Hot Water and Showering on Yom Tov
Question: Is it permitted to shower on Yom Tov with hot, warm, or cold water?
Discussion: Showering with hot water on Yom Tov can involve two issues: The first is the very act of heating the water, or even using the hot water tap on Yom Tov. The second pertains to bathing with hot water.
Heating the Water
The Mishnah1 states that it is permitted to heat water on Yom Tov for the sake of washing one’s face, hands, and feet. The inference is that heating water in order to wash one’s entire body would be prohibited. (It is questionable whether water can be heated for the sake of washing limbs other than one’s face, hands and feet, even if the majority of the body will not be washed.2)
There are two general approaches to this prohibition:3
According to Tosafos,4 bathing one’s entire body with hot water is not considered a need which justifies doing melachah on Yom Tov. Therefore, heating water for this purpose would be Biblically prohibited. According to this approach, it is prohibited to bathe in water heated on Yom Tov because we are concerned that one might come to actually heat the water on Yom Tov, which would constitute a Biblically prohibited melachah.
Rambam,5 on the other hand, maintains that bathing in hot water is a need which justifies performing melachah, and heating water for this purpose is therefore Biblically permitted. However, Chazal prohibited heating water for this purpose, lest one come to bathe in hot water in a bathhouse – which is prohibited because, in those days, the bathhouse attendants would commonly violate the laws of Yom Tov to operate their bathhouses.6
Bathing
Even in a case where water was heated before Shabbos, Chazal prohibited bathing in hot water on Shabbos. This was due do the concern that people would perform melachah in order to procure hot water for bathing. There is a dispute as to whether this applies on Yom Tov to water that was heated before Yom Tov. Ran7 explains that this dispute is dependent on the one mentioned above. According to Tosafos, who maintains that heating the water on Yom Tov would be Biblically prohibited, it is warranted to prohibit bathing on Yom Tov even if the water was heated from before Yom Tov. According to Rambam, on the other hand, who maintains that heating the water on Yom Tov is only rabbinically prohibited, Chazal did not go so far as to prohibit bathing on Yom Tov if the water was heated beforehand.
Practically speaking, Shulchan Aruch8 permits bathing in water that was heated before Yom Tov. Rema9 prohibits this if one washes his entire body simultaneously (but permits washing one’s entire body one part at a time10).
Note that even when bathing in hot water is allowed on Yom Tov, it is permitted only in water that was heated before Yom Tov. If the water was heated on Yom Tov, even in a permitted way such as for drinking purposes, one may not bathe in this water.11 However, if it was heated on Yom Tov by a timer that was set before Yom Tov to go on automatically, it is permitted.12
Bathing a Child
We noted above that Rema prohibits bathing one’s entire body on Yom Tov in hot water, even if the water was heated before Yom Tov. However, Rema permits bathing a child, if one is in the habit of bathing his children every day. Even if one does not usually bathe his children every day, nevertheless, under pressing circumstances, one may be lenient and wash his child on Yom Tov.13
Bathing or Showering in Cold Water
Chazal did not prohibit bathing in cold water. However, the custom is to refrain from bathing even in cold water.14 This is because of the numerous halachic issues – such as that of squeezing water out of one’s hair, or squeezing water out of a towel – which could come up in the course of washing. R’ Moshe Feinstein writes that, originally, this custom was limited to bathing; showering in cold water was permitted.15 However, he notes that the present custom is to refrain even from showering in cold water, unless one is experiencing discomfort.16
Under all circumstances, a bar of soap may not be used.17 Instead, one should use liquid soap. If shampoo is used, one must make sure not to squeeze water or shampoo out of one’s hair. Similarly, when drying off, care should be taken not to perform the melachah of sechitah, wringing.18
A Lukewarm Shower
When it is permitted to take a cold shower, there is a dispute as to whether a lukewarm shower is also permitted. Some sources differentiate between heating water so that it is actually hot, and adding hot water for the sake of taking the chill out of cold water. That is, although bathing specifically with hot water may not be a universal need, bathing itself is a universal need, and it is extremely uncomfortable to bathe in cold water whose chill has not been removed.19 According to this opinion, it would still be prohibited to heat water for a hot shower, but it would be permitted to heat water for the sake of removing the chill of the cold water (i.e., taking a warm shower). Note that one may add only the bare minimum of warm water in this instance; if too much was added it would fall in the category of bathing in hot water (mentioned above), which would be prohibited. Additionally, this is only in accordance with the views, which we will proceed to explain, that permit using the hot water faucet.
Using a Hot Water Tap on Yom Tov
When one opens the hot water faucet, the hot water leaving the tap has already been heated. However, this causes cold water to enter the hot water tank and become heated, which constitutes the melachah of bishul. This is why one is not allowed to use the hot water faucet on Shabbos.
There are those who prohibit this even on Yom Tov.20 Although it is permitted to boil water for a legitimate purpose on Yom Tov, some do not consider this a legitimate purpose (even if used for cooking), since one does not need the water being boiled; it is merely a consequence of letting the hot water out. Additionally, by adding cold water, one may very well be turning the electric boiler on, since it is run by a thermostat and the cold water will then trigger the heating element to go on. Nevertheless, many treat this matter leniently and use the hot water faucet on Yom Tov, and there are Poskim who are not concerned about the above issues.21 According to the more lenient view, one is allowed to turn on the hot water faucet in order to wash his face, hands, and feet, but not in order to bathe his entire body. Note that even those who act leniently may not use the hot water from a Junkers water-heating system. In this gas-fired system, turning off the faucet lowers or extinguishes the flame, which is not permitted on Yom Tov.
1 Beitzah 21b.
2 Beiur Halachah 511:2, ד"ה אבל.
3 See Mishnah Berurah 511, note 10; Sha’ar Hatziyun note 9 ad loc., and footnote h to 511:2.
4 Beitzah ad loc., ד"ה לא יחם.
5 Yom Tov 1:16.
6 See Rashba and Ritva (Chadashim) to Shabbos 39b.
7 Beitzah 11a, Rif folio.
8 511:2.
9 Ibid.
10 Mishnah Berurah, note 18 ad loc.
11 Mishnah Berurah 511, note 12.
12 See Megillas Sefer, Shabbos 5:4.
13 Misnah Berurah 511, notes 12 and 18.
14 Mishnah Berurah 326, note 21.
15 Igros Moshe, O. C. IV:75:1. Cf. Shoneh Halachos 326:6 who cites Chazon Ish as prohibiting this.
16 See Beiur Halachah, beginning of 326, that if one is experiencing discomfort, he may bathe even in hot water (that was heated before Shabbos).
17 See Rema to 326:10.
18 See Orchos Shabbos 13:51.
19 See Sha’ar Hatziyun 511, note 25.
20 See Yom Tov Kehilchaso 12:13 and footnote 50, as well as Miluim 34, for an extensive discussion of the various opinions on this matter.
21 See Yom Tov Kehilchaso ibid., with footnote 52 ad loc. See also Mishneh Halachos V:68 who suggests that there is room for leniency.