Machshavah Lab

The Meta-Halachic Implications of the Halachos of Fingernail Cutting

December 09, 2022 Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss Season 10 Episode 18
Machshavah Lab
The Meta-Halachic Implications of the Halachos of Fingernail Cutting
Show Notes

In today's Friday morning "Machshavah Lab" shiur for women (12/9/22), we took up an unusual and interesting topic: the halachos of fingernail cutting. "Halachos?" you say. Yes! According to the Rema in the Shulchan Aruch, we don't cut our fingernails in sequence, but instead, we cut them in a specific order - and if we violate this halacha, we are subject to danger (according to the sources). I was asked what the status is of such halachos, and that's what led to this shiur.
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מקורות:
שולחן ערוך אורח חיים רס:א
דרכי משה אורח חיים רמא
ספר אבודרהם סדר נטילת צפרנים
Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin, Why Do Jews Cut Their Fingernails Out of Order? (Chabad.org)
מחזור ויטרי סימן תקכט
ערוך השולחן אורח חיים סימן רס   
שו"ת משנה הלכות חלק י סימן קא
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch: Letters on Aggadata, Letter #4
Rabbi H. Norman Strickman, Without Red Strings or Holy Water: Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, p.94
פסחים דף קיב עמוד א-ב
רמב"ם – משנה תורה: ספר קדושה, הלכות איסורי ביאה כא:י
רמב"ם – משנה תורה: ספר נזקין, הלכות רוצח ושמירת נפש יב:ה
מועד קטן דף יח עמוד א
רש"י - פסחים דף עו עמוד ב
שולחן ערוך יורה דעה קטז:ב
שו"ת בצל החכמה חלק ג סימן נג
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