Playing ball

Answer

Answered by Chaim Yisrael Abadi

Is this some kind of surbey? Toys are not Muktzeh. A ball is not Muktzeh. AA I was studying at the Ohr Somayach site and I found the following commentary (below). Please, I do not mean to challenge or disrespect you. I have learned a great deal through this site and I greatly appreciate your wonderful work especially since you are being so generous with your time. This is what I found: The mishna informs us that one may carry a child on a holiday into the public domain in order to perform a circumcision, and one may also carry a Sefer Torah or the "four species" on Succot in order to fulfill his obligation. This is based on the fact that even though the Torah prohibited all categories of creative work on holidays as it did on Shabbat, it permitted many of them for the purpose of preparing food for use on that day. Once a labor was permitted for food, it was also permitted for any other purpose which will bring enjoyment to that day. Tosefot rules that this extends to ball playing as well. This ruling of Tosefot is cited by Rema in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 308:45 regarding the permissibility of playing ball on Shabbat in an area where carrying is permitted. This does not extend, however, to games such as soccer which are played on an unpaved field, because this may lead to making adjustments in the earth which comes under the category of agricultural labor forbidden both on Shabbat and holidays. (Mishna Berura ibid. 158) This lenient ruling based on Tosefot is challenged by the Beit Yosef who forbids playing with or even handling a ball on Shabbat. A ball is considered muktzeh like a stone which has no practical use; it's not even fit for covering a pot because it is usually covered with dirt. According to this ruling the ball's function as an instrument of sport fails to remove it from this category of muktzeh. Jews of Sephardic origin follow the ruling of the Beit Yosef while the Ashkenazic Jews abide by the ruling of the Rema. (Beitza 12a) I did not study this originally in the Talmud, which most likely explains my misunderstanding. I would very much appreciate if you could explain if playing ball is allowed or not on Shabbat and holidays, especially since it seems to me that you posek according to Sephardic traditions. Thank you very much Rabbi.