Checking Pockets
Sometimes it is the seemingly insignificant details that enable us to see the big picture.
“Hanania taught: One should examine one’s garments on Sabbath eve before nightfall. Rav Yosef observed: This is a great law for the Sabbath. (Shabbat 12a)
The Sages sought to prevent one from unknowingly carrying objects in the public domain on Shabbat. This is perhaps a useful suggestion, but what makes it such an important principle — ‘a great law for the Sabbath’? After all, even if one were to accidentally carry an object forgotten in one’s pocket, this would fall under the Halachic category of mitaseik — an unintentional act for which one is not at all culpable.
Why did Rav Yosef so highly praise Hanania’s advice? Is checking one’s pockets really so central to Sabbath observance?
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