Is it permissible to swim in a swimming pool on Shabbat at Camp Ramah Yachad Ukraine?

Responsa in a Moment

Volume 19, Number 6

July 2025

Is it permissible to swim in a swimming pool on Shabbat at Camp Ramah Yachad Ukraine?
(Orah Hayyim 339:2)

By Rabbi David Golinkin

Question from Rabbi Irina Gritsevskaya, Director, Midreshet Schechter and Camp Ramah Yachad Ukraine: 
Is it permissible to swim in a swimming pool on Shabbat at Camp Ramah Ukraine, which has an Eruv?

Responsum:
Shmirat Shabbat Kehilkhata by the Haredi Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth (1927-2013) is a very popular book nowadays. In the first edition of his book (1965), he ruled (13:10): “Swimming is prohibited both on Shabbat and on Yom Tov.” In footnote 19, he refers to Orah Hayyim 339:2: “I did not bring the details of the laws because the later authorities have ruled a general prohibition…”. And later in the book (15:27) he rules: “Swimming is prohibited.”

In the second edition (1979), he added (14:12): “Swimming is prohibited both on Shabbat and on Yom Tov, and the custom is also to refrain from bathing in the sea or a pool, even without swimming.” Later in the book (16:38), he also added two words in Hebrew: “It’s forbidden to swim in the sea and in a pool.”

He repeated these strict rulings in the third edition (2010), in sections 14:12 and 16:39. In other words, in the first edition he prohibited swimming on Shabbat and Yom Tov in general, but in the second and third editions he also prohibited bathing in the sea or in a pool as well as swimming in the sea and in a pool.

Indeed, this is the custom today among many observant Jews, that swimming or bathing in the sea or a pool is prohibited. However, as we will see below, the prohibition against swimming in a pool has no halakhic basis and even contradicts the Talmud and the leading halachic authorities, which are the primary sources for any halakhic ruling.

In Mishnah Beitzah 5:2 (folio 36b in the printed editions of the Talmud), there is a list of activities that are prohibited on Shabbat and Yom Tov due to shevut. “These are [activities] forbidden due to shevut… and one may not float on the surface of the water.” Shevut means (according to Schechter, p. 345 – see the Bibliography below) something that is technically permissible by Torah law on Shabbat, but was prohibited by the Sages so that one would fully rest and observe complete cessation, making Shabbat a true day of rest. The phrase “and one may not float on the surface of water” means that one may not swim (see Kiddushin 29a and elsewhere).

And why is swimming prohibited? The Talmud there (Beitzah 36b) explains: “It’s a decree lest one make a swimmer’s havit.” The question arises: what is a “swimmer’s havit”? The Tosafists interpreted this (ibid., s.v. shema ya’aseh) based on the Mishnah in Keilim 2:3: “The pure among the earthenware vessels… and a swimmer’s havit.” In other words, a swimmer’s havit refers to an earthenware vessel. “Therefore, it seems to me, that it’s an earthenware vessel without an opening, and because of this it cannot sink in water — since water cannot enter it — and so it floats on the surface.”

In other words, a swimmer’s havit is an earthen jug, an amphora used as a floatation device to help a swimmer. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the simple meaning of the expression. This is how it was explained in The Geonic Commentary on Seder Tohorot to Mishnah Keilim 2:3 (ed. Y.N. Epstein, Jerusalem-Tel Aviv, 1982, p. 10): “It means that people make a havit in order to learn how to swim.” Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel of Rome in the 10th century gave a similar interpretation of Mishnah Keilim in his Arukh, s.v. Shat (first definition; Ha’arukh Hashalem, Vol. 8, p. 59): “The explanation is that people make a havit in order to learn how to swim…”

Indeed, this is how Marcus Jastrow interpreted it in his dictionary in 1903 (p. 419, s.v. חבית): “the swimmer’s bottle (used for practicing).” And this is how Raphael Patai interpreted it in 1938 (p. 48): “…a swimmer’s havit, whose usage we can describe as similar to the use of skins by Assyrian swimmers.” In other words, a swimmer’s havit is a flotation device, like the blown-up skins used by the Assyrians.

But the question arises: How could they be concerned that someone might “make a swimmer’s havit”? After all, making a clay jug was a long and complex process involving at least seven stages (see Shabbat 74b as explained by Brand, pp. 125–126). So why would they worry that someone might rush off to make a swimmer’s havit? Indeed, in all six manuscripts of Beitzah 36b in the Lieberman Institute’s database, the Talmud reads “make.” However, the Meiri (Provence, ca. 1300; Lange-Schlesinger edition, Jerusalem, 1969, p. 220) quotes a different reading: “lest one fix a swimmer’s havit.” This is also the version found in Maimonides, Laws of Shabbat 23:5—”lest one fix a swimmer’s havit.”

One might argue that this reading is a scribal error, since a nearby passage in the Talmud reads “lest one fix a musical instrument.” On the other hand, perhaps this version is the correct one. That is, they weren’t concerned that someone would rush off on Shabbat to make a swimmer’s havit—a process that takes hours or even days. They were concerned that someone might fix a swimmer’s clay jug—corking the opening, thereby turning it into a jug that floats on water without sinking, as explained by the Tosafists.

On the other hand, Rashi—the most important commentator on the Babylonian Talmud—interpreted: “a swimmer’s havit: a vessel made of reeds [see Exodus 2:3], which they weave and shape into a long havit-like form, and they use it to learn how to swim.” This interpretation was paraphrased by the above-mentioned Meiri some two hundred years after Rashi, and all the halakhic authorities cited below interpreted the term according to Rashi.

However, with all due respect, this is apparently not the simple meaning of the expression. First of all, Rashi himself stated (Avodah Zarah 60a, s.v. shuleha) “that all the haviyot [plural of havit] in the Talmud are earthenware jugs.” And so suggested Rabbi Shimon ben Avraham, as cited by Rabbi Tzidkiyahu the Physician in Italy in the 13th century: “I heard there are those who distinguish between their barrels, which were earthenware, and our barrels, which are made of wood” (Shibolei Haleket, Laws of Shabbat, paragraph 116, ed. Buber, p. 90). “And so explained in our days Yehoshua Brand, in his classic work Earthenware Vessels in Talmudic Literature (p. 114): “But primarily [the havit] was made of earthenware, and by default the term ‘havit’ refers to an earthenware jug.”

The second Talmudic source is found in Shabbat 40b-41a:

Rabbi Zeira said: I saw Rabbi Abbahu swimming in a bath [on Shabbat], but I don’t know whether he uprooted or not.”

It’s obvious that he didn’t uproot

For it was taught in a Baraita: “A person must not swim in a pool filled with water, even if it’s standing in a courtyard.“

This isn’t a contradiction.

One case is where the pool has no gidudei [which is forbidden] and one case is where it does [and is permissible].

There are at least two difficulties with this passage: uprooted what? And what does the word gidudei mean.

The Ran on the Rif in the 14th century (ed. Vilna, fols. 18b–19a) and Rabbi Yosef Karo in the 16th century (Bet Yosef to Orah Hayyim 339, Tur Hashalem, Part 3, p. 552) have already summarized the two main approaches to understanding this Talmudic passage.

Some of the Rishonim understood that Rabbi Zeira was wondering whether Rabbi Abbahu had uprooted his feet off the floor of the bath in order to swim (see Rashi ad loc. and Rosh, Shabbat, chapter 3, paragraph 8). However, if the pool has gidudei or something akin to walls on all sides—then it’s permissible, because there’s no concern that one might come to make a swimmer’s havit.

Other Rishonim understood that Rabbi Zeira was asking whether Rabbi Abbahu had uprooted water from the bath (see Rif on Shabbat, ed. Vilna, fols. 18b–19a; Rambam, Laws of Shabbat 23:5; and Rabbi Yosef Karo, Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 339:2). But again, if the bath has gidudei or walls on all sides, then it’s permissible—because the walls return the displaced water to the bath.

Since this second interpretation and this ruling were given by the Rif, the Rambam and Rabbi Yosef Karo in the Shulhan Arukh, this became the dominant interpretation.

Regarding the term gidudei, the dictionaries of Jastrow (p. 235) and Sokoloff (p. 278) define it as “banks” or “embankments.” However, this definition doesn’t fit the context of the passage, since it deals with a bathtub. Others explain the term as referring to something like “walls on every side” (as explained by the Ran on the Rif, cited above). Yet Rashi in Shabbat 41a interprets “gidudei” as a “rim” or “lip” of the bath—and that’s how leading halakhic authorities such as Maimonides also understood it in his Laws of Shabbat 23:5.

One may not swim, due to a rabbinic decree lest one come to fix a swimmer’s havit.

A pool in a courtyard—it’s permissible to swim in it, since there is no concern that one will fashion a swimmer’s havit, provided that it has an encircling rim which prevents the water from being displaced. This creates a clear distinction between the pool and the sea.

In other words, the first sentence is based on the Mishnah and Talmud in Beitzah, while the second sentence is based on the passage in Shabbat, and Maimonides understood the term gidudei to mean a rim or a lip that prevents the pool’s water from being displaced from the pool.

The Tur ruled in Orah Hayyim 339:

One may not swim even in a small pool located in a courtyard. However, if the pool has a surrounding rim, it’s permissible, for the pool resembles an ordinary vessel [and not a river or the sea].

And so ruled Rabbi Yosef Karo in Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 339:2:

One may not swim, even in a pool located in a courtyard, because the water is displaced and leaves the pool, making it comparable to a river.

But if the pool has a surrounding rim, swimming is permissible, since even if the water is displaced, the rim returns it to its place. Thus, the pool is considered like a vessel, and there is no need to impose a decree lest one fashion a swimmer’s havit.

And since the Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) added no gloss on that ruling, it’s reasonable to assume that he agreed.

And so ruled Rabbi Yehiel Michel Epstein at length in Arukh Hashulhan in the late 19th century (Orah Hayyim 339:4). He emphasizes, following Rashi to Shabbat 40b (s.v. va’afilu), that the primary concern is the splashing of water by one’s feet beyond four cubits. But with a pool situated in a courtyard, that concern doesn’t apply, because even if water is displaced, the rim returns the water to its place.

Therefore, since every modern swimming pool made out of concrete has a “surrounding rim;” and since the pool is located within a courtyard; and since there’s an eruv encompassing the entire camp – it’s permissible to swim in the pool on Shabbat, based on the Talmud and the rulings of the leading halakhic authorities, without any concern.

If so, why do many contemporary halakhic authorities, such as Rabbi Neuwirth, assert that it’s forbidden to swim in a swimming pool on Shabbat?

Let us examine the ruling of Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, which is typical of those who wish to adopt a stringent position.

Even though according to the essential law, the Sages did not prohibit swimming in a pool that is surrounded by a wall [his interpretation of gidudei] that retains the water, and it’s located within a fenced courtyard—there being no concern that one might fashion a boat [his interpretation of a swimmer’s havit] or carry water outside the eruv—this was in an era when swimming was not a form of entertainment, but rather a rare activity for those few individuals who had a pool in their courtyard and floated there briefly. But nowadays, when swimming has become one of the common weekday leisure activities, swimming in a pool is prohibited due to uvdin dehol [weekday behavior].

Furthermore, there is concern that one might wring out a swimsuit after swimming.

Furthermore, it’s inappropriate to spend one’s free time on Shabbat engaging in recreational activities; rather, it should be devoted to Torah study.

In other words, Rabbi Melamed admits that according to the essential law, it is permissible to swim in a swimming pool on Shabbat. But then he makes a concerted effort to find three reasons to prohibit it.

As for the first claim, many people don’t have time to swim during the week, and they do have time on Shabbat, which actually aligns well with the spirit of Shabbat, which is supposed to be different than the weekdays (see Shabbat 113a-b).

As for the second claim, I haven’t swum in years, but when I swam hundreds of hours every summer as a child, I never once wrung out my bathing suit.

As for the third claim, it is certainly important to study Torah on Shabbat, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t time for other activities as well. Most observant Jews read newspapers on Shabbat (which is forbidden according to many Aharonim – see Orah Hayyim 307, Mishnah Berurah subpar. 63 and Sha’ar Hatziyun subpar. 71) and play board games with their children – in addition to Torah study.

There is a similarly stringent ruling from the Haredi rabbi, Rabbi Shimon Eider.

Indeed, many authorities today prohibit swimming in a pool on Shabbat for nine different reasons (sic!). However, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has already refuted all of these claims one by one, with sound reasoning, in a footnote that spans eight pages of small print. This is not the place to summarize his arguments. And so ruled Rabbi Yosef in Volume 2, p. 7:

And if the pool has a surrounding rim, swimming is permissible [see the footnote]. For even if the water is displaced, the rim returns it to its place, rendering the pool like a vessel—there is no need to apply the rabbinic decree lest one fashion a swimmer’s havit. In such a case, one should not prohibit swimming due to concerns of exercise on Shabbat.

However, at the end of the eight-page footnote, Rabbi Yosef concludes:

With regard to the halakhah, even though we leaned toward permitting swimming in a pool on Shabbat in certain ways, in any case, in practice one should rule not to swim in a pool on Shabbat, especially in a bathing suit, and this was also the response to me of Maran, my father and teacher, may he live a long life [=Rabbi Ovadia Yosef].

This sentence is very surprising. After all, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef ruled in the main body of his book, as cited above, that it’s permissible to swim in a pool on Shabbat and he then proceeded to support this ruling with detailed reasoning in an eight-page footnote—and after all this, at the end of that footnote, he writes that one should instruct people not to swim in a pool on Shabbat!?

Beyond this jarring internal contradiction, I have emphasized in many places the principle of “koah dehetera adif”—“the power of a lenient ruling is preferable” (Berakhot 60a), and our Sages taught “and he shall live by them — not die because of them” (Yoma 85b). Furthermore, there is a well-known saying of the Sages: “Rabbi [E]lazar said: just as it’s forbidden to purify the impure, so is it forbidden to impurify the pure.”

The children at Camp Ramah Yachad Ukraine have been suffering through a brutal war imposed by a cruel enemy for over three-and-a-half years. They come to Camp Ramah Ukraine to experience Torat Hayyim [a living Torah] for two weeks, and to heal both body and soul. Should we tell them: “Yes, swimming in the pool on Shabbat is permissible according to the Talmud and the major halakhic authorities – but let us rule strictly without any reason!”

In conclusion, the Sages prohibited swimming in the sea or river on Shabbat in Tractate Beitzah due to the concern “lest one make a swimmer’s havit.” Beyond the fact that no one today makes a swimmer’s havit,(1) the Talmud in Tractate Shabbat already made a clear distinction between swimming in a river or sea and swimming in a pool with a rim—and so ruled the leading halakhic authorities.

Therefore, according to the Talmud and the major halakhic authorities, it’s prohibited to swim in the sea or a river on Shabbat, but it’s permissible to swim in a pool with a surrounding rim, in a place where there is an eruv.

Rabbi David Golinkin
Jerusalem
25 Tammuz 5784 & 18 Tammuz 5785

Notes 

1. In other words, even without the permissive ruling discussed above regarding swimming in a swimming pool on Shabbat, the original rabbinic prohibition against swimming in the sea or river — “lest one fashion a swimmer’s havit” — is probably no longer applicable since “ha’idana” [nowadays] no one makes a swimmer’s havit out of clay as the Tosafists explained, nor out of woven reeds as Rashi explained. Instead, people purchase Styrofoam flotation devices from a store, and those who observe Shabbat are not going to drive to a store to buy floatation devices on Shabbat. Others use inflatable rubber tubes, which are permissible even according to Shemirat Shabbat Kehilkhatah (2nd edition, 1979, 16:8 and 34:24). Indeed, after citing the traditional explanation for forbidding swimming, Rabbi Isaac Klein says very succinctly: “This concern is not relevant today.” For the halakhic concept of ha’idana [nowadays], see my book The Status of Women in Jewish Law: Responsa, Jerusalem, 2012, pp. 330-332 and the literature cited there.

 Bibliography

Ben-Yehudah — אליעזר בן-יהודה, מלון הלשון העברית הישנה והחדשה, [ערים שונות], 1908-1959, עמ’ 1423, ערך – חבית

Brand — יהושע בראנד, כלי החרס בספרות התלמוד, ירושלים, תשי”ג, ערך “חבית”, עמ’ קי”א-קע”ג

Eider — Rabbi Shimon Eider, Halachos of Shabbos, Lakewood, New Jersey, 1970 and reprints, section 4, pp. 392-393

Jastrow — Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi…, Philadelphia, 1903 and reprints

Klein — Rabbi Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, New York, 1979, p. 89

Melamed — הרב אליעזר מלמד, פניני הלכה, שבת, חלק א’, מהדורה שנייה, י”ד:ט’, עמ’ 313 והערה 7

Neuwirth — הרב יהושע נויבירט, שמירת שבת כהלכתה, ירושלים, מהד’ א’, תשכ”ה; מהד’ ב’, תשל”ט; מהד’ ג’, תש”ע

Patai — רפאל פטאי, הספנות העברית, ירושלים, 1938

Schechter — יוסף שכטר, אוצר התלמוד, תל אביב, תשכ”ג

Sokoloff — Michael Sokoloff, A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, Ramat Gan and Baltimore, 2002

Yosef — הרב יצחק יוסף, ילקוט יוסף, הלכות שבת, כרך ב’, עמ׳ ז’-י”ד באריכות; ובקיצור בחלק רביעי, שבת כרך ה’, עמוד פ”ג-פ”ד

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image: Camp Ramah Yachad Ukraine pool