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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — FOUNDATIONS
Siman שכ״ו · 13 Seifim
Bathing on Shabbos — to discover and understand
סימן שכ״ו
דִּינֵי רְחִיצָה בְּשַׁבָּת
🌱 Foundations Level · מתחילים
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A first approach to Siman שכ״ו: full Hebrew text of the Mechaber, clear English translation, pedagogical explanations of the halachic concepts, modern practical cases and a summary.
Subject: Bathing on Shabbos
Source: Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman שכ״ו (13 seifim)
Compilation: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com
📑 Study Outline
1. The text of the Shulchan Aruch — the 13 seifim of the Mechaber
2. The general context: why this siman, what is the question?
3. The key halachic concepts of this siman
4. The seifim in detail — one by one
5. The Mishnah Berurah — opening entries
6. The position of the Rema — Ashkenazi vs Sephardi differences
7. Modern practical cases
8. Practical summary and rules to remember
9. Comprehension questions
1. The text of the Shulchan Aruch
Siman שכ״ו contains 13 seifim of the Mechaber (Rabbi Yosef Karo) codifying the halachos of bathing on Shabbos.
Seif א
דיני רחיצה בשבת. ובו יג סעיפים:
אסור לרחוץ כל גופו אפי' כל אבר ואבר לבד אפילו במים שהוחמו מערב שבת בין אם הם בכלי בין אם הם בקרקע ואפילו לשפוך המים על גופו ולהשתתף אסור אבל מותר לרחוץ בהם פניו ידיו ורגליו: הגה או שאר איברים כל שאינו רוחץ כל גופו [ב״י בשם הרא״ש פרק תינוקות] והני מילי בחמי האור אבל בחמי טבריא מותר לרחוץ אפילו כל גופו יחד ואין צריך לומר בצוננין והא דשרי בחמי טבריא דוקא בקרקע אבל בכלי לא דאתי לאיחלופי בחמי האור:
Translation: It is forbidden to wash the entire body, and even each limb separately, even with water heated before Shabbos — whether in a vessel or in the ground; and even pouring this water on the body and rinsing is forbidden. But it is permitted to wash with it the face, hands and feet (Rema: or other limbs, as long as one does not wash the entire body). This concerns water heated by fire; but with the hot waters of Tiberias (naturally heated), it is permitted to wash even the entire body at once — and all the more so in cold water. And the permission of Tiberias applies only in the ground, not in a vessel, lest one confuse it with water heated by fire.
What this seif says:
- Forbidden to wash the whole body — and even limb by limb separately — even in water heated before Shabbat, whether in a vessel or in the ground; and even to pour the water over oneself and rub is forbidden.
- But permitted to wash in it the face, hands and feet. Rama: or other limbs — so long as he does not wash his whole body.
- And this of water heated by fire: in the springs of Tiberias it is permitted even to wash the whole body together, and needless to say in cold water — Rama: and this in the ground, not in a vessel, lest it be confused with fire-heated water.
Seif ב
יש אומרים דהא דשרי בחמי טבריא דוקא בשאין המקום מקורה אבל אם המקום מקורה אסור משום דאתי לידי זיעה ואסור וי״א דמותר להזיע בחמי טבריא:
Translation: Some say that the permission of the waters of Tiberias applies only in an uncovered place; but if the place is covered, it is forbidden, because one comes to sweat (zei'ah), and that is forbidden. And some say that it is permitted to sweat in the waters of Tiberias.
What this seif says:
- Some say the permission of the Tiberias springs holds only where the place is not roofed, but a roofed place leads to sweating, and that is forbidden.
- And some say it is permitted to sweat at the Tiberias springs.
Seif ג
אמת המים שהיא חמה אסור להמשיך לתוכה אפילו מערב שבת סילון [פירוש צינור. מרזב וסילון דבר אחד הם של צונן ופי הסילון יוצא חוץ לאמה ומימיו נשפכים לעוקא [פירוש גומא] שבקרקע ואם המשיכו אסורים אפילו המים שנכנסו לה מערב שבת ברחיצה ובשתייה כאלו הוחמו בשבת ואם הביא סילון של מים מערב יום טוב ביום טוב כחמין שהוחמו ביום טוב ואסורי' ברחיצה ומותרים בשתייה:
Translation: A hot water channel — it is forbidden to lead into it, even before Shabbos, a pipe (סילון) of cold water whose end goes outside the channel and whose water spills into a pit in the ground. If one did so, the waters are forbidden — even those that entered before Shabbos — for bathing and drinking, as if heated on Shabbos. And if one led a water pipe in on erev Yom Tov for Yom Tov, it is like water heated on Yom Tov: forbidden for bathing, permitted for drinking.
What this seif says:
- A channel of hot water: forbidden to run a pipe into it — even from the eve of Shabbat — the pipe being of cold water, its mouth issuing outside the channel, its waters pouring into a pit in the ground.
- And if he ran it, the waters are forbidden — even those that entered it on the eve — for washing and for drinking, as though heated on Shabbat.
- And if he brought the pipe on the eve of a festival: on the festival they are as water heated on the festival — forbidden for washing, permitted for drinking.
Seif ד
לא ישתטף אדם בצונן כל גופו ויתחמם כנגד המדורה מפני שמפשיר מים שעליו ונמצא כרוחץ כל גופו בחמין אבל מותר להשתטף בצונן אחר שנתחמם אצל האש:
Translation: One should not douse his entire body in cold water then warm himself before a fire, because he warms (mafshir) the water on him, and he is thereby like one bathing his whole body in hot water. But it is permitted to douse himself in cold water after he warmed himself near the fire.
What this seif says:
- One does not douse his whole body in cold water and then warm himself before the hearth — for he warms the water upon him, and is found as one washing his whole body in hot water.
- But permitted to douse in cold water after having warmed himself at the fire.
Seif ה
י״א שצריך ליזהר שלא לחמם ידיו אצל האש אחר נטילה אם לא ינגבם תחלה יפה:
Translation: Some say one must be careful not to warm his hands near a fire after netilas yadayim without having first dried them well (for the same reason as the previous seif — warming the water).
What this seif says:
- Some say one must take care not to warm his hands at the fire after netilah — if he has not first dried them well.
Seif ו
אסור ליתן ע״ג בטנו כלי שיש בו מים חמין ואפילו בחול מפני הסכנה שפעמים שהם רותחים [אבל מותר להחם בגד וליתנו על בטנו] [טור]:
Translation: It is forbidden to place on one's belly a vessel containing hot water, even during the week, because of the danger — for sometimes it is boiling. (But it is permitted to warm a cloth and place it on one's belly.)
What this seif says:
- Forbidden to set on one's belly a vessel holding hot water — and even on a weekday, because of the danger: at times they are boiling.
- Rama: but permitted to warm a cloth and set it on one's belly.
Seif ז
הרוחץ בנהר צריך שינגב גופו יפה כשעולה מהנהר מפני שלא ישארו המים עליו ויטלטלם ד' אמות בכרמלית לפי שהעולה מן הרחיצה יש רבוי מים על גופו אבל ההולך בר״ה ומטר סוחף על ראשו ועל לבושו לא הקפידו בו:
Translation: One who bathes in a river must dry his body well when he comes out, lest water remain on him and he carry it four amos in a karmelis — since one who comes up from bathing has a lot of water on his body. However, one who walks in the public domain and rain pours on his head and clothes — they were not strict.
What this seif says:
- One who bathes in a river must dry himself well on coming out, so the water not remain on him and he carry it four cubits in a כרמלית.
- Because one who comes up from bathing has much water on his body.
- But one who walks in the public domain with rain pouring on his head and clothes — they were not particular about him.
Seif ח
אדם מותר לטבול מטומאתו בשבת:
Translation: A person is permitted to immerse (tevilah) from his impurity on Shabbos — a person's immersion is not considered a forbidden "repair".
What this seif says:
- A man is permitted to immerse from his impurity on Shabbat.
Seif ט
מותר לרחוץ פניו ידיו ורגליו בדברים שאינם משירים שער מעורבים עם דברים המשירים ובלבד שלא יהיה הרוב מדבר המשיר:
Translation: It is permitted to wash one's face, hands and feet with substances that do not cause hair to fall off, mixed with substances that do — provided the majority is not the depilatory substance (otherwise it would be the melachah of gozez, shearing).
What this seif says:
- Permitted to wash the face, hands and feet with substances that do not remove hair, mixed with substances that do.
- Provided the hair-removing substance not be the majority.
Seif י
מותר לרחוץ ידיו במורסן: הגה דגיבול כלאחר יד שרי ואסור לרחוץ ידיו במלח [אגודה] כ״ש בבורית שקורין זיי״ף בל״א [בנימין זאב סימן רע״ח] או בשאר חלב שנימח על ידו והוי נולד [פרק במה אשה וסמ״ג והגה״מ פכ״א וטור סי' שכ״ח]:
Translation: It is permitted to wash one's hands with bran. (Rema: for kneading in an unusual manner is permitted; but it is forbidden to wash one's hands with salt, and all the more so with soap — called "Zeif" in Yiddish — or with a fat that dissolves on the hand, which constitutes a נולד, a newly created substance.)
What this seif says:
- Permitted to wash one's hands with bran. Rama: for kneading done in an altered manner is permitted.
- Rama: and forbidden to wash one's hands with salt — and all the more with soap, or with tallow that melts on his hand, which would be נולד.
Seif יא
מרחץ שסתמו נקביו מע״ש למוצאי שבת רוחץ בו מיד אבל אם לא סתמו נקביו אע״פ שמאליו הוחם בשבת צריך להמתין לערב בכדי שיעשו לפי שאסור לעשות כן גזירה שמא יחתה בגחלים:
Translation: A bathhouse whose openings were blocked before Shabbos — after Shabbos one bathes there immediately. But if its openings were not blocked, even though it heated on its own on Shabbos, one must wait that evening bichdei she-yei'asu — because it is forbidden to act this way, by a decree lest one stoke the coals.
What this seif says:
- A bathhouse whose openings were stopped on the eve of Shabbat: at the departure of Shabbat one bathes in it at once.
- But if they were not stopped — even though it heated of itself on Shabbat — one must wait in the evening בכדי שיעשו.
- For it is forbidden to do so, by decree lest he stir the coals.
Seif יב
אסור ליכנס למרחץ אפילו להזיע [וי״א דאפילו לעבור במרחץ במקום שיכול להזיע אסור] (רש״י וטור):
Translation: It is forbidden to enter a bathhouse even to sweat. (And some say that even passing through a bathhouse in a spot where one could sweat is forbidden.)
What this seif says:
- Forbidden to enter a bathhouse — even to sweat there.
- Rama: and some say that even to pass through the bathhouse, where he could sweat, is forbidden.
Seif יג
עיר שישראל ועכו״ם דרים בה ויש בה מרחץ רוחצת בשבת אם רוב עכו״ם מותר לרחוץ בה במ״ש מיד ואם רוב ישראל או אפילו מחצה על מחצה אסור למוצאי שבת עד כדי שיוחם:
Translation: A city where Jews and non-Jews live, with a bathhouse operating on Shabbos — if the majority are non-Jews, it is permitted to bathe there immediately at the end of Shabbos; if the majority are Jews, or even half and half, it is forbidden at the end of Shabbos until enough time has passed to heat [the water].
Full text: these 13 seifim constitute the entire codification of the Mechaber for this subject.
What this seif says:
- A town where Jews and non-Jews dwell, having a bathhouse open on Shabbat:
- If the majority is non-Jewish — permitted to bathe in it at the departure of Shabbat, at once.
- If the majority is Jewish, or even half and half — forbidden at the departure of Shabbat, until the time it takes for the water to heat.
2. The general context
What does this siman discuss?
Siman שכ״ו deals with washing and bathing on Shabbos. Bathing is not itself a melachah; yet the Sages forbade washing the entire body in hot water, by a specific gezeirah: bathhouse attendants cheated by heating water on Shabbos and claiming it had been heated the day before — hence the prohibition, to close the door to fraud.
The logic of the siman: the prohibition is not cleanliness but the risk of heating. The entire siman modulates three variables — the temperature of the water (hot / lukewarm / cold), the origin of the heat (fire / Tiberias natural springs), and the extent washed (whole body / face-hands-feet).
Place in Hilchos Shabbos
Siman שכ״ו follows the simanim on fire and cooking, on which it depends: the bathing prohibition is precisely a sayag (fence) around the melachah of heating water. It precedes the simanim on body care (anointing, ointments).
3. The key halachic concepts
Four concepts structure the 13 seifim:
The key concepts of siman שכ״ו:
- חמי האור / חמי טבריא — water heated by fire (forbidden for the whole body) vs Tiberias hot springs (naturally heated, permitted).
- גזירת הבלנים — the decree of the bathhouse attendants: hot water was forbidden because the attendants would heat on Shabbos and lie about its origin.
- זיעה (zei'ah) — induced sweating: entering a bathhouse or a covered place to sweat is forbidden.
- מפשיר — to warm water: indirectly heating cold water on oneself is equivalent to washing in hot water.
The master question: "is this water hot, and where does its heat come from?" — cold water: always permitted; hot water by fire: forbidden for the body, permitted for face-hands-feet; Tiberias water: permitted for the whole body.
4. The seifim in detail — one by one
The 13 seifim cluster into three families:
| Seifim | Theme | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| א-ה | Hot water, Tiberias, warming | Whole body forbidden in fire-heated water; Tiberias permitted; do not "mafshir" |
| ו-י | Safety, drying, soaps | No boiling vessel on the belly; dry on exit; no soap (nolad) |
| יא-יג | Bathhouse, sweating | "Shema yechateh" decree; forbidden to enter to sweat; rule of Jewish/non-Jewish majority |
Reading method: for each seif — (1) hot or cold water; (2) heated by fire or naturally; (3) whole body or part; (4) is there a risk of heating or sweating; (5) conclusion.
5. The Mishnah Berurah — opening entries
The Mishnah Berurah has 40 entries on this siman. The opening ones illuminate seif א:
משנה ברורה (א) — (א) אסור לרחוץ וכו' - גזירה שמא יבואו עי״ז להחם בשבת:
משנה ברורה (ב) — (ב) כל גופו - וה״ה רוב גופו דרובו ככולו:
משנה ברורה (ג) — (ג) לבד - וכ״ש אם רוחץ כדרך הרחיצה כל הגוף ביחד:
The Mishnah Berurah immediately gives the reason for the decree: "lest one come thereby to heat on Shabbos". And he specifies that "the whole body" includes the majority of the body (רובו ככולו) — washing most of oneself is equivalent to washing the whole.
For the full text of all 40 entries: Mishnah Berurah 326.
6. The position of the Rema
The Rema adds two important glosses:
The Rema's glosses:
- Seif א: the permission of hot water for "face, hands, feet" extends to other limbs too — so long as one does not wash the whole body.
- Seif י: forbidden to wash hands with salt, and all the more so with soap ("Zeif"): dissolving a bar of soap creates a new substance — נולד. This is the basis of the traditional Ashkenazi practice of avoiding bar soap on Shabbos.
7. Modern practical cases
| Situation | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Hot shower on Shabbos | Water heated by fire/electricity: forbidden to wash the entire body. A heavily debated modern question (solar heater, already hot water) — consult a Rav. |
| Bar / liquid soap | The Rema forbids bar soap (nolad). Many poskim permit liquid soap; follow your minhag and Rav. |
| Washing face, hands, feet in hot water | Permitted (and per the Rema, other limbs too), so long as it is not the majority of the body. |
| Natural thermal spring / unheated pool | Tiberias-type or cold water: permitted. Beware covered places (sweating) and drying when getting out. |
For halachah le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav — the question of the modern hot shower depends on the type of water heater and is subject to varied positions.
8. Practical summary of the Siman
Siman שכ״ו in 5 rules:
- Hot water (from fire) + whole body = forbidden, by the bathhouse decree.
- Face, hands, feet in hot water = permitted (and other limbs, per the Rema).
- Cold or Tiberias water = permitted for the whole body.
- Do not "warm" (mafshir) the cold water on you by warming up at the fire.
- No induced sweating, no bar soap (nolad), dry off when exiting the water.
9. Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
- Why was washing the whole body in hot water forbidden — what is the "bathhouse decree"?
- What is the difference between חמי האור and חמי טבריא?
- What does "warming" (מפשיר) mean and why is it forbidden (seif ד)?
- Which parts of the body may one wash in hot water on Shabbos?
- Why does the Rema forbid soap — what is נולד (seif י)?
- Why must a bather coming out of a river dry off well (seif ז)?
Going deeper
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