We saw in episode 32 that any method of removing soil or impurities from a material is the melacha of melabain- scouring, even without liquid.

Question 1) what about brushing dust from a hat without liquid?

Question 2) or brushing icing sugar off your jacket?

Question 3) shaking out flour from your hair?

Question 4) if chullent falls on your couch how best to remove it?

Question 5) ketchup splatters onto your blouse and dries, can you peel it off?

Question 6) can you shake snow off your coat?


Brushing dust or powder that has settled into a fabric or an absorbent material is this melacha, even without the aid of water or liquids.
The idea is that dust is similar to a stain in that it becomes deeply embedded into a fabric.

Even talcum powder, chalk dust, flour or icing sugar can't be brushed off a garment or couch, or even shaken off a fabric.

Even to sweep a carpeted floor is problematic with a broom, solution is to use a soft broom to collect large food particles.

Larger particles like crumbs are fine to remove as they don't get embedded.

If dust, sand, flour etc gets into your hair it can be shaken out as this doesn't apply to human skin or hair.


When a substance is thick and moist like wet mud or chullent a small amount does become absorbed in the fabric, like clothing or a couch.
The best way to deal with is to scrape it off with the back of a knife or a spoon. Or you could use a dry cloth or napkin if it doesn't remove the stain.

A thick wet substance like a sauce that splatters on a fabric and dries may not be pealed off on shabbos unless a stain remains, as then your just removing the upper layer.

Chewing gum, candy, silly putty etc that became pressed into the carpet can't be pulled out as they are firmly in the weave. Again, if some of the substance still remains in the fabric it's ok.

A coat or hat etc that become wet in the rain or snow that begins to accumulate on a coat one cant shake it off as it will cause squeezing.

With snow, if it has not yet begun to melt, shaking or blowing off is ok because the snow isn't embedded in, u like dust for example as a contrast. It is hard to be sure no snow has melted so it may be safer to only shake gently.
 
Anything rubber or plastic like a raincoat or shoes can be shaken vigorously.

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