk on Shabbos in the manner of one's weekday walking, and likewise to run on Shabbos.
Question: What, in practice, are the things forbidden on Shabbos?
a) Running:
The Gemara in Maseches Brochos1 says: 'אמר רבי זירא: מריש כי הוה חזינא להו לרבנן דקא רהטי לפרקא בשבתא, אמינא: קא מחליין רבנן שבתא' ("Rabbi Zeira said: At first, when I would see the Rabbis running to the lecture on Shabbos, I would say: The Rabbis are desecrating the Shabbos").
And so wrote the Mechaber2: 'One should not run on Shabbos unless it is for a matter of a mitzvah, such as to the synagogue or the like'. And so wrote the Alter Rebbe3: 'If you turn away your foot from Shabbos etc., and you shall honor it by not doing your own ways etc., that your walking on Shabbos should not be like your walking on a weekday. Therefore it is forbidden to run on Shabbos'.
b) Leaping and jumping:
The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos4 says: 'כי הא דאמר רב הונא אמר רב, ואמרי ליה אמר רבי אבא אמר רב הונא: היה מהלך בשבת ופגע באמת המים, אם יכול להניח את רגלו ראשונה קודם שתעקר שניה - מותר [אף לדלג ולעקור את זו קודם שנחה ראשונה. רש"י] ואם לאו - אסור [=לקפוץ. רש"י]. מתקיף לה רבא: היכי ליעביד? ליקף - קמפיש בהילוכא, ליעבר - זימנין דמיתווסן מאני מיא, ואתי לידי סחיטה! אלא: בהא, כיון דלא אפשר - שפיר דמי [=לדלג. רש"י]' ("As in that which Rav Huna said in the name of Rav, and some say Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rav Huna: One who was walking on Shabbos and encountered a channel of water, if he can set down his first foot before the second is uprooted - it is permitted [even to leap and uproot this one before the first rests. Rashi], and if not - it is forbidden [=to jump. Rashi]. Rava challenged this: How should he act? If he goes around - he increases his walking; if he crosses through - sometimes the water vessels become soaked, and he will come to wringing out! Rather: in this case, since it is not possible - it is well permitted [=to leap. Rashi]").
If so, we have seen that there is a prohibition of leaping, namely when he needs to lift his first foot before he has set down the second, and it was permitted only when he has no other short option.
And so wrote the Mechaber5: 'One who was walking and reached a channel of water may leap over it and jump upon it even if it is wide, such that he cannot set down his first foot before he uproots the second, and it is better that he leap than that he go around it, because he increases his walking; and it is forbidden to pass through it, lest he come to wringing out'.
However, we find in the words of the Alter Rebbe that he divides this into two definitions, as follows:
In the Talmud Yerushalmi it is stated6: 'ר' ירמיה ר' זעירה בשם רב חונה קיפוץ עוקר שתי רגליו כאחת ריקוד עוקר אחת ומניח אחת' ("Rabbi Yirmiyah, Rabbi Ze'ira in the name of Rav Chuna: jumping is uprooting both his feet as one; dancing is uprooting one and setting down one").
And in the Rambam in his Commentary on the Mishnah7 he wrote: 'And leaping is that one of his feet remains standing on the ground and he spreads with the second to another place. And jumping is uprooting both his feet together from the ground and landing in another place'. And so wrote the Rosh8: Leaping. one foot on the ground and he leaps with the other: Jumping. uprooting both his feet and jumping:
And the Alter Rebbe wrote in Likutei Torah9: 'Behold the difference between leaping and jumping is that leaping is with one foot and jumping is with two feet, as explained in the Mishnah in the eighth chapter of Ohalos, "and the one who leaps from place to place and the one who jumps from place to place" (see there in the commentary of Rabbeinu Ovadiah of Bartenura and in the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, and also in the Yerushalmi, chapter five of Beitzah, "jumping is uprooting both his feet as one" etc.)'.
And so he ruled here in the Shulchan Aruch as halacha10: 'It is forbidden .. either to jump, namely to uproot both his feet at once, or to leap, namely to uproot his second foot before he sets down the first'.
Also in the Biur HaGra11 he wrote like the words of the Alter Rebbe that the prohibition is both in leaping and in jumping, and he added that jumping is lighter than leaping, (since in leaping he also spreads his feet widely apart like a kind of large stride)12.
In the coming halacha we will learn about the prohibition to take a large stride
Notes:
1 ו, ב ↩
2 שו"ע או"ח סי' שא ס"א ↩
3 בהשלמה לאו"ח סי' שא ס"א ↩
4 קיג, ב ↩
5 שו"ע שם ס"ג ↩
6 ביצה פ"ה ה"ב ↩
7 אהלות פ"ח מ"ה ↩
8 אהלות שם ↩
9 שה"ש טו, ב ↩
10 בהוספה לאו"ח סי' שא ס"א ↩
11 אות ז הובא במשנ"ב ס"ק ח ↩
12 ולכאורה מלשון אדמו"ר הזקן נראה שנקט מהחמור אל הקל, שריצה יותר חמורה, אח"כ קפיצה אח"כ דילוג, ואח"כ פסיעה גסה, וכפי שביאר בקו"א שפסיעה גסה יש ראשונים שסברו שזה בכלל לא נאסר, וא"כ דילוג קל מקפיצה. [ואולי י"ל שזה יהיה נפק"מ בין אדמו"ר הזקן לגר"א מה להעדיף בעדיפות ראשונה שלגר"א עדיף לקפוץ ואם אי אפשר אז לדלג, משא"כ לאדמו"ר הזקן עדיף לדלג ואם אי אפשר אז לקפוץ. ועצ"ע] ↩
[3] (Halacha 510)
c) Walking
Question: What is the walking that was forbidden on Shabbos?
Answer: The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos1 says: 'אלא כדבעא מיניה רבי מרבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי, מהו לפסוע פסיעה גסה בשבת? אמר לו: וכי בחול מי הותרה? שאני אומר: פסיעה גסה נוטלת אחד מחמש מאות ממאור עיניו של אדם. ומהדר ליה בקידושא דבי שמשי' ("Rather, as Rabbi asked Rabbi Yishmael the son of Rabbi Yosi: What is the law regarding taking a large stride on Shabbos? He said to him: And is it permitted on a weekday? For I say: A large stride takes away one part in five hundred of the light of a person's eyes. And it is restored to him with the Kiddush of Friday evening").
If so, the prohibition of walking on Shabbos includes that one should not walk with a large stride.
However, it requires explanation what is unique2 about this prohibition, for even on a weekday there is a problem with walking a large stride since it is harmful to eyesight? The Maharsha there on the sugya3 explains that on a weekday it is only a danger, whereas on Shabbos, in addition to the danger there is also a prohibition, and this is his language: 'And it concludes that this is a large stride, and on a weekday too it is forbidden because of danger, and this verse teaches us that on Shabbos there is also a prohibition, and the reason it does not also expound here "your ways are forbidden, the ways of Heaven are permitted" is because although there is no prohibition, at any rate there is a danger, and this is straightforward'.
And the Machatzis HaShekel wrote4: 'One can also say there is a practical difference regarding a blind person, that even so on Shabbos it is forbidden'.
An additional explanation was written by the Eliyah Rabbah5: 'It further appears to me that it is possible that that which the Gemara concludes there [on side b] "and it is restored to him with the Kiddush of Friday evening," this Rabbi answered to Rabbi Yishmael, or the Talmud says it, that on a weekday there is a remedy, whereas on Shabbos a prohibition remains'.
And indeed there are Rishonim who held that there is no prohibition of a large stride on Shabbos, as the Alter Rebbe wrote there6: 'For (the opinion of the Tosafos, and the Agudah, and likewise) the implication of the Rambam is that there is no prohibition at all in a large stride, for he wrote "and it is forbidden to leap etc.," implying specifically leaping and not a large stride, for he explains (like the explanation of the Tosafos and the Agudah) that the "large stride" in the Gemara means leaping (and jumping), as explained in the Rif regarding the channel of water, see there'7.
But as halacha the Rema wrote8: 'And it is forbidden to stride more than a cubit in a single stride, if it is possible for him with less'. And so wrote the Alter Rebbe9: 'It is forbidden .. to take a large stride'.
★ ★ ★
Question: What is considered a large stride?
Answer: Rashi wrote10: 'More than a cubit, a medium stride - a cubit'.
And the Or Zarua wrote11: 'Rav Nachman said in the name of Shmuel: One who was walking in a valley and does not know the Shabbos boundary walks two thousand medium strides, and this is the Shabbos boundary. Rashi explained: a stride, the manner of his walking, a cubit. And one who rested in a valley has from his place two thousand in every direction. And I have to learn from here that the large stride that was forbidden on Shabbos is that one should not stride more than a cubit, for a medium stride is a cubit, and anything more than a medium stride is a large stride. And that of the chapter Elu Kesharim, where Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rav, and some say Rav Huna said in the name of Rav, "one who was walking on Shabbos and encountered a channel of water, if he can set down his first foot before the second is uprooted it is permitted, and if not it is forbidden." If so, it implies that he may stride with whatever width he can spread this foot from that, and that is much more than a cubit; it is different there, for it is not possible to cross the channel of water, for Rava permitted more there even though he cannot set down his first foot before the second is uprooted, since since it is not possible it is well permitted'.
And as halacha the Rema wrote there in the gloss: And it is forbidden to stride from a cubit in a single stride, if it is possible for him with less'.
And this is the language of the Alter Rebbe in the Shulchan Aruch there: 'Or to take a large stride, namely any that has in it more than a cubit from the tip of the big toe of this foot to the tip of the big toe of the second foot, if it is possible for him with less, namely that there is no mire and mud or channel of water there, as will be explained; and even on a weekday one should not take a large stride because it takes away one part in five hundred of the light of a person's eyes'.
And in Hilchos Eruvin he wrote12: 'For the manner of a person's walking is a cubit from the tip of the big toe of this foot to the tip of the big toe of this foot, for he distances about half a cubit between one foot and the other, and the place of the position of the foot with the shoe is also about half a cubit'13.
If so, it is forbidden to walk on Shabbos with a large stride, namely strides that have a distance of a cubit14 from the start of one big toe to the start of the second big toe
In the coming halacha we will learn what the law is when there is a need for a mitzvah
Notes:
1 קיג, ב ↩
2 ראה עולת שבת או"ח סי' שא ס"ק ב ↩
3 וכ"כ הלבושי שרד או"ח סי' שא ס"ק ב. שם על המג"א ס"ק א ↩
4 או"ח סי' שא ס"ק ג ↩
5 סי' שא קו"א ס"ק א ↩
6 וכ"כ הראב"ן שבת סימן שס: 'לא יפסיע פסיעה גסה בשבת והוא קפיצה שקופץ שעוקר שתי רגליו מן הארץ, אבל פסיעה שמניח רגלו האחד קודם שיעקור השני שרי' ↩
7 שו"ע או"ח סי' שא ס"א בהג"ה ↩
8 השלמה לשו"ע או"ח סי' שא ס"א ↩
9 שבת קיג, ד"ה גסה ↩
10 הל' עירובין סי' קמג. וראה הגהות אשרי עירובין פ"ד סי' ב, הובא בדרכי משה או"ח סי' שא אות א ↩
11 סי' שצז ס"ב ↩
12 בשוע"ר עם דובר שלום בהערות על הסימן אות ט העיר דמ"ש אדמו"ר הזקן שמקום מצב הרגל עם המנעל הוא חצי אמה, זה לפי ההבנה שאמה זהו 60 ס"מ וא"כ הרגל עם הנעל יחד זה 30 ס"מ, אך אחרי שאדמו"ר הזקן חזר בו ולומד שאמה זה 48 ס"מ א"כ חצי אמה זהו 24 ס"מ שזה גודל הרגל בלי הנעל (וראה שיעורי תורה להגר"ח נאה ע' נו - נז והערה י) ↩
13 ולהעיר שבשונה מפסיעה גסה שאסורה רק משיעור אמה, לגבי איסור ריצה שנתבאר בהלכה הקודמת כתב הפרי מגדים שם בא"א ס"ק א: *'ובשבת י"ל אף פסיעות קצרות פחות מאמה, כל שהוא בריצה אסור בשבת'* ↩
[4] (Halacha 511)
Question: For the sake of a mitzvah, is it permitted to take a large stride on Shabbos?
Answer: This halacha in its entirety is not found in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe in the supplement to siman 301, and to our sorrow only the beginning of the halacha was printed, that is, in se'if 1 the Alter Rebbe wrote the prohibition of running, leaping, jumping, and a large stride, and afterward the beginning of se'if 2 was printed and there it is written: '2. To what does this apply? To one going for an optional matter, but if he (missing)'.
Indeed we have found Acharonim who discussed whether only running is permitted for the sake of a mitzvah, or also the large stride. And there are those who wrote that a large stride is forbidden even for the sake of a mitzvah, as the Pri Megadim wrote, in the Rosh Yosef1: 'One should not take a large stride etc., it is a mitzvah to run, behold one should not stride a large one, even for a matter of a mitzvah, for it takes away the light of one's eyes, see siman 301 se'if 1. Rather this is what it means: even one whose way and nature is to take a large stride and cannot easily refrain, nevertheless from the synagogue he should force himself in this, but to the synagogue it is a mitzvah to run, not a large stride, for it takes away the light of his eye. And see siman 90 se'if 12, and there it will be explained with G-d's help, and there it is stated it is forbidden to run, not a large stride, and see the Maharsha, part one, and the Rif there, it implies that a large stride to the synagogue is a mitzvah2 and in my humble opinion, where harm is common, one cannot say "those on a mission for a mitzvah [are not harmed]" but rather as it is stated, it is a mitzvah to run, not a large stride more than a cubit, see siman 301'. And in a similar vein the Tzelach wrote3.
And likewise we find that the Eshel Avraham (of Butchatch)4 discussed this, although in practice he inclined that it is permitted to take a large stride for the sake of a mitzvah, and this is his language: 'At present I have not seen it explicit5 whether it is permitted to take a large stride on the holy Shabbos for a matter of a mitzvah; regarding that which it is forbidden to run on the holy Shabbos, it is explicit that for a mitzvah it is permitted to run even on the holy Shabbos, but concerning a large stride I have not seen it explicit at present. But since when one needs to it is permitted to take a large stride, and likewise it is permitted to jump over the river so as not to increase walking, as in the Shulchan Aruch [se'if 3], it appears that so it is for a mitzvah, that it is permitted to take a large stride, needless to say if it is not possible for him in another manner. But also if by this he will do the mitzvah with more alacrity and speed, perhaps it is permitted, and this requires thorough examination'.
However, we find already in the Rishonim who wrote plainly that for the sake of a mitzvah a large stride is permitted, as the Ra'avan wrote6: 'Rav Huna said: Anyone who exits the synagogue should not take a large stride, that is to say he should not run, and Abaye said: We said this only regarding exiting, but regarding entering, all the more so should he stride, as it is written "let us know, let us pursue to know Hashem" ..'. And so wrote Rabbeinu Yerucham7: 'And he should not take a large stride except if for a derasha or for the synagogue'.
And so several of the Rishonim wrote explicitly also regarding Shabbos, as the Meiri wrote8: 'And matters of Heaven are permitted, such as communal affairs or the affairs of the many, and betrothals and matchmaking and the pledging of charity, and a large stride to go to the synagogue and the beis midrash'. And so it is written in the Sefer HaNiyar in a gloss9: 'One should not take a large stride on Shabbos unless for a matter of a mitzvah and pleasure, such as for the young men who take pleasure'. And so it is written in the Leket Yosher10: 'As is proven in the Semak, that he permits taking a large stride for young men [he wrote in his work, and likewise to see any thing that those who take pleasure take pleasure in] at a run, even though it is forbidden to take a large stride on Shabbos. And it appears to me, in my humble opinion, the reason is that since they take pleasure in it, it is considered a matter of a mitzvah and matters of Heaven, and for a matter of a mitzvah it is permitted to run'.
And so the poskim wrote11 in the words of the Mechaber12 who wrote: 'It is a mitzvah to run when one goes to the synagogue, and likewise for every matter of a mitzvah, even on Shabbos when it is forbidden to take a large stride'.
And ostensibly this is also the intent of the Alter Rebbe13 who wrote: 'It is a mitzvah to run to the synagogue and likewise for every matter of a mitzvah, as it says "let us pursue to know Hashem" etc., but in any case he should run only until the entrance of the synagogue, but in the synagogue itself he should walk with awe and fear, and even on Shabbos when it is forbidden to take a large stride, and also on a weekday it takes away one part in five hundred of the light of his eyes, even so he should run for every matter of a mitzvah'.
And especially according to the words of the Alter Rebbe14 who wrote that there are several Rishonim who hold that there is no prohibition at all of a large stride on Shabbos15, but rather the entire prohibition is only running and leaping (and jumping).
If so, in practice, for the sake of a mitzvah, such as walking to the synagogue, it is permitted to take a large stride even on Shabbos.
Notes:
1 ברכות ו, ב. ופרמ"ג סי' צ א"א ס"ק כה ↩
2 ולהעיר ממ"ש הצל"ח לקמן בדברי המהרש"א בשבת ↩
3 שבת קיג, א: 'וצ"ל לדברי מהרש"א דלרוץ אינו חמור כ"כ כמו פסיעה גסה, ואף דפסיעה גסה אסור אף לדבר מצוה משום סכנה, מ"מ ריצה מותרת' ↩
4 סי' שא ↩
5 אמנם בדורות האחרונים נדפסו כל הראשונים דלקמן שכתבו מפורש שמותר, וכמסקנתו (ראה אורחות חיים ספינקא סי' שא אות ב) ↩
6 ברכות סי' קכט ↩
7 תולדות אדם וחוה נתיב יב ח"א סה, ב ↩
8 שבת קיג, ב ↩
9 הל' שבת (הוצאת מכון ירושלים ע' כ) ↩
10 או"ח עמוד נח ענין ג ↩
11 ראה שמירת שבת כהלכתה פכ"ט דין ז הערה יב שכ"מ מלשון השו"ע. וכ"פ בפסקי תשובות סי' שא אות ב. וכ"כ הר"י פרקש בשבת כהלכה ח"ה ↩
12 או"ח סי' צ סי"ב ↩
13 שו"ע או"ח סי' צ סי"ג, וראה גם באור הההלכה (דאוידאוויטש) סי' צ חידושים אות יג, ושוע"ר עם ביאורי הלכה (גרשוביץ) ↩
14 קו"א שם ס"ק א ↩
15 וכמו"כ לכאורה נראה מדברי אדמו"ר הזקן באיסור ההליכה בשבת בסי' שא שבס"א נקט באופן של מהחמור לקל, ואם מצינו שלצורך מצווה מותרת הריצה, א"כ כ"ש שתהי' מותרת גם הפסיעה גסה. וראה גם דברי הצל"ח שם שכתב: 'לולא דברי המהרש"א וחשבתי בדעתי דלרוץ הוא יותר מפסיעה גסה' ↩
[5] (Halacha 512)
a) To run for pleasure when the running itself is a pleasure.
Question: Is it permitted to jump on a trampoline on Shabbos, or to jump rope, or running games such as the game of tag?
Answer: We learned that it is forbidden to run, to leap, and to jump on Shabbos. But nevertheless we find in the words of the poskim cases in which it is permitted, as follows:
The Semak wrote1: 'And likewise he should not leap and should not run for his affairs to profit, but for a matter of a mitzvah it is permitted, and it appears to me that young men who take pleasure in their running and in their jumping, it is permitted, for they do not wish to profit, and likewise to see any thing that they take pleasure in seeing'.
And the Mechaber wrote2: 'Young men who take pleasure in their jumping and their running, it is permitted. And likewise to see any thing that they take pleasure in (and likewise it is permitted to stroll)'.
If so, we have seen that one who has pleasure in the very act of running is permitted to run. And as the Alter Rebbe explains3: 'Things whose prohibition is due to the aspect of the way of a weekday, such as "that your speech (see siman 307 se'if 1 in the gloss) and your walking on Shabbos should not be like on a weekday," when one takes pleasure in them there is here the matter of the delight of Shabbos and not the way of a weekday'.
[However there are those who wrote that this dispensation is not ab initio, as the Bach wrote4: 'That the young men who take pleasure in their running and in their jumping on Shabbos were permitted only after the fact, since they have already become accustomed to running and jumping for the sake of pleasure on Shabbos; if we protest against them we nullify from them their delight of Shabbos, but ab initio, if they come to ask, one should not permit them, for we are concerned, since on a weekday they are accustomed to this in order to profit, in the manner of "if you precede your doves to the pigeon coop" (Sanhedrin 25a), they will do so on Shabbos in order to profit. And this is what the Semak means, "young men who take pleasure in their running etc.," for since he has already felt in himself that it is a pleasure to him, even though he does not profit in his running and in his jumping, one should not nullify his pleasure and it is permitted to him as he was accustomed'.
And so wrote the Eliyah Rabbah5: 'Those who take pleasure etc. That is, boys who play together (Agudah Shabbos siman 132). And specifically after the fact, that they are accustomed to this, but ab initio one should not accustom them (Bach se'if 3, s.v. aval)'.
But in the Shulchan Aruch he wrote without qualification, and the implication of his language is that it is permitted even ab initio, as the Magen Avraham wrote6: 'And their running is permitted. It implies even ab initio, unlike the Bach who was forced'.]
If so, it is permitted to jump or to run on Shabbos when it is done for pleasure.
★ ★ ★
b) Running to see something that one takes pleasure in
Question: Is it permitted to run in a case where the person does not enjoy the very act of running, but rather the purpose of the running is to reach a place where he will enjoy himself?
Answer: The Semak wrote there at the conclusion of his words: 'And likewise to see any thing that they take pleasure in seeing'. And the Acharonim disputed his intent: There are those who wrote that from the plain meaning of his language it appears that he permits running even when he runs to see something that he takes pleasure in. And so wrote the Bach there: 'And likewise it is permitted for them to run or to leap in order to see it, since he runs only to take pleasure in seeing it, for he fulfills the matter through running and leaping thus, since he does not do it to profit, for then it is certainly forbidden, for it is his walking of a weekday'. And so wrote the Eliyah Rabbah7: 'And likewise to see etc. That is, to run in order to see'. And in a similar vein the Olas Shabbos wrote8: 'That is, that it is permitted to run on Shabbos to see a thing that one takes pleasure in seeing'.
But there are those who wrote that his intent is only that it is permitted to see any thing that one takes pleasure in. But not to run in order to see a thing that one takes pleasure in, and so wrote the Taz9: 'And if so, also regarding one who runs to see here, the running and jumping were not permitted to him, but rather the intent is to permit the seeing alone', for the running that was permitted is only 'the jumping of the young man who has the pleasure at the time that he runs and jumps', and not when 'at that time that he runs he has no pleasure', for then 'we do not permit it to him on account of the pleasure that will follow afterward'.
And likewise the Magen Avraham explained10: 'And likewise to see. That is, even though it is forbidden to see figures as stated in siman 307 se'if 15, nevertheless if the seeing is a delight to him it is permitted to see, and the Bach explained that it is permitted to run in order to see a thing of delight'11.
However the Alter Rebbe there raised a difficulty on the Taz and the Magen Avraham and wrote at the conclusion of his words: 'Therefore, the clearest is according to the plain meaning of the language of the Semak, and as the Beis Yosef12 (and the Bach) and the Eliyah Rabbah wrote'. That is to say, that it is permitted to run in order to see a thing that one takes pleasure in. And so too it appears from the s.v. of this Kuntres Acharon, 'to run in order to see'.
If so, it is permitted13 for a person to run on Shabbos in order to see a thing that causes him delight of Shabbos14.
Notes:
1 מצוה רפא ↩
2 שו"ע או"ח סי' שא ס"ב ↩
3 שו"ע או"ח בהשלמה לסי' שא קו"א אות ב ↩
4 או"ח סי' שא ↩
5 סי' שא ס"ק ה ↩
6 שם ס"ק ג ↩
7 שם ס"ק ו ↩
8 שם ס"ק ג ↩
9 שם ס"ק א ↩
10 שם ס"ק ד ↩
11 נחלקו הפוסקים מה הכרעת המג"א למעשה, המחצית השקל והלבושי שרד כתבו שלדינא סובר כפירוש הב"ח. אך התוס' שבת והפמ"ג סוברים שהכריע כהט"ז, וראה מ"ש ברביד הזהב סי' שא אות ד ↩
12 הטור או"ח סי' שא כתב: 'כתוב בספר המצות בחורים המתענגים בקפיצתם ובמרוצתם מותר וכן לראות כל דבר שמתענגים בו מותר לראותו'. וכתב הבית יוסף: 'אלא שבדברי רבינו מיותר מותר האחרון דלישנא הכי איתיה בסמ"ק בחורים המתענגים בריצתן וקפיצתן מותר וכן כל דבר שמתענגים בו לראותו'. ומדבריו (ראה כנישתא דבי רב על הקו"א ע' תשעג אות לט) שכתב שהמותר השני מיותר מובן שלמד שזה אותו היתר לרוץ מתוך הנאה או לרוץ כדי להגיע למקום בו נהנים ↩
13 וכ"פ המשנ"ב שם ס"ק ו ושעה"צ ס"ק ז ↩
14 לא מצאנו ברור בדברי הפוסקים אם היתר הריצה לראות הוא רק כאשר לולא הריצה יפסיד את התענוג, או גם כאשר בריצתו הוא רק מקדים את התענוג מותר 'כיון שאינו עושה להרוויח' (לשון הב"ח הנ"ל) היינו שאין הריצה שלו קשורה לענייני חול. וראה שבת כהלכה ח"ה ↩
[6] (Halacha 513)
We learned that there is a prohibition to run, to leap, and to jump, and to take a large stride on Shabbos. We also saw that for the sake of a mitzvah the matter is permitted.
Question: What is the law when there is mud and a puddle - is it permitted to jump and leap over it, or must one walk around it even though this lengthens the way?
Answer: The Alter Rebbe wrote1: 'It is forbidden to run on Shabbos or to jump .. or to leap .. or to take a large stride .. if it is possible for him with less, namely that there is no mire and mud (a) or channel of water there, as will be explained'.
And in the Kuntres Acharon2 he wrote: 'It is explained that they permitted even to leap so as not to increase walking, and if so it is obvious that if there is before him a little mire and mud and he has some distress at soiling his foot, that he is permitted to stride over it with a large stride so as not to increase walking, for there is no logic at all to say that it is forbidden for him to increase walking too, but rather he is obligated to walk in the midst of the mire to shorten his way'.
However, in the continuation of his words there in the Kuntres Acharon he wrote: 'Even if you say that the avoidance of distress is not considered a delight, at any rate one may be lenient in this, for (the opinion of the Tosafos and the Agudah, and likewise) the implication of the Rambam is that there is no prohibition at all in a large stride'.
And according to this, ostensibly it is only regarding a large stride that the Alter Rebbe ruled to permit (on the grounds of the reasoning that there are Rishonim who hold that there is no prohibition at all in it) and not regarding leaping and jumping, which are more stringent. And so wrote Rav Chaim Naeh3: 'And likewise if there is before him a little mire and mud and he has some distress at soiling, he may stride over it with a large stride, so as not to increase walking, and if the place of the mire is very wide he may go around it', and in a note he wrote: 'the Alter Rebbe in the Kuntres Acharon siman 301 os 1, see there, that he permitted only to stride over the mire but did not decide regarding leaping over it'. And so it is written in the Birkas HaShabbos4.
But on the other hand, from the plain meaning of the words of the Alter Rebbe in the body of the halacha it appears that leaping too is permitted5. And so it appears from his words at the beginning of the Kuntres Acharon where he wrote that he is permitted to increase walking6 so as not to enter the mire, and if so it is even permitted to leap so as not to increase walking.
And in the Minchas Shabbos he wrote7: 'And see in my responsum Ahavas Shalom siman 13 where I proved there that the same applies in a place where there is ice and frost and he fears lest he slip and fall there, that there is also a dispensation to stride over it with a large stride or by leaping if it is not possible with a stride, and if it is not possible even by leaping it is permitted to go around the way even though he will thereby need to increase walking on Shabbos'.
If so, in practice, when it is within his ability, he should pass over the mud with a large stride without leaping. But in a case where he cannot with a large stride, it is preferable that he leap rather than increase walking by going around.
★ ★ ★
Question: Is it permitted to run out of fear, because one does not want to be delayed outside, or on account of rain and the like?
Answer: The Minchas Shabbos wrote8: 'And as it appears, the same applies when one is walking in the street and there are dogs barking there and he fears them lest they bite him, and all similar such concerns, that it is permitted to take large strides and to run in order to distance himself from them so that they will not see him, or to go around the way even though he thereby increases walking, so it appears at first glance. And likewise when rains are pouring down in the street or the wind is storming and he cannot bear it, it is possible that it is likewise permitted to take large strides and to run so that he will come quickly to his home and it is ostensibly no worse than mire and mud mentioned at the beginning of this se'if katan, and it is possible to say that with the words "if it is possible for him with less" mentioned in the Rema at the beginning of siman 301, he comes to exclude all these aforementioned, and understand this well'.
And although, as stated above, in the words of the Alter Rebbe it is not simple that the avoidance of distress is considered like a delight9, nevertheless when it is great distress one can say that according to all opinions it is permitted to run and to leap, as Rav Chaim Naeh wrote10 on the words of the Minchas Shabbos: 'And according to us it is a matter that is obvious that they are much worse than a little mire and mud where he has some distress, and all the more so, and it is an a fortiori argument, that it is permitted'.
If so, we have seen that several of the Acharonim wrote that even according to the words of the Alter Rebbe, who did not write plainly that the avoidance of distress is considered like a delight, nevertheless in order to avoid great distress, such as to flee from barking dogs or from pouring rain, it is permitted for him to run.
Notes:
1 השלמה לסי' שא ↩
2 ס"ק א ↩
3 קצות השלחן סי' קז ה"ג אך ראה לקמן הערה 5 ↩
4 סי' שא ע' מד. אך ראה בשבת כהלכה ח"ה ↩
5 ראה שוע"ר (גרשוביץ) מקורות והוספות אות א. וראוי לציין שדברי אדה"ז אלו לא נדפסו בזמן שהגר"ח נאה הדפיס את חיבורו ↩
6 ראה מכון לשבתך בביאורים לקו"א ע' לה, העתיקו בכנישתא דבי רב תשסז - ח אלא שכתבו שלפי דברי אדה"ז בכת"י הע' כ, יש צד לומר שאסור לו להאריך הדרך כאשר הוא יכול להכנס לתוך הרפש וטיט כשאין חשש סחיטה (כגון כאשר יש לו מגפיים וכדומה) וכתבו שעפ"י דברי התהלה לדוד סי' שא ס"ק ג י"ל שכך הוא להלכה (ולכן כתבו שי"ל שלדברי אדמו"ר הזקן אין להקל לדלג). אך לכאורה פשטות דברי אדמו"ר הזקן למעשה היא כמשמעות דברי האחרונים דאיסור מרבה בהילוך הוא קל מאוד והלכך במקום רפש וטיט עכ"פ מותר להרבות בהילוך וא"כ מוטב שידלג שהוא קל יותר מלהרבות ↩
7 סי' צ אות ג ↩
8 סי' צ אות קמ ↩
9 וכמו שהעיר במכון לשבתך בהילכתא גבירתא להלכה ב, הובא בכנישתא דבי רב שם: 'וצ"ע מש"כ המנחת שבת הנ"ל לדייק מדברי רבינו דמותר לרוץ מפני הגשם וכו', דמאחר שרץ כדי למנוע מצער חשוב כמו תענוג ושרי, דהא רבינו מסופק בסברא זו והאיך יש לפשוט מדבריו להקל לדינא' ↩
10 קצוה"ש שם הערה ה ↩
[7] (Halacha 514)
We saw the words of the Gemara in Maseches Shabbos1: 'אמר רב הונא אמר רב, ואמרי ליה אמר רבי אבא אמר רב הונא: היה מהלך בשבת ופגע באמת המים, אם יכול להניח את רגלו ראשונה קודם שתעקר שניה - מותר, ואם לאו - אסור. מתקיף לה רבא: היכי ליעביד? ליקף - קמפיש בהילוכא, ליעבר - זימנין דמיתווסן מאני מיא, ואתי לידי סחיטה! אלא: בהא, כיון דלא אפשר - שפיר דמי' ("Rav Huna said in the name of Rav, and some say Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rav Huna: One who was walking on Shabbos and encountered a channel of water, if he can set down his first foot before the second is uprooted - it is permitted, and if not - it is forbidden. Rava challenged this: How should he act? If he goes around - he increases his walking; if he crosses through - sometimes the water vessels become soaked, and he will come to wringing out! Rather: in this case, since it is not possible - it is well permitted").
And from this Gemara we learned that one should not increase walking for no reason on Shabbos (and therefore they permitted in certain cases to leap and to run, as we learned).
And so ruled the Mechaber2: 'One who was walking and reached a channel of water may leap over it and jump upon it even if it is wide, such that he cannot set down his first foot before he uproots the second, and it is better that he leap than that he go around it because he increases walking, and it is forbidden to pass through it, lest he come to wringing out'.
And so wrote the Alter Rebbe3: 'If there is no mire there etc. Even if you say that the intent of the Hagahos Ashri is to exclude from the channel of water that is in se'if 3, at any rate from there it is explained that they permitted even to leap so as not to increase walking, and if so it is obvious that if there is before him a little mire and mud and he has some distress at soiling his foot, that he is permitted to stride over it with a large stride so as not to increase walking, for there is no logic at all to say that it is forbidden for him to increase walking as well, but rather he is obligated to walk in the midst of the mire to shorten his way'.
In the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe4 a gloss from a manuscript was brought, and in it two approaches among the poskim regarding the prohibition of increasing walking: 'And it is further possible that the Hagahos Ashri5 from the Or Zarua6 goes according to his reasoning, that he holds that the prohibition of increasing walking and the concern of the prohibition of wringing out are equivalent, as the Rema wrote in siman 6137, if so it is possible that in a place where there is no concern of the prohibition of wringing out, such as mire and mud, it is also forbidden to increase walking, and he is obligated to walk in the midst of the mire to shorten his way, whereas according to the implication of the Acharonim there8 that the prohibition of increasing walking is set aside before the concern of the prohibition of wringing out, evidently this prohibition of increasing walking is very light, and therefore in a place of mire and mud in any case it is permitted to increase walking, and if so it is better that he leap too9'.
[There is one who wrote10 that the intent is not that a person must always be precise in his walking on Shabbos, seeking to walk by the shortest way so that he not increase walking, for this is something not found in the poskim. Rather, the prohibition is when the person is not interested at present in the walking itself, but rather is interested in reaching a certain destination; in such a case he must walk by the shortest way].
However, all this is regarding routine walking, but a person who strolls for his enjoyment has no restriction in walking, as it is written in the Tosefta11, brought in the Beis Yosef12: 'One does not run on Shabbos in order to exercise, but one may stroll in his usual manner and need not be concerned, even all day long'.
And so wrote the Rema13: 'And likewise it is permitted to stroll. Beis Yosef'. And so wrote the Levush14: 'And likewise it is permitted to go about the streets and marketplaces to stroll in his usual manner but not to exercise'.
[To note from the words of the Rebbe Rashab15: 'Strolling on the holy Shabbos day is not pleasing at all .. and especially regarding the matter of strolling on the holy Shabbos, when at that time the whole world strolls, one will not be cleansed of evil, G-d forbid, and one who guards his soul should distance himself from this'].
If so, it is forbidden to increase walking on Shabbos unless it concerns a person who walks on Shabbos for the purpose of strolling for his enjoyment
★ ★ ★
Question: Is it permitted to walk for the sake of exercise?
Answer: The Magen Avraham wrote16: 'It is permitted to stroll. Even if his intent is to exercise and to warm himself thereby, but it is forbidden to run in order to warm oneself [Beis Yosef in the name of the Tosefta], and this requires examination, for he takes pleasure in this, and one must say that it speaks of where he does it for a remedy, as stated in siman 328 se'if 42'.
However, the Eliyah Rabbah17 wrote: 'And behold, the implication of the Levush is that even if he walks and does not run, if his intent is to exercise it is forbidden, but according to the Magen Avraham anything that is not running is permitted, and the words of the Levush appear correct from that which is stated in the Tosefta chapter 17 there, "an animal that ate many fruits, one walks it about etc.," which implies that for a person it is forbidden18, and so it implies from the Rema'.
And the Kaf HaChaim wrote19: 'However, the Eshel Avraham os 5 wrote that it is not necessary as the words of the Levush, and one can say as the words of the Magen Avraham, see there; and likewise the Pesach HaDvir os 3 wrote to object to the words of the aforementioned Eliyah Rabbah and agreed with the words of the Magen Avraham, see there. And so it appears is the opinion of the Tosefes Shabbos os 5'.
In the Mishnah Berurah20 he wrote: 'And likewise it is permitted to stroll - even if his intent is to exercise and to warm himself for the sake of a remedy, at any rate it is permitted since the matter is not evident that he is doing so for a remedy, but it is forbidden to run in order to warm himself for a remedy since the matter is evident, and it is forbidden because of grinding herbs; and there are those who are stringent even regarding strolling if his intent is to exercise for a remedy'.
Therefore, ab initio it is fitting to be concerned for those who are stringent, but in a place of need one may rely on the majority of the poskim who permitted21.
--------------
Notes:
1 קיג, ב ↩
2 שו"ע או"ח סי' שא ס"ג ↩
3 בשו"ע סי' שא קו"א ס"ק א [וראה גם שו"ע אדמו"ר הזקן סי' שכג ס"ה. וסי' שלג ס"ג] ↩
4 מהדורה החדשה הערות על הקו"א הערה כ ↩
5 עירובין פ"ד ס"ב ↩
6 הל' עירובין סי' קמג ↩
7 ס"ח: 'וכ"מ דמותר לעבור במים, אפילו היה לו דרך שיכול להקיף ביבשה, מותר לעבור, דלמעט בהילוך עדיף' ↩
8 כדלקמן שם סי"ג וש"נ ↩
9 שמבואר בגמ' שהוא קל יותר מלהרבות בהילוך ↩
10 שבת כהלכה ח"ה ↩
11 שבת פט"ז הכ"ב ↩
12 או"ח סי' שא. ולהעיר שדין זה הובא בב"י בהמשך לדברי הסמ"ק שמותר לבחורים שמתענגים בריצה לרוץ בשבת ↩
13 שו"ע או"ח סי' שא ס"ב בהג"ה ↩
14 שם ס"ב ↩
15 קונטרס עץ חיים אות כה ↩
16 או"ח סי' שא ס"ק ה ↩
17 סי' שא ס"ק ז ↩
18 וכתב המשנ"ב בשעה"צ סי' שא ס"ק ט: 'אף דראיתו מהתוספתא אינה מוכרחת להמעיין, אמנם ברמב"ם פכ"א מהל' שבת הכ"ח משמע קצת כוותיה' ↩
19 שם אות יג ↩
20 סי' שא ס"ק ז ↩
21 ראה שבת כהלכה ח"ה ↩
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