Removing Ice and Snow on Shabbos

Before we begin, an important disclaimer: this overview is not intended for readers’ practical application. There are a lot of issues at play, as well as a number of differing positions. As always, readers are encouraged to consult with their own rabbis for guidance.

According to most authorities, rainwater is not muktza. If rain falls on Shabbos, it is not prohibited as nolad (something newly created) because the moisture was already present before Shabbos, in the clouds. Snow is essentially just cold, crystallized rain, so according to most opinions, clean snow is not muktza (see Talmud Eiruvin 45b-46a). The definition of “clean” for our purposes is that, once melted, the snow would be suitable for a person to wash with or for an animal to drink (see Mishnah Brurah 338:30).

A significant dissenter in this matter is Rav Moshe Feinstein ztz”l, who considered snow to be muktza because, unlike previous generations who might have melted snow for water, we really have no use for it. Additionally, while rain that falls on Shabbos is not considered nolad, Rav Moshe considered snow that falls on Shabbos to be nolad. This is because, while we may perceive rain to already exist in the clouds, such is not our perception of snow. (See Iggros Moshe OC 5 22:37.)

Even though snow may not be muktza according to most opinions, shoveling it on Shabbos is still generally prohibited for a variety of reasons. Among these are the exertion involved (tircha), the status of shoveling as a weekday activity (uvdin d’chol) and the prohibition against things that are disgraceful to the nature of Shabbos (zilzul Shabbos). (MB 333:1 explains the concepts tircha and uvdin d’chol; see Iggros Moshe OC 4:60 for more on zilzul Shabbos.)

Melting ice and snow on Shabbos is permitted if done passively and prohibited if done actively (OC 320:9). In particular, one is not permitted to squeeze or crush snow or ice in order to extract water; this is called risuk and it is a derivative of s’chitah (the melacha of extracting juice from fruit; see OC 320:11). For those who permit salting ice on Shabbos, the commercial salt sold for this purpose is a kli shemelachto l’heter – something whose intended use is a Shabbos-permitted activity (see the example of ashes put aside for permitted uses in OC 308:38); for those who prohibit salting ice on Shabbos, such salt is muktza. (Even those who prohibit salting ice on Shabbos generally permit it if the ice poses a public hazard, as we will soon see.)

There is also an opinion that breaking ice off of a walkway might constitute the melacha of soseir (demolishing). While such may not be the halachic consensus, Rav Zvi Pesach Frank did differentiate on this basis between removing soft snow that has not yet frozen and snow that has already become attached to a surface, as he was concerned that the latter might present an issue of soseir. Therefore, there may be greater room for leniency when it comes to newly-fallen snow than there is to an iced-over sidewalk. (See OC 320:10, Magen Avraham 320:15 and MB 320:36 for examples of dissenting views regarding breaking ice as soseir.)

Let’s say that ice or snow on the sidewalk presents a real public hazard. (It should be noted that Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztz”l defined “public” for such purposes as any group of three or more people. This need not include strangers; it could even be limited to the members of one’s own household who need to use the walkway.) In such a case, the best course of action would be to have a non-Jew salt the ice. This would be permitted even in a Biblical-level r’shus harabim (public thoroughfare). (A Biblical-level r’shus harabim is an uncommon occurrence in residential areas; the issue might really only arise in the most metropolitan of settings.) In the absence of a non-Jew, assuming that the area in question is not an actual r’shus harabim, most authorities would permit a Jew to salt the ice himself. This is because the Sages did not apply their various safeguards to the sanctity of Shabbos in situations of risk to the public (see OC 308:18). In such a case, most authorities rule that one may salt the ice in the usual manner; it is not necessary to do so with a shinui (deviation).

If there is so much snow that it is difficult to walk, then one may have a non-Jew shovel the snow manually, though not with a snow blower. If possible, one should arrange before Shabbos for the non-Jew to shovel should it be necessary. If one did not make such arrangements before Shabbos, he may ask a non-Jew to shovel on Shabbos itself but he may not discuss the financial arrangements until after Shabbos (see OC 306:6). If a non-Jew is not available to shovel, the general halachic consensus is that is still preferable for a Jew not to shovel on Shabbos if at all avoidable. Some authorities permit a person to walk on the sidewalk and to kick the snow aside with his foot as he goes, while others prohibit this. (See OC 316:11 and MB 316:51 for halachic precedents.) If salting is insufficient, sweeping the snow aside using a broom might be a halachically-preferable alternative to shoveling.

According to those who do permit shoveling when necessary, a snow-shovel is classified as a kli shemelachto l’heter (utensil whose intended use is a Shabbos-permitted activity) and is therefore not muktza. A regular shovel, whose intended use is to dig in the dirt, is a kli shemelachto l’issur (utensil whose intended use is a Shabbos-prohibited activity). However, a kli shemelachto l’issur is permitted to be handled for a permitted purpose (such as using a hammer to open walnuts). Accordingly, a regular shovel may be used if a snow shovel is unavailable.

All of the above only refers to shoveling or sweeping paved walkways. It is not permitted to shovel or sweep dirt paths because of the prohibition of leveling the ground (ashvuyei gumos), which is part of the melacha of choreish (plowing).

We have not addressed the issue of hotzaah (carrying) so far because carrying in a Biblical-level r’shus harabim is prohibited in any event. We have already said that if circumstances are so dire that a Jew is required to salt the ice himself, the rabbinic safeguards to Shabbos do not apply; this includes the rabbinic prohibition against carrying in a karmelis (the “quasi-public” domain). In a situation that is not a public hazard, there might be leniencies to have a non-Jew shovel your walk but only if one is in an eiruv; this is all the more so for those authorities who might permit a Jew to shovel personally. However, asking a non-Jew to clear an area that would require mechanical assistance, such as a snow blower or a snowplow, presents a problem of amira l’akum (the prohibition against asking a non-Jew to perform melacha on Shabbos).

So can one shovel on Shabbos? Optimally, it would be best to avoid when possible. Depending on the degree of hazard presented, it might be permitted to engage a non-Jew or perhaps even to do so oneself, though authorities may disagree as to what poses sufficient hazard. In preparing this overview, I saw authorities who are quicker to permit salting than shoveling and those who are quicker to permit shoveling than salting. As noted in the introduction, this is only intended as an overview of the relevant halachic issues. Readers are encouraged to consult with their own rabbis for guidance – preferably before the snow falls!

The author thanks Rabbi Eli Gersten for his input and feedback in the preparation of this material.