By Rabbi Yair Hoffman Three quick things to know: 1] Based upon the results of a recent survey of Bais Yaakov students, it is one of the least known prohibitions of Shabbos – making a vessel or item unusable or unmovable over Shabbos. 2] Sax Fifth Avenue sells a $1400 soup bowl. 3] Radiators have heated our homes for over one hundred years.  And they outlast all of the other elements of the heating system too.  They were originally installed along with the old coal boilers – the kind that needed an adjacent coal room where zeidy used to shovel that coal into the boiler from a whole room full of coal that is now part of everyone’s seforim library. The radiators have outlasted the coal boilers (and two or three other boilers in most cases) of homes that are over a century old.  Most younger readers, however, enjoy sitting on the covers of these radiators as seat-warmers on a cold winter day or evening. These radiators are durable.  They are very warm and comfortable as well. Indeed, many prefer their heat to the forced air systems because they don’t remove moisture from the air like the forced air duct systems do.  The problem is that many of them, well, eventually leak. BACK TO THE LEAST KNOWN HALACHA Now, let’s get back to the least-known halacha.  We can call the little known halacha Em-Kaye-Em – MKM.  MKM stands for “mevatel kli m’haichano” which can be translated to mean “abnegating a vessel from its state of preparedness.” The Gemorah in Shabbos (43a and 154b) clearly states that it is forbidden on Shabbos to purposefully perform an act that would make a vessel or item no longer fit for use on Shabbos. 6 REASONS FOR THE PROHIBITION Interestingly enough, neither the Mishna nor the Gemorah explains what the reason behind the prohibition actually is. Rashi on Shabbos 43a explains that it is forbidden because originally it was permitted to use and now he is making it Muktzeh. Rav Ovadyah Bartenurah adds (citing the Ran on the Rif Baitza 28b) that even the opinion that does not hold of Muktzeh agrees here because the person is actively putting this vessel out of his mind for use – even before he is using it. Rashi on Shabbos 42b explains that the reason is because it resembles building – in that now the vessel which is under an oil lamp cannot be moved and it is as if it is attached to the ground and plastered into the ground. [There are also those who understand Rashi as because of soser – destroying. A sefer entitled, “Hegyon Libi” written by Rabbi Levi Basch explains Rashi’s position in a fascinating manner. He understands Rashi as holding that the real reason for Rashi is that Chazal did not wish for people to engage in non-Shabbos-dike activity. However, they wished to couch it in an actual prohibition, and that is why they likened it to Boneh – building. The Rambam (Hilchos Shabbos 25:23) understands the prohibition as not being Boneh – but sosair – destroying. How so? The vessel, essentially, is no longer usable and this is equivalent to breaking the vessel. The Ritvah explains that the reason for the prohibition is on account of Kavod Shabbos. Chazal did […]