The Prohibition of Erasing on Shabbat – Foundations of the Prohibition [Part 1]

The Prohibition of Erasing on Shabbat – Foundations of the Prohibition [Part 1]

Topics of the Article

In this article we will explain: what is the melachah of “erasing in order to write,” which is forbidden on Shabbat? Is it specifically when one erases in order to write, or also when one erases for other purposes? When is one liable for erasing by Torah law, and when is it forbidden by rabbinic law? What is the difference between them? When a person needs to submit a form to a doctor in order to receive life-saving treatment, and the form contains incorrect information that endangers life, is there a preferred way for him to erase the writing? How may one tell a non-Jew to erase writing? What is the law regarding erasing a record of a debt that has been paid? What is the law regarding scribbling out of boredom? What is the law regarding erasing non-durable writing? Erasing writing on condensation on a window? Erasing writing in the dust on a car? On which surfaces is erasing forbidden? What is the amount of erasing for which one becomes liable? If a person corrected a book by erasing one extra letter, what is his law?

Definition of the Prohibition

One of the 39 melachot forbidden on Shabbat is “erasing in order to write.” The primary form of the melachah is when a person erases 2 letters because he wants to write 2 other letters in their place (Mishnah Berurah, siman 340, se’if katan 9). However, the prohibition also includes a case where there is a stain on a page, and he erases the stain so that he will be able to write 2 letters in its place.

In addition, in earlier times people would write by engraving on a wax tablet. If a wax stain fell there and the wax was not smooth, and a person removed the upper layer and created a smooth place of wax so that he could write 2 letters, he is liable for the melachah of erasing.

The reason is that the essence of the melachah is not the removal of the writing so that the writing should no longer exist, but rather the preparation of the place for writing. Therefore, even when erasing a smudge or an ink stain, he is preparing the place for writing (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, siman 340, se’if 3; Biur Halachah, s.v. hamoḥek).

Furthermore, it is forbidden to erase in order to prepare the page for writing, even if one intends to write only after Shabbat, because the very preparation of the page is the forbidden melachah (Mishnah Berurah, siman 340, se’if katan 13).

Where Is It Forbidden to Erase?

The question arises: is the prohibition of erasing only when one erases writing from a page and creates the possibility of writing on the page again, or is there a prohibition of erasing in every place?

The answer is that the prohibition of erasing applies to any surface from which erasing enables one to write on it, and not only to a page intended for writing. For, like all the melachot prohibited on Shabbat, this melachah is derived from the labors that were performed in the Mishkan. In the Mishkan they would write on the beams to indicate where each beam should be placed, and when necessary they would erase the writing and write anew. Thus, erasing in order to write on a beam is also included in the prohibition of erasing (Mishnah Berurah, siman 340, se’if katan 10).

The Difference Between Erasing Forbidden by Torah Law and Erasing Forbidden by Rabbinic Law

Some acts of erasing are forbidden by Torah law, and one who transgresses them inadvertently is obligated to bring a chatat offering when the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt; if he did so intentionally, he is liable to karet [where there are no witnesses and warning, his death is at the hands of Heaven; if there are witnesses and warning, the court puts him to death]. However, apart from the difference in the severity of the transgression, there are practical differences relevant to us. As we explained at length in the article about writing, the difference between a rabbinic prohibition and a Torah prohibition applies when there is a great need to perform the act: if the erasure is forbidden only rabbinically, there are situations in which it is permitted to tell a non-Jew to erase, whereas if it is a Torah prohibition, it is forbidden to tell a non-Jew to do so. Another difference is in a case of pikuach nefesh requiring erasure [for example, a person must submit a form to a doctor for life-saving treatment, and there is a detail which, if not erased, could lead to erroneous treatment that endangers life]: if the matter can be erased in a manner that is forbidden only rabbinically, it should be done that way.

Erasing Non-Durable Writing

The Torah prohibition applies only to erasing durable writing, meaning writing written with a durable material, such as a pen, pencil, chalk, paint, or any other substance that leaves a record of the writing for a long time. This is true when the writing is written on a durable material, whether it is paper or parchment intended for writing, or a wooden utensil or the wall of a building not intended for writing, provided that the material was written on in a durable manner. However, where the writing is made with a non-durable substance, for example writing with fruit juice that will erase itself after a time, or where the writing is on a material upon which the writing will not remain for long and will erase itself, such as a leaf or Formica and the like, there is no Torah prohibition, but there is a rabbinic prohibition to erase the temporary writing (Mishnah Berurah, siman 340, se’if katan 22, rule 1).

Erasing Not for the Purpose of Writing

Although the Mishnah states that liability applies only when one erases in order to write, the Mishnah’s intent is to say that liability for a chatat offering when a person erased on Shabbat is contingent on there being a benefit in the erasure. But where he merely caused damage by his erasure, there is no liability for a chatat, and the matter is forbidden only rabbinically. The Mishnah brought the classic example of erasing for the sake of correction: when the intent is to write something else on the page, and therefore the scribe erases the writing. But other erasing for the sake of correction as well—for example, if a Sefer Torah was written with extra letters by mistake, one who erases them on Shabbat is liable for a chatat (Mishnah Berurah, siman 340, end of se’if katan 22).

The Amount of Erasing That Creates Liability

Every melachah forbidden on Shabbat has a minimum measure: if a person performed that melachah in that measure inadvertently, he is obligated to bring a chatat, and if he did so intentionally, he is liable to death. But less than the minimum measure does not have the halachic significance of a melachah, and therefore he is not liable for a chatat or for death. Nevertheless, even half the measure is forbidden [we will not enter here into whether it is forbidden by Torah law or only rabbinically]. Regarding writing, the measure is 2 letters; that is, a person who wrote one letter is exempt from liability for a chatat, and only if he wrote 2 letters is he liable. The question arises: what is the measure of erasing that creates liability?

Answer: the measure of erasing is enough that 2 letters could be written in the place of the erasure. However, one who erases less than this amount is also forbidden to do so, like every half-measure, which is forbidden (Mishnah Berurah, siman 340, se’if katan 12). But one should note that the measure is not the erasure of 2 letters, but rather the creation of space to write 2 letters. Therefore, even in a case where there is one large letter, or even a scribble, and by erasing the letter or the scribble there is space to write 2 letters there, one is liable for it (Mishnah Berurah, siman 340, end of se’if katan 22).

However, the Pri Megadim wrote that just as the melachah of writing is forbidden by Torah law only when one writes 2 letters, because they have the significance of writing, nevertheless if a person has a book in which one letter is missing, and someone completes that letter, he is liable for writing. Accordingly, the same applies in reverse: when there is an extra letter in a Sefer Torah that invalidates the scroll, and he erases it, he is liable even though he erased only one letter, since by doing so he made the Sefer Torah valid, and therefore his action has significance.

In light of these words, the Biur Halachah (siman 340, se’if 3, s.v. hamoḥek) adds that according to what has been ruled in accordance with the view of Rashi and the Riaz—that even a person who proofreads and corrects one letter in the middle of a book, although the book was not rendered valid by this letter, is liable for writing, since correcting one letter is significant—so too regarding erasing: when there is a mistake in the writing in the middle of a book, although the book is not complete, and he erases the letter in order to write the correct letter in its place, he is liable for a chatat.

Scribbling Over Writing

Question: the Mishnah states that the prohibition is to erase in order to write, meaning that through the erasure the place of the writing becomes smooth and it is possible to write another letter in its place. The question arises: is it permitted to scribble over the writing or tear it, since although I am erasing the writing, I am not creating any place for new writing there, and perhaps such an act does not belong to the melachah of erasing?

The Biur Halachah (siman 340, se’if 3, s.v. hamoḥek) cites the view of the Pri Megadim, who inclines to the position that all erasure is forbidden. The reason the Mishnah specified that one erases in order to write is that with ordinary erasure whose intent is only to destroy the writing, one who does so is exempt from a chatat and is forbidden only rabbinically because he is damaging; and the Torah forbade melechet machshevet, meaning constructive, corrective labor. However, in any case where there is a correction, even if he did not create an empty place through the erasure, there is a prohibition of erasing, and he is liable for it. The Biur Halachah brings several proofs for this definition of the prohibition of erasing.

In light of this, we can define the prohibition of erasing not as the creation of an empty place but as the act of erasure. Therefore, scribbling over writing is also considered erasing. Even if a person scribbles for his own enjoyment and gains no benefit from the removal of the writing, he is indeed not liable by Torah law for this act, since he is damaging, but the Sages also prohibited performing a melachah in a destructive manner; therefore it is forbidden by rabbinic law. However, where there is correction in the act of scribbling, it is forbidden by Torah law.

Therefore, when a person has recorded in his card index that he owes his fellow a certain sum, or that his fellow owes him, and the debt has been paid, if he erases it—even by scribbling, which does not create a place for new writing—he is liable, because this erasure is a correction.

Similarly, when there is a book containing an error, and a person scribbles over the incorrect sentence, the matter is forbidden by Torah law because he is thereby correcting it.

Consequently, if a person needs to submit a medical form in order to receive life-saving medical treatment, but there is an error on the form that could cause him to receive incorrect treatment that endangers life, it is of course obligatory to erase these details. However, according to the conclusion of the Biur Halachah, there is no difference whether the erasure is done by scribbling over it or by erasing it with correction fluid or an eraser, because the prohibition is not the creation of an empty place but the very act of erasing when it involves correction. If there is a possibility of erasing in another manner that is forbidden only rabbinically, one should do so.

In light of this, we learn that destroying writing is also forbidden under the category of erasing. Although one is damaging, the matter is forbidden rabbinically. This question is the most common issue in our times regarding the melachah of erasing: is it permitted to tear writing on a wrapper; is it permitted to break or eat a food item whose wrapper has writing on it; to smoke on Yom Tov a cigarette that has writing on the paper. We will expand on this in Part 2, which deals with the common practical questions of the melachah of erasing.

Another common issue is removing dirt from writing; we will discuss it at length in Part 2.

Summary

In this article we learned that the melachah of erasing applies to any durable matter in which there is correction, and there is no difference on which surface the matter is written. The classic case of erasing is when a person erases in order to write in the place of the erasure; in such a case one must clear space for writing two letters in order to be liable for a sacrifice or for karet, but even less than that is prohibited rabbinically.

Any erasure that involves correction creates liability, such as creating space for new writing, correcting an error, erasing a debt that has been paid, or erasing incorrect information.

When a person needs to submit a form to a doctor in order to receive life-saving treatment, and it contains incorrect information that endangers life, there is no difference whether he scribbles over the writing or erases it in a way that prepares the place for new writing, such as with an eraser or correction fluid. [If it is possible through a non-Jew, or alternatively to cut out the place of the writing, that is preferable].

Scribbling out of boredom and the like is forbidden like any destructive act that is forbidden rabbinically; see the article in Part 2 of the melachah of erasing for many practical examples and the halachic rulings regarding them.

Erasing non-durable writing, such as condensation on a window or writing in the dust on a car, is forbidden only by rabbinic decree. In a case where there is a mitzvah need to erase it, for example if a youth wrote insulting words in the dust on a car in a prominent place, offending matters sacred to Israel, one should ask a non-Jew to erase them.

Shulchan Aruch (siman 340, se’ifim 3-4-5).