Dancing and Clapping on Shabbat and Yom Tov

  • In the last shiur we looked at showering on Yom Tov and the tricky question of whether the halacha, as laid down by the Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch, is still unchanged today, give the different reality of bathing habits in the 21st Century.
  • In this shiur we will engage with the issue of dancing and clapping on Shabbat and Yom Tov. All communities celebrate Simchat Torah with dancing and clapping. Furthermore, in many shuls and Yeshivot on Shabbat, and certainly at the Kotel, Shabbat and Yom Tov services are often accompanied by dancing and clapping. Is this halachically problematic?