Page 185 - Tzurba M'Rabanan Volume1

ןנברמ אברוצ שארה תואפ תוכלה · 183

facto, rejected Rava. and the Mikveh water.
We have thus seen a fundamental dispute be- The Rema writes that since the practice has
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tween the Rishonim with regard to the prohibi- developed for women to cut their nails before
tion of ופקת אל. According to most Rishonim immersing in the Mikveh, if one immerses with-
(Rashi, Tosafot, Ra’avad), this prohibition cre- out cutting her nails, the nails are considered a
ates a lav for both the makif and the nikaf, while chatzitzah and she must immerse again after cut-
according to the Rambam the prohibition im- ting her nails. This ruling gives rise to the follow-
plies a lav only for the makif (though, as we have ing dilemma: What should be done if a woman
seen, the nikaf can also sometimes violate the needs to immerse on Friday night but has forgot-
lav of makif). We have also seen two practical ten to cut her nails before the commencement
differences between these approaches. First, if of Shabbat? On the one hand, she is required to
the nikaf remains completely passive, according cut her nails so that her immersion is considered
to the Rambam he has violated nothing, where- kosher, but on the other hand, cutting nails con-
as according to the other Rishonim he has vio- stitutes chilul Shabbat (desecration of Shabbat).
lated a biblical prohibition. Thus, theoretically, it While there are many factors beyond the pur-
would be permissible according to the Rambam view of our discussion that relate to the decision
for a gentile to remove the תואפ of a Jew, provid- in this scenario, we will focus on the one relevant
ed that the Jew remains passive, while the other to our analysis.
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Rishonim would unequivocally forbid such a sit- The Taz rules that the woman may not ask a
uation. Second, the Rishonim would dispute the gentile to cut her nails because although the gen-
punishment of one who removed his own תואפ. tile will be doing the cutting action, the Jewish
According to most Rishonim, he would receive woman will inevitably assist the gentile by posi-
two sets of lashes, one for violating the lav of tioning her hand in a convenient manner. This
makif and one for violating the lav of nikaf. Ac- assistance, claims the Taz, is akin to the assis-
cording to the Rambam, however, there is only tance which the nikaf provides the makif. Since
one lav to violate, that of the makif, and he can we know that it is prohibited for a nikaf to assist
therefore receive only one set of lashes. a makif to cut his תואפ, it is similarly prohibited
Our exploration of the dispute between the for the woman to assist the gentile to cut her nails
Rishonim has thus far been contained to the laws on Shabbat.
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of שארה תואפ. As we turn to examine two aspects The Shach rejects the opinion of the Taz: In
of the laws of Shabbat, we will soon realize that general, claims the Shach, mere assistance is in-
the ramifications of this dispute are broader than consequential and does not make one liable for
we originally imagined. the prohibited action; the nikaf receives lashes
when he assists the makif only because there is a
Mikveh Preparations on Shabbat separate lav pertaining to the nikaf. Since there is
Before immersing oneself in a Mikveh, a person no lav which pertains to the object of chilul Shab-
must take care to remove anything that creates a bat, but rather only to the subject who performs
chatzitzah, a physical barrier, between one’s body the chilul Shabbat, this case cannot be compared

6. The Rambam may forbid maintaining such a hairstyle for other reasons. See Rambam, Hilchot Avoda Zara 11:1.
7. Y.D. 198:20
8. Y.D. 198:21
9. Nekudot Hakesef 198:20

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