Cutting one's nails for Shabbos - Kedushas Shabbos Shiur with Rabbi Simcha Bunim Berger

Okay, fine. Good evening. Shabas this week is on cutting one's nails. When is the most appropriate time for a person to cut their nails? On Friday shabas, on Thursday, Friday morning, Friday afternoon, close as you can to shabas. What about when sha shabas falls out of shabas like now this week? Can you cut your nails? Okay. Fingernails, toenails. What about that? Same day or a different day? The order. There's so many things to discuss. I'm not sure if we'll cover all of it, but let's talk at least about the union of cutting nails, where it comes from, and what do you do this week when Shabasesh falls out. Let's focus on that. And if it needs another for all the other stuff, we'll do it again or we'll do we'll do more. Okay. Want to thank Torah anytime. And I want to thank the people from Kadusha Shabas who put together this wonderful gillion. So informative. Okay. on the opening page. A person knows he's going to be busy on air. Can he take can he cut his nails on on on [snorts] Thursday? And is there an is it better to do it on Thursday than doing it on Wednesday? We'll soon see where that comes from. Rabbi Isai, where does it say that you're supposed to cut your nails in Arab Shabas? Turn please to page. We're going to start off with the tour. It's on page 11 at the bottom number six. Shabas. There's a mitzvah on every person to wash themselves on the if you can't wash your whole body at least at least your hands or feet. Shabas, [snorts] they would bring him a big bath of hot water. Don't forget back then there was no running water. [snorts] So when you wanted to take a bath, he either went to one of these bath houses or they brought him a big [snorts] a big bucket of hot water and then he would wrap himself up within like with clothes that had certain pictures on it. He looked like an angel and that's how he waited for Shabas. It does not say in the tour that he cut his hair or he cut his fingernails. Do you know why the tour doesn't say so? Cuz it isn't written in the Gmorrah. The first source for cutting one's nails on Shabas fascinating does not come from the Gmorrah. It's not in the Torah. The Bisv as you're about to read together with us quotes a coy who's a rishan which we'll see momentarily who brings up that cutting nails on air of chabas is covered chabas watch mitzvah yseph you'll find it right over here mitzvah of shabas he brings the It doesn't even say washing and shampooing your hair. That's also says the then next bold letters in that paragraph. You have to be careful to cut your nails every that's one of the next if you take a look at the back the B is this part right over here the B is the other side parallel in bold letters Marshall was from the earliest of the Marshall is the Yam he wrote Maybe maybe a but in that between the and the shabas you should you should take your you should cut your fingernails on every of shabas and you should make sure that the knives you should make sure that the knives are sharp like it says you should prepare and that's referring to preparing the knives that they should be sharp and he writes over there because if not It's a dull knife that's not cover. It's not you're not going to have sha bias. Towards the end of this paragraph where you have a little gray area, he says there is a good reason without telling you why, but there's a good reason why you don't do it on Thursdays. So, we're learning two things. You're supposed to cut your nails, but you're supposed to do it on Arab Shabas Friday, not on Thursday. Interesting. The which is the Ram right over here, letter B the which was a quote of the B says how to go and take off your nails. So the source of cutting one's nails is not mammorra but rather it comes from the that's where the source is tell now let's take a look at the you notice that the tour did not mention it we're going to go to the and this is your page one which is four at the bottom state in mitzvah it's You should wash your whole body and if you can't do that then he adds what the said to go ahead and wash your head. So you see it got into the Now where is the source? So if you take a look there's a little letter gimmel that's called the bear. That little letter gimmel shows you where the source of everything in is. If you look at this little bear right over here, there's a little gray area on top there. You got it. These are the You want to see what the co says, flip the safe for flip your pages or you don't have to move it. Just look right over there. That is the co and you're going to see something fascinating. Fascinating. Ms. Second line from the top of the page. There was a story about one great person. One of his told him according to the way the gears sounds like this God actually didn't tell him. God came to his own Talmud. He visited his Talmud in a dream. He saw a spot on his face to the Talmid in a hulum. You follow so far? The Rebi came to the Talmud in a dream and he had a spot on his face. Yeah. So the Talmet said, "Rebi, I have to tell you, one of my sent me a message today said, "Rebi, I had a dream with you and I were together. It was such a good dream. We were walking to Rash and it was like was he said it was like a really good dream was so pleasant and everything." I thanked him for that. So I guess some people dream about their rebies. This person dreamt about his rebi today. I had such a story. He dreamt about his rebi. This rebi was already after he passed away >> and he had a fleck. He had a spot on his face. In my lifetime, the Rebi said there were three things I was not careful with and I had a blemish in my cover that I gave for Hashem and as we'll soon see for Shabas and therefore I have a blemish on me. What did he not do? One of them was of Shabas. I didn't cut my nails before Shabas. I walked into Shabas notic my nails were long. That's one. And I wasn't always careful to not speak when someone was saying. And number three when we say there's a that I spoke during that and now I have a fleck I have a ketm I have a spot that's why the kai said based on this story and this dream you better cut your nails. was an air of shabas. >> Now gentlemen, rabbis, anybody listening in, do you see what's going on over here? Do you see where this minute came from? This minute came from a it came from a dream that was told over. Of course, it came from a reputable source which eventually became the opinion of the boy and he wrote that that's what you have to do which eventually became the How a how a Jew dreams a Jew dreams [clears throat] that becomes. It's fascinating. I don't know if you any other like that that are based on the way this is based. Now, let's go. Let's learn a little bit more. [clears throat] Now, Friday, yes. Thursday, no. Says the Taz. You'll see it. We're going back to this page. And here's your gray area over here, says the after he quotes the his father-in-law. He writes, "There's a reason you don't do it on Friday." Excuse me. On Thursday. Thank you. On Thursday. Why not? They really they start growing three days afterwards after you cut them. So you shouldn't be doing this in a way that causes this to be on taken of on Thursday, Thursday, Friday shabas. The way simplistic understanding of the taz is it sounds like it's going to start growing on chabas and therefore you shouldn't do it even though it says about the fingernails but by the hair also you shouldn't do it on Thursday for the same reason because it's going to cause it to grow. Now that is that is the source and that is the parameters of the let's go in more aby let's go into a little bit deeper some of the please turn to the which is over here page six at the bottom the let's take a look at this is The kadesh this is cababalistic rabbi say it's the of the of the kipo of the outside it has a power to to um be from the end of the fingers I'm just reading the words without explaining Whatever is attached to the finger to the is good. Whatever grows out afterwards that you have to cut off. That's where these come from. And then he quotes who begin a person shouldn't let these nails grow long which is part the part that grows beyond the skin. I skipped one line three lines from the end of this paragraph. having long nails. Besides for the fact that it doesn't look nice, but the fact is that a person is letting these stay attached to him and he's supposed to get rid of them. Now, next paragraph. During the weekday, they have this negativity. Shabas after you go to the mikvah on shabas [snorts] the whole goof of the person turns over to even those fingernails and there is much to be able to be seen through them. Did you ever wonder why you look at your fingernails >> by Abdullah according to the that the power and the for people they were able to look at their fingernails and see the shabas and the weekday looking at their that's what it says in the riadesh that's Shabas you look by the light you'd see the difference even though he doesn't bring that down but he says look at the difference that before the mikvah also looks one way after the mikvah has a different and it stays till [snorts] the now if that's true what do you do on Arab Shabas when it's take a look. We'll go back again to page one. And now we're going to learn the bare hat. This wasn't in the gray area over there of Kadusha Shabas, but we're taking this venue. Take a look what it says. Letterbased Ruuda in the will, so to speak, in the what he left over before he passed away in his he wrote, "Do not cut your nails and do not take a haircut on So strong is the prohibition is the isser of cutting nails even if it falls on Arab Shabas a he writes leisapper now the word lehis stoper means to take a haircut that's the literal translation mip Pako s. So it's once again he gibbi things. It's more of the the the [clears throat] so in case you have a opportunity don't take a haircut onesh which is on shabas take it on Thursday but not like this year because now Thursday is also he meant Thursday when Thursday was notesh okay so you're not allowed do. However, there as we're about to learn, there are those who learn in the KZ law that we are only talking about haircut, not cutting the nails. Let's go back to the on page seven. this paragraph over here. Just go back to the >> Africa nails every every >> We're about to see that. If the person's nails are longer and it's already sticking out, ode means it's sticking out. It's abundance over the buser. It's better to cut it off even though it's why because it's a big is to have them looking like that as I wrote earlier about all the that are there. So better to take it off. Next page. >> Why wouldn't you be allowed to do it all those? >> Um the because gave it like two brothers living in the same neighborhood. Is it you shouldn't do one of marrying some people the father-in-law's name is Misha the son-in-law's name is Mosha. That's that the fact that the names right the girl's name and the mother's name is the same name. That's cutting nails onesh taking a haircut. These are [snorts] his savos. Take a look over here at letter test. We're reading from right over here where he brings down the story of the the dream that he didn't take off his didn't cut his nails on Shabas and that's where the comes from. There it says right smack in the middle the high that [clears throat] this is only the in of taking them off is only if they're growing out higher than the meat higher than the fingers. But if they're not sticking out, then there's no big deal. We'll take a We talked about it somewhere else. Look at my nails. Can you see this? >> Sticking out. >> No, I don't think so. I don't see one. >> What do you say? >> Not the top of the skin. >> What's that? >> Above the skin. >> They're above the skin. >> I don't know. Maybe your thumb. I'm not sure >> the thumb. >> Uhhuh. If it's stick, you got to look at it this way. >> What's that? You have to look at it this way. >> If you can't see the nails, >> that's right. >> This way. >> I don't I don't get it. Let it be. >> If you're looking this way, you could see them sticking out the white part. Correct. >> Be on the nail bed. In other words, >> yes. Okay. Not >> correct. Take a look at what it says on page nine. the rav lines on the top of the page. Anything that goes over the flesh, over the fingers, there's a to cut them off. Now, You have to cut off because of all of the from the person and therefore it's a bor that if anything is sticking out you have to take it off and then he says a bigish you know during the nine days you're not allowed to cut your hair and you're not supposed to cut your nails. nails, but if your nails are long, you should take them off even on because you're not doing it because of pleasure. You're not doing you're doing because of therefore and I want to tell you something else. I would tell you even on You shouldn't wait right they shouldn't shouldn't be from a person he should take it off even on the ter says you're not doing it because of you're doing because of that's he said [clears throat] >> so now I'm not saying so far we'll have to get there take a look at page 19 please. >> What's with them to do? >> When the BA mdish comes, not all the nails, one I was asked A person who has long nails can heal. What do you do? You come into it's shabas. You have long fingernails. You did not cut them beforehand. And it's you cut it off or you don't cut it off. You're supposed to because I decided I'm going to explain. We're not going to go through the whole simmon, but he explains and he goes through the and he's media. He says that there's a difference between cutting one's hair and cutting one's nails. Cutting hair is an inion of making sure that you don't look long hair is not nice. Looks overgrown. Looks unkempt. You can cut it even on Friday or you can cut it even on Thursday. And if you can't do it on Friday and Thursday, there's an advantage of even cutting it on Wednesday because by the time you come into Shabas, you look kept. You look like a match. Like we know a person's in a he's not allowed to take a haircut until his friends tell him you don't look good. You look look what you look like. All right. Then that's when a person who's in a for the year of his parents then he can take a haircut. I'm going to read from right over here a little bit below the [snorts and clears throat] shabas there's an Indian of cutting it off because it's a of the for separating ourselves from the tomdika week to go into kadusha shabas the who was the one that we saw in the quoted. If a person does a mitzvah, nothing wrong happens to him. And I'm sure that that's what the he goes brings. So he says by me it's a do it's simple that if the nails are long even a person who's normally on if his nails are not long no so then they're there's no then don't cut it ones and don't cut on shabas if the nails are long already and now a person even though it's Arab Even though it's shabas, you should cut them. >> Be cutting them every Friday. How long could they be? >> Next point. Next point. [sighs] The mitzvah of cutting off. Take a look. The mitzvah is every Friday. for there's no just when you leave the fingernails like we're saying you're leaving a big tum on the person when a person gets older the body works slower. lower the nails grow slower. I have over here in the back on page 20 would cut his nails every two weeks. Didn't grow that fast. Every two weeks they bring down every two weeks. It wasn't every week. If a person grow if it doesn't grow that fast. If his nails are long enough that they grow, then he has a every week to cut them. I think they used to say I once overheard that they said about Rebi that his nails would grow astoundingly long. He was like so full of every week his nails were like had like like what another person two weeks or three weeks. That's what they said about then one of the ones told me that Reb's nails used to grow so long like but what happens sometimes a Muslim person misses a Friday so by the next week it's takong already the way we're coming out tonight even though a person was usually I don't cut or take haircut on Arab shabas when it's but after learning these and seeing that the negativity ity of not cutting nails on air of Shabas when they're so long and that according to many of the even if it's to cut and that leave this long then now right the like he says like a person who does a mitzvah mitzvah Who's to cut their nails? I'm not going to go through all the rest of the points. Run out of time. Men, women, children. It's not just on us. The most optimum time is of Shabas of Shabas after, but it doesn't have to be. If a person sees he or she will not have enough time to cut their nails on Friday and they want to do it on Thursday, it's a mitzvah. Ah, what about the taz that the taza but it's going to grow. Explain that that's not what it meant because and because first of all they bring a ra says the king would take a haircut every day. Why would he take out every day? The hair didn't start growing till 3 days. The fact that he took haircut's growth what it means in is that if it takes by 3 days whatever you cut off on Thursday is already grown back it's already you're missing some of the heed of shabas that's what they mean the no that you shouldn't cut on Thursday because if you cut on Thursday then Thursday Friday shabas already by the time shabas come back it's already growing so you should already have grown it really starts growing right away but it will be noticeable. So best time is to cut an air of shabas shabas and also to take away those and even when comes out on a Friday which normally so if your nails are not long you cut it the last week then don't do it this week but if they're really long and they're sticking out then the person should cut it as well. >> Okay.