Prohibition of Playing the Guitar on Shabbos
Question
What is the problem with playing the guitar on Shabbos, specifically a completely mechanical guitar? I would appreciate a detailed explanation.
Answer
There is a rabbinic prohibition to produce any sound through a musical instrument on Shabbos. The prohibition is not because it’s a labor that’s prohibited on Shabbos, but because it is common with musical instruments that the instrument gets damaged and the musician, caught in the ecstasy of song, forgets that it is Shabbos and repairs it without ever remembering that today is Shabbos.
Source
Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, section 338, paragraph 1).
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