The Order of Shoe Removal

Q. Is there any special order for removing your shoes?

A. Shulchan Aruch (OC 2:5) writes that the proper procedure for removing shoes is to first untie the left shoe and remove it, and then untie and remove the right shoe. Rashi (Shabbos 61a) explains that by removing the left shoe first, the right is being honored. (In Torah thought, the right is more prominent than the left, and therefore it is inappropriate to bare the right foot before the left.) What shoe should be removed first when polishing shoes for Shabbos? Rav Shamai Gross (Shevet HaKehasi 6:1) writes that the halacha remains the same and the left shoe is removed first to honor the right. However Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l (Halichos Shlomo 2:21) maintains that when taking off shoes to shine them for Shabbos, the right shoe should be removed before the left. In this instance, removing the shoe is the beginning of the mitzvah of honoring Shabbos, and the right side takes precedence in the performance of mitzvos.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.