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Playing “Catch” on Shabbos

Answered by Rabbi Moshe RosensteinFurther responses from Rabbi Daniel Fleksher

Question

Are you alowed to play catch on shabbos?

Answer

You are asking an interesting question. There is nothing wrong with the specific act of playing “catch” on Shabbos. A potential issue would be, however, the act of “carrying” in a non-permissible fashion. One may only carry or throw items on Shabbos if he is found in either an indoor area or a “legally enclosed” area outdoors – what we call within an eiruv.

There is one more potential issue and that is one of appropriateness to the sanctity of Shabbos. Certainly for children there is no issue. For adults, however, it should be noted that activities such as playing of sports or other games can potentially detract from the holiness and sanctity of Shabbos.

Rabbi Moshe Rosenstein

Follow-up question

Question

But IF the play was for instance with playing Hebrew letter cards – getting to know the Hebrew alphabet it could be permissible, could it not? I understand, of course, that one should not COMBINE any two letters into words, but going through the letters would be permissible wouldn’t it?

Answer

Not only would that be permissible, it might even constitute the mitzvah of Torah learning, a worthy pursuit on Shabbos. Furthermore, it would only be forbidden to create letters into words if they were physically connected or fixed into a set place on a game board (as in Scrabble Deluxe, if you are familiar). Placing flat letter cards next to each other to form words is not forbidden.

All the best,
R’ Daniel Fleksher