Weekly Halacha Discussion
By Rabbi Doniel Neustadt
A weekly discussion of Halachic topics. For final rulings, consult your Rav.
Wearing Extra Clothes or Accessories Outdoors on Shabbos (2 of 2)
Question: In a place where it is forbidden to carry on Shabbos, is it permitted to wear a garment with a belt that is hanging from the belt loops, but is not fastened in the front?
Discussion: If the belt is sewn onto the garment, it is permitted.
If the belt is not sewn onto the garment, most poskim say that it may be worn while unfastened and hanging loose, as long as there is no concern that the belt may slip out and fall to the floor.
The same halachah applies to untied shoelaces.
Question: In a place where it is forbidden to carry on Shabbos, is it permitted to wear a pair of trousers or a dress in which the hem [or any other part of the garment] is temporarily being held up by safety pins?
Discussion: The consensus of the poskim is that a safety pin [or any standard pin] which is inserted into a garment to hold up a hem, or which is used to fasten two parts of a garment, is considered to be a useful and necessary part of the garment, and may be worn in an area where carrying is forbidden.
This is comparable to cufflinks in shirt sleeves, or plastic shirt collar stiffeners, or a clip which fastens a yarmulke to the hair, which serve the garment and are considered part of it, and may be carried on Shabbos as long as they remain attached.
Question: Are there any restrictions on wearing a pair of glasses in a place where it is forbidden to carry on Shabbos?
Discussion: It depends on the type of glasses:
- Regular glasses, which are worn so that a person can see where he is going and what he is doing, may be worn without restriction.
- Reading glasses, which are worn only when one needs to read, may not be worn while walking in the street on Shabbos [unless they are needed for reading a street sign].
- Bifocals and progressive bifocals, which are used for both reading and seeing, may be worn without restriction.
Mishnah Berurah 301:135.
Chelkas Yaakov 100, 104; Shulchan Shelomo 303:10; Ashrei Ha’ish 14:13; Rav C. P. Scheinberg (cited in The Shabbos Home, pg. 118); Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 18:29, footnotes 124 and 129. For a dissenting, more stringent opinion, see Be’er Moshe 3:62 and Bris Olam, pg. 103.
Aruch Hashulchan 301:58; Tehilah L’Dovid 301:8; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 18:29; Chut Shani 88:4. Although Beiur Halachah 301:8 (ה"ד בושהניא) hesitates to permit this for men, he permits it in Mishnah Berurah 303:24.
Ketzos Hashulchan 115, footnote 29.
Igros Moshe 1:107. It is permitted to insert the plastic stiffeners into the shirt collars on Shabbos.
Be’er Moshe 3:66; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 18:29.
This Discussion is based on Ashrei Ha’ish 14:8-9; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 18:16-18; Shevet Halevi 8:48; Orchos Shabbos 28:127-129.
For a minority, dissenting opinion, see Chut Shani 88:6, quoting Chazon Ish.
If clip-on opticals are being used, they should be worn only with the clip in the proper position, and not flipped upwards.
Photo grey lenses are also called photochromic lenses, transition lenses or variable-tint lenses.
Although a minority opinion (Avnei Yashfei 2:39, quoting Rav Y. S. Elyashiv; Nishmas Shabbos 320:292) recommends not wearing photo grey glasses on Shabbos at all due to the restriction of tzoveia, Colouring, the vast majority of poskim permit it; see Igros Moshe 3:45, Shulchan Shelomo 320, footnote 29, Tzitz Eliezer 20:14, Betzeil Hachochmah 4:4, Be’er Moshe 6:46, Yechaveh Da’as 2:47, Shevet Halevi 4:23, Az Nidberu 20:30, Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 18, footnote 70, Chut Shani 19:1, Machazeh Eliyahu 1:65-66, Hilchos Shabbos B’Shabbos 59:7.
Non-prescription sunglasses (including clip-ons), which protect the eyes from the sun, may not be worn. If a person has a medical condition that requires him to wear sunglasses outdoors, he may wear them in a karmelis but should avoid wearing them in a reshus harabim.
Optical sunglasses, which are regular glasses used for seeing but are also tinted for protection from the sun, may be worn without restriction.
Photo grey glasses are permitted as well.
Question: In a place where it is forbidden to carry on Shabbos, is it permitted to wear a wristwatch?
Discussion: The reasons for permitting a person to wear a wristwatch outdoors are:
- A decorative watch, especially one made of silver or gold, may be considered like a piece of jewellery, particularly for people who wear a watch even if it is not working. Such an item can be classified as a tachshit (ornament), which may be worn outside.
- Even if it is not a tachshit, it may be considered derech malbush because the watch is worn directly on the wrist. This is no different from any other item which is ordinarily worn directly on a person’s body, which is considered a malbush.
Many poskim do not accept these reasons and prohibit wearing a wristwatch on Shabbos – and it is appropriate to be stringent.
Nevertheless, there is room for leniency, and we do not object to those who wear wristwatches outdoors. Women, especially, may be more lenient and wear a gold or silver wristwatch on Shabbos; this is because women view an expensive watch mainly as a piece of jewellery, and consider its function as a timepiece secondary. Thus, the watch is halachically viewed as a tachshit and may be worn.
