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Entering a Heated, Fenced-In Swimming Pool on Shabbat

Question

Am I allowed to go into my heated swimming pool on Shabbat if it is enclosed by a fence?

Answer

No, you are not allowed to go into your heated swimming pool on Shabbat.

Sources

The Shulchan Aruch rules that it is forbidden to wash one’s entire body in hot water on Shabbat, even one limb at a time and even if the water was heated before Shabbat, whether the water is in a vessel or in the ground. Only the face, hands and feet may be washed. A heated pool is hot water in the ground, so immersing in it is forbidden. A fence around the pool does not change this, because the prohibition comes from the hot water itself.

The Gemara reaches the same conclusion. It cites a baraita supporting Shmuel: with hot water heated before Shabbat, one may wash his face, hands and feet the next day, “but not his entire body, even limb by limb.”

  • Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 326:1 — forbidden to wash the whole body in hot water on Shabbat, even water heated before Shabbat, whether in a vessel or in the ground
  • Gemara Shabbat 40a — with water heated before Shabbat, one may wash only the face, hands and feet, not the entire body, even limb by limb

Author

Rabbi Shay Tahan

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