Removing books from a bookshelf on shabbat (borrer issue?)

Hello! Are books on a bookshelf that is pretty well organized and in a lit room considered a mixture for the halachot of borrer? For Example, is it okay to select several books from the shelve that I won't use immediately? Thanks!

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

As you correctly note, contrary to widespread misconception, the issue of “borer” the ban on “separating” on Shabbat applies to non-food items, as well.

There are a number of Borer issues that can arise regarding books.

For example, when gathering up all the siddurim, chumashim, and other sefarim at the end of the Shabbat morning service, one will have a “mixture” in one’s hands. As such, putting away one book at a time from your “mixture” onto the shelf would be Borer.

In order to avoid this problem one should gather only one type of book at a time, gather the books but only return them to their proper place after Shabbat, or to read a short passage from each book as you put them away which renders each book having been used for immediate which allows it to be put away on the shelf.

However, books that after very distinct from one another will not be considered “mixed” at all even if they are all piled together. In this case, each book may be put away one by one. So too, it is permitted to make a pile of different books if one doesn’t intend to sort them and return them to the shelf

Regarding your specific question, books on a shelf are not considered to be a mixture. As such, one may remove all the books one wishes to use even if one will not be using them until much later in the day. However, if for example the books on the bookshelf are so worn that one cannot see the name of the Mesechet, then yes one would have to take one out and learn from it.

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