Wet Wipes on Shabbos

I'm not sure why, but probably the halachic question that I have been asked the most often over the years is what my position is on baby wipes on Shabbos. I believe that the answer is relatively straightforward, and most of what I have to say has already been written by others. However, as it involves clarification of some basic concepts which I have not seen elsewhere in English, I thought it would be worthwhile to devote a post to the topic.

Dash, Melaben and Sechita

This first section will be well known to those who have studied the relevant topics, so those who don't need a reminder please feel free to skip to the next sub-heading or the one after it.

Probably most people know that sechita ('squeezing out') can be forbidden on Shabbos, although many will not be able to identify which of the 39 categories of melachos it fits into. In fact, there are two potential candidates, either of which may be relevant in different circumstances.

The first is the melacha of dash (threshing). As the purpose of this melacha is extracting food from its unwanted parts, one derivative (with the same severity as the primary melacha) is the squeezing of olives and grapes to extract the oil/juice.[1] The melacha is only relevant when there is a desired product which is categorically different from the source – with real threshing the food product is extracted from within the waste; when squeezing fruit a liquid is obtained from within a solid. Squeezing fruit juice into a solid (e.g. lemon juice into a salad) is permitted.[2]

The other relevant melacha is melaben (lit. whitening). One of the first stages of making clothes is cleaning the wool (or other fabric); in the mishkan this was necessary for the various coverings and curtains. Wringing out clothes or fabric from the water used to wash them was an essential part of this process, thus this kind of sechita is Biblically forbidden on Shabbos as a derivative of melaben.[3]

Chazal were very stringent regarding this type of sechita, Rabbinically prohibiting various ways of getting clothes wet out of concern that people would forget that it was Shabbos and inadvertently squeeze out the liquid.[4] It seems that this concern stems from the fact that leaving clothes with this liquid in them would be damaging, or possibly because historically the effort of having to repeat a wash was something that was avoided whenever possible.

Barrel Sealing

Before we get on to analysing the case of the baby wipes, we must deal with a potentially related case from the gemara. We are told that tightening the sealing of a wine barrel is forbidden on Shabbos, as it is a psik reisha (lit. cutting off of a head), meaning that a melacha will be an inevitable result of this action.[5] Rashi explains that the melacha involved is sechita, but doesn't elaborate further. The Rishonim give various different explanations:

1) Wine is inevitably squeezed out of the seal back into the barrel. Thus a useful liquid is obtained, a violation of the melacha of dash (Aruch).

2) Even if no useful liquid is obtained, squeezing out the wine from the seal is a violation of melaben. Although with liquids other than water no Rabbinic injunctions were made out of this concern, as people are not so eager to squeeze them, if one does squeeze these liquids out of clothes the melacha is still performed (Ri).[6]

3) Neither dash nor melaben are relevant here (negating Rashi), rather tightening the seal is forbidden for an entirely different reason. We are concerned that one may decide to leave the sealing in permanently, thus creating a new vessel (the melacha of boneh or makeh b'patish. Rabbeinu Tam).[7]

4) Although neither melacha is relevant here, squeezing out liquids that are normally squeezed is Rabbinically prohibited (Ramban).[8]

It is difficult to adjudicate between these possibilities in this case. The important observation for our discussion is that according to all views, dash is only violated when a useful liquid is obtained.[9] If the liquid produced is not useful or goes to waste, provided that melaben is not relevant, squeezing it is out is prohibited Rabbinically only if this is the liquid's 'normal way,' and only according to the Ramban.

Squeezing into Solids

Moving closer to the case in question, let's first ask if it would be permitted to do something extreme and intentionally squeeze out the liquid from a wipe on to a baby's dirty behind in order to clean the baby with this liquid. With these wipes there is no question of melaben, as they are thrown out immediately after use and no-one ever has any interest in cleaning them.[10] Would this be a transgression of the melacha of dash?[11]

As we have seen, dash is only relevant when a useful liquid is obtained. In our case, the liquid is useful in order to clean the baby. However, we have also seen that when the liquid is immediately absorbed into a solid, as nothing significantly new has been created the melacha of dash has not been violated. Squeezing the water into solid excrement should be no different to squeezing a lemon into a salad.

In practice, this consideration alone may not be sufficient to allow the use of baby wipes on Shabbos. Sometimes the substance being cleaned is not particularly solid; even if it is, if it is small enough it will simply dissolve into the liquid rather than absorbing it. Even in these cases, as the liquid is used up immediately it is not clear that a melacha is involved,[12] but there certainly would be grounds for ruling stringently here.[13]

Is there any squeezing?

Now we can examine what happens when wipes are used normally. It is quite clear that there is some liquid on the surface of the wipes that does not need to be squeezed out in order to use; likewise it is clear that some amount of liquid is absorbed within the fibres of the material and could theoretically be extracted. Is the case similar to the barrel sealing, where liquid is inevitably squeezed out?

To my naked eye this would certainly not appear to be the case. I would doubt anyone who claimed to be able to discern absorbed liquid being forced out. It should therefore be obvious that using wipes in the normal way should not be a problem on Shabbos, just like dragging a chair over earth which is permitted as long as one does not intend to make a groove.[14]

Some of those who forbid the use of wipes on Shabbos claim to have verified with experts that liquid is in fact squeezed out from between the fibres of the material.[15] However, for at least two reasons this is insufficient to support their halachic conclusion:[16]

1) Laboratory observations are not relevant when it comes to defining melacha; rather we follow the observations of the naked eye.[17]

2) Even the words of the expert that they quote only attest to the fact that some liquid is absorbed within the fibres and that if one squeezes hard enough this will come out (which we knew already). There is absolutely no claim that this is inevitable.[18]

Furthermore, I contend that even if it were true that some water is inevitably extracted from the fibres, this would not constitute forbidden sechita. The truth is that some of the liquid will eventually drip out of the material even without any pressure being applied. Although any pressure will speed up this process, I do not accept that the small amount of pressure normal during wiping constitutes sechita.

It is true that it is forbidden to clean with a wet sponge without a handle on Shabbos,[19] and some of the Rishonim explain that this is because squeezing is inevitable.[20] However, this is because with a sponge the concern is the melacha of melaben.[21] When the potential problem is only dash, I believe that minimal pressure cannot constitute the extraction necessary for the melacha and this is no different to holding a dripping wipe over the baby.

Finally, if any readers share the common misconception that the lenient ruling of R' Asher Weiss on this matter is a lone view, let me point out that R' Moshe Feinstein and R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach both ruled the same way.[22]

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[1] See Rambam, Hilchos Shabbos 8:7, 10. According to most poskim, this prohibition applies even to liquid absorbed in something other than its original source.

[2] Shabbos 144b. This is true even though there will inevitably be some liquid which is not absorbed into the solid food.

[3] Rambam, ibid. 9:11. The prohibition applies even to water that was not used for washing the clothes, as long as it is not done in a way that makes them more dirty (דרך לכלוך). For some of the details of this, see Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 302.

[4] See Orach Chaim 320:15-17.

[5] Shabbos 111

[6] These first two opinions appear in Tosfos, Kesuvos 6b.

[7] Ibid., see Sefer HaYashar, Chidushim siman 283.

[8] Shabbos 111a. Also Ran, Rif Shabbos 41a.

[9] It would also appear that this violation is only Biblical if the object being squeezed from grows from the ground, see Shabbos 75a and Ritva Shabbos 111a.

[10] As far as I am aware, this point is undisputed.

[11] If not, there would be no Rabbinic prohibition even according to the Ramban, as squeezing is not the normal way to obtain water.

[12] See Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasa (new version) 14:37, footnote 99. See also Shu"t Minchas Asher, volume 1, 14:3.

[13] Although as the squeezing is not being done from something that grows from the ground and the whole question is of a Rabbinic violation, I would probably tend to leniency.

[14] Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 337:1 (based on Shabbos 22a).

[15] Orchos Shabbos volume 1, Birurei Halacha siman 7.

[16] These points are made by R' Asher Weiss (Minchas Asher volume 2, siman 33), but in fact should be easy for anyone to realise.

[17] In our case specifically, R' Asher proves this point from the commentaries to Orach Chaim 302:9, who allow cleaning gently using a damp cloth as squeezing out is not inevitable (despite the fact that laboratory observations will certainly show that some liquid is in fact extracted).

[18] Astonishingly, the full text of the expert opinion that the authors of Orchos Shabbos showed R' Asher says the opposite, that "it is reasonable to assume that normal use will only cause the exit of the water that rests above the fibres."

[19] Mishna Shabbos 143a.

[20] Rashi ibid., Rambam Shabbos 22:15 (although from the context it is clear that the Rambam's view is that this is only a Rabbinic transgression).

[21] This is explicit in the words of the Rambam there.

[22] Shemiras Shabbos ibid., Igros Moshe Orach Chaim 2:70