{"id":11991,"date":"2026-07-05T00:03:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=11991"},"modified":"2026-08-03T14:26:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T11:26:31","slug":"17-05-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-05-03\/","title":{"rendered":"03. Sitting or Lying on Sha\u2019atnez"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Torah law, one may sit or lie on sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric, even though it provides warmth. The Torah prohibition applies only when the sha\u2019atnez<\/em> is above or alongside the body in the manner of clothing, not when it is beneath the body, as the verse states: \u201cA garment of mixed kinds, sha\u2019atnez<\/em>, shall not come upon you\u201d (Vayikra 19:19). The Sages, however, prohibited sitting or lying on sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric, lest a loose thread wind around one\u2019s skin or one mistakenly use the fabric as a covering. To prevent such errors, they extended the prohibition even when the sha\u2019atnez<\/em> is covered by ten layers of permitted fabric (Beitza<\/em> 14b; SA YD 301:1).<\/p>\n

If the sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric is too stiff to be used as clothing and lies on a firm floor or chair into which the person does not sink, however, the Sages did not prohibit sitting or lying on it. A layer must separate the fabric from the body, so that any loose thread cannot wind around the skin (SA YD 301:1). One may therefore lie on a stiff sha\u2019atnez<\/em> rug when another fabric is spread over it, or sit on a chair upholstered with sha\u2019atnez<\/em> when pants or a dress separate the body from the chair. Even if the upholstery itself is soft, it is treated as stiff fabric as long as it is stretched taut over the chair with nails or glue (Panim Me\u2019irot<\/em> 2:113).[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[2]<\/a>. The Sages prohibited sitting or lying on sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric, lest a loose thread wind around one\u2019s skin. They extended this decree even to a case in which ten layers of bedding separate the person from the sha\u2019atnez<\/em> (Beitza<\/em> 14b). Some maintain that this extension applies only to fabric commonly used for clothing. If the fabric is not ordinarily worn, one may lie on it as long as it is covered (Rid; Riaz; Ran; Maharshal). Most authorities, however, maintain that the decree applies even to fabric not ordinarily used for clothing (Rashi; Rambam; Meiri; Sefer ha-\u1e24inukh<\/em>; Rosh; SA YD 301:1; Levush; Ba\u1e25).<\/p>\n

If the sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric is stiff, however, one may sit on it (Beitza<\/em> 14b). According to most authorities, it must also be covered, so that no loose thread can reach the skin and wind around it (Rambam; R. Shimshon of Sens; SA YD 301:1; Shakh YD 301:4; and others). Some permit sitting on stiff fabric even without an intervening layer (Rid; Riaz; Ritva), while others permit this only when the fabric is extremely stiff, like a donkey\u2019s saddlecloth (Rosh; R. Yeru\u1e25am).<\/p>\n

A further rule applies to sha\u2019atnez<\/em> cushions and pillows. The Mishna permits sitting on them \u201cprovided one\u2019s flesh does not touch them\u201d (Mishna, Kilayim<\/em> 9:2). The Yerushalmi explains that this applies only when they are empty and spread flat over a hard surface. If they are stuffed or placed on a soft surface, so that they bend upward around the person sitting on them, one may not sit on them even with an intervening layer (Yerushalmi, Kilayim<\/em> 9:2; SA YD 301:1). Many explain that this is another application of the prohibition against lying on soft sha\u2019atnez<\/em> even beneath ten layers of bedding: when the cushions can bend upward, a loose thread may once again wind around the body. Others maintain that the cushions\u2019 bending around the body is itself rabbinically prohibited because it is considered placing sha\u2019atnez<\/em> upon oneself. Ginat Veradim<\/em> maintains that this is prohibited by Torah law, as does R. Shlomo Kluger (Tuv Ta\u2019am Va-da\u2019at<\/em>, 3rd series 2:121). It seems to me that this prohibition applies only when the person sinks into the cushion deeply enough that the sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric at the sides becomes more vertical than horizontal, at which point it can be considered a form of wearing.<\/p>\n

Soft sha\u2019atnez<\/em> upholstery that is stretched tightly over a chair, so that it cannot bend upward around the person sitting on it, is treated like a stiff surface. According to most authorities, one may sit on it as long as clothing or another layer separates it from the skin (Panim Me\u2019irot<\/em> 2:113; PT YD 301:1; AHS YD 301:9).<\/p>\n

The Gemara indicates that a sha\u2019atnez<\/em> curtain is prohibited because a servant might occasionally wrap himself in it for warmth (Beitza<\/em> 14b; Rashi). A stiff curtain is permitted, however, since there is no concern that anyone will wrap himself in it (Rambam; Tur; SA YD 301:11). Taz infers from this that one may not lean against the sha\u2019atnez<\/em>-covered side of a wagon, and \u1e24okhmat Adam<\/em> rules likewise (Taz YD 301:2; \u1e24okhmat Adam<\/em> 106:21). Panim Me\u2019irot<\/em>, however, permits leaning against sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric that is fixed in place so that it cannot be wrapped around the body. This is also the ruling of PT, Birkei Yosef<\/em>, Kaf ha-\u1e24ayim<\/em>, and Malbushei Yesha<\/em> (Panim Me\u2019irot<\/em> 2:113; PT YD 301:1; Birkei Yosef<\/em> YD 301:6\u20137; Kaf ha-\u1e24ayim<\/em> O\u1e24 638:52; Malbushei Yesha<\/em> 5:16).<\/p>\n

Even stiff sha\u2019atnez<\/em> fabric may not be placed upon the body for protection, since protection is one of the functions of clothing. Thus, one may not place a donkey\u2019s sha\u2019atnez<\/em> saddlecloth on one\u2019s back in order to carry manure on it (SA YD 301:8).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Torah law, one may sit or lie on sha\u2019atnez fabric, even though it provides warmth. The Torah prohibition applies only when the sha\u2019atnez is above or alongside the body in the manner of clothing, not when it is beneath the body, as the verse states: \u201cA garment of mixed kinds, sha\u2019atnez, shall not come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-05"],"yoast_head":"\n03. 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