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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2
face=Arial>From: "M Cohen" <mcohen@touchlogic.com><BR>I find that many
activities (even when no melacha involved) are not done on<BR>Shabbos because
they are not 'shabbosdik'<BR><BR>Ie sledding / skating / kite flying / tennis /
basketball / roller blading<BR>etc<BR><BR>What exactly is the definition of
'shabbosdik' activities?<BR><BR>Anything besides
eat/sleep/pray/learn?<BR><BR>Shabbos walks are ok. Why are Shabbos walks
different than kite flying?<BR><BR>Mordechai Cohen<BR><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>Anything that requires physical exertion and is not needed for Shabbos is
not Shabbosdig. So for example, re-arranging the living room furniture is
not Shabbosdik -- unless you need to move the couch to make room for
a folding bed for your sleep-over guests.</DIV>
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<DIV>Kite-flying is a halachic problem, not just a "Shabbosdig" problem.
You have to tie things and maybe cut things and so on.</DIV>
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<DIV>Running is not Shabbosdig. Walking is the only form of locomotion
that is Shabbosdig, because by its nature walking is peaceful. Hopping,
skipping, jumping and running are OK for small children but not for
adults. Teenagers are in a doubtful category, as plain old walking may be
tzaar baalei chayim for them.</DIV>
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<DIV>Further thoughts: When we moved from a neighborhood where Shabbos was
not Shabbosdig, to our present more RW community of North Miami Beach, I was
dismayed to find my then-six-year-old son playing ball on Shabbos -- which I
associated with my former MO neighborhood. There, children changed into
shorts and t-shirts after lunch on Shabbos afternoon, and went outside to
play. Here, he was in the street with all these frum-looking children --
all dressed in very nice and Shabbosdig clothing -- and yet they were all
outside playing ball! </DIV>
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<DIV>But when I spoke to an experienced rebbetzen who was the mother of many
children, she assured me that playing ball was fine for a six-year-old and that
he and his friends would naturally stop playing ball on Shabbos as they got a
little older. And she was right. So playing ball (and maybe
some of these other activities you mention) may not be strictly assur --
otherwise you could not permit even young children to engage in them -- but
whether or not something is Shabbosdig may depend at least partly on the degree
of maturity of the person who wants to do x, y or z. So thus we segue to
another but related subject: reading secular books and magazines on
Shabbos. My father did not approve of reading anything secular on Shabbos,
but the only firm line he drew with me was not to read novels on Shabbos.
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><STRONG>--Toby Katz</STRONG></FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#ffffff size=2
face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><STRONG>..</STRONG></FONT><FONT
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PTSIZE="10"><BR><STRONG>=============</STRONG><BR><BR><BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------</FONT></DIV></DIV>
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