825. Immersing Utensils and People

Shabbos 23:7

One may draw water from a well with a branch tied to the cup; if it is not tied to the cup, one may not do so. This is a preventive measure against the possibility of trimming and adapting the branch. Silverware may not be polished with a powder that makes it shine as if treated by a professional. This would make it appear as if one has repaired a utensil and performed the labor of completing on Shabbos. One may polish silverware with sand and pumice; other utensils may be polished with anything. One may not wash dishes on Shabbos because it is like improving them; the exception is that one may wash dishes in order to use them at another meal on the same Shabbos. Drinking utensils like glasses and pitchers may be washed at any time because there is no limit to how often one might want to drink. We may not make beds on Shabbos in order to sleep in them after Shabbos but one may make the bed Friday night in order to use it on Shabbos day.

Shabbos 23:8

It is forbidden to immerse ritually-unclean utensils on Shabbos because this is like repairing them. A ritually-unclean person may immerse himself because it looks as if he merely intends to cool himself off. The ashes of the red heifer were not sprinkled on Shabbos. If someone immersed utensils on Shabbos unaware that doing so was prohibited, he may use the utensils on Shabbos; if one intentionally violated the prohibition, he may not use the utensils until after Shabbos. It is permitted to immerse impure water as follows: the water is placed in a vessel that is not susceptible to ritual impurity, such as one made of stone. This vessel is then submerged in a mikvah and the water is thereby purified.