Faith
Entering the Sea on Shabbat
Question
Honored Rabbi, hello. I wanted to know whether it is permitted to enter the sea on Shabbat, since my husband and I will be staying in a hotel by the sea this coming Shabbat. I understand that only drying off is prohibited. I would be grateful to receive your answer as soon as possible. Thank you very much, and Shabbat shalom. Bat-El
Answer
Shalom and blessings.
I will quote the words of Yalkut Yosef. According to the basic halacha, it is permitted to bathe on Shabbat in a river or in the sea [when one is not swimming], provided that one is careful not to carry the water on one’s body in a karmelit. Therefore, one should dry one’s body when coming up from the river. It is good to wait until the water on one’s body drips off, and to dry oneself gently as well, so as not to come to the prohibition of squeezing. Nevertheless, the entire Jewish people have already adopted the custom of refraining from bathing in the sea and in a river on Shabbat, out of concern for several pitfalls. [Yalkut Yosef there, p. 69].
With blessings - Benjamin Shmueli
