Chapter 24
Laws Relating to the Erection of Protective Shelters and of Partitions on Shabbath and Yom Tov
PARTITIONS ERECTED FOR THEIR HALACHIC EFFECT
30.a. Often a partition has to be erected in order to permit one to do something which would otherwise be forbidden.
30.b. The following are illustrations of partitions erected for this purpose:
1) a partition one erects in front of shelves containing books invested by the Halacha with a degree of sanctity,* so that one should be allowed to put a child on a potty, or undress a child, in the same room:
2) a partition put around a hospital bed because the presence of uncovered excrement would otherwise prevent the patient from praying or studying Torah;
3) a partition which is added to complete the minimum number of walls required by the Halacha for a sukka;
4) a partition designed to convert an area into a reshuth ha-yachid so that one may carry objects about within it.
30.c. For a partition to be effective halachically.
1) it must be at least ten tefachim high,
2) it must extend for a distance of at least four feachim and
3) it must be able to withstand the force of a normal wind; thus, if it consists of a curtain, it must be secured both at the top and at the bottom.
30.d. 1) It is prohibited to erect a partition on Shabbath or Yom Tov for the purpose mentioned in a above.
2) However, an existing partition which is not secured may be secured at its upper and lower ends on Shabbath or Yom Tov (although not, of course, with nails or tacks), to make it effective halachically, a long as
a) such a partition is not normally left in position for more than a short period and
b) one indeed intends it to remain standing for only a short period.
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*Examples of such books are the Pentateuch, the Prophets, the Talmud, halachic works, prayer books, and commentaries on them.
