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Swimming on Shabbos?? I never knew....
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amother
Sapphire


 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 4:27 pm
I guess you can call me naive, but I always assumed that people that are shomer Shabbos don't swim on shabbos.
I was at a hotel this shabbos with my family and all shabbos people were at the pool. I walked past in the afternoon to take a walk with DH and there were a couple of frum families in the water.

Even if it is not outright chilul Shabbos, to me it seems not at all in the spirit of shabbos.
I'm not judging anyone at all , I just really want to understand.
Can anyone explain this to me?

Anon, because a lot of people knew I was discussing this.
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amother
Silver


 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 4:29 pm
I know a certain community that allows this.

You can argue that using an eiruv is not in the spirit of shabbos either...
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flowerpower




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 4:29 pm
People give themselves their own heteirim when going awAy. They forget hashem comes along.
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MitzadSheini




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 4:33 pm
Go to yutorah.org

Search "swimming"

Rav Aryeh Lebowitz has two shiurim on the subject,a regular one and a 10 minute halacha.

Haven't listened yet(I think I heard the ten minute one before) but he is always good
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amother
White


 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 4:42 pm
Rabbi dovid ribiat's the 39 melochos
Page 1190-1 says that it is forbidden.
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tichellady




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 4:48 pm
I'm pretty sure many sfardim poskim say it's fine. It's not really different from taking a Shabbos walk. It's just a way to relax and hang out. My family is Ashkenaz and we swim on yomtov but not on Shabbos
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amother
Blush


 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 4:49 pm
Not quite the same as swimming on vacation, but I have an elderly relative who swims every day for her health. If she misses a day then her back seizes up and she ends up in bed for days unable to move. If she swims every day then she can get around for short distances using 2 canes. She has a heter to swim even in shabbos. She has to be careful about drying off afterwards though.
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studying_torah




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 5:21 pm
What would be assur about swimming on shabbos or yom tov?
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Maya




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 5:24 pm
Is swimming different than dipping in the mikvah, for either men or women?
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Optione




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 5:30 pm
studying_torah wrote:
What would be assur about swimming on shabbos or yom tov?

1. Heating up the water
2. Squeezing out hair..
These 2 just quickly popped into my head.
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asmileaday




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 5:38 pm
Maya wrote:
Is swimming different than dipping in the mikvah, for either men or women?


Swimming is done with clothing on, mikvah dipping is not.
In the bungalow colonies many men use the pool shabbos morning as a mikvah but they dip without clothes.
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Maya




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 5:46 pm
asmileaday wrote:
Swimming is done with clothing on, mikvah dipping is not.
In the bungalow colonies many men use the pool shabbos morning as a mikvah but they dip without clothes.

Isn't hair just as problematic as clothing?
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Volunteer




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 5:56 pm
There was a rabbinic decree made against swimming (in a lake or river) on Shabbat because people made and fixed simple flotation devices out of reeds back in talmudic times. While it could be argued that the old decree shouldn't apply to swimming in pools nowadays, I think poskim today mostly agree that swimming is still forbidden. Maybe there are some rabbis today that permit it.

Last edited by Volunteer on Sun, Aug 21 2016, 6:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
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MitzadSheini




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 6:01 pm
So I listened to the ten minute halacha, (really 17,minutes!) and he is very against it, particularly for Ashkenazim. Biggest issue for him is if the water is heated. Regarding Sephardim he quotes 8 pages of explanation by r yitchak yosef as to why it may be ok for Sephardim in a non-heated pool, but in the end r Yitzchak Yoseph asked his father who said assur.

Great shiur worth listening to. There are many many issues to consider- heating water; building a raft; the fact the pool has an 'edge'; clothing vs bathing suit; squeezing hair; clothes; bathing suit; towel; splashing water; carrying water on your skin; mixed swimming Etc etc being just some of them.


But I'd still try to be DLKZ these people you saw because-

DLKZ is deorita,swimming is probably derabanan

Maybe there are other opinions and the people you saw were sefardim

Maybe they are sick or it was extremely hot and their lives were in danger

Maybe they just didn't know it was not ok
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amother
Olive


 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 7:16 pm
We where also at a hotel for Shabbos & I saw some jews swimming. They looked pretty modern, maybe in their circles it's allowed?
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cnc




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 7:21 pm
I've also seen Jews on Shabbos on a hotel at the pool , but they're not necessarily people that I would take an example from.

There were a few couples all swimming together (friends who apparently came together) and the women were wearing bikinis....so like I said I wouldn't use them as an example as to what is or isn't permitted on Shabbos.
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amother
Ginger


 

Post Sun, Aug 21 2016, 11:10 pm
Maya wrote:
Is swimming different than dipping in the mikvah, for either men or women?

A woman is only allowed to toivel on Shabbos if it is the precisely correct day for her to do so. If she has pushed off a ht or mikvah, or if she is after birth, she cannot toivel on Shabbos.

A man is only allowed to toivel on Shabbos if he toivels regularly every day. Otherwise he is not.

It's to do with priorities in halacha. For a woman, tevila b'zman is a d'oraisa. It takes precedence over issurim d'rabbanan. For the man who regularly toivels, I'm not sure but I would guess that neder is involved, which is a d'oraisa. If these elements of d'oraisa are not present, the issur d'rabbanan applies.
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 22 2016, 1:26 am
A mens Mikva should not be heated for Shabbos. A man can go in if he does daily or takanas Ezra.
A woman can go to the Mikva on the correct day o her counting.
Immersing in water is forbidden otherwise.
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Sadie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 22 2016, 1:38 am
We swim on shabbos. Our rabbi said we may swim in a pool but not a natural body of water. He does the same with his family.
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MitzadSheini




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 22 2016, 1:59 am
And I would like to add to my post above, clearly there are those who peemit it.
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