{"id":9247,"date":"2000-12-03T00:09:27","date_gmt":"2000-12-02T22:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=9247"},"modified":"2019-05-15T10:02:50","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T07:02:50","slug":"12-03-09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/12-03-09\/","title":{"rendered":"09. Items Necessary for Food Preparation"},"content":{"rendered":"
In principle, on Yom Tov one may repair makhshirei okhel nefesh<\/em>, items that are necessary to prepare food on Yom Tov. However, for a variety of reasons, in practice we almost never permit repairing makhshirei okhel nefesh<\/em> on Yom Tov. First, when the repair could have been done before Yom Tov, it is prohibited by Torah law to do it on Yom Tov (Beitza<\/em> 28b). Second, according to some authorities (Ha-ma\u2019or<\/em> and Ran), the permissibility is limited to cases where the repair is partial, whereas a complete repair is prohibited. In many cases, it is difficult to determine which category a specific repair would fit into. For example, the permissibility of sharpening a knife is disputed, with many maintaining that one may not do so because it is considered actually creating a kli<\/em> (SA 509:2). Third, when the repair is not necessary because the food could be prepared even without it, albeit with difficulty, one may not repair the item, as doing so is deemed an excessive and unnecessary effort (Rema 509:1). Fourth, only something that is one step removed from actual food preparation may be repaired, while something two steps away (makhshirei makhshirim<\/em>) may not be repaired. For example, one may not shave down a key in order to unlock the door of a room in which food is located, since the key itself is not necessary for food preparation. It only allows access to the food.<\/p>\n Additionally, even in a case where it is clear that one may repair something used in food preparation, in practice the Sages generally did not allow it, out of concern that as a result of being lenient when it comes to repairing items for okhel nefesh<\/em> that could not have been repaired before Yom Tov, people will end up repairing items on Yom Tov that could have been repaired beforehand, thus transgressing a Torah prohibition (Beitza<\/em> 28b; Rema 509:1). Therefore, a student of halakha<\/em> who knows when repairs are permitted may act in accordance with his knowledge, but if one comes to a rabbi with a question about a particular case without studying the entire issue, he should not be given permission, because he might end up being lenient about what is prohibited.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, when a repair is absolutely necessary for food preparation, the Sages explicitly ruled leniently (Ramban). Therefore one may sweep plaster out of his oven if it is causing the food inside to burn, on condition that he could not have done so before Yom Tov. That would be the case, for example, if the plaster caused the problem on Yom Tov itself, or if one was unaware of the problem before Yom Tov (Beitza<\/em> 28b; SA 507:4). It seems that the Sages felt that the grounds for permitting this necessary repair were easily understandable, so they were not concerned that people would extrapolate incorrectly and permit the forbidden.[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n